Underwhelming. If I didn’t get an ARC audiobook, thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, I would have DNF’d it. But I felt I had to carry on, hoping it would pick up. But alas - it did not.

I rarely dnf, but this one was worthy of it in my book.

Was it the worst book/story I’ve ever read - no. Would I recommend it, also no.

Both Renee and Ket Siong (the female and male mc) lacked a personality. Maybe it was the narrator but there was almost zero emotion behind either of these two. It made for a very flat read/listen.

Still unsure why these two were attracted to eachother.

If like me, you were a Crazy Rich Asians fan, and are looking for a similar vibe, this is not it.

A slow burn that eventually burns as bright as a birthday candle.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the free ALC.my opinions are being left voluntarily. This was such a miss for me and I literally don't understand the point or end of the story. I did like the narrators so that helped.

I suggest to skip

3.5/5☆

This book is marketed as “delightfully funny,” but it’s definitely not a rom com. I’ve seen it called a K-drama, and maybe that’s a better description. It’s not for me.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book very much!

The plotting and pacing were good. The relationship building was interesting and complicated. I liked the mystery element with the kidnapped family friend and the corporate backstabbing.

This was a fun relationship story with many interesting Malaysian elements peppered in, which I loved. I also liked the frequent descriptions of interesting types of food and clothing specific to Malaysian culture; I love those sorts of details to help me immerse myself more fully into the story.

I listened to the Penguin Random House audio version and I was extremely impressed by the range of the narrator. She had a lovely English accent, which she used for the narration bits, but did an interesting “not quite American International boarding school” accent for the main female character and many variations of Malaysian accents for several others, and a perfect French accent for Natalie. This was a challenging range of voices and she smashed it!

I chose this book because of its gorgeous, stunning cover and the content lived up to my expectations!

There's a lot going on in this book. Renee gets dumped by her hot pop star boyfriend, but soon finds that her dad is thinking of her as the successor for his conglomerate. She also meets her old crush from college, who has his own problems. Her brothers are horrible people and even threaten her.
The truth is, when I started reading this, it reminded me of crazy rich asians, because both include extremely rich people from Singapore and involve succession drama. However, as this book went on, it got more and more convoluted. So I'm not sure if I loved it, but the journey was fun! Not sure if the title and the rest of the book are strictly related, though.

The Friend Zone Experiment follows a few families through...I'm not sure. A political scandal, business scandal, and relationship scandal. I'm not sure how the title of the book fits but there is a relationship that is pretty rocky. Also, this is not a YA read.

Renee's dad tells her he wants to consider her to take over his company so she has to make time for that while running her own business. Her brothers are horrible and out to sabotage her at every turn including threatening to release revenge pron. She ends up working with one of the brothers on an agreement.

Yap Ket Siong is a man Renee met and started to like in college. He found out that Renee's dad's business friend (maybe?) was doing dirty deals and he suspects they're behind the disappearance of a family friend, Steven.

Renee and Ket Siong are reintroduced and start hanging out. There's miscommunication and withheld information that would eliminate most of the drama. Ket Siong's family is still having fall out from Renee's dad's friends' company. He's still on the search for what happened to their friend Steven.

It took more than half the book to hook me, and it happened after I sped it up from 1.5 (my normal) to 1.75. Overall I enjoyed the book but there was a lot going on and it was hard to keep up with it all. I'm sure that if this type of book is someone's jam then they'd love it. I'm not sorry I read it but I don't think I'd reread it.

I listen to an audio version of The Friend Zone Experiment. This was about romance, love, class, money, and I was there for every minute of it. Loved it.