Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Family Expirement in exchange for an honest review!

To preface, I am a self-declared John Marrs stan, especially when it comes to his speculative fiction, but not everything can be someone's greatest.

When I first heard of this book and how it was marketed- a reality TV show starring couples who are interested in starting their family but being unable to afford one so they decided to put on their VR headsets and haptic suits to raise a virtual child, I was immediately intrigued. To start the book, we learn some rules about the reality show, such as: This is an accelarated expirement where you raise a child from 0-18 years old within 9 months, there is significant participation from the viewers in regards to monthly challenges, personal meet and greets with the child, etc. At the end of the 9 months, the viewers crown a winner of the expirement and that winner can decide to continue raising their virtual child or take a lump sum payment that they can take to raise a real child. Also at the end of the expirement, this concept will become public and anyone could raise a virtual baby. All that sounds great and fun!

However, I feel like the book did not focus on the actual concept of the reality show AT ALL. We learned that there would be monthly challenges that the viewers chose and that excited me, however that was never brought up besides the first couple. The viewers who were able to have essentially a meet and greet with a virtual child also never came into play except for one instance. At the end of the 9 months when the technology goes public and others can opt into a virtual child, we never see that come into play. Essentially- the reality show, The Family Expirement, is set on the back burner.

Similar to John Marrs' previous speculative fiction, we follow several different view points. in The Family Expirement, we have 6 participating groups in the expirement. In Marr's previous works, it can be overwhelming at first to get thrown all these people, but you quickly learn their stories because Marrs spends so much time developing characters. However, in this novel I feel like the character development was lackluster. This is a 400 page book and I feel like walking out of it, I really don't know much about these people. For instance, there is a couple Gabriel and Cadman and throughout the entire book we learn that Cadman is hungry for fame and social media stardom and his partner, Gabriel, is the opposite. He just wants to live a normal life with their child. Both have problematic pasts and are manipulative. That is the gist of what I learned about this couple in the spam of 400 pages. I feel like for the length of this novel, the reader should very easily connect with the characters and learn about them, but they were all strangers to me. In my opinion, this novel had severe pacing issues when you compare this novel to his previous work.

Out of the 400 pages of this book, I felt like nothing really happened until the last 50 pages. There were several severe plot holes, and we just get a small snippet at the end to wrap it up. For instance, one of the couples previously had a daughter that they have locked away after she kills a boy. Her family keeps her locked in a basement and they go on to raise a virtual child modeled exactly after their daughter. We learn that the couple ran from their home and previous jobs to avoid judgement after the daughter's sentencing. You, like me, may think "John, if they are running from their past community because their daughter murdered someone, wouldn't those community members be able to connect the dots and realize what's going on? There is an AI child modeled after a murderous kid, surely one of the millions of viewers of the show would recognize her." Well, we learn that the community members are just kind of stupid and "vaguely" remember the family and child that murdered someone. Convenient. Also, speaking of this couple- this daughter was caught for the murder using CCTV. We learn a shocking twist to the novel- she didn't actually murder this boy, her dad did to protect her. How was he not caught on the same CCTV? I guess we'll never know...

This novel also relies on the reader having read his previous work. I have read all of his speculative fiction besides The Minders and I felt like I had a great level of understanding because I had read those books but I will say, I think you need to read his other books before you read this one. So many of the "shocking twists" in this book relate back to his previous work. When I read The Marriage Act, it was just an easter egg when you'd run across mentions of his previous books but this book relies heavily on his previous work.

I also didn't like the use of news articles and chats- I felt them to be excessive and I feel like the information in the news articles could have been told to us from the character's perspective rather than a news article. I also really didn't like the chats- I felt like there were way too many snippets of chats only for them to say the same thing. Almost every single chat segment had a comment about how one of the characters is a pedo (or paedo for the lovely British) and it was like OKAY WE GET IT YOU THINK THIS CONTESTANT IS WEIRD!! I just know twitter would've been roasting these people and we just got the most tame and boring chat snippets. It could've been so much better and better intigrated.

I feel like John Marrs' past speculative fiction gave us so much commentary of "this is a fucked up situation, why are we putting people through this" but I feel like this book was more of a who-done-it mystery thriller and I was just not expecting that.

I did like the minimal commentary on AI though, especially considering the market of AI as it currently stands. I read an article a few weeks ago about how those "smart" Amazon grocery stores where you don't have to scan your items was really just 1000 people in India watching you as you shopped. I love the irony of that and how that same concept plays into this book. I did really like the twist about how these AI children were being modeled, but I feel like such a shocking revelation needed more time for the reader to digest and that's where the pacing became an issue.

