4.5
John Marrs has done it again and take the reader deep into his futuristic reality where you can now get and raise a child in the Metaverse. A reality show is the opening presentation of what this looks like as multiple couples are given a baby that will be fast tracked in their growth for them to raise. Anyone can watch the show by putting on your AI goggles and logging into the Metaverse. In a process of elimination for differing and shocking situations, the last one standing will be the winner.

First of all, apparently reality tv shows in books is a total sub genre going on that I haven't been loving, BUT it worked great in this book. Marrs intermixes a futuristic world showing concerns for AI, separating ourselves from human life in general, and throws in some thriller aspects and we get a really intriguing book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance e-copy of this book.

I will admit to being a huge John Marrs fan - especially when his book is about technology/science. So, I was really pleased to get a preview copy of “The Family Experiment.” This book is basically about a reality TV show that grips the UK. In it, 11 people (five couples, one singleton) compete to raise an AI “metasphere” child from newborn to 18 over nine months. The prize is either keep the AI child alive in the metasphere or delete the child and use prize money to start a real family. It’s a pretty interesting concept and, once again, Mr. Marrs uses social media and articles to move the story along. There are also some delightful “Easter eggs” if one has read Marrs’s other books - from mentions to characters. While I found the competition a bit odd (understandable in an age where seemingly anything can grip attention and anything can be made into a reality show program) it was oddly understandable and felt like it could happen. In the beginning I got a few of the couples mixed up, but it cleared up after a few chapters. My biggest comment reading these books is to ignore the science - or at least don’t look at it too closely. In this case, I thought some of the background of the “metasphere” AI company was a bit - well, odd. And some of the backstory for some of the characters after the reality program is over I felt dragged on a bit - though I realize that other readers would like loopholes closed; I just didn’t feel the need for all the characters left at loose ends at the conclusion of the game. I read this book rather quickly and found it to be a nice bit of escapism.

The Family Experiment is set in the same vaguely dystopian, near-future world as The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act, and in it participants in a virtual reality-reality show are responsible for raising an AI child from infancy to age 18 in a condensed 9-month timeframe, all while being watched constantly and having every parenting decision voted on by an audience of millions. The winner gets to either keep their AI child or collect enough prize money to support having a biological child.

This is my favorite book by Marrs thus far, and I could not put it down! The cast of characters was quite large, so hearing from their varying perspectives kept things clipping along at a breakneck pace. There was SO MUCH going on and so many surprises, and I loved it. Highly recommend for existing Marrs fans, and I think it would be a great entry point to the Marrs Cinematic Universe for new readers as well.

As a huge fan of John Marrs since 2019, I was so excited to be chosen for this ARC! Once again, Marrs has a slam dunk in this new speculative fiction novel, set in the same universe as 'The One' and 'The Passengers'. His use of flawed characters/multiple POV chapters really makes this book hard to put down; much the same as his other novels. I feel like everyone else summarizes the novel in their reviews, and I am not going to do that. All I have to say is that when July roles around, you should definitely snap this one up! Easy 5 stars!

If John writes it! I’m going to read it!!
The Family Experiment by John Marrs is speculative fiction at its very best - original, dark and wickedly clever. I was utterly captivated by the way Marrs melded reality TV, AI and a terrifyingly plausible future.

11 contestants enter a reality TV show to nurture an AI child and win themselves the right to either keep the child, or swap it for the money to bring up a biological child of their own. The only issue is, each of the contestants is hiding a dark secret and, when the world is watching, there's nowhere to hide!

What I particularly loved about this book was the way Marrs incorporated issues that are very much an issue in the present day, and carefully twisted them to make them part of a speculative future. He's created a terrifyingly plausible world and I'm excited to read more of this books that inhabit that world.

The world building, the characters, the reveals and the twists are so well done that this book is crying out for a Netflix adaptation.

