Thanks to #NetGalley and #HalequinTradePuishing for the book #TheFamilyExpirement by author #johnmarrs. I loved this book! It keeps your attention throughout & you want to know what’s going to happen next. Imagine if you desperately wanted to start a family, but couldn’t afford it. If you were given the opportunity to participate in a new reality show where you raise a virtual child from birth-18 in a 9 month timespan that would help make your dream come true if you won, would you do it? What would you risk or secrets would you hide to make your dream come true? I definitely did not see the ending coming at all! Such a great book. Make sure you read this!

Set in a near future with self driving cars, the metaverse, and DNA matched couples, the Family Experiment follows a crazy cast of couples and one single parent as they compete in a reality show of raising AI children from newborns to 18 years old. But it becomes so much more than that by the end!

For a while, I found it difficult to remember all the different characters. I ended up writing out a cheat sheet and sticking it to the back of my kindle with the couple names and their distinctive storylines; “basement daughter” and “sperm donor/gambling addict.” As the storylines progressed it was easier to keep up with, and I definitely got pulled in by all the drama and backstories.

The ending neatly wrapped up every storyline, every character getting a proper conclusion, leaving me with no questions, just a thoroughly enjoyed reading experience.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Netgalley, and John Marrs for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The concept of The Family Experiment (creating and raising children in virtual reality) is super interesting and I loved how it was combined with a reality show. At the very beginning, it was confusing telling the couples apart, but each couple's story was unique so I was able to tell them apart after the first part.

I thought I had it all figured out, but of course there ended up being so many twists that I was totally wrong in my guesses. I loved the ending and how Marrs had a concluding chapter for each couple after the experiment was over.

Thank you to Netgallery and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this was such a twisty and immersive read!!! I enjoyed it so much, it really hit so close to home because none of this is too hard to believe considering the trajectory of our current technology... I adore how John Marrs writes this kind of book, he has such a strong handle on pacing and twists and plot that makes it so fun and captivating from the get go. Definitely recommend this one!

Whoa! This book holds you and does not let go. The topic is very contemporary and the story is very fast paced. Good read!

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of The Family Experiment. I love John Marrs’s books and this one did not disappoint. He references some of his other books, so it is good to read his backlist, but not necessary. I love how his books toe the line between thriller, horror, and sci fi. Fans of Black Mirror would love this. This book gives the reader a lot to think about like what does it mean to be a parent and how real is AI. The book takes you through each of the characters and their history. While the “audience “ in the reality show is forming opinions on which one makes the best parent, the reader is as well. Each revelation brings new horrors into each contestant’s past and their reason for taking part in the experiment.

Contestants who want to have a family, but are unable to financially compete on a reality show called The Family Experiment. They are given a child who in 9 months will raise from a baby tk an adult. Trials will be voted on by the audience and the one deemed the best parent will be given the option to remain with their child or receive enough money to have their own child. All the other contestant’s children will be terminated. Each contestant has a past that is revealed through out the book

I have read almost every book in the John Marrs universe and have loved all of them, this one most certainly included!

Marrs way of using the ideas of current technology to bring awareness to a potential not-so-distant future had me doing some deep thinking at the end of this book.

This book introduces us to several characters from the on set, which can be a little tricky to follow, but over time the reader just gets adjusted and each character group feels like family.

By the end of this book, secrets are revealed, story lines are tied up and you are left with a satisfying and thought provoking reading experience.

Lastly, I LOVED all the Easter eggs from previous works. Bravo, John Marrs!

The Family Experiment is a very engaging read that held me glued to the page from beginning to end. This book takes place in the same world as Marrs previous work, this time focusing on parenthood. I had just come from reading a thriller focusing on influencer culture so was a little sad to see that this one had many of the same elements. This is obviously becoming a trend! It didn't take long to get hooked on this reality game show, because you have to pay close attention to keep track of the wide cast of characters. There are many levels to the story aside from the reality tv indictment however, thanks to the extensive backstory that is teased out from each of the characters. Great character development, interesting AI science, thoughtful examinations of grief and parental love, and page turning suspense all combine to make this an excellent read that was hard to put down.

Grab your VR headset and jump into the Metaverse! It’s far enough in the future where reality TV has crashed and burned and is now ready for a comeback. The Family Experiment welcomes 11 contestants to a game that blurs reality and meta universes. Life is simply too expensive to have Real World kids for many people, this game is the launch of a new parenting alternative. Contestants will raise an metachild for 9 months, leaping to new ages/developments every month until a winner is announced at the end when the child reaches “18 years old”.

In true John Marrs fashion, there are a lot of characters to keep straight at first. Luckily with the premise of a game show they do dwindle over time. While the futuristic setting seems outlandish at times, it also feels eerily plausible. We watch as contestants show their desired persona while being watched by millions in the metaverse, but also get a look behind the scenes in the Real World. Each character realistically has baggage and secrets they don’t want exposed. (Hey-just like the world of social media!) The mini-cliffhangers kept me in the edge of my seat and the ending provided a conclusion for all the characters. This is a must read for everyone who has enjoyed the author’s other speculative thrillers.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC opportunity!

The Family Experiment hooked me from the first couple of pages. Delving into the world of AI was intruding, scary & concerning. In this latest book Marrs makes you question how much is too much when it comes to AI. Wrapping up the story neatly in a "ladybird" suitcase (IYKYK) & additionally leaving the reader wanting more displays the magic of Marrs.

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!!