The True Love Experiment is a contemporary romance written by the author duo known as Christina Lauren and published in 2023. The novel brings back Felicity “Fizzy” Chen, a supporting character from Lauren’s best-selling The Soulmate Equation, this time making her the star of a reality dating show that uses the previous book’s DNA-based technology. A romance writer in a slump in both her writing and dating life, Fizzy agrees to appear on the show but falls for the attractive-yet-buttoned-up producer, Connor Prince, putting both the production and her heart at risk.

Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the duo behind Christina Lauren, have published over 30 books together, reaching the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestseller lists. This book is a love letter to the romance genre and an argument for the free expression of female sexual desire, as well as a story that successfully uses the conventions that make romance the biggest segment of the fiction market.

This guide refers to the hardcover edition released by Gallery Books in 2023.

Plot Summary

The novel is narrated in chapters that alternate between the first-person points of view of the two romantic leads, Fizzy and Connor. In the Prologue, Fizzy gives a commencement speech to a graduating class. As she advises them to live their life like a romance novel, she realizes that she has lost her joy. Nearly a year later, Fizzy hasn’t written the book her fans are waiting for; since her own dating life has fizzled, she hasn’t been able to write about love authentically. She chats with her happily married best friend, Jess, at a bar one evening. On TV, they watch Jess’s husband, River, explain DNADuo, the DNA-based technology his company uses to match compatible people, which is how Jess and River met. Fizzy sees a good-looking man watching her, but she doesn’t feel a hint of attraction.

Connor Prince directs documentaries for a small production studio in San Diego, where he moved to be closer to his ex-wife, Nat, and 10-year-old daughter, Stevie. While commiserating with his friend about his new assignment to produce a reality dating show, Connor sees the DNADuo TV segment and wonders how he could use it. When he notices Nat’s favorite author is a romance writer named Felicity Chen, he thinks that a romance novelist would make a good dating show protagonist. 

Fizzy meets with Connor, and she thinks he is a stuck-up jerk, sensing his disdain for the romance genre. She declines his proposition to star in his show until she realizes that she can use the platform to promote the genre and insist that women are sexual beings. She tells Connor she will agree to the show if he can meet her specific terms. He is baffled by her list of demands, including that he cast her romance candidates from hero archetypes, including a cowboy, vampire, Darcy, and cinnamon roll. However, he wants to make this show a success, and he is sure Fizzy will be able to carry it. When they meet a second time to iron out details, Fizzy finds that she can’t quite peg Connor as an archetype; he keeps revealing more sides of himself. When he admits that his life has also become stale with just work and his daughter, she suggests that they spend the time leading up to filming trying to recapture their joy.

To begin, Fizzy brings Connor to one of her book signings, which makes him rethink his assumptions about the romance genre and readers. At dinner afterward, Fizzy feels attracted to Connor and invites him back to her place. He says that’s a bad idea when they are designing a show to help her find true love. Instead, he begins casting the heroes and finds himself annoyed by the very attractive, interesting men who turn up. These include Isaac, who will play the Hot Nerd, and Evan, who previously dated Fizzy and will come onto the show as The One Who Got Away.

Fizzy meets Connor on a soccer field while he is coaching Jess’s daughter, Juno. She meets Stevie and realizes they both enjoy the same boy band, called Wonderland. Fizzy gets them tickets to the sold-out show, and sharing a private booth with Connor allows Fizzy to realize she is starting to like him. She’s relieved to feel attracted to someone again and assures herself it’s just about sex, not feelings. For Connor’s part, when he takes Fizzy to the beach the night before filming begins and they kiss, he realizes he’s falling in love.

Fizzy enjoys the first week of filming, in which she meets all eight heroes on a coffee date. She keeps checking in with Connor afterward and insists that he conduct the confessional interviews. Connor, for his part, battles his jealousy when Fizzy makes connections with other men. One day, Fizzy is at Jess’s house describing her dates and her beach experience with Connor when he calls and suggests meeting up. She meets him at her house, and they have sex on the kitchen counter. It’s an intense experience for both of them. Connor castigates himself for having sex with his star, but he feels close to her when Fizzy joins the watch party at his house for the show’s first episode, which is a huge success.

Their relationship deepens when Connor escorts Fizzy to her brother’s wedding, and they have mind-blowing sex. As they cuddle after, Connor admits he ended his marriage with infidelity. Fizzy panics, reminded of a past relationship where she inadvertently broke up a marriage. She leaves the room, and Connor feels hurt and rejected. When his boss makes it clear that his job is on the line unless everyone on his show behaves, he realizes he has to stay away from Fizzy. She tells him she loves him, but he says he can’t trust her.

The last weeks of filming are strained as Connor keeps his distance and Fizzy nurses a broken heart. He’s only dimly aware that he’s hugely popular on social media, and viewers are voting for him as one of the heroes.

Fizzy is inspired to start writing again. When her sister has her baby and Fizzy becomes an aunt right before the wrap party, she feels she’s found her identity. She tells Connor one more time that she loves him, but their conversation is interrupted when the results of the audience voting come in. She heads into the final episode wondering what her life will look like now. She’s been changed by falling in love. To her surprise, Connor is brought onstage as a possible match for her. Viewers love them together, and the entire cast has been watching them fall in love. Fizzy picks Connor as her hero and learns he is, in fact, her highest DNADuo match. They start planning their future together.