If I am looking for a fun, light, beach-type read, Christina Lauren books never disappoint. The True Love Experiment is a follow-up to The Soulmate Equation, with best friend, Fizzy, as this book’s main character.

The book, told from two different POVs, was fun, witty and definitely NSFW! The chemistry between the two characters was off the charts and I was rooting for the two of them throughout the book.

While there were a couple plot points that were a bit frustrating, overall, the book was enjoyable and kept me entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I love Christina Lauren's books, but I could not get into this one. The characters and the world felt a bit flat and formulaic. THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT didn't have that usual verve and spark as their usual stories.

Recommend if you love romcoms, but if you haven't read their other books, I would read one of those first.

Very much chick lit and romance with a predictable storyline and ending. And as often happens in romance novels, this one has just a few too many highly descriptive steamy sex scenes - I just skimmed. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC!

Let me start with this: When Christina & Lauren nail it, they really nail it.

This book had my stomach in butterflies and my face smiling the whole time I was reading it. Fizzy is vivacious and hilarious and charming and warm and Connor is solid and sweet and kind and their chemistry was so believable. I was a huge fan of The Soulmate Equation so I was excited to read this book and to me it surpassed my expectations. The intertwining of romance novel hero archetypes into a dating show was such a fun and creative way to progress this story line.

If you are looking for a fun and happy and warm romance, this is it. 4.5 stars. Can't wait to reread it,

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I didn’t realize there was a “book number 1” but that didn’t make my opinion of this book any different. I loved the story line and the intense relationship between the main characters. If you love The Bachelor/ette you’ll love this book! Fizzy was bound to end up with the perfect match experiment or not!

Wow!! I will always, always read anything Christina Lauren writes and adore it but this one? WHEW, it absolutely blew me away in a way I wasn't expecting. It's very much a love letter to the romance genre and I couldn't help but fall in love with literally everyone in this book!

I think this is one of my new favorite Christina Lauren books. Fizzy was such a great character and I really loved how CLo played with the reality tv element and meshed it with romance writing. And it had all the excellent swoons I have come to expect from a CLo book!

Yet another hilarious romcom from Christina & Lauren! I absolutely devoured this book and loved every minute of it. The chemistry between Fizzy and Connor was drool worthy and their banter was spot on. It was the perfect follow up to The Soulmate Experiment and I LOVED that that Jess and River were still included! I honestly can't wait to listen to the audiobook version of this just to relive it again!

Without a doubt, this is CLo’s best book yet. When they announced Fizzy would be getting her own book last year, I was so excited! But this exceeded my expectations by a mile. Fizzy plus a reality tv show = perfection.

I loved everything about The True Love Experiment - everything from the characters, the premise, their chemistry. Everything!
Fizzy’s name could not be more perfect as she is such an effervescent character and made the best main character. She exudes joy. I felt such happiness reading the banter and flirting between her and Connor while she dated 8 potential matches. I had happy tears streaking down my face at the ending. I loved the reality tv dating show premise. But ultimately, I loved this giant present to romance readers.

Do yourself a favor and read this one, especially if you like:
- Forced proximity
- Forbidden love
- Single dad trope
- Reality tv dating shows
- Witty banter
- The Soulmate Equation

“The True Love Experiment” by Christina Lauren

Fizzy Chen is a best-selling romance novelist who sells love like no other. The only problem? She’s never been in love herself. Fizzy isn’t picky when it comes to the men she dates. She’s quick to lust and she has truly great stories to tell from her dating history, and maybe a couple not so great, but she’s looking for more. When Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker turned reality TV show creator—against his will—approaches Fizzy about a dating show concept with her as the main contestant, she admits that she’s intrigued, not only by the show, but also by Connor himself. She thinks she has his type perfectly pegged but it’s not long before she realizes she may have judged him a little too quickly. As production of The True Love Experiment begins, Fizzy starts to wonder if her one true love is even a contestant at all and Connor, watching it all from the sidelines, wonders the same. Fans of “The Soulmate Equation” will be thrilled to see the return of a few favorite characters and will absolutely love this new story. “The True Love Experiment” is a complete delight.

Reviewed by Abbey Peralta for Suspense Magazine

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early release. If you're a fan of Christina Lauren and have read The Soulmate equation than you are familiar with "Fizzy" Felicity Chen. The Author introduces Fizzy to those unfamiliar with the Soulmate equation wonderfully. Fizzy is a beloved romance book author and has never truly been in love. She is approached by Connor Prince about creating a reality TV show focused around her and emerging dating technology. Fizzy is unsure but ultimately agrees when her list of demands is met. Fans of The Soulmate of Equation will love the story of Fizzy. Fizzy is a fun character and I loved seeing her growth. Wonderful happy read.

