I loved Marrs’s The One so I was excited to read The Family Experiment. While I enjoyed The One more, Experiment was a fantastic thriller! Marrs’s ideas are so original, and I love that his books are never what they seem. The twists are always so insane. Highly recommend!

This is my first John Marrs book and it will not be my last. I loved the writing style and felt that the future of it wasn't too far off! Reality TV and AI teamed up together doesn't seem as dystopian as it did a decade ago.

John Marrs is my go to author for speculative fiction. They read like thrillers and close to home. This latest edition is no different as it gives you lots of food for thought. It’s intricate and so well plotted but dragged out a bit for the last 50 pages. I do think it could have been edited down a bit but again such a cohesive well plotted tale. His books always make for good book club books.

So, the premise is off-putting to me, but I’m sure it would be fascinating to readers who are more enthralled with the while virtual reality/artificial intelligence world. The world is getting too overcrowded, it’s too expensive to have kids, but with a few clicks, you can have your own virtual child! A U.K.-based company will design your prefect virtual child based on you and your partner’s specifications, and you can “access” this child via a virtual headset in the “metaverse.” And because the company wants to make as much money out of this as possible, they’ve created a reality TV show featuring five couples and one single dad, who will compete against one another, trying to win viewers’ votes as the best parents. This process uses an accelerated timeline, with the contestants raising their virtual offspring from birth to age 18 in only nine months. Just like “Survivor,” parents are voted out of the competition. The grand prize winner(s), can either keep their virtual child or take a cash prize to use toward starting a real family.

I like sci-fi and speculative fiction (loved the recent Netflix adaptation of 3 Body Problem), but this was just a little too creepy for my taste.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the ARC.

As usual Marrs latest novel sent me on an emotional roller coaster. I was so excited to get an advanced copy of The Family Experiment. The chapters were short and kept you hooked. I became invested in each of the families and wanted to know what made each tick. Six families are chosen to raise a metachild from birth to age 18. They’re to face all sorts of challenges that parents would face in the real world. At the finale they must decide to take the cash prize or keep their child “alive”.Soon enough the families started to reveal their darkest secret as the novel got closer to “finale night”. Parts of the novel I yelled at and others broke my heart. What’s real or not? It’s up to the families to decide. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers as well as those who are interested in technology.

Twisted reality show takes place in the Metaverse with couples competing against each other to either keep their AI child or have them dissolve and use the prize money to start their own real world family. The backstories of each of the couples keep this book moving at an exciting pace. I had a hard time putting it down. Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press for the advanced copy!

John Marrs at his absolute finest - I love these dystopian future books he writes, and this series is just amazing. Highly recommend to a thriller lover who also loves a good ol' dystopia. This raises so many questions, too! A very thought provoking novel.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs

With overcrowding and the economy in turmoil, having a child is extremely expensive. Jobs are being outsourced to AI and with the loss of jobs, it becomes even harder to have the money to start a family. When a company in the UK devises a new reality show, which would give the people selected an opportunity to compete and the winners will get options to start their own families. In a world similar to The Sims, this VR world will draw you in.

“Here at Awakening Entertainment, we have developed a fully immersive experience for those who want to start a family, without the Real World constraints, for a fraction of the cost and within a safe environment. Each of our MetaChildren uses extensive high-quality, ethically sourced datasets to deliver a child with a unique set of traits and an individual personality. This means they can accurately represent the child you might have had in the Real World.”

The Contestants consist of
Dimitri and Zoe Taylor-Georgiou
Woody and Tina Finn
Cadman N’Yu & Gabriel MacMillan
Selena & Jaden Wilson
Rufus Green & Kitty Carter
Hudson Wright - Single Dad

“‘The MetaChildren programme is going to help millions of families who can’t afford kids of their own. It’ll change the world.”

As you get to know each contestant, you learn the reasons behind them wanting to start a family. But with all reality television, there will be challenges thrown at contestants. As the competition continues, secrets are revealed, leaving you wanting more.

I loved the world that John Marrs created, weaving in current fears of AI into this fast paced thriller. This is definitely a thought provoking ride from beginning to end. The characters are well developed. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to put it down until the very end. At first I felt like I was mixing up the characters, but as the book progressed, I didn’t have that problem. You definitely begin to root for certain parents. The book creates a myriad of questions, and will quickly suck you into a rabbit hole.

This has easily become my favorite John Marrs book. Fans of Daniel Hurst and Freida McFadden will love the twists and reveals in this sci-fi reality style thriller. The Family Experiment will draw you in and immerse you in a world and experience that will make you lose sleep because you can’t put it down until the last page.

