Christina Lauren’s new romcom, The True Love Experiment, comes out May 16. Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is a popular romance writer who hasn’t found her true love yet. Connor Prince, a documentary filmmaker and single father, is told that the company is going in a different direction, and he is expected to create a new dating show. He isn’t thrilled with the idea, but he does want to keep his job and continue to live near his daughter. Connor convinces Fizzy, the queen of romance novels, to star in the show, partially because she has a built-in audience from her books. She suggests the men she dates represent typical romance hero archetypes - the Navy Seal, the vampire, the cinnamon roll (sweet and supportive),the cowboy, the one that got away, etc. The True Love Experiment TV show is right on track to air, except Fizzy may be falling in love with someone who isn’t a contestant. So much chemistry! So much flirting!
I really loved the characters and plot of this story. I also loved an original slant on the dating show by focusing on a romance writer dating romance archetype love interests. However, it’s a spicier romance than I normally read. And watch out for the many F bombs. Still, I love the story so much, I had to recommend the book to those of you who aren’t bothered by the heat level and swearing.
Christina Lauren is actually two writers: Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. Together they’ve produced eighteen New York Times bestselling novels, including The Soulmate Equation, In a Holidaze and The Unhoneymooners. Fans have been waiting for The True Love Experiment ever since Fizzy debuted as a character in The Soulmate Equation. (I didn’t realize that until after reading TTLE, but it read fine as a stand alone. I have heard you should read The Soulmate Equation first (if you planned to) because reading The True Love Experiment first will give spoilers.
The True Love Experiment will be out May 16, but preorders really help authors. You can order now from most bookstores, but here is a link to my favorite place to order books. They support independent, mom and pop bookstores. You can even pick which store you want to support.
https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-true-love-experiment-christina-lauren/18814967?ean=9781982173432

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this novel. The opinions are my own.

Read if you love:
▫️the bachelorette
▫️strong female lead
▫️hot single dad
▫️friends to lovers
▫️dual pov

Fizzy Chen is a romance author struggling with her own love life. Connor Prince is a TV producer who needs to find the perfect lead for his new reality dating show in order to save his job. When Connor approaches Fizzy with an offer, she hits him with a list of ridiculous requirements before she’ll say yes. But when Connor manages to pull off the list, finding her 8 perfect men to date, Fizzy’s dating life is about to become a “reality” again.

My favorite duo did it again! CLo always knows how to suck me in from the first chapter. This book was so much fun to read! I loved loved loved Fizzy in The Soulmate Equation so I knew I was going to love following more of her story. She’s the kind of friend you want in real life - a bubbly, hilarious, no filter kind of girl. And Connor 🥵 hot Brit, single dad, need I say more?! Connor and Fizzy had my vote from their very first encounter. Definitely a bit more of an open door romance than we’re used to from CLo, but I was alllll for it. As much as I didn’t want this book to end, the ending had me swooning - pure perfection imo!

An absolutely delightful and perfect RomCom. I absolutely loved and rooted for Fizzy the whole book, as well as her producer turned lover Connor. Watching them navigate falling in love while creating a dating show for Fizzy to star in was enjoyable, but I almost wish we had gotten a little more out of those scenes.

This romance was so good! This was STEAMY. I’ve only read Lauren’s “In a Holidaze” before, which I enjoyed but was much tamer than this 🥵.

Conner is a straight laced British documentary filmmaker who is forced by the network he works for to head a reality dating show. This is not his cup of tea and doesn’t know how he’ll pull this off, but he needs to make it work to get his passion project green lit. Felicity “Fizzy” is a romance author who’s about to give up on romance for herself when Conner begs her to be the lead for his show. Fizzy is free spirited and wild- the exact opposite of Conner, yet sparks fly between these two right off the bat. Can they keep it professional when they are undoubtably drawn to one another?

This was a friends to lovers romance with a dash of grumpy/sunshine vibes. I loved their banter and really rooted for them! The only reason this wasn’t 5⭐️s for me is because I found the stakes of the dating show a little meh. But this is so fun and hot!

Full disclosure: I haven’t read “The Soulmate Equation” yet and other reviews of “True Love” say this had some spoilers in it, as they inhabit the same world.

