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.

If you want your remaining brain cells to sizzle like charcoal, just flip through the pages of any John Marrs book and feel the ground shake under your feet as the smoke of your burning cells fills the air. His works are truly spectacular, some even more intelligent and mind-bending than episodes of Black Mirror. What's most horrific is that the scenarios described in these books, questioning the revolutionary progression of technology and AI controlling lifestyle, could all become true. If an author can imagine such an ugly truth, then the creators of the technology can too.

"The One" marks the beginning of Marrs' mind-bending tech saga, followed by my favorite sci-fi thrillers "Passengers," "Minders," and "Marriage Act." I recommend starting with these to better understand "The Family Experiment." Some characters, like Cadman N’Yu, appeared in "Passengers," and there's a storyline about an auto-controlled car accident related to other characters. To piece together the puzzle and get a clearer picture, start with the saga where people find their loved ones via DNA testing, which connects the stories of how the government shapes modern British families with regulations in the Marriage Act. Finally, in this book, we find out how genetics and technology change the way of parenting in the Metaverse Universe.

As the world population soars and economic crises increase, a growing number of people can barely afford to support their families, with some even resorting to illegal means like trafficking their children to pay off debts. In the middle of this crisis, companies find another way to protect the sanctity of family life.

Can you imagine having a child called “MetaBabies”? Pre-ordered children exist only in a virtual world called “Metaverse” where parents can pick and choose the age, sex, and design their appearances from eye to hair color, skin tone, body shape, accent, interests, and speed of their growth.

Awakening Entertainment company uses this technology for their latest reality show called “Family Experiment” where six couples are tasked with looking after children in different phases, from newborns to fully grown up. The AI-based created children are programmed to grow like real children, their experiences determined by the nurturing they receive from each parent.

Viewers can watch every moment the families experience in the Metaverse, and one lucky selected viewer can even join them for a limited time to meet the children. The participants will be pushed to the limits with monthly challenges to learn the difficulties of parenting, with virtual black and red hearts on the screen showing the viewers’ live responses to their actions and conversations with their children. Of course, there’s a big prize at the end, and the decision for the parents to keep their virtual baby or terminate the avatar to raise their own child with financial support for IVF treatments.

We are introduced to couples including Rufus and Kitty who left the competition shortly after a tragic event occurred during the live streaming.

I can honestly say none of the characters are likable, but of course, there’s a reason behind all these irritating character developments that serve the big picture.

Woody, a drone pilot, and Tina, a euthanasia nurse in 36 seem like a peaceful couple with their daughter Belle, but they hide something very dangerous in the basement. Is there a person? Are they putting someone there trapped without letting go?

Cadman N’Yu, a social media influencer in 36, and Gabriel Macmillan in 26, PA, are the only gay people. It seems like their financial inequalities and age differences have turned Cadman into the controlling man in their relationship, and he has leverage that turns Gabriel into the obedient one. Unfortunately, Cadman acts like their son River is a cash cow by monetizing his milestones in life with influencing business.

Dimitri & Zoe Taylor Georgiou, a couple in their late forties, already had and lost a son before. Both of them hide something from each other behind closed doors and are threatened by somebody who knows their secrets from the outside world but who?

Selena, a data analyst, and Jaden Wilson, her husband, a personal trainer, both in their early thirties, had hiccups in their marriage because of Jaden’s financial secrets. Now they have another chance to be a family. But Selena couldn’t relate to their child as much as Jaden did, and a dangerous stalker starts terrorizing their life that may open a can of worms revealing more truth that may risk their entire relationship.

And Hudson Wright, single, 22, raising Alice alone is the most controversial parent who needs to prove he can shoulder both parents’ roles in the family. Interestingly, Hudson is not in the contest for the prize. He has another motivation to raise awareness. But what is it?

As the competition continues, the secrets of the contestants start revealing, the tragic incidents keep occurring, and everything will change, from your perspective to the realities and the AI technology that may affect people’s lives more than you imagine.

