Summary from Goodreads:
The world's population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a Virtual Child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

I love a good science fiction/dystopian thriller that makes you think!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

Marrs’s sci-fi thrillers are always fun and this is just another one to add to the list! I love books about tv shows, and this one follows a reality show where contestants take care of their own AI child. it’s a fascinating and bingeable thriller that also has a lot to say about the development of technology and how scary our world is becoming with so much AI at our fingertips.
As with all Marrs books we follow lots of POVs which can be hard to keep track of at first, and of course some storylines are inevitably more interesting than others, which I can see being a detractor here but we move through characters so quickly I didn't have an issue.

I have always like John Marrs' stories but have sometimes found his writing style to not be my particular taste. This book was a completely different experience and I was hooked all the way through.

In a time of overpopulation, for a subscription fee, people can create and raise a virtual child. A new reality tv show follows ten couples as they raise virtual children from birth to 18, condensed into a 9 month period.

First off, the premise of this book hooked me from the beginning. I love plot lines that center around reality tv. The book was thought provoking and was almost a chillingly realistic futuristic concept. I loved the drama and all of the plot twists.

The only thing I didn't love about the book was the number of characters. I found it quite overwhelming at first.

The Family Experiment
John Marrs
7.9.24

I loved that with Marrs books, I’m in the same world as his previous books.

In The Family Experiment, a new company is trialing an AI child available in the metaverse. They’re having a competition to kick off their new ‘product’ complete with a viewing app where folks can vote on the chosen parents participating. The winners grand prize being keeping their metaverse child at the end or a large cash prize.

The development of the characters, their unique backstories, and motives is what really kept me invested. I loved the worldbuilding, and as I said earlier, the incorporation of previous stories is such a treat.

As with all of John’s books, I learn something new and with the advent of AI, it’s not really as shocking of a concept as it may have been 5 years ago. He’s really a step ahead in SFF and pushes the envelop between reality and fiction. That, I think, is what makes his books just a tad scarier!

My thanks to @HTPBooks for this gifted DRC.

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: Contestants looking to start a family create an AI child through a reality show to understand what it’s like to be a parent.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: As good as John Marrs’ thrillers are, I enjoy his sci-fi thrillers most. Part of the same universe as his books The One and The Passengers, this one took some of those characters a step forward and it was gold!

He writes the most unlikeable characters and yet somehow still gets me to care about them and the storyline. Also, I really enjoy the futuristic AI themes that make his books sci-fi, but remain so realistic that I can absolutely picture it happening in a few years.

This was such a twisted book with some truly despicable characters and an underlying theme of child trafficking (trigger alert) and one of my new favorites of 2024!

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 love reading sci-fi with artificial intelligence
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 enjoy connecting the dots between characters
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 are here for found family and creating a family

I really really wanted to like this one :( I enjoyed The One quite a bit, but this is the exact same vibe except not nearly as engaging of a premise. I did like some of the storylines, but there were others that I couldn't help but skim over.......... idk like I just wasn't vibing with it. The characters didn't feel authentic and the plotlines didn't feel real.

Another great John Marrs book!

In a world where overpopulation exists, the new solution is having a carefully created virtual child in the Metaverse with all the attributes and characteristics you desire. The AI is so powerful that your Metababy is nearly indistinguishable from a real baby, both in mannerisms and actions, like it’s been trained after a real child.

Awakening Entertainment Company releases this new, advanced technology in a reality show with 6 families and their virtual child. The couples wear VR and haptic suits so they can feel everything and interact with their virtual child, allowing them the full experience of raising an actual child in the real world; all of this is live-streamed 24/7 to be viewed by millions. The winner chosen by popular vote with the option to keep their virtual kid OR have prize money in the Real World to fund starting a family. Each chapter focused on a different couple and their interactions with their metachild as it develops through growth stages from newborn to 18 year old.

Gabriel and Cadman with metachild River
Dimitri and Zoe with metachild Lenny
Hudson, single dad, with metachild Alice
Woody and Tina with metachild Belle
Selena and Jaden with metachild Malachi
Rufus and Kitty with metachild Olivia

Who will be chosen and will they keep their metachild or go for the prize money?

Spoilers ***
Marrs does a great job of introducing characters slowly and allowing details to come out chapter by chapter, allowing the reader to develop their opinions on the couple.

