Woooow! What a terrifying masterpiece this book turned out to be! What could go wrong when you enter a world of virtual parenthood…wait, make it a competition too?! 🤔😬

This book has a lot of characters but John Marrs crafted them all masterfully and I had no trouble keeping everyone straight. While this story is futuristic it all felt very real and possible, which is what makes it so darn frightening. Twists and turns around every corner in this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I feel like I’m going to be in the minority with this review. I have been a fan of the John Matt’s’ books I have read. The plot for The Family Experiment was just so out there that I couldn’t connect. There were some parts of the book I really enjoyed and found myself reading to find out what happened. The ending, however, dragged for me. Super clever story, it just wasn’t my favorite of his.

First of all, many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In a world where it is no longer economically viable to start a family on your own and maintain it, artificial intelligence has taken a huge step by allowing humans to experience parenthood through "virtual children." Before releasing this initiative to the whole world, its pilot test is a reality show where 5 couples and a single father will be able to have the experience of raising a virtual child from birth to 18 years old (for 9 months) while everyone observes 24/7 and judges their parenting. The parents who receive the most votes and support from the audience will be the winners and will be able to choose between keeping their virtual child or claiming a reward to start their family biologically.

This synopsis is extremely captivating, when I came across this book I had the need to read it. In each chapter they show us how each participant faces parenthood and the pros and cons of having a virtual child, how with each stage of growth new challenges emerge and it is not easy to cope with the changes in a short time.
The first part of the book was perfect for me, from the middle, although it has several surprising twists, it did not convince me, I feel that it could have saved several twists and concentrated on the main characters to have a good closure. In the end the message is accurate and leaves us thinking to what extent human beings are capable of reaching and when artificial intelligence will come to rule over humanity.

All I can say is wow, John Marrs has done it again. This book left me constantly guessing and wanting more. This was very well written and has a lot going on, but it was easy to keep each of the stories straight. Overall, fantastic read!

The Family Experiment is another unique story from the very creative mind of John Marrs. The world building was spectacular and I could easily picture the dystopian setting. The chapters end on a cliffhanger which keep the reader wanting more. I love a good twist and The Family Experiment has a major earth shattering ending that I loved.

My only issue is that I struggled to keep up with all of the characters. There are 6 couples/12 contestants and I kept getting them all confused. But I still really enjoyed this one and would recommend it.

The Family Experiment is set in the future world of Marrs prior novels The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act. You don’t have to read those three to enjoy this one but I do think having knowledge of this prior works will give the reader a better understanding.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs will be available on July 9. Many thanks to HTP and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

Cleverly plotted and clearly obtruse Britain in a not so distant future where want-to-parents signup for an internationally broadcast reality show where they are given a/i generated children to raise and the world judges their parenting skills, likability, and whether they deserve to win enough money to conceive and raise a child in the real world. What could go wrong? Fascinated, while dread-filled, we follow along, immersed in their real and on-line worlds. Multilayered and complex choices are made, lives ruined and worlds collide.

oh my GOSH John Marrs does it again. He has quickly become my favorite author.

Sims on steroids and even that is an understatement of the complexity of this crazy but not so far-fetched, concept. and it is CRAZY but so good!!!

The Family Experiment is set in the same universe as the The One, The Marriage Act and The Passengers and I really appreciated the nod to the other events and characters in the other books, it flowed seamlessly. However, you can read this as a standalone and follow along just fine.

The concept is terrrifying, brilliant, and begs the question, what would you do?

Some people argue that there are too many characters but I found that it was easy to keep track of them after just a few chapters. They each had interesting backstories and motives for wanting to participate in the family experiment and watching it all unfold was a real thriller treat.

5 Stars

You seriously won't want to miss out this crazy ride. The Family Experiment is set to release in the U.S. on July 9th, 2024.

Thank you SO much NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author and have read so many of his books. This book, however was not one of my favorites. I had a hard time getting into the story and maybe it was because I wasn’t into the metaverse and fake children. If you are wanting to read something a little out there, then give this book a try.

A HUGE thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and John Marrs for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow! If you would have asked me to read an AI-related, sci-fi/slightly dystopian thriller I may not have agreed. But I have a little faith in John Marrs so I read this without any background. I AM SO GLAD I DID!!
It has some psychological/domestic thriller vibes all while explaining a future world where you can exist in a Metaverse and have a Meta-family because it is also slightly dystopian in that the majority of people seem unable to have children because it is so expensive and the rampant poverty pushes families into selling or giving their children away to human smugglers. I won't get into the story line of the book so as not to ruin anything but there is the overall story and then individual stories within that are all interesting as well.
Very good job John Marrs!!!

In a futuristic setting, it’s getting harder and more expensive to start a family. With AI on the rise, a new reality show is started, “The Family Experiment”. Contestants are chosen for a challenge to be the last one standing after raising a child to the age of 18, condensed into 9 months. The winners, can choose to keep their AI child in a metaverse and live as a family or terminate the meta child and keep prize money to start their own family in the real world. Within the reality show comes lots of secrets and truths!

After reading "the one" i became a John Marrs fan. He does sci fi/dystopian so well. This book centers around virtual reality and raising a child in the metaverse. We met several sets of parents and are introduced to their back story. I enjoyed the inclusion of social media, it all felt very black mirror. This was tense, thought provoking and interesting. I wish it was a tad bit shorter.

