I went into The Love Experiment thinking it to be a fun rom-com. Marketed as a romance, I found it to be more contemporary with some heavy issues being addressed - issues such as infertility, loss and foster care, abusive relationships, drag culture and coming out - all worthy topics but not what the blurb alluded to or I had been made aware of.

‘You’re right about how society shapes our attitudes and prescribes our behaviour by gender.’

Despite this book including tales of the importance of friendships, family and some great LGBTQ characters, it did not totally work for me. The writing was troublesome - sudden switches in viewpoint led to confusion and also the way some of the topics were handled, specifically regarding a person’s weight. Given this - and all the serious and complex issues placed under the microscope - it became in many ways drawn out at times and more like a therapy session rather than a romantic comedy. There was a lot going on. I am usually onboard when a book is inclusive of more than just the romance but the in-depth analysis and serious mental issues addressed became too heavy.

‘You have allowed me to stop, recalibrate and adjust myself so I’m back on the course I wanted to be on.’

If you intend reading this book be sure to flick through it first rather than just basing your decision off the blurb. It leans towards the more psychoanalytical rather than light and fluffy read. It’s a shame as the chemistry between the two leading characters was good and some of their problems relatable. Unfortunately the writing style and execution did not lend any favours to the final story.

Whip smart dialogue, a lively ensemble cast who are a total scream and sizzling chemistry between Jay and Lily makes this a memorable and entertaining rom-com. Paired with a glass of wine it's the perfect summer read.

I laughed my way through this book even though it touches on some heavier themes such as coercive control.
I really loved the humour, especially in the interactions between Jay and Lily in their earlier scenes together. They have the best cute-meet ever!
Jay's sister, the girls at the youth centre and Lily's friends make up the rest of the humour and I just loved their side stories.
I couldn't wait to see Jay and Lily finally get their HEA. I loved how well Jay handled events as they unfolded. He's so sweet. He doesn't react badly to Lily ever and he gives her space to figure herself out. We need more Jays in real life.

The idea behind this book sounded fun, and I did enjoy the supporting characters, but something about the main characters just didn’t click for me.
Maybe my expectations were off, based on the synopsis, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I’d hoped.

I would firstly just like to say a big thank you to NetGalley who very kindly forwarded me an arc copy of this book, for my Kindle, in return for my honest review…

He can’t date and she doesn’t date, so this will never work out…..will it??
The Love Experiment is a laugh out loud, romantic comedy and I read it really quickly, as I just couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out what happens next.
I also found this book very funny in quite a few places and found myself giggling along!!
Overall this was a very fun read and I loved the two main characters, Jay and Lily, they were wonderful.
This was a perfect rom-com with all the feels thrown in there too…

This was an okay read. I lost concentration many times while reading and I'm not really sure if I enjoyed it.

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm not too sure why this book is getting a bad press. But I guess it's each to their own as we all have different opinions on things. However my opinion is that this is a fun read, it is light and funny and has a lovely romantic element. I would have liked the book to have been told from the point of view of the other characters into the book too. But overall I thought it a pretty good read.

I could not really relate to the main character, as in my view there were many things that did not make sense. The incident in her teen years was downplayed, and her refusal to sick proper medical assistance was also weird for a therapist, and that annoyed me.

However the supporting characters were very funny and rich, and made a very good addiction to the plot. I liked them better than the main couple.

such a cute, fun, read!! I would like to see a story for the secondary characters because I fell in love with everyone in this sweet story. I need to journal this out and pick out my favorite parts, because there were so many with this book and post another review on my instagram for my more in depth review.

BUT, Kitty Wilson I love you. <3

From the description I was assuming The Love Experiment was going to be a fun beach read rom com that leaned into the grumpy enemies to lovers style. Unfortunately it was the two story of two adults, neither of whom want to process with emotional baggage, which is all the wilder considering one of whom is a therapist. Lily being a therapist is heavily featured in the story yet she does not take any of her own advise and her self talk is rather toxic. I knew there were trigger warnings for this story, but I did expect them to be addressed much more tastefully. Lily is an extremely problematic character.

The story moves very quickly, but thats not necessary a compliment. The fast pace is due to there being an abundance of plot points, not forward movement in the romance.

In summary: I didn't like the characters, I didn't care for the story, it was a quick read but it doesn't fit as a rom com.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Da sich der Klappentext unterhaltsam anhörte, habe ich beim Buch spontan zugegriffen. Das hat sich leider als Fehler herausgestellt, denn der Schreibstil und vor allem die Dialoge waren nicht mein Fall.

Hier ein Beispiel aus dem Buch (S. 7):

“If you let the nationally renowned feminist Love Doctor finish what she was saying you would hear that she did not respond to this guy as if he were merely a piece of meat. I think it’s fair to say I took a thoroughly holistic view and assessed him as an individual with opinions and emotions before deciding his very beautiful piece of meat wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near me tonight. Or indeed”

Für meine Ohren hörten sich die Dialoge zu aufgesetzt und nicht besonders authentisch an. Ich empfand das Lesen als leicht anstrengend und nervig. Hier und da hätten ein paar kürzere Sätze schon geholfen, auch eine weniger geschwollene Sprache wäre hilfreich gewesen.

