The Bossy Bookworm
Aug 3, 20233 min
The True Love Experiment is a wonderful, romantic read about forbidden attraction and heartwarming vulnerability, with steamy scenes, will-they/won't-they tensions, funny dialogue, behind-the-scenes televised moments, and loooooooove.
I loved The Soulmate Equation from the writing team known as Christina Lauren. That book introduced the fantastic best-friend character of Felicity "Fizzy" Chen. The True Love Experiment is Fizzy's story.
Fizzy is a straight talker, a sex-positive woman, and a successful romance writer, but she's never been in love, only in lust. Now she's beginning to feel like she's been selling her readers a lie.
Connor Prince (his last name is Prince!) is a single dad and documentary filmmaker slated by his boss to create a reality TV program about finding love. He's completely out of his comfort zone and the pressure is on--but when he meets Fizzy, he just knows he's found the perfect star for the show.
But in order to get Fizzy to agree to participate, he'll have to meet her many demands, turn stereotypes of reality dating shows on their heads, provide beautiful, smart, self-possessed potential suitors, and leave Fizzy in the driver's seat of it all.
Connor finds himself intrigued with Fizzy in a way that is far from professional, and Fizzy can't deny her growing fascination with Connor. But his career and his ability to support and live near his daughter are on the line, and he can't risk any of it for what's likely to be a fling. Fizzy is contractually obligated not to date outside the show for its duration, so she can't pursue her feelings for Connor either. Maybe one of these producer-chosen guys could even be her match. But there's Connor, always standing to the side and drawing her eye.
I looooved Fizzy and Connor's heart-bursting friendship, forbidden attraction, and their funny banter.
The True Love Experiment is an irresistible exploration of a spark of feelings, impossible difficulties, terrifying vulnerability, and hard-won joy.
The issues keeping the two love interests apart felt powerful and heartbreaking and offered tantalizing tension to the story. The happy ending made me tear up and also made me want to cheer.
This was a wonderful summer read for me and I loved it.
Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book?
The writing team of Christina Lauren also authored the books The Unhoneymooners, In a Holidaze, Love and Other Words, Something Wilder, and Autoboyography.
You might also be interested in the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading, Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading, and Six More Great Light Fiction Stories.