The True Love Experiment
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Overview
The Audie Award Winner for Best Romance of the Year and a Library Reads Hall of Fame pick, The True Love Experiment is the irresistible new novel from New York Times bestselling duo Christina Lauren.
Felicity "Fizzy" Chen has built a career telling readers to believe in love. Bestselling novels, devoted fans, an enviable reputation as the queen of romance — she has it all. Then she's asked to deliver a commencement address, and the question she can't shake stops her cold: has she ever actually been in love herself?
Lust, sure. Plenty of that. But the real thing — the all-consuming, can't-sleep, completely swept-away feeling she's written about a hundred times? Not once.
With her optimism starting to feel like a performance, Fizzy is at a crossroads she didn't see coming.
Connor Prince is in a different kind of trouble. A documentary filmmaker and single dad, he's good at his job — but his boss has just ordered him to produce a reality TV show or risk losing his position entirely. It's not exactly his comfort zone.
Then a chance encounter with a very exasperated Fizzy gives Connor an idea he can't let go of. What if the show followed the queen of romance herself falling in love on camera, for all the world to see?
Fizzy's first answer is a hard no. Her second answer comes with a list of demands.
When Connor agrees to every single one of them, production on The True Love Experiment officially begins. Fizzy gets her shot at finding the real thing. Connor gets his show. And somewhere between the cue cards and the cameras, the lines between on-screen and off start to blur in ways neither of them planned for.
"The True Love Experiment is my favorite kind of book to devour: something that manages to be hot and intense, yet still the very best comfort food. The divine Christina Lauren has created the ultimate reality dating show, and like all its fictional viewers, you'll fall for Fizzy." — Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey
Series Information
Series Name: The Soulmate Equation Series (loosely connected)
Series Reading Order
This series is best read in the order of publication, as 'The True Love Experiment' features a character introduced in 'The Soulmate Equation', and reading the latter first is recommended to avoid spoilers.
Book 1 - The Soulmate Equation
Book 2 - The True Love Experiment
Awards and Recognition
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers' Favorite Romance (2023)
Audie Award Winner Best Romance of the Year (2024)
Library Reads Hall of Fame (2023)
Reviews and Author Praise
"Full of big laughs, a few tears, and some seriously steamy scenes."
— Kirkus Reviews
"A delicious, drawn-out happy ending caps this delightful, heartwarming and sex-positive story."
— BookPage
"Both Lauren's loyal fans and all contemporary romance readers will appreciate this sexy, swoony, heartfelt novel."
— Library Journal
"The True Love Experiment is my favorite kind of book to devour: something that manages to be hot and intense, yet still the very best comfort food. The divine Christina Lauren has created the ultimate reality dating show, and like all its fictional viewers, you'll fall for Fizzy."
— Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey
Topics and Key Themes
Narrative Tropes
Grumpy/Sunshine
Slow Burn
Opposites Attract
Workplace Romance
Fake Dating/Fake Relationship
Key Themes
Writing love versus living it — a romance author discovers the gap between fiction and real feeling.
On-camera vulnerability — falling for someone while the whole world is watching changes everything.
Creative desperation as unexpected matchmaker — two careers on the line spark one unplanned connection.
Single dad, guarded heart — Connor's protective instincts soften when Fizzy refuses to be kept at arm's length.
Performance versus authenticity — Fizzy's public optimism cracks open into something genuinely her own.
Who is this book for?
Primary Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5: Spicy
Open-door romance with balance. You’ll find some on-page intimacy with moderate detail, woven into the story. A sweet spot for readers who enjoy both emotional depth and a bit of steam.
Fans of Emily Henry's Beach Read will enjoy the witty banter, self-aware romantic heroine, and behind-the-scenes media world backdrop woven into this feel-good, emotionally resonant love story.
About the Author
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, The True Love Experiment, The Paradise Problem, and The Romance Revival. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.
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Reader FAQs
The book sits at a moderate-to-high spice level. Kirkus Reviews describes it as having "seriously steamy scenes," and BookPage calls it sex-positive. It is more explicit than a typical rom-com but falls short of erotica.
The True Love Experiment shares Emily Henry's witty banter and emotionally self-aware heroines, but its structure is more plot-driven, built around a reality TV show premise. The tone is warmer and more comedic than Henry's typically introspective style.
The romance develops gradually. The reality show framework keeps the central tension simmering across the full length of the book, with the on-screen versus off-screen dynamic doing a lot of the slow-burn work before the relationship shifts.
The book is written for adult readers. It contains explicit sexual content and mature themes around romantic and professional identity. It is best suited to readers aged 18 and older.
The premise flips the trope — the fake relationship unfolds on a real television production, meaning the performative nature of romance is built into the story's structure. Fizzy's identity as a romance author who has never truly been in love adds a sharp layer of irony.
Info
ISBN: 9781982173449
Published Date: February 13, 2024
Publisher: Gallery Books
Language: English
Page Count: 453
Size: 8.19" l x 5.29" w x 1.43" h
Category
Fiction