Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: parental abandonment (past), cheating (past)

While this can be read as a standalone I would recommend reading the The Soulmate Equation first for some backstory

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)
-m/f contemporary romance
-friends to idiots to lovers
-insta attraction
-single parent
-forbidden relationship elements

I fell in love with Fizzy in The Soulmate Equation and was so happy to see her get her own book. This book is such a celebration of romance mashed up with a romance show. Just fun, great chemistry, and a bit of Fizzy chaos. Because how do you get out of a writing slump but become the featured contestant on a dating show. I adored how they made the contestants reflections of dating tropes and just had fun with it.

I adored Connor. Gruff, adores his daughter, and just not interested in finding love until he can commit himself to it. But of course he falls for Fizzy. I love how these two became friends first, just found joy and tried new things, got to know each other first all while fighting the sexual tension. Connor fighting his jealousy as he watched Fizzy on the show, how supportive he wanted to be of her but how he wanted to be with her.

Every moment that they were on the page sparkled. This was just fun and in their CLo ways I kept turning the page needing to know what happened and how these two were going to get out of their own ways and make it work. I had fun reading this one.

Steam: 3

Christina Lauren has done it again. They never fail to deliver a fabulous romance. I love a fake dating trope and this did not fail to deliver.

Thanks to NetGalley for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The True Love Experiment is a follow up to the Soulmate Equation. This story follows Fizzy, a romance writer, who is in a writing slump. She is propositioned by Conner, a tv producer, to participate in a reality dating show. Fizzy is a hoot, and her journey to finding true love was sweet, spicy, and had a nice HEA.

And once again, Christina Lauren hurls me out of a reading slump. First with Love and Other Words, and now with The True Love Experiment. I enjoyed The Soul Mate Equation, but not enough that I was going go read TTLE. But yet again, because I was lucky enough to get access to an ARC, I decided to read it afterall.

I'm so glad I did. I ADORED this book. I DEVOURED it.

Fizzy is one of my all time favorite MCs. She's hilarious, intelligent, sexy, confident, and her jokes and timing are perfection.

Oh. And Connor? Yes, hi hello, one of my new top 3 favorite love interests, or "heroes," following very closely behind Elliot (LAOW). He's a cinnomonroll. I've said this in other reviews, but I'm so done with the possessive grump. He's boring. Give me a flawed, hilarious, genuine sunshine any day, ESPECIALLY if he's written by Christina Lauren.

READ THIS BOOK. It's fantastic. It's everything you want and need from a romance. Tension? A+. Banter? A+. Spice to plot ratio? A+. GO READ THIS BOOK.

I always go into books blind. When I started reading this I was happy to realize the character was Fizzy, from The Soulmate Equation- another great read. This book was SO good. I could not stop thinking about it and trying to talk to people about it. I loved this love story, that was also a love letter to the fans of rom-coms. Well done, Christina & Lauren!

First, I want to say that I SO appreciated all the dialogue regarding the romance genre. I have spent years having these same conversations/comments when others hear that this is my favorite genre. It is completely misunderstood and under-rated in my opinion.
Now...as for the book. Christina Lauren is (are? not sure how to write this as it's 2 people!) a favorite and will always be. Once again, they have written characters that you fall in love with and truly feel like you know them by the end of the book. The character Fizzy was often so brazen that I thought I would not like her but there is such a balance with her and her softer side that liking her was inevitable. As a random side comment, I liked her banter/interaction with River. I don't know why that makes me smile so much but it did. It shows her fun relationship with her best friends husband and reminds us of their previous book.
The plot is a nice contemporary storyline. Or rather and familiar forbidden love trope within the context of a contemporary situation. I thought it was slightly predictable that they ended up sticking Connor in as a contender at the end. Honestly this part I didn't love because during that whole finale all I kept thinking was "aren't they in breach of contract?" I feel like there was such a point made earlier in the book about getting sued, contracts...but then at the finale it was forgotten about because the audience voted him in. That part I thought needed some more explanation. However, this is a weird thing no one else probably even noticed.
As with other Christina Lauren books, I had to finish quickly because once I started reading, I was so curious to see where it would go next. Overall, not my favorite from this author but I still loved it and will recommend it!

I think this might’ve been better than the Soul Mate Equation! This time the spotlight is on Jess’s best friend Fizzy, beloved romance writer, who is in a funk. Unable to write, or connect with new partners, she agrees to be the love interest lead on a reality show. Predictable chaos ensues when she develops feelings for the producer, but what a joyful ride this is. Fizzy is so funny, Connor is so sweet, and the authors’ absolute defense of the genre is well-earned.

I enjoyed reading the first in this series/duology, "The Soulmate Equation". So, I was excited to read, "The True Love Experiment". In that first book we are introduced to the fun, quirky friend Felicity, "Fizzy", who writes romance novels. In "The True Love Experiment", this time, we get to see Fizzy fall in love. Reading about a romance novelist falling in love was interesting because Fizzy, ironically, can write romance but can't seem to ever commit and get her Happily Ever After. The one time she tries, it ends poorly. The premise of the story, too, was fun. Fizzy, in a writing slump, gets asked to be the star of a reality dating show. At first she can't imagine it and presents the attractive producer, Connor, with some crazy demands. To her surprise, he goes along with her plan and together they make a more feminist reality dating show. All the while, Fizzy and Connor are falling in love while trying to stay professional. One of the reasons I thought this book was so good, was the way the friendship between Fizzy and Connor was written. It was instant attraction but not instant love. They had to build a friendship to get there. Definitely will be recommending this book to existing fans of Christina Lauren or anyone who likes a fun modern romance.

Thank you for letting me read this arc! YOU HAVE BLESSED MY SOUL (/•__•)/
This book is absolute perfection. I love a classic romcom…which this exceeded my expectations. I think this is my new favorite Christina Lauren book. Fizzy is such a witty beautifully written character. And Conner! I love him. Also Stevie? Obsessed. I will be thinking about this book for weeks. I’m so excited for it to come out and sell it to the world.

What fun! I absolutely adored this contemporary rom-com featuring a sharp, witty and successful romance author who agrees to go on a reality dating show, with contestants fitting neatly into each of the romance tropes she writes so well: Cinnamon Bun, Vampire, The One That Got Away, and so on. But what she--and the show--don't account for is the undeniable spark between her, as star of the show, and her producer, a sexy British documentarian roped into reality TV to save his job. It's fun, it's smart, it plays right into the ideals of romance that draw romance readers into the genre in the first place. An absolute delight.

Christina Lauren never writes a bad book, they are an auto buy for me. This book is the romance book of the year! I was highly anticipating this and it was worth the wait! I think that this is one of their best.
I just reviewed The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Once again, the snarky, funny, and immensely talented duo Christina Lauren have created another fabulous, swoon-worthy story in The True Love Experiment. For fans of their last book, The Soulmate Equation, readers will recognize main character Jess's best friend, Felicity "Fizzy" Chen. Fizzy, a successful romance novelist has just realized that she has been preaching about love without ever having experienced it. Enter Connor Prince, a documentary filmmaker struggling to keep his job amid pressure from his profit-minded boss. When forced to create a reality TV show to save his career, he turns to Fizzy as his romantic lead. An idea that seems less than ideal, considering their initial meeting would never classify as a "meet-cute," and her list of contract "needs" leaves him questioning his life choices.

What follows is a hilarious and heartwarming exploration of what it means to truly connect with another person as Fizzy and Connor navigate their feelings while trying to create the perfect reality show love story. Their chemistry is electric, and their banter and witty repartee will leave you laughing out loud.

But "The True Love Experiment" is not just a fluffy rom-com. Through Fizzy and Connor's journey, we see the power of vulnerability, the importance of taking risks, and the beauty of finding love in unexpected places. Overall, "The True Love Experiment" is a must-read for anyone who loves a wonderfully written romantic comedy with heart and substance. This book is worth reading again and again.

So. much. love.

So so much love!!!!!!

I absolutely loved this one and it’s probably my favorite now and I am not the type of person to say that after every new book from a favorite author - duo.

Fizzy and Connor were unique refreshing fun silly sarcastic sweet the whole whole bit. The idea for this whole set up was realistic enough and from start to finish I was invested. What all of like 7 hours it took me to binge it.

Thank you for the ARC - I am going to be happy for days just having read this story!

THANK YOU Netgalley and Gallery books for this digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!!!

Wow. Christina Lauren does it again. I cannot decide if this is better than The Soulmate Equation, but it just might be. I WILL be ordering a copy when it's published. I was laughing out loud and swooning. This was an excellent warm fuzzy book!

Fizzy gets her own book, a reality TV show, and the gorgeous and soft-hearted Connor in this sequel to The Soulmate Equation! She is chosen to star in a reality TV show and only agrees to help find her "spark" again. Turns out, Connor IS that spark! Problem: he's the producer and this show cannot fail.

Read if you love: friends-to-lovers, "forbidden love" (kinda), sweet kids, funny banter, and The Bachelor! My ONLY complaint is how long the 3rd act break-up lasted. I was so upset when it happened at 80%!!! But I think it helped their character development a lot. So I appreciated that.

RUN don't walk to pre-order this book!!!

Such a good romance! The characters were likable and believable. The story was great and the steam was perfect!

This is a solid 4.5 stars and was a beautiful way to start and end Valentine’s Day!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Any time I see the name Christina Lauren, I very quickly drop whatever I am doing because this takes precedence!

I love Fizzy and I loved her relationship with Connor, as well as her relationship with Jess. I love that CL found ways to incorporate their love of BTS/K-pop into this story.

I am a sucker for any kind of “behind the scenes” reality tv tropes, but this admittedly reminded me a bit of The Charm Offensive, as it tended to follow a few similar beats. (And I devoured every second of if, OBVIOUSLY!)

All in all, such a cute story. I’m so appreciative for the opportunity to read it before it hits shelves.

I was ecstatic when I received approval for THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT, which features Fizzy, the best friend in THE SOULMATE EQUATION.

THE SOULMATE EQUATION was a unique and character driven love story. Add in a little fake dating, a smidge of grumpiness, and extremely lovable side characters (Fizzy), and it had all my favorite elements of a romance novel. I loved it!

However.

THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT is now one of my very favorite romances of all time. It’s swoony, sexy, emotional, fun, and one-of-kind. Fizzy and Conner are so very different and so very delightful. The lead up to their first meeting is perfect, and I had no idea how they were going to get to the ending I was desperately hoping for them. And what an ending it was! Christina Lauren delivered right to the very final page. I absolutely love this book, and I can’t wait for romance lovers everywhere to read it!

Thank so much to NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I’m so glad Fizzy got her story! She deserves love just as much as anyone else! Watching her overcome obstacles and find Connor made my heart happy. Love this book!

The True Love Experiment (out 5/16) by Christina Lauren was an unapologetic love letter to romance novels, heroines who know their worth, & the joy of fandom. Steamy, bold, & perfectly paced, I devoured this book. I adore everything CL writes, but this was chef's kiss perfection!

The True Love Experiment, by Christina Lauren...What a fun read! It took a bit to get into (I think I read somewhere that it is a sequel, so that may be why), but once I did, it was hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.