I feel like there are some realistic challenges parents face woven throughout the book: colic, bullying, drugs and teens, puberty. There are a fair share of trigger warnings- baby Olivia with colic resulting in a Rufus causing her death from shaken baby syndrome; Jaden’s infidelity during marriage and his children with multiple women; Dimitri and Zoe trafficking their child Adam to ease financial difficulties; River having exposure to drugs resulting in his friends death from OD.

The story was fast paced, interesting, and compelling, the reader wanting to know what’s the next twist! There are some easter eggs with reference to The One. I enjoyed that Marrs closed up each storyline so there were no significant loose ends

Thank you NetGalley, Hanover Square Press Publishing, and author John Marrs for this ARC, it made my day!
Pub date: July 9, 2024

This book plot was so unlike anything I’ve ever read and I really really enjoyed it. If you’re a fan of virtual reality systems/reality tv/suspense thrillers you definitely need to check this book out!

It’s set around a new reality show where 11 people are competing against each other to raise a virtual reality child. Viewers vote on who their favorite couple/single parent is and that’s who wins the grand prize: to keep the virtual child you’ve raised or go home with 250k to start a family of your own.
But each of the contestants seem to have skeletons in their closet and secrets they’re desperately trying to keep.

This book had POVs from each of the contestants, which at first I thought would be confusing, but it truly wasn’t at all - each character had their distinct “voice” and I found it very easy to follow along with.

Do check the trigger warnings on this before you start reading, because some of the things that happen to the MetaPeople could be triggering!

All in all, highly recommend this one for a good thriller read that you won’t be able to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Hanover Square Press, and John Marrs for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

The family experiment
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 7/9/24!

Overall I really enjoyed the ride this book took me on. The premise was absolutely unique, with several twists throughout that I did not see coming. I did enjoy the different POVs and formats, as news articles and chat room posts were used in telling the story. My only qualm with this was the amount of characters; especially in the beginning, I found it hard to keep up with them which did lead to some confusion. I have not read any other of John Marrs’ books set in this universe, but I am definitely going to pick them up after enjoying the idea behind this novel. Definitely recommend giving this one a read if you are looking for a unique and twisty plot! If you do pick this one up, however, please check any relevant trigger warnings before doing so.

Another amazing story from the equally amazing John Marrs!! While there were A LOT of characters and it took me a hot minutes, I felt that it all came together perfectly and I enjoyed every minute of it! Such a page turner, I didn’t want to put it down.
Thank you to harlequin trade publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

Wow…so good!! This is a speculative thriller about a reality TV show called “The Family Experiment” where couples, and a single man compete, raising a Meta Child in the metaverse through AI. The audience will watch all the action as these families live. The child will grow up over 9 months. At the end of the show, the winner can decide to keep their Meta Child, or choose the money to help them have their own real world child.

I found this whole concept so unique. These couples seem normal throughout the beginning of this book but as the plot progresses, you'll read about the secrets they have and will be exposed. There are a few good twists that completely caught me off guard. I think it came together well in the end. Such a fun, engaging read! Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review..all opinions are my own.

I’m a John Marrs fan so reading this one was a no brainer. Not to mention that the topic sounded super intriguing. It was a slow start as the characters were all introduced, but once I was into it, I couldn’t wait to find out what happened. The short chapters help me fly through it. The end was surprising and really tied together the story in a great way!
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for a copy of this book!

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Family Experiment by John Marrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 465 / Genre: Technothriller

In this latest John Marrs technothriller, people can get an extremely realistic experience of having and raising a child through AI. And to promote this new technology, Awakening Entertainment is airing a new reality show called The Family Experiment, where couples and one single man will each raise a MetaChild in the Metaverse at an accelerated rate over 9 months. The audience gets to watch these families live 24 hours a day and vote for their favorites. The winner will either get to keep their MetaChild or receive £250,000 to start a Real World family via traditional means, IVF, surrogacy, or adoption.

All of the contestants, of course, seem totally normal at first but as the story goes on, their dark secrets begin to reveal themselves. This book was such a binge for me. You never know what’s going to be revealed next. Such a twisty, juicy treat!

Thank you, @NetGalley, @HarlequinBooks, and @JohnMarrs.author for my gifted copy. I loved it!

The book was so wild. It’s like looking in to a dystopian future. It’s set in the same universe as a few of Marrs’ other books. While you don’t need to read the others, they are referenced throughout this book.