Overall, my mind exploded. I only downgraded half a star because after the shocking twist of the book, the aftermath that shows each contestant’s lives was too long and lowered the tension of the entire settlement, even though they consisted of other small twists like Easter eggs you found hidden in the grass.

I’m still rounding up 4.5 stars to 5 mind-bending stars and raising my glass to the extremely intelligent mind of John Marrs! Looking forward to reading his next journey in this heart-throbbing, grey cell-exploding saga!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press for sharing this wonderful sci-fi journey’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an arc of this new title by John Marrs. The Family Experiment is set in the same world as previous books by the author, such as “The One” and “The Marriage Act”, but this time we follow 10 couples who are on a new hit reality show competing in the metaverse while raising a virtual child.

Each couple creates a child from scratch that they can only raise through a virtual reality headset, throughout the span of 9 months. However, during those 9 months each couple will experience the difficulties of raising the child from birth-18 years of age. The catch? You are being streamed live 24/7 and viewers are rating your every move and determining your next through polls. The winner gets a chance to keep their virtual child or start a family of their own with their cash prize. But are things as they seem, or only as presented for TV?

This book was a wild ride. It started off hard to keep up with each set of couples and everything they brought to the table backstory wise. There is a ton of information to process, but as the story progresses you get used to it. I had an early fear that I wouldn’t be able to connect with any of the characters just knowing how many there were, but that didn’t end up being the case! By the end, I had to praise this author for how he had everything fall into place with no stones left unturned! I will definitely be reading more by him.

The Family Experiment is a speculative thriller that falls into the future Marrs has built with previous books (The One, Passengers, Marriage Act, Minders). While this can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the others first as they all fit together. The book is about a reality show that takes couples and has them competing to who is the best parent of a meta child. In true Marrs fashion, there are wicked twists and horrific situations. No character is left safe! While I feel the writing of this book is slightly less flowing than the others, it’s still such an original idea and fun ride to be on. I really enjoy the futuristic concepts as it’s a genre that’s rarely explored. His stories are always so unique and he does not shy away from complex characters, mentally unstable characters or just offing ones here and there.
If you enjoy John Marrs books, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. If you haven’t read his books, do yourself a favor and pick them up. You won’t be disappointed

The population of the world is out of control. In the UK, families cannot afford to have a family. Enter a new company that can allow you to experience raising a virtual child in the metaverse. These AI children have unique personalities and seem so real. Just slip on your VR headset and care for this child like your own.

To promote this new program, this subscription-based company launches a reality show where 10 couples compete for votes from the public on how they parent their virtual child. In 9 months these virtual children age from infant to 18 years old. There is plenty of drama and horror along the way.

John Marrs stays faithful to the world he created in The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act, all sci-fi futuristic thrillers where AI plays a major role. I love his reminders and references to characters and incidents from these past books, especially from the adrenaline-fueled, twisted novel, The Passengers.

Told through multiple viewpoints, the story goes back and forth between the families as they struggle to love and care for their new child. Each family has secrets to hide, including one family with a real daughter locked away in their basement.

Marrs writes with the intensity and tension that I have come to expect from reading his previous sci-fi thrillers inhabiting this messed-up world. I highly recommend reading each one if you like creative, crazy stories set in an alternate reality.

The Family Experiment is well-written with plenty of dark twists that will keep you entertained and a little appalled.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Press for the early review copy.

Absolutely incredible. I was utterly blown away, it was another unputdownable thriller by John Marrs. Set in the same universe as his other speculative thrillers, together they set the stage for this gripping new story (while still being able to enjoy this novel as a standalone). Multiple character viewpoints with staggering secrets and development keep you turning page after page long into the night. The plot itself is eerily frightening as you think about the future of AI and where it might take the world. As 5 couples and one solo parent compete in a 9-month long 24/7 livestream reality television event in the Metaverse raising an AI developed “Metachild” contestants’ limits are tested, and true colors are shown! The highly coveted prize for the winner of the show makes for a cutthroat competition and a quick read. I highly recommend The Family Experiment.

Wow! John Marrs has one creative mind! Once again, this story is the 5th book in his speculative fiction series. If you have read any of the others then you know you’re in for quite a ride!