John Marrs does it again! What a wild ride, I haven't read all of the author's books in this category but references to another book had me purchasing immediately. The character development is perfect and unlike other books with chapters that jump from character to character, I had no issue keeping them straight. I never saw the ending coming, I literally gasped and released the breath I didn't know I was holding. (IYKYK) Well done John Marrs!!

Are you a a John Marrs fan? This book is just brilliant.if you haven’t read this author before what are you doing with your life?! Seriously, you are missing out. The Family Experiment is a twisted, dark page turner that I will be thinking about for a long time to come. It is like a long extended episode of Black Mirror… yep it is insane!!

Imagine a time in the not so distant future where you can be a parent to a virtual child. Yep… a metaverse kid. The Family Experiment is a new reality TV show that runs 24/7 and allows the public to comment and vote on what they are seeing. 5 couples and one single man compete to raise their AI child in front of the whole world. The winner will get to keep their child or win prize money to pay for raising a real world child.

Now things are not simple, they never are. These contestants all have something that they don’t want the public to know about. Being a parent is are, even in the metaverse.

This book is full of shocking twists, cliff hanging chapter endings and some very unlikeable characters. You just have to read this to believe it, set in the same universe as previous books, John Marrs shows us a scary insight to what our future could very easily look like,

Thanks so much to Harlequin Trade Publishing for my advanced copy of this book to read. US release date July 9th.

This was an interesting thought experiment of what would happen if you could raise an AI child in virtual reality. Sometimes, the characters came across as a bit flat, serving to warn the reader about the dangers of this new frontier rather than to explore the nuances of human nature. Even so, there were interesting (though somewhat far-fetched) twists that held my interest.

There is a long list of reasons why John Marrs has a cult-like following, and this book now tops that list. The Family Experiment is set in the same universe as The One and The Passengers, so if you haven’t read these two first GO BACK NOW AND READ THEM (this book will spoil major plot points in the previous books, and you’ll enjoy the references a whole lot more).

For fans of John Marrs, this book won’t disappoint. However, this is a heavy one and feels like it could be a full length Black Mirror episode. The opening of this book is not for the faint of heart, and there’s only more dark twists and turns to come. Overall, this is a very clever story that kept me guessing without reaching into absurdity. And there is a decent balance of good and bad as story lines were wrapped up.

Like its two predecessors, this book alternates chapters of several different characters/families and can be a little challenging to remember each family’s backstory. I found it easier to keep track of these characters than the alternating storylines of The One, though. I also applaud the author’s diversity in characters across his books.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC. I voluntarily am leaving this review of my own opinions.

What a wild ride this storyline was. I now feel like I need to go back and read the marriage act because I enjoyed this world so much. This was twisted and insidious- everyone had an agenda and an angle and no one was telling the truth. Really a showcase of what humanity could devolve into if power is left unchecked.

John Marrs does it again with another great book! This book is full of twists and turns but it was a book you don’t want to put down when you start it. It’s interesting to see the journey the characters take and the concept of a virtual baby being created. This isn’t like anything else I have read but I would recommend others checking it out

“Some families are virtually perfect…”

What a thought-provoking speculative thriller!

I’m not big on speculative fiction, but the premise and the author sold me. This is John Marrs fifth speculative fiction and although I haven’t read all of his books, I still enjoyed looking for the Easter eggs.

This novel features a reality TV show and 11 hopeful parents who are raising virtual children in the Metaverse. The show was created in response to the population increase and the catastrophic outfall which meant that raising a family had become impossible. For those wishing to experience parenthood, Virtual Children is an alternative. This monthly subscription service allows couples to raise a virtual child from birth to 18 years old and don haptic suits and virtual reality headsets to log in to access their child’s accelerated growth over a nine-month period. The ‘best parent’ prize (as voted by millions of viewers) is (1) the right to keep their virtual child or (2) risk it all for a chance at raising a real baby with the £250,000 prize money.

What a fantastic, diverse cast! I felt for the Taylor-Georgious, the Finns, the Wilsons, the Carters, the Macmillans and the single dad, Hudson Wright. My allegiance flip-flopped and I was rooting for all of them at one point or another depending on which secrets were revealed! I loved the Grapevine posts and chats as they kept me invested when my mind waned with the sci-fi overload.

Marrs is a master storyteller! Proof is in the pudding; I don’t read speculative fiction, I don’t have children and I dislike reality TV.

I was gifted this copy by Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

In a world where people decide not to have children because of the financial cost, a new reality gameshow is unveiled to the world in which couples raise a rapidly-aging child together for nine months, all competing to be the best parents so they have a shot at keeping the child they raised together.

I am a huge fan of John Marrs' speculative fiction and was anticipating this release for months! This did not disappoint. Fast paced, often times leaving chapters on a cliffhanger, and unapologetically triggering and controversial, this novel explores the possibility of raising a virtual family, and the price society has to pay to make this dream a reality.

Smart, fascinating, and utterly unputdownable, The Family Experiment will shock readers to their very core.

4.5/5.0

John Marrs has done it again. This may not have been an on the edge of your seat thriller, but it was a slow burn that was still hard to put down. I haven’t read his other books in this universe, but with all the Easter eggs placed throughout the book it makes me want to read the rest.

Imagine a new reality show where contestants get to raise a virtual child from birth to age 18, where the winners can either keep their child or take prize money to start a family in the Real World. This is the possibility in The Family Experiment. But things aren’t quite as they seem, and secrets will be revealed.