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mairi99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Body horror, Car accident, Classism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Gore, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content, Infertility, and Infidelity
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.75
"In the end, it didn’t matter, because she couldn’t rewrite the past. She could only ensure she didn’t repeat her mistakes."
It's no secret that I consider John Marrs to be one of my favorite thriller authors, and I've read and loved the majority of his books. It's true that I tend to enjoy his dystopian/speculative thrillers most though... The Marriage Act is a stand-alone set in the same alternate near future as for example The One and The Passengers. I'm still not sure why I hadn't read it until now considering it was a most anticipated release last year... But since I was approved for the ARC of his newest story set in the same universe, I decided to play catch-up and read The Marriage Act first. It's true that each book can be read as a stand-alone, but there are some references to the previous books that you might not pick up otherwise. I have to say that this author is SO exceptional at creating extremely plausible and basically terrifying alternate futures... And this story is no different. The concept behind The Marriage Act is no less than brilliant, and its premise blew me away. Why not give it the full five stars then? This mostly had to do with the multiple POV structure slowing down the pace considerably, and the POV switches were too frequent as well. It took a little while to successfully keep all the characters apart, although I can't deny that the way the different POVs start connecting is very clever. What also put a minor damper on things was the fact that the majority of the characters are extremely unlikeable and flawed, and this made it hard to start rooting for them. The Marriage Act can get pretty dark and a lot of unpleasant secrets and trigger warning worthy topics are incorporated along the way... Some was used to show just how corrupt and terrifying this alternate future was, but still. There is no denying that the story as a whole will stay with me for quite some time though, and it's another successful speculative thriller that makes you wonder if things could really escalate to that level.
Graphic: Dementia, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Ableism, Grief, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Murder, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicide, Violence, and Rape
naereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Car accident, Ableism, Addiction, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Classism
soobooksalot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and Bookclubbish for my giveaway win copy of The Marriage Act!
It's the not-so-distant future. Marriage in Britain is greatly encouraged, and by formalizing through The Marriage Act, aka "Smart Marriage". Couples in such are privvy to benefits in the economy and service access.
But the Act also comes with serious consequences if the requirements aren't met. Relationships are continually monitored, and can be intercepted at the first hint of issue.
John Marrs has created a most detailed and fascinating dystopian thriller, told in alternating chapters among four couples in differing relationships.
The opening chapter is a shocking indication of what's to come.
Recommended, and enjoy!
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Dementia, Murder, Sexual content, and Suicide