✨Trigger Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Infidelity, Cursing, Pregnancy, Miscarriage

This was a fun one! Fizzy, a character from a past book, gets to be center stage as she tried to find true love in a reality dating show. But of course things don’t go quite as planned. She ends up falling for her producer and hottie Conner. I thought this premise was really fun and loved how the writers weaved all the archetypes and tropes in a fresh and new way. The various sex scenes were well done and I’m glad it didn’t take 374 pages to get there. Fans of CLo will love this one and love fizzy getting her due!

I absolutely adore this book and Christina Lauren are at the very TOP of their game right now and it shows in Fizzy and Connor. Fizzy was such a gem of a side character in The Soulmate Equation and such a big personality. As excited as I was when I heard Fizzy was getting her own book, I was also nervous because I couldn’t imagine how Fizzy could be done justice and be given a story and a love as loud and funny and epic as she is and deserves. I should’ve known not to doubt Christina Lauren. They took the Fizzy we all know and love from TSE and made her 1,000 times better and brighter. I imagine it could’ve been really easy to let Fizzy continue to embody the comedic relief side character persona she had in TSE but Christina Lauren did an amazing job at giving Fizzy so much nuance and depth while keeping her the hilarious, vibrant woman we love. They gave her doubts and struggles and insecurities that felt so genuine to her character and turned her into a hugely real and relatable person. My heart ached for her in her journey of trying to find herself again and watching her get the epic love she deserves was wonderfully healing. Connor Prince III was just that, a goddamn prince (not literally but should be - I’d bow down to him) and his and Fizzy’s love radiated off the page. Their chemistry was INSANE and had me sweating and giggling and kicking my feet. I want a love like theirs when I grow up. The way everything culminates in the end to the big grand gesture was just the most perfect thing I have ever read. Christina Lauren was absolutely correct, this is the best ending to a book they’ve ever written and I will be thinking about it for the rest of my days.

I absolutely adored this book! It was funny, charming, romantic, joyful, and spicy. The connection and chemistry between Fizzy and Connor was SO GOOD and palpable through the pages. I loved watching these two characters accept each other for everything they are, even though they believed no one ever could. The way Connor saw Fizzy and talked about her, ahh, it was so beautiful! The backdrop of the reality dating show was so much fun and was very unique! This book is now officially one of my favorite Christina Lauren books and I highly recommend it to everyone! I give this book five stars!

Romance novelist Fizzy, the best friend in The Soulmate Equation, earns her own story as she stars in a reality TV show to find her perfect match, Bachelorette style. In a wink to readers of the genre, the suitors deliberately embody romance archetypes like hot nerd, cinnamon roll, and the one that got away. Naturally, Fizzy finds joy with her prince, who happens to also be her producer. The engaging characters are all likeable, the chemistry and witty dialogue move the plot forward at a fast clip, and the two main characters face believable conflicts. This is a feel good rom-com, perfect for fans of The Charm Offensive and How To Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days.

It’s a bit crazy to know, from their notes, that the authors didn’t originally intend to give Fizzy her own book. But upon being asked so many times about it after The Soulmate Equation dropped, they eventually formulated a book idea for her. And further, would have written her completely different from the get-go had they known they would be writing a romance for her, when in fact her personality, everything about her, was exactly why we all demanded a book to begin with. I understand their reasoning, not wanting to inadvertently create an ill-cast stereotype out of their own profession, but they managed to avoid the pitfalls and create a fantastic story. I, for one, am glad the writing process played out the way it did. Because Fizzy is Fizzy and I love her just the way she is.

All that to say, I enjoyed it! It’s an idealized version of reality tv dating, and breaks a lot of production rules but, sure, why not? Fizzy is evolving, Connor is a dream (and does the work of coming to appreciate romance works/media), and the previous characters are naturally incorporated. There’s fantastic chemistry and a lot of naughty flirting and push/pull. I thought the lead-up to the end was going to be too-obvious but I actually loved it once it all played out. Some excellent writing through to the last page. I wanted more and more. Overall, so much fun.

Another fantastic book from this amazing duo. I loved being in Fizzy's world. I loved the connection she developed with her True Love. If you are a fan of The Soulmate Equation, this is a must read!

Fizzy is a popular, romance novelist who is going through a rough patch in life. She has writer's block and has realized that she might never find real love in life like the characters in her books. With the realization that she has never been in love, she just can't come up with an idea for her next story without feeling like a fraud. Connor is a documentary filmmaker who is being told by his boss that his next project is to create a reality TV show. Connor is greatly unhappy with this next assignment. He eventually comes across Fizzy and offers her the lead in the show. After some negotiations, Fizzy agrees. As Connor and Fizzy start to work on the show, they develop a strong friendship and both realize they might have found what they have been looking for.

