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

what an interesting and unique concept, I greatly enjoyed this. It had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. As my first John Mars book, I'd gladly sign up for another.

This book takes place in the same universe as The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act. I loved being back in this world. It is dark, weird, a little scary, and compulsively readable. I loved it! It had several twists and turns I was not expecting. There are aspects of this book that I can totally see happening in the future and that is kinda scary. This is another great story!

Publication date: July 9 2024

Many thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the digital arc and allowing me to share my thoughts.

Oh my goodness, it’s 1am, I’m usually asleep by 9pm, but I HAD to finish this book. I have read and loved all of John Marrs’ books, and The Family Experiment is no exception.

Imagine a world where you have the ability to raise a virtual child within the metaverse. Through highly advanced technology, you can see, hold, and feel this virtual child as if it were in the real world with you. To launch this revolutionary program, the company behind this tech has created a reality show that gives 10 couples the opportunity to raise a MetaChild from birth to 18 years of age within a compact 9 month time period. Viewers will be able to watch in real time, send likes or dislikes, and ultimately vote for the couple they feel is the most capable of raising a child. The winning couple can then choose to either keep their virtual child, or take the prize money and use it to help start their real life family. Are all of the couples’ motivations sincere? As the show progresses viewers are given front row access to the contestants lives and relationships with their MetaChildren.

I haven’t read a book in a long time that has made me feel happy, hopeful, angry, vengeful, hopeless, and sad all at once. As a mother of young kids there were parts I had to skim through because they were just too hard to read. Trigger warning: if you’re uncomfortable reading about human trafficking, child abuse, and child death, there are parts of this story that will definitely upset you.

As is typical with his books, the twists and reveals at the end were perfection. I believe all the characters had appropriate endings, and felt satisfied with how everything wrapped up.

This book is set in the same universe as Marrs’ other books, The One, The Passengers, The Minders, and The Marriage Act. You don’t need to read these prior to this one, but it helps provide context for some parts of the story. Also, they’re really good books so you should read them anyway.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

Love the books in this world, however it seems like this one had a little too much going on and it didn’t flow as easily as they usually do

The Family Experiment by John Marrs is a dystopian thriller based in the same universe as his other books, The One and The Marriage Act. The world's population is soaring and parenthood is barely affordable. A company has developed a solution to this by creating a "metaverse" where clients can raise a virtual child using a VR headset and suit. To launch this new initiative, a reality TV show was created where ten couples will raise a virtual child from birth to age 18 (condensed over a 9 month period) and the winner gets to choose between a prize of keeping their virtual child or a lump sum of money so they could have the opportunity to have a real world baby.

This was an interesting story. I fluctuated between enjoying it and being a bit weirded out by the story. With the development of AI children, a lot of ethical questions come up related to the rights of the AI person (do they have a soul, . There are some darker topics covered in this book, such as death of a child, murder, abuse, cheating, and human trafficking, so be mindful of this if you are considering reading this book. But overall I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. The story is told in multiple ways, such as the POV of the contestants, news articles, and online chats of the viewers.

This book takes place in the same world as Marrs' other books, The One, The Marriage Act, and The Passengers. I love this world!!! UKs population is growing and it is overcrowded. With that said families cannot afford to have children, let alone raise them. Enter a reality show where want-to-be parents compete for a virtual child or money. The audience (aka viewers of the show) rate how each set of parents does with "raising the virtual child". This was extremely entertaining, a bit scary if this is how the world may end up, and quite clever!!! I could not put this book down!

Once again, I picked up a John Marrs novel and was left with my jaw hanging open at 3am, eyes glazed and wondering what the heck? The Family Experiment was such a mind bending page turner, I literally couldn't put it down. Intriguing plot, colorful and interesting characters, and several shocking twists kept me captivated from beginning to end. Marrs is the new king of crazy. I wish I could read it again for the first time!

Took another venture into John Marrs not too distant future where the newest technology gambit is metaverse children. Ticketed as a way for families to experience parenthood who may not be able to afford or otherwise have a child, this book deals with thoughts that we may soon be grappling with.
To roll out this program, a reality show has been devised to follow several couples in the metaverse raising the first meta children. The audience will decide the winner who will be the only one able to keep their meta child.
We follow the different families chosen to be in the reality show as they raise their children on an accelerated timeline the world watching and judging. Other then the obvious moral dilemmas this all presents, you soon find that all of these couples have secrets they want to keep buried.
Definitely a fast and engaging read. Really enjoyed stepping back into this universe.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced ecopy in exchange for my honest review.