I ended up enjoying this book as much as The One! They are set up in the same universe and I enjoyed the concept overall. I felt like the first half was a bit slow with character development. The second half I was much more engaged as I got to see how the couples and their babies evolved.

I love a good multiple POV book and Marrs is so fantastic at the way he progressively tells everyones’ stories. He has many other highly reviewed books and I can’t wait to read more.

For Readers Who Like:
- Futuristic books
- Multiple POV
- Skeletons in the closet

Thank you @netgalley and @hanoversquarepress for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ready for a semi-futuristic thriller? Welcome to meta-verse reality TV. Staring a wide cast of characters, The Family Experiment tests couples and individuals at raising kids, and votes who does it best. People will vote on who is parenting the best meta child for a cash prize or the chance at keeping your meta child forever in the metaverse. The characters were so interesting and I loved that all their secrets came to the surface as the novel went on. The ads of metaverse and comments of Family Experiment viewers were also so fun and added a lot to the book. John Marrs did such a great job of bringing this original story to life. I would definitely recommend this one for the summer reading list! Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced e-copy!

WOW! Talk about everything wrong with the future of AI. Although this book is a work of fiction, John really shows the many ways AI can hinder our lives and experiences. With our real world continually advancing via the use of AI this book hit the mark at a very critical and relevant time. John did a great job at using key items to relate to the current world; such as the setting of a reality tv contest, the use of virtual reality and even the thought provoking ideas of how AI learns from the humans who create. This is not your typical John Marrs thrilling suspense story, but its worth the read none the less.

Book review 📖 The Family Experiment 📺 🧑‍🧑‍🧒
John Marrs

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow. Creepy. What the heck did I just read? I loved how this book tied in the same world in The Marriage Act. So many POVs of the different ‘couples’ but Marrs develops his characters well and without confusion. A sorry set in the future that you know could be real at some point. And, how far it can go with AI development. But wow, all the characters, all the twists and turns, and definitely things you don't see coming!! This was a page turner that I could not put down. If you like Black Mirror this could be for you!

4.25 Stars out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

This solidifies that I need to jump onto the John Marrs bandwagon because this was such a page-turner.

I loved a fast-paced, short-chaptered thriller, and this delivers. I’ll definitely have to read about the other books in this universe.

The whole band of characters were interesting, all had something shady goin on, and it was satisfying to have things I already knew be confirmed or add onto theories I already had. It sucks I (sorta) caught onto the big plot twist in the end as I felt the story was just super obviously going in that direction, but it didn’t take away from the overall experience of cohesively reading everyone’s plot lines.

Also, I love when authors incorporate multimedia clips or interactive things!!

This book is fire!!!

I haven’t read anything by John Marrs before but now can’t wait to read more. This book was a wild ride of twists and turns. Just when you think you’ve got a finger on all the moving pieces another shifts and the puzzle becomes clearer, but a different picture.

This man never ceases to amaze me. John marrs is the king of spectualative fiction/sci fi. The way i started out liking majority of these cast of people to absolutely despising them.

55% into the book all the way to the end kept my head on a swivel. I highly recommend this

A phenomenal science based novel that feels like a glimpse into a very possible and absolutely chilling future! I had been meaning to pick up one of John Mares’ books for years and am so glad I finally did! I was enthralled by his storytelling and can’t wait to read more! Thank you @netgalley for the ARC!

The family experiment… This book will stay with me for a long time because in reality it could happen! A new game show consisting of couples and one single man compete to raise a virtual child through AI and a VR headset. In nine months, the child will go from birth to 18 years old. There will only be one winner of the grand prize which consists of getting to keep their virtual child or taking the cash to hopefully be able to have their own child. The public votes and the public also can pay extra to throw a wrench into the scenario! How about giving one baby colic or maybe another the chickenpox to see how the parents/parent handles each unique situation?
After a few chapters I was able to keep up with the characters, who incidentally ALL had their own secrets!! Secrets they hoped the public would never find out!
The book is filled with many twists and turns and when a chapter would end and a new one would begin I found myself wanting to move ahead and read what was next for that/those characters.
I highly recommend this book! If I had to pick one character I was drawn to it would be Hudson, the single dad, so kind and caring, but what secret is he hiding???
Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing, Netgalley and the exceptional John Marrs for allowing me this excellent advanced copy.

3.5 stars
I’ve read most of John Marrs books and have enjoyed them all! I can always count on him to deliver the set up and knockdown. This was another interesting scenario with unique execution. I really liked the audiobook format with the multi-cast narration. There were a few more character POVs than I’d have liked but it would have been hard to execute a book like this without having so many POVs.
*Thanks to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC of The Family Experiment.
I'm giving this book a 3.75 ⭐️ rating simply because there were so many characters to try and keep track of!
I did enjoy the book, which is set in a futuristic MetaVerse in which people are selected to raise Meta children. I've never read anything like this before (it was also my first John Marrs book, but it won't be my last!).