I loved The Soulmate Equation, so I was ecstatic when I found out The True Love Experiment was coming out! I read it all in one day because putting it down was not an option! I really adored the game show idea of the story, and Fizzy and Connor's love story took ahold of my heart and STILL hasn't let go! It has been one of my favorite reads so far this year!

Once again, Christina Lauren have done it! I loved the idea of a romance writer finally getting her shot at a happy ending. The tension was great, the characters were funny, and it made for a fast and fun read. The trend this year seems to be single parents, so if that is a trope you are into, you'll enjoy this book! Thank you for this arc Simon and Schuster + net galley.

Fun, fabulous, steamy and passionate! "The True Love Experiment" by Christina Lauren was so lovable and relatable, I completely enjoyed it. Excellent concept and premise, impossible to put down and not fall in love with these characters. Thank you NetGalley, the authors and publisher for the advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

What a fantastic follow-up to The Soulmate Equation. I adored the character of Fizzy in The Soulmate Equation. She was the secondary character in that story but absolutely store the scenes she was in, so I'm so glad she got her own book.
In this book (can be read as a standalone but I think it helps having read the first in the duology), Fizzy is in a rut in her life. She has writer's block and even worse, she's in a rut with her romantic life.
Enter Connor, a dreamy single-dad who is producing a dating reality show (he'd rather be producing his beloved documentaries). Connor thinks Fizzy would be perfect as the star of the show with her dynamic personality and as a beloved romance author. Fizzy agrees but with a lot of caveats. All of the male suitors have to fall into a romance trope (the one who got away, the cinnamon roll, vampire, hot nerd, etc). However, it's not the suitors Fizzy has chemistry with...
I gobbled this story up. Fizzy kept me laughing and I loved the dynamic between Fizzy and Connor. This was a great take on the dating reality show with the different male tropes.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the e-galley.
4.5 stars

I loved this book so much! Fizzy is now one of my favorite heroines of all time and her relationship with Connor was perfection. The whole idea that a romance author ends up on a dating show is just brilliant. I would highly recommend this book, and will post about it on my social media after it's published. Thanks for giving me the advance read!

If you need a book to get you out of your reading rut, this is it. Set in the reality dating TV world, this is a sequel to CL's The Soulmate Equation. While not essential to read first, I highly recommend. While I love nearly everything CL writes, The True Love Experiment is even better than it's predecessor! Fizzy, a romance author, is experiencing writer's block as well as a stall in her love life. Fizzy is the girl I'd love to be-sex-positive and carefree, she seems like the life of the party. She's witty, confident and gorgeous. She's also at the top of her field. Connor, the Executive Producer of the show, is tall, British, handsome, a dedicated father, and so well written. He seems so perfect. You cannot help but root for their love affair. The True Love Experiment does a few things very well 1) the characters fall for each other fast-sometimes "slow burn" is excruciating! 2) while there is some guesswork as to what each character knows about how the other is feeling, there isn't much. They both know that they are falling in love with each other. That was refreshing. 3) The crafting of a strong female lead. Fizzy is flawed enough to be relatable, but so aspirational as well. I loved this book. It was a great escape and will be an excellent beach read this summer. Thank you to Gallery Books and of course to Christina Lauren for the ARC. This book releases on May 16th!

Christina Lauren came through with another adorable tale of romance. I loved the dynamic between Fizzy and Connor, and it was so well described I could absolutely see their little interactions. I felt invested in the reality show like it was actually happening. Definitely recommend especially for Christina Lauren fans.

Such a fun romance! I loved going behind the scenes of reality TV, with some healthy boundaries in place that felt good and protective of our characters. Lots of build-up and two main characters that were easy to root for. I'll admit that the timing of the romance didn't feel completely ethical to me, and that was a bit distracting. Open door romance and a fun follow-up to The Soulmate Equation (although that one doesn't have to be read to enjoy this one, there would be spoilers if you read them in reverse.) I found this to be another fun read by Christina Lauren.

10/10, amazing, funny, sexy, everything I wanted and more. Fizzy was so funny and a great character. Connor is an excellent book Boyfriend. I’m swooning over both of them still!