Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing/Hanover Square Press for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, John Marrs. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!
In the not-so-distant future, the population is soaring, creating overcrowded cities and an economic crisis. A growing number of people can no longer afford to have families. For those desperate enough and for enough money, clients can create a virtual child that lives in the metaverse and is accessible through a VR headset. To launch this project, the company creates a reality TV show to pit 5 couples and 1 single man to see who provides the best parenting. The virtual children go through an accelerated growth pattern, going from birth to age 18 in a 9-month period. Of course, viewers can watch all the interactions, giving red hearts for good parenting and black ones for bad behaviors. Of course there will be monthly challenges the contestants must face. And the prize? The winner can either keep their virtual child or take the prize money to be able to have a real world child. What could go wrong?
John Marrs is the best at speculative fiction - you can easily take reality up a notch and imagine these dilemmas. This will keep you glued to the pages as each of the contestants secrets, motives and behaviors slowly reveal themselves. Also included are news headlines, social media clips, as well as the back story of this concept, and plenty of twists that will leave you gasping. With AI seeming to seep into our current world, this is a scary, eye-opening look into a potential future.
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