I give Marrs a lot of credit for thinking of this idea set in this world. AI and the metaverse scare me tbh, and he did a great job of purposely finding the scarier parts and highlighting them.

Though I appreciated the concept and it was well thought-out, I just didn’t LOVE the book, but I liked it and wanted to know what would happen. To note, there are a lot of characters (multiple couples competing in the experiment) and while each chapter clearly defines the subjects of the chapter, it’s still a lot to keep track of. I personally didn’t really care for any of the characters either. Overall though, a good book with an interesting concept.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you HTP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chillingly futuristic and realistic world of AI and Metaverse children and reality shows. I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I surprisingly really enjoyed this. I mean I thought I would like it, but it was better than expected. There was a lot of character switching and because this was an ARC the layout was a bit harder to follow, but I really got into the story fast. Some of the content was outrageous and made you shake your head but in a good way. It was obviously fiction, but the way that we are headed in society, I believe that this could actually be a semi-factual tale of the future in many ways. Recommend.

John Marrs never disappoints. I have been wholly invested in this series. Although there was one minor spoiler from The Passengers included in this story, it can easily be read as a standalone.

With so much talk of AI, the contents of this book could really become a reality someday. Like all of this authors other speculative thrillers, this book was sinister and addicting. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley, John Marrs, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my free ebook copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

This was my first book by John Marrs and also my first dystopian genre read. This book has peaked my interests to read others by John. Especially The Marriage Act, which was referenced several times. I'm interested to see how the two intertwine.

The book starts off introducing 4 couples and one single man as the stars of a new TV show “The Family Experiment”, that takes place in the Metaverse. “The Family Experiment” follows these couples and singleton in a 9 month long journey of parenting a MetaChild, from newborn to 18 years old. Of course, there is prize money involved, and everyone wants it, but one.

At face value, everyone seems fine and like alright people, but quickly we learn they ALL have secrets, and sooner or later all secrets see the light of day.

I’m rating this 4.5 stars, I found myself taking longer to get through this one. It’s definitely a slow burner, but around halfway through I was “mouth ajar”. There were twists that I had not expected, and many times I thought I saw the end coming, but then right at the end, the story threw a curve ball. I really enjoyed that the story was tied up in a nice package. No loose ends.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Book Review🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒
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Summary- Some families are virtually perfect…

The world’s population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. And in the UK, the breaking point has arrived. A growing number of people can no longer afford to start families, let alone raise them.

But for those desperate to experience parenthood, there is an alternative. For a monthly subscription fee, clients can create a virtual child from scratch who they can access via the metaverse and a VR headset. To launch this new initiative, the company behind Virtual Children has created a reality TV show called The Substitute. It will follow ten couples as they raise a virtual child from birth to the age of eighteen but in a condensed nine-month time period. The prize: the right to keep their virtual child, or risk it all for the chance of a real baby…

Set in the same universe as John Marrs’s bestselling novel The One and The Marriage Act, The Family Experiment is a dark and twisted thriller about the ultimate Tamagotchi—a virtual baby
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts- happy pub day to this fantastic read, thank you @htp_hive for the advanced copy! While sci fi is not my usual genre this book was so good! It’s essentially a reality show where each couple raises a virtual baby that grows faster than a normal child. It was so crazy and each couple has more secrets than the next! I really really enjoyed this one, it was my first from @johnmarrs.author and certainly will not be my last! Grab this where books are told today!
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QOTD- how do you feel about AI? Do you use it at all or do you avoid using it ?! I’m a teacher and haven’t embraced the world of AI, but I have certainly caught many papers written by AI 🫠
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#thefamilyexperiment #johnmarrs #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookstagram #booksofig #booksofinstagram

Love them or hate them, Marrs knows how to write page-turning thrillers. Shocking reads that grip you by the face and keep your eyes glued unblinking (my mind is immediately picturing A Clockwork Orange). And I mean, what more do I want from a thriller? Chef’s kiss.

The Family Experiment is a slightly terrifying read showing the distant future where you can virtually care for a child. Exploring AI’s impact on this futuristic thriller gave me all the scary thoughts. The book is centered around a reality show with couples competing and raising their metaverse children.

An all-around crazy read with shocking twists and entirely bingey. Highly recommend to any fans of futuristic, speculative thrills. I don’t recommend this being your first Marrs book though, since there are A LOT of references and spoilers to his other books that take place in this same universe.