John marrs is a master at writing speculative thrillers! This one is set in the same world as the one and the passengers. The storyline is so fascinating and I couldn’t stop reading. The ending was crazy! And no stone is left unturned, no questions left at the end. I hope to see more books set in this world!

Wow. This book blew my mind. This is a book that will be seen as classic like 451°, 1984 and The Brave New World. Incredibly relevant to our time with gender discussion, AI, social media and ethics. Along with this book being futuristic and apocalyptic it is a thriller mystery as well. There are no loose ends and you won’t be able to put this book down. Marrs mind is amazing.

You follow contestants through a game show they signed up for to care for meta-children and whoever wins in popularity wins keeping their meta-child “alive” or money to have their own bio-child. The world is corrupt and cost of living is incredibly high. During the books secrets are exposed, meta-kids killed, contestants murdered and massive surprises revealed. It’s a ride you’ll enjoy!

John Marrs never ceases to amaze me! This book is set in the same universe as The One, The Passengers and The Marriage Act.
Couples who have been wanting to have a child of their own have the opportunity to be on a 24/7 livestream show to raise a metababy in the metaverse. They raise them from newborn to 18 years old over a very fast-paced 9 months. Viewers then cast their votes of popularity and the winners get the ultimate prize of keeping their metachild or taking the money to have a real world child of their own. The creativity and imagination that is put into this book of futuristic AI situations is outstanding.
There are many twists throughout that keep you intrigued and wanting more. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a twisty sci-fi.
Thank you to NetGalley and John Marrs for allowing me the opportunity to read a copy prior to publication! I very much enjoyed this book.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, for letting me read this one before it’s US release! This is the latest speculative thriller in John Marrs’ not so distant future universe. Contestants are competing on a reality show in real time to raise a virtual child from birth to age 18 in a 9 month long condensed timeframe (think Tamagotchi on a grander scale). The stakes: a chance to keep their virtual child or for the chance of a real baby. But if you’re eliminated, your AI child disintegrates before your eyes. As the reality show progresses, dark secrets, troubling pasts, and terrible crimes are revealed. Who will win and at what cost?
I’m a huge John Marrs fan, and I’m always anticipating his next great novel. I found this one to be exciting from start to finish. Marrs is a master of character development and plot twists, and his newest book is no exception. I also love how Marrs really makes you think deeply about how our future world might look—will virtual children be a reality someday? Loved this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good thriller.

John Marrs has done it again! I’m obsessed with the bingeability of his books. Every chapter ends on a cliff making it unputdownable and he has a magical way of bringing together every detail in the end.

When I heard this book was about a reality show where people raise virtual kids, I was not expecting the amount of jaw dropping moments I encountered.

Being a mom myself, some things that happened were a little hard to read. But overall I very much enjoyed my time reading this and would recommend it to thriller lovers interested in future tech and virtual reality!

There’s a new reality show which has the world glued to their TV. Several families have been chosen to participate in a MetaVerse with AI kids. Parents don their VR headsets and wear their haptic suits to enter a virtual world with their virtual children.

In a short period of time, the virtual babies go thru the stages from newborn to teen…and the world watches how the parents do. Audiences can interact and vote for which family is faced with hardships and trials…and they judge how well the parents are parenting.

In the end, only one couple can win. And they either continue to keep their virtual child…or they can get funding to start their own real life family. The stakes are high.

I enjoyed this one and I love how John Marrs can take such a futuristic idea and make you realize it isn’t that far off…. Crazy!

The last time I read a John Marrs book, I said it was the last time. I actually said it the time before that too. But here I am anyway! The good news is - THIS is what he does best. Near-future speculative sci-fi that gives me all the realistic creeps. “No thank you” to these futures he creates, but also, I think we’re already on this train.

This story happens in the same world as The Passengers, The One and The Marriage Act, but it’s not totally necessary to have read those in order to enjoy this one. A reality show has been created that gives 11 people the chance to raise a child in the Metaverse to compete to win prize money to start a real family, or to keep their AI child in their virtual world. Very interesting, very fleshed-out, very entertaining.

The one thing I have a problem with in a John Marrs thriller/mystery is his tendency to cross the line from a great story into taking it too far, typically by involving children in a deadly/violent/shocking way. The good news, I suppose, is that most of the children in this story are AI…so…honestly that was worth an entire star to me.

What a fun and twisted trip this story took us on...and I was here for it!
AI has let us be virtual parents in a very realistic way and, of course, made a show of it people could stream, comment, choose parenting challenges (such as a colicky baby), and vote for the best parents!
Some of these families take surprising and dark turns! My jaw dropped several times...and my heart broke a couple times, too!
I was very invested in the well thought out futuristic plot and the amazingly developed characters (love them or hate them!)
Highly recommend!

The king of thrillers did it again.. omg this story had me thinking thru the entire story. I finished it in two days, however it wasn’t my favorite book of his but it I would definitely recommend it was a really good story.

Yet another incredible story by #JohnMarrs. The premise is people who can't be parents in reality are competing as parents in a virtual reality, the winners will either get prize money or to keep their virtual child... the concept and world are well developed. I enjoy the multiple view points and love the twisted ending!

Side note: Formatting was weird on Kindle and at times it made it hard to read.

Besides that I really enjoyed reading this and I don’t say that lightly. I found this to be original and fascinating but also thought provoking. The writing was well done and I loved all the mini twists along the way.