I'd like to extend my thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, the NetGalley team and to John Marrs for the eARC of Locked In. My review is, as follows:

This was my first experience reading a John Marrs novel, and I must say it will not be my last! Wow! It's rare that I'm so engrossed and enamored with a novel, right out the gate, but "The Family Experiment" takes the cake! I loved it all. From the way in which world building elements are inserted throughout chapters, to the strategic reveal of the characters natures/backstories, the twists of the plot, and just the overall atmosphere. I'd venture to say that this was a perfect reading experience for me.

Truly, this novel paints an eerily accurate tapestry of how we are making history with our technology. Without being a weighty, cautionary, tale; this novel rather acts as a mirror for our society. it does not preach, it does not say we need to turn back, but it does show us where we are heading; blemishes and all! I will be picking up and reading other works by this author, in short order. I can't wait to see what more he has up his sleeve!

I’m officially a huge John Marrs fan. I’ve told everyone who’ll listen how timely, relevant, and compulsively readable his books are. I love how his recent books are all in the same universe. His books serve as warnings to us all.

John Marrs has done it again with another speculative thriller set in the same universe as his other books, “The One”, “The Passengers” and “The Marriage Act”.

We follow 5 families and one single man as they take on the role as parents through an AI, metaverse developed child. It’s designed to help families who cannot naturally have children have the opportunity to live out those dreams, but also as a reality TV show where they are ruthlessly judged by viewers on their parenting. The excitement is sped up to have the child rapidly age within 9 months and become an adult so the contestants can parent through all aspects of childhood. Once the experiment is over the viewers get to decide the winners, who will get to make the decision to keep the AI child, or win the grand prize money to help them financially have a child in the real world. Talk about moral dilemmas!

Among all of that being intriguing in itself, it wouldn’t be a John Marrs book without the most dark twists to make the book what it is. I was captivated right from the beginning and was so intrigued to continue. I was completely blown away at the end and did not see all of that coming! I’m not going to lie, if I read books like these by presumably any other author, it would never live up to the utterly thrilling aspect John Marrs adds to these themes.

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the uncanny resemblance to real life problems. The character development and the shocking revelations about who these people really are was almost terrifying in the most AI-metaverse way.

I can only hope John Marrs continues with this theme and universe of books and comes out with more! I throughly enjoy them and recommend them to everybody!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of this book!

I want to plug in my Nintendo DS and feed my Nintendogs now 😭

The most chilling part of this book is that it’s so realistic, especially with the addition of the fans live discussion boards and how everybody has their own opinions about these stranger’s lives. There’s so much world building and character individuality that it helps you visualize the book as if it were a TV series, which I can totally see this becoming. The writing style made it easy to keep up with the multi POV of the different families, which I usually struggle with. As a true John Marrs novel, there’s many jaw-dropping twists and dark secrets among the contestants that you’ll be rifling through the pages to find out what happens next.

Overall, this was such an immersive, mind-bending thriller and I can’t recommend it enough!

I love all John Marrs books and this one is no exception . This terrifying but thought provoking story is a psychological rollercoaster I just couldn’t put down! The way John Marrs marries AI and real world families in a reality tv show world is pure genius and not so far off from our near future . I highly recommend this book!!

This book is not it.
I was expecting a sci-fi thriller from the description and was surprised at the book itself. It might just be because I’m pregnant, but this book left me feeling so ick. It was not easy to keep up with and there was zero bonding with the characters themselves. I did not like this book at all. The plot was more gross than thriller and it needed several trigger warnings.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs. Mr Marrs has created a throughly engrossing, thought provoking and terrifying look into a possible future. Highly recommended.
Thank you to John Marrs, Macmillan publishing, and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

John Marrs is a genius. This book was amazing. I have read every one of his books, and think he can do no wrong. This book is no exception.

I love how Marrs introduces many characters, but flushes them out. I never feel confused, or like I have too many strings to hold onto. I also am shocked that while I usually hate when authors kill off many characters, when Marrs does it it just make sense?

I loved this book, the universe it is set in, and everything he writes.

From the brilliant mind of John Marrs, comes another masterpiece set in the same futuristic/Sci-Fi universe as “The One”, “The Passengers”, and, “The Marriage Act”.