There is a new reality show called The Family Experiment. Five couples and one single father are the contestants. They are given the opportunity to raise a virtual child through a virtual headset in the Metaverse. The children grow at a rapid speed within nine months total. The viewers vote for who stays and who goes.

This one was a little harder to keep up with due to all the many characters. Plus, all the sci-fi futuristic stuff. I still enjoyed it and oh boy once again a wild ending that will blow your mind!!! 😱

Huge thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing, NetGalley and the ever so talented John Marrs for the opportunity!
Publication date July 9, 2024
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Family Experiment is a science fiction tv reality story exploring how people could raise families online. The chosen families will raise their digital children under the watchful eyes of the internet 24/7. Families are chosen and for nine months they are given the gift of raising a child to adulthood. As in real life, the experience with the computer children are different. No two are the same.
Throughout the story you are drawn in not only by the virtual reality experiences, but also the families and how they came to be on the show. You see their lives and sense how they are feeling. When it finally ends, there's shock and sadness you don't see coming.

Throughout the story my mind kept referring back to the tv commercial with the parents out cycling, hiking, etc and the young girl sitting in her home alone on the computer incredulously saying her parents had around three friends. I kept thinking how sad it is capable people are choosing to live their lives alone on a computer.

"John Marrs' 'The Family Experiment' is like Fourth Wing meets Hunger Games meets reality tv. The story follows the lives of multiple characters whose paths intertwine as they each process the implications of a groundbreaking genetic experiment; raising virtual children. It took me a while to remember all of the characters that were introduced, but I really enjoyed each of their depths and perspectives throughout the book. Readers who enjoyed ‘The One’ will absolutely enjoy this book as well, as it follows a similar format. With its fast-paced plot, unpredictable twists (I did not see that ending coming!), and richly developed characters, 'The Family Experiment' will keep the reader engaged from start to finish.

Wow. What an absolutely wild ride! I have such a whirlwind of emotions right now…

When I tell you I quite literally couldn’t put this one down, I really couldn’t. The mix of sci-fi/ thriller and a dash of ‘all too realistic (yet terrifying) futuristic possibilities’ was such an amazing combo I could not get enough.

For fans of Marrs’ previous novels - The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act, you will absolutely DEVOUR this book. It was set in the same timeframe/ universe as these novels, and there all subtle mentions / Easter eggs throughout the story relating back to those books.

This was such a spectacular read, and would also make a phenomenal Netflix series (plz do this)

Pub date is July 9! Make sure you add this one to your TBR asap.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press for an ARC of this amazing book!

"The Family Experiment" by the one and only John Marrs. Let me tell ya, this book? It's not just good—it's next-level amazing. Seriously, this book had me hooked from the get-go with its crazy twists and turns. John Marrs is no doubt the master of dystopian thrillers.

Marrs paints a hauntingly vivid picture of a society grappling with overpopulation and economic turmoil, where the dream of starting a family seems like an unattainable luxury for many. But there's this wild alternative. You can literally create a virtual kiddo from scratch, like, whoa! Just slap on a VR headset, dive into the metaverse, and bam—you're a parent. And get this, there's a reality TV show called "The Substitute" where couples raise these virtual babies in nine months flat. The prize? Keeping the digital kid or rolling the dice for a real one.

But here's where Marrs really shines: his writing style is outta this world. He effortlessly weaves together the drama of the reality show, audience reactions, and the lives of the main characters into one epic rollercoaster ride. It's like binge-watching your favorite series, but with the added thrill of flipping through the pages of a killer book.

Each character got their own deal going on, all twisted and tangled up. You'll find yourself rooting for your faves, holding your breath during their nail-biting moments, and maybe shedding a tear or two along the way.

Oh, and the ending? Marrs knows how to deliver the perfect conclusion, even if it's not what you were expecting. And those dark secrets behind the tech? Mind. Blown.

So if you're into mind-bending thrillers and dig pondering the future, this book is like a must-read. Marrs takes us on a wild ride through a not-so-distant future, where the line between reality and virtuality is blurrier than ever.