The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m...
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The True Love Experiment - Christina Lauren

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Genre: Romance

Blurb (on back of book): Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script.
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.
Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.

MY OPINION: ****

The best book I read this month, but only marginally.

I have a very tepid relationship with Christina Lauren. There are many books of theirs that I've read and liked or disliked. I don't really feel as attached to their books as other romance readers and I always find their plots to be a little underwhelming. 

However, I LOVE reality TV and I LOVE romance books so clearly, this book was made for girls (and people) like me. 

Fizzy Chen is a prolific romance writer who has been known to have fun with her relationships with men and not really take things too seriously. However, she has hit a stint of writer's block and it seems to have transferred to her real life. She hasn't felt a spark of attraction for anyone for a year after a disastrous failed relationship and she is scared she will never find the love she writes about. 

Enter Connor Prince III, a producer of nature documentaries. His company is forcing him to produce a reality TV show for financial purposes and there's nothing he wants to do less. A typical man, he hates on reality TV AND romance books (I scoffed) but agrees to do it for the sake of funding for his next documentary. 

After a run-in with Fizzy, he decides to cast her as his main star of his show. The premise is based on Christina Lauren's other book, The Soulmate Equation, and River Peña's chemically-created app that is supposed to find compatibility based on DNA. I read that book a couple of years ago and remember absolutely nothing about it so this was a good refresher. 

I would watch the show that they created in this book. It sounded so interesting and I love all forms of reality TV, so I think I would have ate this one up. 

Obviously, Fizzy and Connor feel something for each other but she is involved in a show with eight men vying for her love and he's a single dad who doesn't do casual relationships. I loved seeing their relationship grow but I think that it went a little fast, especially in the beginning. I feel like they didn't really know that much about each other and Connor was already stating that he was in love?? IDK.

The third act conflict was not my favorite. It featured a plottwist that I did not care for at all and I think Fizzy's reaction was 100% justified. I don't like how they tried to make her out as the bad person for not understanding Connor's side because me personally, what he did would be a 100% dealbreaker for me no matter what. 

I would love a book about Isaac, Nick, or Dax.

I'd definitely recommend this one if you like Christina Lauren, because it's very well-written and has a unique plot.

Main Character: Fizzy, Connor
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, forbidden love, etc
Romance Elements: This is a rom-com at its finest.

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