After finishing this, all I could think was that AI is a scary and slippery slope. Does AI have the capability to have a “soul”? Are MetaChildren just as real as human children? As you follow each family’s progress throughout the game, you become attached to their fictitious children and questioning how real these avatars are.

I think the author did a nice job of tying up loose ends and setting the Metaverse world up for readers. My one complaint is that I felt like there was too much going on at times with all the different families involved. It makes me wonder how much of it is necessary.

All in all, it was a well done sci-fi think piece! Definitely recommend.

Where do I begin with this book! I love books with multiple POVs and mixed media content, so this one was definitely the one for me. "The Family Experiment" by John Marrs follows five families through their journey in a metaverse parental gameshow-like simulation for a winner-takes-all prize of parenthood. Each chapter is deliciously packed with action and ends on a mini cliffhanger that keeps you turning pages to find out what happens next.

I loved how each character's backstory came to life, allowing you to understand how they became who they are in the present time. The narratives of each family are interwoven with elements like viewer chat room transcripts, news cycle updates, and audience commentary, enhancing the immersive experience and adding layers of realism to the futuristic setting. This book twists and turns, leaving you guessing until the very end.

Marrs masterfully balances suspense and emotional depth, making each character's journey compelling and relatable despite the high-stakes environment. This was my first John Marrs book, but it left me wanting to go back and read all of his others, so they are officially added to my TBR list. You truly won’t want to miss this one; it's a thrilling exploration of parenthood, technology, and human resilience.

When I started this book I truly thought - has John Marrs gone too far? But after finishing, NOPE, he has just done it again. If you are into his speculative books like The One and The Passengers, RUN don't walk for The Family Experiment. I think its his best yet.

John Marrs never ceases to amaze me with his super original thrillers. This metaverse universe is so original and captivating. You do need to read the previous books in order to better understand this book. Very fun and captivating read!

The Family Experiment by John Marrs is a straight blast to the future. The reality show follows 11 families to create a family in the Metaverse. Little do they know that there will be so many twists ahead for them.

I enjoyed stepping into what would be a different reality! In true John fashion, the ending had me gasping!

Thank you, NetGalley and The Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC opportunity!

The plot centers around a reality TV show titled ‘The Family Experiment’ and follows five couples and a single as they compete to begin their own family - either with a natural born child or a meta child. Overall, I found this brilliant, well researched, and “smart”. My imagination was stretched as I tried to comprehend bouncing back and forth between reality and living in the metaverse with deciphering the possibilities turning me inside out mentally at times.

While I admire the imagination and skill of the author’s writing, I don’t know how I feel about this book...

John Marrs is the king of speculative thrillers. Along the line of his popular novels The One, The Passengers, The Marriage Act... this novel takes it over the top. It's scary as hell and takes on AI technology in the Meta universe. This is a riveting novel about a reality competition show. Real World families raising avatar children - at a much faster rate than in the Real World - and whoever wins "best parents" gets to either keep their Meta Universe child or delete them and get funds to raise a real child. Hats & AI devices off to Mr. Marrs!

John Marrs is the king of making me say “one more chapter” He just knows how you give you the perfect amount of information to keep you reading to find out what is happening. I really liked how the chapters were broke out by the couples. I felt like each chapter gave you just enough information about the past to keep you really invested. And of course the twist I never saw coming. I did feel at the end I was a little ready for the book to be over but overall another excellent read by John Marrs!!

In an age where AI seems to be growing and expanding into every field possible, I feel like the release of this book was timed perfectly. The idea that AI could write full length novels used to seem far-fetched, and now look where we are. It isn’t all that crazy to think it might one day try to replace our need for family with a virtual substitute as well!

This book flawlessly combined so many of my favorite things. People building a family to care for (and possibly even kill or delete) inside a video game took me back to my days of playing the Sims. The Metaverse was a fun experience that reminded me of the OASIS in Ready Player One, and the reality show competition was just the cherry on top of the cake!

I wasn’t hooked immediately at the start of the book, but as the story went on and I learned more about each character’s messy past, I reached the point where I couldn’t stop reading. This was my first John Marrs book and I understand that it’s his style to start off a little slower and build the characters up, and he did a perfect job of giving me just enough information about each character to make me want to read more and find out the rest. I loved how everything tied together at the end!!

If you like scifi thrillers or are looking for a unique take on AI’s capabilities, I highly recommend you read The Family Experiment!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this ebook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The UK is at a breaking point as the population rises, the economy fails, and people are unable to provide for their family or even afford to start one. For those who are desperate to experience parenthood, an alternative may soon be available. For a small monthly fee you can create a virtual child accessible through the metaverse using a VR headset. Prior to the launch of this program, a reality show has been launched where ten families will raise a virtual child from birth to the age of eighteen over a nine month period. The winner will be offered the choice to keep their virtual child or delete them and use the prize money towards having a real child…what could possibly go wrong?

The Family Experiment is a thrilling new novel set in the same universe as The One, The Marriage Act, and The Passengers. If you haven’t read these yet, you might not understand all of the references made but it probably isn’t a necessity to enjoy this novel. A reality show is created to help launch the release of virtual children in which contestants compete for the grand prize. Society is able to weigh in on the contestants parenting skills as well as voting for monthly challenges like giving the child an illness. The contestants are not at all who they initially appear to be and as the story unfolds we see their darkest secrets brought to life. What could go wrong with this little social experiment…well pretty much everything including murder. A dark and twisted but unputdownable read that I highly recommend.