Also, I know this was an ARC copy but there are severe formatting issues- Chapter numbers missing, typos, etc. The title of the book and the author's name was randomly added into the text, but I'm excusing that because this is an ARC and I know they make weird formatting choices for ARCs to avoid them getting sold.

Overall, I was not impressed with this book and I feel like my 3 star rating is generous considering all that I have mentioned. I love John Marrs' work but I think it's time to move on from having his books all set in the same universe. Easily at the bottom of the list when you rank his best work.

Oh my I love John Marrs. Oh to be in his brain! I loved this book so much. I really enjoyed that it mentioned other books that were written in the same world. I loved how news reports and chat forums were sprinkled in the chapters. It made for a fun element. I know a lot of people complain about there being too many characters but I really like that. I like getting to hear from everyone as well. It’s nice to get different perspectives. The rotating chapters made it hard to put down because it frequently left on a cliffhanger and you would have to read until that character spoke again. I really have no complaints about this book. Brilliant book brilliant storyline.

I've become a huge fan of John Marrs thanks to the FB group THE Book Club. He's a member and I love his dry humor and that he names characters in his books after key members of the group. He also makes subtle little references to previous books - in this case there were references to The One, The Marriage Act, and The Passengers.

His books are set in a not too distant future where technology intended to improve our lives has gone a bit awry. I find it quite believable and a little bit horrifying.

This book follows 6 couples in a reality show and alternates among their POV about the show as well as slowly bringing out details of their backgrounds. I was riveted and could not put it down. You alternated between rooting for people and being shocked at what they have done or will do to win. Highly recommend this one!

This was my third book b John Marrs, but my first in his speculative fiction series. I thought it was such an interesting, albeit rather creepy, premise. I love anything that looks into the not so distant future and explores what could become of us and that's exactly what this does. It feels like a version of something that could potentially exist in our lifetime - and that's not necessarily a good thing.

I loved that this book felt like a semi-futuristic sci-fi, but it also had some thriller elements and great twists. As the competition evolved, learning more and more about each of the contestants and their past (and present) questionable decisions was fun too. It felt very multi-faceted.

That being said, the hardest part for me was the number of different characters and stories to follow. It got easier to differentiate and keep track the further into it I got, but the first half I really had to focus to keep track.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to diving into more of Marrs' books in this collection!

This was my first John Marrs book and it was phenomenal! This was basically a scyfi thriller game of thrones. What the heck just happened! Twist after twist. Each family competing in the family experiment was so interesting and flawed in their own ways. I did not see that ending at all. Each twist hit me so hard. Also the book was super fast paced, which I love for all of my thriller reads. Probably my favorite thriller this year so far. I need to go back and read the previous books in the same world. I like how John makes it so you can still understand what is going on without having read the others in the same world first. It can definitely still be read as a standalone. I am really blown away and can't believe it has taken me this long to read his work.

Holy! This book was insane! John Marrs books never fail to keep me occupied and have me absolutely powering through a book!

Set in the same universe as other books, such as The One, The Family Experiment is a reality show in which people are selected to try raising a child at an accelerated pace in the metaverse. The child will grow to 18 years old in a matter of months, all while viewers are watching a livestream that is available 24/7. We follow various couples (and one single dad) on their journey to successfully raise a child. The family that wins at the end of the experiment will get to choose to either keep their child in the metaverse, or have them deleted forever and take a cash prize instead to fund starting their own family. The families who don't win, well, their child will be deleted forever.

There were so many dark twists in this book. As it turns out, everyone has a secret they are trying to hide, some of them quote sinister. The big reveal at the end I did not see coming, at all! Although looking back I can see how it would be easy for somebody to pick out earlier on in the book.

I highly recommend you read some of Marrs' other books first. You can definitely read this as a standalone though and it will still make sense, but there are some pretty big Easter eggs if you can even call them that which reference storylines from other books. I believe you can find a list of what order to read the books in to get the optimal experience!

Overall, highly recommend!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

John Marrs does speculative fiction so well. He tackles issues that we're seeing creep up today and takes them to the next level in a way that rivals any Black Mirror episode.