When the future is in the Metaverse and there’s a fine line between the real world and the hyper-realistic virtual reality world, who wouldn’t want to battle it out on a new reality show to win a child? The Family Experiment is the hottest new show, following multiple families as they parent their made-to-order virtual kids in an attempt to win the option to keep their digital offspring, or have the resources provided to have a biological child. The families are rated on public opinion of their parenting skills, creating an interactive aspect where the audience is also the judge.

This multi-POV narration incorporates first person perspective, scripted, and non-scripted audience interactions to bring this game show atmosphere to life. There are even commercials/adverts between some of the chapters! John Marrs is the master of imagining each character and then finding a way to bring them all together- wrapped up in a pretty little bow! His meticulous attention to detail and well-developed storylines lend to his unique writing style. 100% recommend for an enjoyable, captivating, movie-like book that’ll be the talk of booktok this summer!

Thank you NetGalley, Hanover Square Press, and John Marrs for the pleasure of reading and reviewing this ARC.

I’ve got to say John Marrs is literally a genius!! I’m usually into psychological thrillers, but I decided to give this one to go and I must say I was not disappointed. I was a little confused at first as there is 11 different characters and point of views that you have but once you get everyone down, it’s pretty much easy reading. The one thing that I love about this book is the fact that this could happen very soon and honestly that’s kind of scary. This book was entertaining. It had points where it felt like a thriller, and it had points where it felt more like sci-fi so I felt like I was getting 2 to 3 different genres in one book But I loved it! John Marrs Really made it to where you can connect with each and every character and learn to love or hate each and every character as well. I love the fact that this book takes place like it is an actual TV show and you have people rooting for and people you’re not the whole book. The best thing about this book is the twists towards the end end of it. You get to twist and you think it’s over there’s another one and another one! Guess what I’m trying to say great job John, you’ve clearly done it again! Thank you for allowing me to read this early and I can’t wait to buy this when it hits stores!

I really enjoy John Marrs’ near future books and this one was no exception. Interesting premise, multiple points of view…I liked some characters more than others but ultimately loved the way it all dovetailed at the end.

Another great book full of twists from John Marrs! I didn't want to put it down. You won't see the end of this coming!
4/5 stars

Wow!!! What a ride that was! First of all, this isn’t typically my genre, but I am happy to have experienced it.
The scariest part about this book is that we are almost there and some of the issues are happening right under our noses.
Thank you for this ARC for my opinion, in which I highly recommend this novel!

I have read and enjoyed the other books that take place in John Marrs’ speculative thriller universe (The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act… I skipped The Minders). The synopsis of this one grabbed me… a VR tamagotchi baby?! And I knew that Marrs would have some twisty tricks up his sleeve…

This one was off to a confusing start for me. There were so many characters that I found myself getting confused between the different couples. I couldn’t get a solid understanding of who was who for a while. Then once I finally had the characters down, I was able to enjoy the book much more.

Towards the end, the plot got too sci-fi for me that I felt a bit lost, as that is definitely not a genre that I reach for often. I just checked on Goodreads and this was listed as a “science fiction thriller” so I’ll take the blame for not checking that ahead of time.

I recommend this to those who love sci-fi and Marrs’ twisty speculative thrillers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

John Marrs has left me stunned again with The Family Experiment!! Young children are being willingly trafficked by their parents, in exchange for full payment of all their debts. The place that is taking them is subjecting half of the group to unknown horrors, while the others are used to develop AI children for future "parents" of babies that exist solely in the Metaverse. When an AI company announces they will be holding a contest called The Family Experiment, where people will compete against each other while raising AI children on an accelerated development timeline, with the grand prize winner being able to decide between keeping their AI child or using the money to attempt to grow their real world family through the method of their choosing, we get to see some familiar faces from previous John Marrs books enter alongside some new faces. Who will win The Family Experiment? Whose real world lives will be torn apart in the process?


This was one of the most twist filled books I think I've read from John Marrs. The way the AI scenarios are written is actually frightening. Could what took place on these pages actually occur in the not so distant future? I really think that the answer to that is, yes, and that is very scary. Books like this definitely make me long for the 80s, well before I had any inkling that technology could ever grow to a place like in this book.