Auf den Seiten, die ich gelesen habe, fand ich zudem die weibliche Hauptfigur nicht besonders sympathisch. Beides zusammen hat zum Abbruch des Romans geführt sowie zur Erkenntnis, dass der Schreibstil der Autorin nicht mein Fall ist. - keine Bewertung -

Despite being a relationship psychologist, Lily doesn’t date. It seems like the perfect coincidence when she meets Jay, who can’t date because of a bet with his sister.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book but there were quite a few things that prevented me from enjoying this book sadly.

I struggled to read the author’s description of Lily’s blatant disordered eating habits without any recognition of them as such. I could see the way the book discusses rigid eating patterns/control as being quite triggering for some and would advise caution.

I also struggled with the rationale that Lily offered for not dating and the message it sent. It seemed that the writer was voicing that people with PCOS can’t date because they might have issues with infertility and that it would be unfair to their potential partners.

This was very nearly a DNF for me but I continued reading in hopes that Lily would have a redemption arc but was sadly disappointed.

I appreciated the attempt at PCOS, LGBTQIA2S+, and infertility representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced reading copy in return for my honest review!

This is a light and sweet romantic comedy! I loved the characters, especially the main character Lily’s drag queen best friend. Can you say hilarious?!

This is a classic tale where both people cannot/will not date but sparks fly anyways. Though I do wish it was not as slow of a burn and there was more steam, I did enjoy the chemistry between the main characters!

This book has dual POVs and it was a bit confusing at times to determine whose view the chapter was in (I think adding which characters view it is on each new chapter page would help). Overall though it’s a fun book and great for a nice summer read!

She is the Love Doctor, solving everyone's romantic problem on a podcast, while also working as a therapist. She doesn't date or do relationships, just one-night stands.

He is desperate to save her sister from a bad relationship, but the direct approach is not working. So he makes a bet with her that he will stop searching for Mrs right for the next six months.

So when they meet and have this insane chemistry, she has to stay away cause she is starting to feel too much and he has to stay away to keep his bet. But love has a funny way of breaking all of its rules. :)

It's a lovely story and had a lot of fun reading it, but her roommate Kevin definitely steals the show. :)

This turned out to be not the book for me. I contemplated DNFing it more than once but ended up pushing through to the end. While I appreciated the author’s inclusion of a FMC who has PCOS and supporting character who is a drag queen, the story itself was underwhelming. The tone of the book felt didactic at points, and overly serious and heavy. The book had almost no steam. Literally one scene. The journey from strangers to love felt too instant. The FMC for being a sex and relationship therapist was truly clueless.

I appreciate NetGalley, One More Chapter, and Harper Collins giving me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I ended up finding it slow and tedious. It started to annoy me so I gave up reading about half way through. It’s a shame but I have read and absolutely LOVED books by this author previously so I definitely won’t be put off and will be back for more. Some books just don’t suit everyone, how dull would life be if we all loved the same things !

Very cute, fun summer read. It wasn’t very unique to be honest, but it did satisfy my contemporary romance itch.

I really wanted to love this book! I read that there was a lot of diverse characters, but sadly that is one of the only parts I enjoyed about it. It’s pitched as a romcom, but there was little rom and not much com.

That aside, the books was “ok”. Was it my favorite read this year? No, but it wasn’t my least favorite either. I would have liked to see a little more affection and romance.

Good read if you enjoy books that don’t shy away from difficult topics, but do not walk into this one expecting a romcom. If it was marketed differently, I would have gone in with different expectations.

Lily Galbraith, the owner of the Love Doctor podcast, and Jay have an instant attraction that neither of them feels thrilled about, which sums up my feeling about this book.

The plot was average, with twists and turns that have been done before, making this predictable and slightly dull. Unfortunately, this was a little slow-paced for my preferences. The dual points of view made this confusing, and hard to follow. Admittingly, I became perplexed more than once, adding to my frustration.

However, I finished reading this in full because there are positive factors. This author’s expressive writing style adds depth to the characters, and I adored Kevin! He is the kind of friend that everyone needs in their lives; Entertaining, supportive, and hilarious!

Full of emotion, including sensitive subjects that may upset readers, I am not sure if I would have classified this as a rom-com read, as it is lacking that sparkle, I would expect from that genre. This is not my favourite read by this author, and I am undecided if ‘The Love Experiment’ has put me off reading more in the future. Time will tell!

Thank you to HarperCollins, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book gave it a chance to be a fun book, but instead it just didn't seem to work for me. This book was marketed as a romance, but I think it qualifies more as a contemporary than romance. I felt like it dealt a little too much with the side character's stories and read like a therapy session.

I did enjoy the discussion surrounding PCOS which is what Lily, our main character, has. It was enlightening to read about her struggles and fears. As someone with PCOS it made the content relatable for me.

Good read if you have the time.

*I received this book (Via eArc by Netgalley) for free from the Publisher ( HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter,) in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed myself and it was an interesting read and something that I wouldn't typically reach but it was quite a fun one. The dynamic was great and it was interesting to use that obstacle that he can't date and she doesn't date. I was also think its interesting that there is plenty of LGBT side characters and how positive and organic it was and the ending was quite satisfying and it was so cute that the confession was like on stage and the whole every judge gave 10 thing was hilarious. I would check out the author again for sure!

Thanks again to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for sending this arc to me for an honest review!!