Set in the near-distant future, the world is suffering from a rising population and an economic crisis, and more people than ever find that they cannot afford to start, or sustain, a family. Enter The Family Experiment, a new reality game show that challenges five couples and one single parent to raise virtual children, created by AI, in the Metaverse over the course of nine months. These children will grow at an accelerated pace and require all the love and care that real children do. The winner(s) of the show will have to decide whether to keep their virtual child or to "turn them off" and accept a cash prize to start a family in the Real World.
Naturally, all of the contestants have a secret to hide and generally are unlikeable people.

As always, I enjoyed the use of multiple POVs to follow all of the contestants. Marrs' writing and storytelling really kept the suspense on high for the entire novel, which is what I'm always looking for in a thriller. I also really liked the added elements of online comments, articles, broadcast scripts, etc. I thought I saw the twist coming and then was even more surprised when I was wrong! I also enjoyed how Marrs really tied up all the loose ends- I was left with no questions unanswered.

Even though this book is set in the same universe as multiple of his previous works, Marrs does a good enough job summarizing the important parts that I would say you could read this as a standalone. I personally haven't read The Passengers yet, which is referenced multiple times, and had no problem understanding the story. Though if you like this one I would highly recommend you go back and read the others in this series.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the mind bending, heart throbbing, and intelligence of this book!!! To say this book, its message, the insanity of it all, and the thought in the back of my mind that this could be our future is something that is hard to put into words.

John Marrs is truly one of the most powerful and intelligent authors I have come across. This book was a bit of a stray from what I typically read and I couldn’t be happier that I went for it because…. Wow..

UK has become overpopulated and in economic crisis. Soooo enter a competition in Metaverse that has 5 couples and 1 single Father competing against each other to raise “virtual children” that were created, turn it into an interactive reality show, and let the madness begin. Throughout the show the children do age at an accelerated pace for the sake of timing with the show. The viewers get to decide who “wins” and then the couples get to decide which prize they want : keep their virtual child back into the real world or leave the child behind and take a cash prize. The chapters alternate between the couples and children and their stories as well as short blurbs of actual online audience comments of what they are watching in real time. I will say because of the many couples and children and their stories in the beginning it’s challenging to keep it all straight, but once you start to learn more about everyone it’s impossible to put this book down. Each couple and character has their own unique well developed story… as unlikeable as they all are which just adds to the drama and desire that sucked me in. If thats not enough as the show moves along secrets of the contestants from their past and present start to come out, tragedy bombs drop everywhere, and your mouth will hit the floor again and again!!!

This is no doubt going to be one of my favorite books I read this year. Marrs’ ability to write these books that not only entertain you, suck you in, but also make you really think is astounding. I will be thinking about this book for …. Forever.

If I had to give one minor critique it would be the ending surrounding each of the characters was a little lackluster for me. However I believe it’s because the rest of the book and the characters stories were so explosive I didn’t want to come down from that !

Thank you to the Author, Netgalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

The Family Experiment is an intriguing read where diverse contestants' experiences and twists in both the MetaVerse and the Real World make it impossible to put down. John Marrs once again delivers a gripping and unique story. Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

Another John Marrs absolute hit! I love his sci-fi/speculative fiction world so much and this did not disappoint. As someone who does not want to have her own children, I think the idea of a virtual child is really interesting. But also the issues that it can create.... The concept of this book was amazing and I will never stop recommending John Marrs books to literally everyone I know.

I’ve always loved John Marrs ‘black mirror-y’ style of fiction. It really makes you think about what our world is coming to. I love the little Easter eggs which allude to the other stories as well as our current reality as well. This is a thought-provoking thriller with a fantastic plot, twists and turns and important lessons. Kudos for another ball out of the park!

5⭐️s! John Marrs has truly excelled with his latest masterpiece, The Family Experiment, delving into the fascinating realm of the Metaverse babies. This captivating book effortlessly combines the thrill of a TV reality show with the mind-boggling concept of avatar babies maturing into adults within a mere nine months. It's like Desperate Housewives on an unprecedented scale, leaving readers on the edge of their seats, anxiously anticipating what twists and turns lie ahead. Without a doubt, this is a must-have addition to your to-be-read list.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC to review.

Another great book! I love how John Marrs connects all of his other different futuristic books together slightly. I thought the whole part of the place where the kids were taken to was slightly hard to follow. I wanted more details on what happened to the kids if they went left. I understand it was set up so we had to use our imagination on the hard things they must've faced. Overall, it was a great book!

WOW. I’m absolutely shook after reading this. I may need a few weeks to decompress after reading The Family Experiment.

After a week of reeling and one rom com later, I am ready to talk about this book. You must add this to your TBR immediately. John Marrs is one talented writer. I do not know any author that can write six seperate story lines from six different POV with total cohesion and ZERO confusion. Also, when it is multiple POV I tend to find favorites characters/story lines but with Marr's I really do love them all. He ends each chapter (and they are quick another bonus) with a cliff hanger that makes you just NEED to continue. Also, this book really talks about how AI/Technology has begun to creep into our lives and change the fabric of society. It really made me think of my own personal technology habits and how detrimental they are to my mental health.

Now onto the synopsis

The Family Experiment is a new reality TV show where 6 families (of all ages, sexual orientations, and varying marital statuses) will come together to create/raise their own meta child. Their meta child will grow at an accelerated rate and will face all of the developmental milestones that a normal child would. At the end of the show, the families will be posed with the ultimate question: keep your meta child or have them "deleted" for 250,000 pounds to start a family of your own. As the six families are introduced, they each have their own motive for coming on the show. From psychopath children, to gaining sponsorships, to pay off gambling debts etc. But little do they know, the metaverse will slowly begin to leak these secrets and the demise of their personal relationships and their meta children will be streamed to millions across the world.

A dark and twisty story that could have been ripped right from an episode of Black Mirror. In “The Family Experiment,” we’re brought to the near future when the population has skyrocketed and the cost of starting a family is out of reach for many. Desperate to build their dream family, six couples join a nine-month competition to raise a virtual child in the metaverse, for the opportunity to keep their virtual child or risk it all for the chance at a real world child. The catch? Every moment is being viewed and judged by the world as part of a reality TV show. Along the way, we’re slowly introduced to each family… what brought them to the competition, the secrets they’re hiding, and to what lengths they’ll go to win.

Things I loved: the variety of formatting in addition to traditional dialog (chat room conversations, interviews, news articles, etc.), the sprinkles of technological advancements that are so casually mentioned, the numerous ethical dilemmas introduced that really get your brain thinking (how is the metaverse legally governed?), and how the mirror was also turned a bit onto the viewers/readers.
What are the ethics of enjoying other peoples drama and pain in the guise of entertainment?

Everyone’s a critic when your life is on display. Are you going to let that criticism impact your actions, or can you truly “be real” for reality TV? And what is “real” when you have so many secrets to hide.

John Marrs is a new-to-me author, and I will definitely be checking out his other bestselling novels from the same universe, “The One” and “The Marriage Act.” If you’re a fan of Black Mirror and want your brain to be tingling from constant stimulation, this one’s for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced digital copy of “The Family Experiment.” Publish date July 9, 2024.

WHAT A BOOK! 👏🏻 Gripping from the very beginning.

John is the master of to be continued bombshells with his characters and their development. It keeps you salivating for more to see what’s going to happen. I loved everything about this book. The storyline, the characters you love to hate, their story and no questions were left unanswered. I will definitely be buying it once it’s released.

Well done, John. 🥳

It was exciting! I loved it! I gasped so many times by the unexpected twist and just outcome of some events. It really goes into each character which I throughly enjoyed.
I would definitely read again!

Phenomenal! I couldn't put this one down. A little bit of Hunger Games, a little bit of Surrogates plus some EdTV and you've got yourself a really riveting story.

5 couples and 1 single man participate in a 24/7 reality show where they are given a virtual child to raise. The winner can keep the child or choose to "delete" them and take the money to try to conceive a biological child.

My favorite of John's so far!

Fantastic!!!! As a girl that typically does not enjoy sci-fi , I really love John Marrs futuristic sci-fi books and this is no exception in fact its my favorite of his! I could hardly put it down and when I did have to I would find myself thinking about it and sometimes wishing I could go to the metaverse how cool!!! I love how he referenced his other 2 books The One and The Passengers in this one too. Like they all were a part of the same futuristic world! I highly recommend this book to anyone John Marrs once again hits it out of the park!!!!

Insane!

The twists, the turns, the way everything connects together, the ending!

Families complete on a reality tv show where they spend 9 months raising an AI from new born baby to teenager. If they win they get the choice of keeping the baby or receiving funding to have their own real life baby with paid for IVF treatments etc.

The way each of these families implode and the endings for each of them is cray cray.. the drama! A definite must read!

Side note - I’m not someone who’s into sci fi or AI topics but I enjoyed this regardless, so don’t let that put you off reading!

Thank you to John Marrs, Harlequin trade publishing and NetGalley for the EARC!

Publish date: July 9th 2024