Oh my goodness was this book the sweetest or what? The tension between Connor and Fizzy was off the charts. The longing, the pining from Connor, I could feel it off the pages bury itself deep into my soul. He was a goner the moment he saw her and I love a good "guy falls first" scenario. He fell hard and fast but it wasn't all lust, which I love. I am not a fan of insta love/lust, but this felt different in the fact he wasn't just all about getting physical immediately. Connor and Fizzy developed this deep bonding friendship that partners should have. Loving everything about one another and just being happy in each other's presence. What a joy this book was and the end was so adorable.
Thank you to Gallery, Netgalley and Christina Lauren for an early copy.

I adored this book! I think it might actually be one of my faves from Christina Lauren! Fizzy and Connor were the perfect MCs!! I also had a chance to listen to the audiobook and the narrators were perfect!! I haven’t read a lot of “single-dad” romances, but this one is definitely the favorite! The spice level could have been higher but it was still pretty spicy!! Definitely recommend this one and especially the audiobook!!

Will absolutely eat up anything written by this dynamic duo! I loved this one so much I knew i needed a copy for my shelves. I loved the plot crossovers from The Soulmate equation but reading that one first isn’t necessary for enjoying this book! I adored the chemistry between the main characters. It was so steamy and believable.

DNF at 25%. This book just wasn't for me. It could have been the audio version, which I did not care for, but I didn't like the characters enough at all to keep reading my e-copy. This is not the first Christina Lauren title I have DNFed so maybe they just aren't for me. Although I did really love Love and Other Words. I will still give a few more of their books a try, but we will see.

i REALLY enjoyed this book!!! Fizzy was a funny and fiesty MC, Connor was a perfect book boyfriend, the plot was creative and i loved the character and plot crossovers from THE SOULMATE EQUATION.

romcom’s aren’t typically faves of mine as i prefer emo romances, but this book had me laughing and smiling and vibing. Christina Lauren can do no wrong tbh 👏🏼 it felt like their tried and true, fun love stories.

the MCs had so much chemistry and i could totally feel the love story/connection. some scenes were also very steamy 🥵 and all of the banter and one liners were great. the characters are older adults so you can definitely see the maturity and growth/reflection they have.

typically reality show tropes and plots are an eye roll for me (i’m looking at you, THE CHARM OFFENSIVE lol) but this was a fun spin on the tv show trope and i enjoyed how it wasn’t the ENTIRE book—we had 150 pages of character and plot development before the show started and IMO, it wasn’t even the main plot which i very much appreciated. also one more round of applause for Connor… he was the best 🥹🥹🥹

I loved this!! Fizzy and Connor are just chefs kiss. I loved watching the tension unfold, and thought the dating show as a background was so fun!

Conor was pissing me off towards the end though. I wanted to shake him. But Fizzy was amazing and relatable and the banter was top tier!!

This book is one of the best Christina Lauren books that I have read in a while. It took a plot that could easily become cliche and boring (a romance author finding love) and made it fresh and exciting. I love how they took the tropes of romance heroes and used them in a way that is not cringe. It acknowledges these types in books, and how real people do not fit into one singular category. Such a beautiful book.

My favorite Christina Lauren book in a long time.
Fizzy's desires for a relationship so perfectly match my own that this would have been hard to bomb for me. Best Friends who fuck is one of my life goals and it was executed perfectly here.

Connor Prince is a documentary filmmaker, but when his company decides to move into reality TV he’s thrust into a new genre…one that he knows nothing about and frankly isn’t very excited for. He gets the idea to cast Fizzy Chen, romance author as the lead in a dating show, where all the ‘heros’ are book archetypes like ‘cinnamon roll, bad boy, hot nerd, vampire, etc’. Then the audience will vote on who they think is the most compatible with Fizzy based on their GeneticAlly score (from The Soulmate Equation). Fizzy is initially reluctant to accept, but she’s had writers block for a while, and she could use a bit of publicity.

Having never been in love, Fizzy doesn’t expect to find it on the show—certainly not with the producer instead of a contestant.

This book was everything. Everything! I devoured it from start to finish and just couldn’t get enough of Fizzy and Connor. I thought I loved Fizzy from the previous book, but we’d barely scratched the surface there. She is warm, witty, vulnerable, complex, and takes no BS—I adored her. And Connor, oh Connor. The perfect man does exist. So what if he’s fictional.

I laughed out loud so many times while reading, and I may have teared up in the final scenes. It was all just so, so good.