This was such an enjoyable and sweet read. The pace is nice and the story is easy to follow.
I really liked both the MC’s, but the cherry on top were the side characters as well.

The Love-experiment is a sweet contemporary romance but it doesn’t stop there. It touches on serious subjects as well, such as PCOS, infertility, coming out and abusive relationships. These subjects are all handled with care and it is well written.

Lily is the "love doctor” our relationship expert. Althoug, she hooks up, she is afraid of commitment. She has PCOS and knows having a family in the future will be very challenging, and that’s a reason for the fear of commitment. Jay, a great guy, who truly wants to find the one, but every date leaves him disappointed, no one lives up to his expectations. Jay dreams of starting a family and having children one day. However, after many disappointments and helping his sister, Jay decides to take a break and be chaste for six months. We all know what that means.
"He can’t date, she doesn’t date…but what happens when they fall in love?"

Once again this book brought up serious issues throughout the storyline, which can be heavy. It was a lot for a summer read romance, but it was done very well so I enjoyed it. If the subject matter may trigger you or you may not like it. Then this book isn’t for you. Other than that this was a cute read that I liked. It leaves you not only with a romance book but it leaves you with some food for thought.

*I would have loved an epilogue

Thanks to NetGalley, And Harper Collins, One More Chapter for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book but I just found Lily to be insufferable. She was so mean to Jay during their fight and she didn't even properly apologize for it. And there was not an epilogue to wrap things up so it ended very abruptly.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Oh dear, not for me this one. With the different POVs not being indicated at the start of the chapter, it was unsettling every chapter to try and work out who was speaking. The characters did not have enough of their own distinctive voice to make this obvious enough. Names at the start of the chapter are absolutely critical to this read and they just aren't there.

One plus was having a PCOS storyline, but if it wasnt for that it'd have been a DNF very early on.

I was interested in the different perspectives but it was difficult to tell the difference at times. I appreciated reading about the struggles with PCOS. Also, the teen voices sounded like someone trying to *sound* like a teen and it didn't exactly work. The story was overall cute and it was a fun, entertaining read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

This book gave me all the feels! I love me a good cute romance novel and this was perfect for the sunny days we’re getting now!

Thank you so much for the advance copy but unfortunately I struggled to connect with these characters and the style of writing, so this one wasn't for me.

I really loved the synopsis and thought the story sounded like a fun light read but it was definitely more serious than I expected and at times felt like I was in a therapy session.

I also found the story a bit confusing at times with the dual POV - it would have been helpful if the chapters started with whos chapter it was. It often took a minute to workout who's voice it was.

Sometimes I fall in love with a book instantly, and sometimes it takes a little while. This was one of the latter, but let me tell you, by the final chapters I was laughing and sobbing at more or less the same time, which isn’t the best of looks in a busy Starbucks branch.

The premise of The Love Experiment is deceptively simple; Lily won’t date – even staying the night after a hook up is too much like commitment, and Jay can’t date – he’s promised his sister he won’t in an attempt to show her that changing the habits of a lifetime is possible. But there the cliches end. This book is laugh out loud funny while at the same time dealing with serious issues and the horrendous scars they leave. The more I came to know about Lily’s past the more I ached for her to be able to move forwards. The more I understood what made her the way she is. The more I wanted to be her friend.

All the characters, large and larger than life, are drawn with an incredible eye for detail and a roundness that is often missing in romantic comedy. They were real and will stay with me for a very long time. And laugh? Did I mention a fair chunk of the action is set in a drag club? The names of the artists alone was enough to make me cackle. And don’t even get me started on the harpist…

He can’t date and she won’t date; but, when Lily and Jay find each other, will sparks fly? To make it even more interesting, Lily is the Love Doctor, so she should be totally be able to nail being in a relationship, right? The Love Experiment’s premise sounded really interesting to me, but ultimately, it just fell a little flat.

It was definitely cute, but there was a lot of explanation for things that I didn’t feel helped the story considering how much text they actually took up. I like when characters are self-aware because it makes them feel more real to me, but The Love Experiment was just a little much. It felt like…therapy, almost? I’m not sure how to describe it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review The Love Experiment. Even though I didn’t love it, I believe that some readers will. This was a 3/5 for me.

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review ***

I thought this book was a nice feel good read, it was really enjoyable. It definitely had the "cliche" of the MC not going with the signs that were right of front of her, but of course (thankfully) the side characters came to the rescue in a very timely manner!
The book over all was very cute and had me smiling throughout. There are serious topics touched on in the novel,  but they are done so in a really well written manner.

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Collins and One More Chapter for sending me an eARC of The Love Experiment in return for my honest opinion.
I really wanted to love this book, I loved the concept but I think it just doesn’t quite hit the mark. I struggled to finish it, some days I could only read a couple of pages before I had to stop. I found the two main characters almost difficult to like, they were both a lot, and I felt like we would just get information overload in both of their pov’s and half time I didn’t think it was necessary/or added to the plot. I did like that the PCOS and LGBTQ representation.
Overall the story is very Hallmark (almost to the point it’s cringey), but if you love the “he falls first” trope this story might be for you.

This was a DNF for me. I wanted to like this book. I really did. It just couldn’t hold my interest long enough for me to finish it. The idea of it sounded like so much fun too.