The book follows participants through the MetaVerse and real world as they raise their Meta children while being live streamed. These participants all have secrets that come out throughout the book/show. Most of the secrets came to light due to other plot twists! Viewers get to watch everything unfold and are able to make in-app purchases to help them succeed with ratings. Everyone was out to get the best ratings but were also able to find more about themselves and others that they may not have found out without participating.
The plot twists were phenomenal as it came down to participants you may not have suspected. Once the final episode appeared, there was lots of drama that unfolded, which was amazing!
Overall, once I got the characters all figured out, it was a much more enjoyable read.

The Family Experiment by John Marrs is a dark thriller following couples selected for a metaverse reality television show competing to be the nation's favorite “family.”

The inspiration for this novel was a news article stating everyday individuals could start a virtual family in the Metaverse. The idea is fascinating especially, with the advancements in technology making this all too possible. Could virtual children bring happiness to those struggling with loss or loneliness in the real world? Will ethics and morals need to be addressed before the public can access this technology? John Marrs explores all the hard questions lawmakers will consider to make this a reality.

For fans of dystopian fiction, this is for you.

Ten couples compete in a reality show to raise a virtual AI child from birth to age eighteen, but condensed into nine months. If they win, they can either keep the prize money and their virtual child, or keep a portion of the prize money and have a ‘real world’ child.

This futuristic world that John Marrs has created is both fascinating and terrifying; it’s a near future that is entirely plausible. Each chapter follows a different couple, (and a single dad) with each contestant harboring dark secrets. They each have their reasons for entering the competition and they aren’t as straightforward as you’d think. With adverts, news bulletins, and social media chats mixed in, this fast paced thriller was hard to put down! By the time I got caught up with one couple, I wanted to know what was going on with the next!

The concept of parenting a virtual AI child is both appealing and disturbing. I could see it being an excellent way to train new parents, but also an outlet for people to do despicable things with little consequences because they aren’t “real” children. There is so much here that could be discussed. Yes this is a speculative techno thriller/sci fi, and kept me riveted, but wow does it cover some hard hitting topics at the same time! There were a few surprises along the way and some horrifying revelations! John Marrs has a WILD imagination and yet he’s zeroed in on real and relevant issues; he’s quickly become an auto-read author for me!
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Thank you John Marrs, The Hive and HTP Books for the gifted copy. All opinions are mine.

Potential spoiler content warnings below.







































⚠️Content Warnings: language, infertility, loss of a child, grief, human trafficking, child slave labor, manipulation, Mention of: infidelity, child abuse, false imprisonment, torture, drug use and addiction

I know John Marks is an excellent storyteller. This book however just wasn't my favorite. I really struggled with parts of it. I am not a fa of reality TV so maybe that is part of the issue. I thought reading it would be better than watching.

What a CRAZY ride…..that seems like it could actually be plausible in the not too distant future. Terrifying!!

I enjoyed this book, though I had hesitations too. I really appreciated the unique premise. The opportunity to help a family grow. The new twist on reality tv. It was a great idea. And all in all I really liked it.

My main cautions are just the graphic parts - I did not expect it when I picked up the book. Especially at the beginning. I had difficulty continuing reading after it, I was absolutely heartbreaking. I’m glad I did read the entire book, it was interesting. But, I would recommend caution to others as there is some violence included.

All in all, an interesting read. Engaging. Twisty, and full of mystery. Definitely a unique thriller! I just may not have been the target audience for this one.

Thanks so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I felt bored and couldn’t connect with the characters. I felt like there were too many stories going on too.

I pushed through to finish but I probably should’ve DNFed it.

I hope others love this one.

I'm giving this one a 3.75 stars, rounding up! Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing & NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is only my second John Marrs book, and I was surprised to find out The Family Experiment takes place in the same dystopian world as The One (and others of his, apparently.) I love the concept of his books. In The Family Experiment, couples are competing in a reality TV show-type experiment where they take on a virtual child. This AI baby will grow quickly, and over the course of the show, the couples will experience every life stage from newborn to 18 years old. All of John Marrs' books seem to give off a very Black Mirror vibe and contain multiple POVs and storylines. This one was a bit hard to keep up with all the names and storylines, especially as they began to intertwine. The plot was so interesting and very well-written, but this one definitely moved much slower for me than The One. Go into this not expecting a thriller but more interconnected drama and mystery.

Overall, a very solid read! I need to go back and read the other books that are part of this universe now!

My favorite thing about John Marrs’ sci-fi has got to be how perfect technological innovation seems till he pulls the rag from under your feet and you are left feeling like “oh I shouldn’t have been excited too quickly”.

This is a fun, quick read. As with most of Marrs' books, there is a very large cast of characters at first and it's not always easy to remember who is who (and what their secrets are). After I was able to keep them straight, my experience with the book was a good one. There are many ethical dilemmas brought to the surface that might become issues sometime in the (not-so distant) future. Such as--what "rights" does a virtual being have? Deserve?

This is a twisty book sure to please fans of Marrs and others looking for something unique and original. If you haven't read the books listed above, I suggest you do read them first even though this book stands alone. It will really give you a more enjoyable experience.

Another hit from Marrs! I do recommend reading some of his other sci fi books first as they kind of lead up to this story (The One, The Marriage Pact). So fascinating and unputdownable!