The Family Experiment by John Marrs

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

4/5 stars

In the not so distant future tech and AI have taken over, cost of living is horrendous, the NHS barely exists (context indicates that it mainly only helps kids under a certain age), and having a child via IVF is prohibitively expensive. Enter the Metaverse and their groundbreaking new endeavour: a virtual child. Due to be rolled out nationally it opens with a televised competition where the public vote for the best family. The family that wins gets to either keep their virtual child or £250,000 to have a real child of their own.

This was a fascinating concept and while it took a while to get to know the families I loved the progression and how little tidbits of information were slowly revealed throughout the book. All the families had secrets and finding those out was so satisfying. I also really liked the mixed media format with advertisements and social media threads dotted through the book.

The only thing is I wish that the ending was a little more rounded out, it felt a little incomplete. I also would have liked more detail about the world they're living in. What year is it, what has changed, what caused these changes?

Stef Out x

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

Ebook provided by Pan MacMillan via NetGalley for review. Thank you.

4/5 stars

Theo and Kit are exes who split in a blaze prior to a food tour of Europe. Now Theo (Theodora) is finally using her rescheduled ticket to get away from things and take a break before her sommelier exam. But who should she meet but Kit, also redeeming his ticket. Things start off tense but friendship regrows out of a hook-up competition and Theo realises she's falling back in love with Kit.

The book is split into two halves, the first half narrated by Theo and the second half by Kit. I loved reading both their perspectives on both current and past events.

The characterisation of our two mains was beautiful and Theo and Kit were so well-rounded but a lot of the side characters felt flat and under-used, the rest of the people on the food tour for example.

Also as someone who is not a foodie and not a drinker the constant food and drink descriptions got a little boring. I preferred reading about the scenery and the local people more. Also excellent queer rep throughout, Theo and Kit are both bi/pan and there were multiple displays of this, plus side characters - those of which I'd have liked to have known more of their story.

Stef Out x