I liked this book a lot, but I didn't love it. I thought the characters had good chemistry and interesting backstories that made this a compelling read. I liked how Lily really knew who she was but also how much she helped others. Jay was even sweeter, having a job dedicated to helping others. Kevin and Dan were a hoot and I loved them so much as supporting characters. Cass was also a good addition to the story. My primary issue with this book is that it is just too long because of repetitive inner dialogue. I didn't need the therapy lessons from Lily (or all of her constant repetitive worrying - I already read about it 10 pages ago!). Jay was less annoying with inner dialogue. I liked what they had to say but I felt like they kept saying it over and over again in each chapter. For as long as the book was, I also wish absolutely everything would have not wrapped up perfectly in the last chapter (44!). The HEA could have been spread out over more than just 1 final chapter. Overall, a good read, but I did have to put it down to give myself a break several times.

This was a fun and quick read! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This book was nothing like the blurb on the back instead focusing on very different issues which wasn't what I was looking for with an easy summer read.
I also found the character of Lily a very unlikeable person - from the beginning telling us good looking she is, how for, how strong - not very easy to like such a big headed character from the off.

While the premise of this book was fun, I felt like it dealt a little too much with the side character's stories and read like a therapy session.

I did enjoy the discussion surrounding PCOS which is what Lily, our main character, has. It was enlightening to read about her struggles and fears. Lily is an interesting character with her flaws which I always love to see, it makes the characters feel more human.

Jay felt like a total cinnamon bun to me, a soft man (yes, it's because he was nice to a cat, I have my own standards)

I loved the inclusion of the Drag World, Drag queens, and how coming out can be tricky and hard. (Looooved High Jinx, she's an icon and so fun)

For the first few chapters, I couldn't for the life of me understand which character was being talked about. I would've loved if at the beginning of each chapter it just stated the name of the character of the POV.

A lot of the dialogue, especially between friends, felt like a therapy session. It felt staged to me and too formal and took away from the story for me.

I also felt like the storyline of Kevin and his coming out, the Drag Race, were central, instead of the love story and as much as I loved it, I wanted to see more of Lily and Jay.

I did enjoy the writing and the setup was promising however this book fell flat for me.

3/5

Big thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Love Experiment is a gorgeous book about love, and I mean every kind of love: romantic new love, tender love, passionate love, steady love, platonic love, self-love, brotherly love, and also bad, limiting, and abusive love.
What I adore about this book is that every single love story is told with no judgement. As a matter of fact, the author encourages us readers to constantly keep in mind that we must do what we're comfortable with, stay true to what we want to be, and try and make our decisions based on our best selves; to remember that whether people are dating or not, whether people dream about finding the perfect match or rather live surrounded by family or friends or cats or even dolls, whether people know they're worthy of pure and healthy love or have yet to realize it, people have to do things in their own time! And I really find it pretty amazing.

The other thing that I really liked is that the characters were so beautifully explored that throughout the book I constantly knew how they really felt. I was literally able to read their thoughts and I never found myself wondering the reason behind their decisions or behaviour. To me, this is pretty crucial in order to be able to feel the tension between the two main protagonists, to feel the sparks and the mad chemistry between them, so that I can't help but root for them. I am telling you... it is impossible not to ship Kitty Wilson's OTPs. So far, I've read two books written by her, and I think this is the best part of her writing style.

It was a different story between two unusual characters. It was ok but wouldn’t be on the top of my pole to read.

This was a very cute romance! Deeper than I had expected, lots of nice talk about relationships and love.

I wanted to love this because the set up seemed awesome, but I could not get into it. DNF at 40%.

There were two structural issues that made it difficult for me to connect with the characters:
1. There is a lot of exposition. I would estimate that 60% of the part I read was the two leads explaining things to the reader. And it started from the very first page. I made it almost 5% into the book before Lily engages in conversation outside of thinking to the reader. There are a lot of details that could have been built into the plot or demonstrated in another way. This style might work well for others, but I just prefer more show that tell.
2. The story is told through dual perspective first person, but there are no indicators which chapters are which character. I was so confused in Jay's first chapter because I thought Lily was still narrating at that point. The voices also weren't distinct enough to tell, and I often had to use context clues that weren't available until a few paragraphs in. It just made for a confusing reading experience and I was so focused on track who speaking that I couldn't really connect with what they were saying.

I think people who enjoy getting a lot of information from the narrator will enjoy this book. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

Based on the blurb, I went into this book expecting one thing (more of a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days type of storyline?) and it was pretty much nothing like that. PCOS and infertility, familial loss and foster care, concern over a loved one in an abusive relationship, drag culture and coming out -- all of those things were significant plot points in this book, yet none of those were included in the blurb, and section that *was* in the blurb (and on the cover!) was ... not really a central part of the story. So... I sort of came into the book with misplaced expectations.

Not withstanding that info, this was a funny and somewhat campy read. The book centers on Lily, the "Love Doctor" who bounces from one hook up to the next to avoid her fear of commitment, and Jay, a great guy who is so set on finding The One and creating the family that he longed for as a child, that he doesn't stop and enjoy his relationships. In secondary storylines, Lily's gay best friend/roommate is a Drag Queen with a secret crush of his own, and Jay's sister is in an abusive relationship, but is unable or unwilling to leave her partner. If that seems like a lot to stuff into one summer read, it kind of was, and yet I enjoyed it. Solid friendships, chosen family, and quality LGBTQ characters definitely helped this book along.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for this opportunity.