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My Review:Title: The True Love Experiment
Author: Christina Lauren
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Release Date: May 16, 2023
Format: Audiobook, ebook
Narrator: Jonathan Cole, Cindy Kay
Length: 10 hours and 52 minutes
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Source: Kobo Audio, Overdrive
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2023 COYER Chapter 2, Lenoreo's 2023 Diversity Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iTunes ✩ Libro.FM ✩ Chirp
My rating:
Blurb:Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.
Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.
4.5 stars — I’m not sure what I was expecting from Fizzy’s book, but this wasn’t it…in the BEST possible way.
Fizzy was delightfully exuberant, unapologetically herself, totally sex positive, and yet lost in such a unique way. I’m sure I’ve read a heroine like her, but trust me when I say it’s rare. I thought the challenges the authors presented for her were unique, but so real. I mean, imagine what it would be like if you were a romance author, but you hadn’t had a grand romance for yourself. And not the usual storyline where you’re actually really shy and awkward, but the complete opposite. I felt so much for Fizzy, as she marched to her own drum, only to start to question the tune she was marching to. And yet she was still her! She was hilarious, and sassy, and caring, and thoughtful, and just the best kind of fun. It was so real watching her struggle with her fears of being hurt, and trying to manage how things in her past had her running from certain scenarios.
Connor was just the perfect hero for this story. He was quiet, a bit shy, the steady to Fizzy’s chaos. I loved his hard fought for relationship with his daughter and his ex-wife — would that we could all learn and grow as he had. He had moments that totally caught me off guard as they did Fizzy, but I actually really really appreciated the one reveal since it challenged me as well as Fizzy.
I should not have loved their romance as much as I did. Even knowing the authors would find a way to make it all okay, it was so hard to watch them falling in love while the show was going on…especially given I’m not good with love triangles or cheating or anything of that vibe. But the authors managed to massage the situations to the right degree to give tension, but not to leave me feeling icky. To have me uncomfortable at times, but still rooting for that ending I knew I was going to get. And hoo boy, did I get the ending I deserved.
As per usual, lots of fabulous secondary characters — from family to friends to the heroes to crew of the show. At times I couldn’t help but feel like this is what we really want out of reality TV that we’ll never ever get, b/c it all just ran well, and people were actually kind and awesome. But you know what? I don’t care. I was HERE for it.
And as an avid romance reader who has heard it all and seen it all in the derision for my beloved genre, I fucking LOVED the metaness of it all with Fizzy being a romance author. Seeing her challenge people on their views, seeing Connor change his mind, I was here for that too. It might have been a bit heavy handed at times, but I honestly didn’t care.
I read and listened to this one, and I absolutely loved Ms. Kay’s narration of Fizzy. It was perfection. I definitely enjoyed Mr. Cole’s narration as well, but I found the voices a bit harder to discern at times…but that could have been just me.
My only complaint is I wish I’d read this when I had time to just binge it from start to finish. I definitely see a reread in my future.
I’m glad you loved this one so much.