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amandas_reading_nook's Reviews (372)
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
John Marrs does speculative fiction so well. He tackles issues that we're seeing creep up today and takes them to the next level in a way that rivals any Black Mirror episode.
Set in the near-distant future, the world is suffering from a rising population and an economic crisis, and more people than ever find that they cannot afford to start, or sustain, a family. Enter The Family Experiment, a new reality game show that challenges five couples and one single parent to raise virtual children, created by AI, in the Metaverse over the course of nine months. These children will grow at an accelerated pace and require all the love and care that real children do. The winner(s) of the show will have to decide whether to keep their virtual child or to "turn them off" and accept a cash prize to start a family in the Real World.
Naturally, all of the contestants have a secret to hide and generally are unlikeable people.
As always, I enjoyed the use of multiple POVs to follow all of the contestants. Marrs' writing and storytelling really kept the suspense on high for the entire novel, which is what I'm always looking for in a thriller. I also really liked the added elements of online comments, articles, broadcast scripts, etc. I thought I saw the twist coming and then was even more surprised when I was wrong! I also enjoyed how Marrs really tied up all the loose ends- I was left with no questions unanswered.
Even though this book is set in the same universe as multiple of his previous works, Marrs does a good enough job summarizing the important parts that I would say you could read this as a standalone. I personally haven't read The Passengers yet, which is referenced multiple times, and had no problem understanding the story. Though if you like this one I would highly recommend you go back and read the others in this series.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy.
Set in the near-distant future, the world is suffering from a rising population and an economic crisis, and more people than ever find that they cannot afford to start, or sustain, a family. Enter The Family Experiment, a new reality game show that challenges five couples and one single parent to raise virtual children, created by AI, in the Metaverse over the course of nine months. These children will grow at an accelerated pace and require all the love and care that real children do. The winner(s) of the show will have to decide whether to keep their virtual child or to "turn them off" and accept a cash prize to start a family in the Real World.
Naturally, all of the contestants have a secret to hide and generally are unlikeable people.
As always, I enjoyed the use of multiple POVs to follow all of the contestants. Marrs' writing and storytelling really kept the suspense on high for the entire novel, which is what I'm always looking for in a thriller. I also really liked the added elements of online comments, articles, broadcast scripts, etc. I thought I saw the twist coming and then was even more surprised when I was wrong! I also enjoyed how Marrs really tied up all the loose ends- I was left with no questions unanswered.
Even though this book is set in the same universe as multiple of his previous works, Marrs does a good enough job summarizing the important parts that I would say you could read this as a standalone. I personally haven't read The Passengers yet, which is referenced multiple times, and had no problem understanding the story. Though if you like this one I would highly recommend you go back and read the others in this series.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the digital review copy.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved the first half of this book.
Five band members and a videographer are in a car accident in the Catskills during a snowstorm. They have no way to find help with weather conditions worsening and night quickly approaching. Thankfully the group finds an abandoned cabin to shelter in overnight; however, by the next morning three of the women are dead, one is missing, and one has no memory of the night, leaving only one with the knowledge of what happened.
The first half of the book is dual timeline between the events of the accident and how the two main band members met in high school and came to expand the group. I really enjoyed this aspect and honestly wanted even more backstory on the girls and their toxic relationship. However, after the halfway point I feel like the pace started to drag. I really enjoyed the twist, but the main character reveals something that I feel made the ending fairly predictable.
I feel like once we knew where Madison was there really wasn't a lot of suspense left and it left only one option for who could be behind the rest of the weird things happening to Vienna. I also felt the ending was a bit weak and wasn't convinced that the murderer would offer up their confession like that.
I enjoyed the writing style and the inclusions of other forms of media like articles, podcast transcripts, etc. I also loved the setting of a creepy cabin all alone in the middle of a snow storm- very atmospheric and added a lot to the overall suspense of the plot.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review
Five band members and a videographer are in a car accident in the Catskills during a snowstorm. They have no way to find help with weather conditions worsening and night quickly approaching. Thankfully the group finds an abandoned cabin to shelter in overnight; however, by the next morning three of the women are dead, one is missing, and one has no memory of the night, leaving only one with the knowledge of what happened.
The first half of the book is dual timeline between the events of the accident and how the two main band members met in high school and came to expand the group. I really enjoyed this aspect and honestly wanted even more backstory on the girls and their toxic relationship. However, after the halfway point I feel like the pace started to drag. I really enjoyed the twist, but the main character reveals something that I feel made the ending fairly predictable.
I enjoyed the writing style and the inclusions of other forms of media like articles, podcast transcripts, etc. I also loved the setting of a creepy cabin all alone in the middle of a snow storm- very atmospheric and added a lot to the overall suspense of the plot.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
