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emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a mix between sci-fi, speculative fiction and thriller. This book has an interesting concept that makes you reflect. This feels like a black mirror episode. It also reminded me a bit of The Measure by Nikki Erlick.
In this book we follow multiple people who have taken the Match Your DNA Test. As a result they end up in various interesting situations. I think the author did a great job depicting different possible scenarios people could end up with if the test would have been real. The concept is easy to understand which makes it an easy and fast read.
I read this book in audio format and I sometimes found it difficult to remember the characters especially in the beginning. The book alternates between the five characters but because there are many main characters (five) I was often confused and needed to remember again what was going on in their story. Because there are five characters you also need some time to get familiar with all of them but don't have time enough to get truly attach to the characters.
Every POV ends with a small cliff-hanger which keeps you interested and all of the POVs got a plot twist I didn't expect. This made it feel like you are reading a thriller. Overall, an enjoyable, reflective and fast read.
In this book we follow multiple people who have taken the Match Your DNA Test. As a result they end up in various interesting situations. I think the author did a great job depicting different possible scenarios people could end up with if the test would have been real. The concept is easy to understand which makes it an easy and fast read.
I read this book in audio format and I sometimes found it difficult to remember the characters especially in the beginning. The book alternates between the five characters but because there are many main characters (five) I was often confused and needed to remember again what was going on in their story. Because there are five characters you also need some time to get familiar with all of them but don't have time enough to get truly attach to the characters.
Every POV ends with a small cliff-hanger which keeps you interested and all of the POVs got a plot twist I didn't expect. This made it feel like you are reading a thriller. Overall, an enjoyable, reflective and fast read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Super quick read, and a fascinating concept for a book. I think the short chapters helped with the pace of the book. The number of POVs was interesting because it wasn't too much to make it confusing, but it was also enough to where the characters just felt meh. I felt like Chris had the most personality out of all of them, and he was the killer.
Don't Read Ahead If You Haven't Read It:
Mandy had the worst parts to read, and it was just immensely stupid. Why on Earth are you going to carry a child for a man that you're matched with and didn't meet at that point because you think he's dead? You JUST met his "mother" and "sister " after a couple of months and are willing to isolate yourself from your family for this fake family. Give me a break.
Overall, this wasn't bad. It was entertaining, and it was quick to read. Damn, some of these characters were dumb though.
Don't Read Ahead If You Haven't Read It:
Overall, this wasn't bad. It was entertaining, and it was quick to read. Damn, some of these characters were dumb though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Minor: Infertility, Medical trauma
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wish I read this during a book club or buddy read so I could have talked to someone! This book will go down on the list of books I wish I could read for the first time again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abortion
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wild plot lines but I was disappointed there wasn’t more connection between stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“You fell in love with me through your own free will,” [they] continued. “You so desperately wanted it that you talked yourself into it. You can’t blame your DNA for getting you into this mess—you can only blame yourself.”
Holy shit, this book is both creepy & fascinating but it sure as hell is entertaining! I literally couldn’t put it down, consuming it in less than 24 hours & needing to talk about it immediately! It follows 5 people as they are notified their DNA-matched “soulmate” has been identified. Some are already in established relationships, some are engaging in secret illegal activities, some are halfway across the world from their Match & some are straight but their Match is their same gender.😯
"[It felt] like a thousand small explosions going off inside me all at once, but not in a bad way... It was like they woke me up. I suddenly felt more alive than I’ve ever been before, and that’s the only way I can describe it, as lame as it sounds."
... "So why am I sitting here with butterflies the size of eagles circling my stomach, and I can barely look at you, and then when I do, I can’t take my eyes off you?”
I really think you need to go into this book blind, as I did, to make the surprises actual surprises. I mean, I audibly gasped multiple times & my mind was blown in other parts. This book tackles real-world questions about choice, morality, love, & fidelity while examining many different love stories that aren’t all romantic. Really, what would you do if you knew you’d found “the one” but you were already married & had children? What would you do in the interim until your Match was found for you? How would you live? What life would you build for yourself? What kind of person do you think you are & would that identity hold up when challenged? All of these questions are part of this book’s foundation. It bends your definition of family, partnership, friendship & the importance of a support system. Incredible! This book is incredible.
They’d shared so many intense conversations by phone that she’d come to see him as a best friend as well as her Match. Maybe that was more important than anything else, she thought. Maybe when you took it back to basics, that’s what love really was: just being there for someone when the sun rises and sets.
I've already said it, but I REALLY think you should go into this as blind as possible. There are twists & surprises I don't want to spoil because I would never want to rob you of the gasps & jaw drops I experienced in real-time.
The audio was performed in dual style (one narrator per character's POV chapter), but was performed with a cast of narrators so each of the 5 main characters had its own actor. This helped keep the stories separate, because our characters don't interact at all with one another, they simply exist in the same world as each other. Plus, hearing the accents, as a non-British speaker, also helped reaffirm the location of the story. These actors did a fantastic job & made this whole experience quite enjoyable.
"... If you’ve got the opportunity to love someone as much as they love you, then grab it with both hands and hold on to it for dear life.”
Overall, this book was fascinating, thrilling, funny, introspective, creepy, mind-blowing & generally amazing. I absolutely loved it. I know it's been turned into a Netflix TV series, but I read somewhere that it's only ~60% similar to the book, so maybe I'll watch it someday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking
Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Pregnancy, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy