Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The One by John Marrs

28 reviews

read_with_loren's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75


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leebeeloves's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

4.0


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pages_of_gray's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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cady_sass's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

5.0

What a spectacular, brilliantly creative piece of writing. I couldn’t put it down and fell asleep reading it after keeping myself up way too late on a work night, that good. There are a multitude of storylines for varying characters and relationships, all centering around the universal “truth” that, in this world, there is one perfect match for everyone on earth and it’s genetically determined. Just send in a DNA sample and await your results. Simple, right? Far, far from it. Absolutely riveting, I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Edited to add: this is sci-fi, and the science written here is obviously not sound. If you’ll be bothered by the scientific inaccuracies of the central element here then skip this, otherwise have fun pretending it’s real :)

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marareading's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

An amazing thriller! Imagine a company exists that has created a DNA match test to ensure that every person is matched with the ONE person on earth who is perfect for them, but only if you choose to find them. I'm this book there are multiple POVs. One of them is a serial killer. The twists had me floored. I was actually speechless. I will recommend this book from now on. I enjoyed it so much! 

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franklola's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • 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

3.75


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vereadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Rating ★★★★☆

“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.”

This is my third book on my journey to read 5 books to see if I can trust gabby tastes. A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.

That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…



“We have roughly 100 trillion cells in our bodies and inside each of them are two metres of DNA – if you unravelled them all, they’d stretch to the sun and back a hundred times.”

Sometimes a book catches my attention because it has a good concept. But it isn't well executed. That was my fear with this book. However, John Marrs manages to execute this concept very well.


The book seems like a collection of short stories surrounding the same theme: What if a DNA test could tell you who your soulmate is?

“It’s that feeling you don’t get when you’re around anyone else, like nobody in the world matters when you’re in their company. Like you and them are this one, solitary...thing... And no matter what crap the world throws at you, you can get through it because you have them on your side.”

The book intersperses 5 points of view that show us how this DNA test affects the lives of each of the characters, generating different and unique stories that explore all the what if...

“What if it turns out our DNA doesn’t Match?” “Then we’ll be mindful that maybe we’ll need to put more effort into our relationship. Like John Lennon said, ‘All You Need Is Love.’” “Yes, but he also said, ‘I Am The Walrus,’ so let’s not hold too much credence to his pearls of wisdom.”

The One explores the negative side of science and technology applied to relationships in the best Black Mirror style. If you have any experience with this tv show, you will know that the endings are not exactly happy.


Some points of view caught me from the beginning, and others gained strength towards the end. But each story left me thinking about how science and technology affect our way of interacting and relating.

“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.”

An engaging psychological thriller with short chapters that favor reading fluency and brings to the table discussions about technology, love, relationships, and especially one of the moral dilemmas of science: Is it okay to play God?



Can I trust gabby tastes on thrillers?

Rock Paper Scissors ★★★☆☆
The Silent Patient ★★★★ ½
The One ★★★★☆ 

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abdroese's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0


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decembermagpie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

5.0


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greatestheights's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

3.75 stars for me. This was an interesting and fast-paced read, and I enjoyed multiple story lines (some quite a bit more than others). I almost wish that, rather than focusing on so many couples, the author had stuck with just two or three of them. It was hard to get attached to any of the characters, although I know this was obviously a plot-driven book. It felt very much like a long Black Mirror episode, and I'll definitely be interested to watch the Netflix show.

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