I have enjoyed every John Marrs novel I've read and this book was no exception! I love the "Black Mirror' vibes of his books. It's a sci-fi dystopian story and the AI aspect of it is especially scary because it's something you can envision actually happening. I don't love when a book has so many different characters/storylines but this one actually worked very well and I didn't have a hard time distinguishing between all of them. 5/5 Stars from me!

In John Marrs' new speculative thriller, The Family Experiment, 11 contestants enter a new reality TV show that is streamed 24/7 while competing to raise an AI child in the Metaverse. The competition lasts nine months and each month is a new milestone for the AI children. At the end of the competition, viewers vote who their favorite parent(s) are, declaring the winner(s). The winner(s) can then choose to keep their AI child they raised over the past nine months, or accept the cash prize of $250K to aid in having a child of their own.

John Marrs once again does an outstanding job at introducing a slew of characters with hidden agendas and deep, dark secrets. With eyes constantly on the contestants, it's not long before those secrets start surfacing and contestants are eliminated from competition. Who will win and what will their choice be?

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, NetGalley and John Marrs for the opportunity to binge this before release date. It's an incredible addition to the speculative-futuristic universe that John has been building since 2016, beginning with The One.

I love the connected universe that John Marrs has created with his books and the references to previous books like The One and The Passengers, although I do think I might have gotten a little more out of this book had I read The Marriage Act prior to reading The Family Experiment.

I liked the inclusion of the mixed media elements and there were some interesting discussions about AI technology and reality tv.

My biggest issue was that I think it took a bit too long to get to the point and I was a little underwhelmed when it did. Overall I did really enjoy this book and would recommend.

"The Family Experiment" by John Marrs is a phenomenal and thought-provoking speculative thriller about families, virtual reality, and ethical issues.

Set in a near-future UK plagued by economic crisis and overpopulation, many people cannot afford to start a family. Enter a company offering Virtual Children. They launch a so-called social experiment, a reality TV show called 'The Substitute', where five couples and one single parent compete for the right to be parents. They will raise a virtual child in the MetaVerse from birth to the age of eighteen over nine months. Through virtual reality headsets, masks, gloves, and haptic suits, the participants will experience everything a biological parent feels. The winner (voted by the public as the best parent) can either keep the virtual child or use the prize money to start a family. Meet:

- Rufus Green & Kitty Carte - entrepreneur and accounts manager.
- Woody and Tina Finn - a drone pilot and a euthanasia nurse
- Cadman NY'u (a social media influencer) & Gabriel Macmillan a gay couple
- Dimitri and Zoe Taylor-Georgiou - A mortgage advisor and a teacher.
- Hudson Wright - a single dad and a freelance software developer.
- Selena & Jaden Wilson - a data analyst and a personal trainer.

The characters in the book are an interesting mix. Almost all have secrets, most are detestable, and all are determined to win at any cost. The game begins as we follow the contestants both in the MetaVerse and the real world.

This is the first book by the author that I have read, and I absolutely loved it! The story is written from a third-person point of view, alternating between the contestants, news articles, and talkbacks. The concept is brilliant, creative, and original. And the scary part? It isn't that far-fetched from reality. The twists were shocking, and although I started to suspect where it was going toward the end, it was more than I had imagined. The book is definitely deeper than other thrillers of its kind and gave me a lot of food for thought

At first, I found it hard to keep track of the large cast of characters, but as the story unfolded, I became more familiar with them. Each character is carefully described, helping you to feel like you really know each individual. I liked the details describing their every move and their backstories. The way the scenes were described made me feel like I was actually there with them. My favorite contestants were Hudson, Selena, and Gabriel.

The novel is impressive, innovative, and exciting. It pulls you from one scene to the next without letting up. This keeps you wondering what could possibly happen next to our characters. It tackles many themes such as family, choices, moral dilemmas, fallible human nature, and AI tech and all it encompasses. As a parent, I was shocked by some of the choices and couldn't relate to some of the characters. I didn't buy their weak justification for their actions. The virtual babies (AI really taught to think, feel, and act like humans) are indeed the "ultimate Tamagotchi", and it raises interesting questions such as can one grow attached to them, can they replace real babies, and the morality beyond the advanced tech.

"The Family Experiment" is a futuristic, thought-provoking thrill ride from start to finish. The author writes well, fluidly, and in a style that keeps the reader turning the pages. All in all, a well-written, hugely impactful book with a great story, dynamic characters, and a complex plot. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars and can't recommend it enough. If you are looking for a great read with a lot of panache, don't miss this book!

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

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!