Review by libraryofmady - The One

libraryofmady 's review for:

The One by John Marrs

4.5

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The One follows 5 characters and their experiences with the company called "Match Your DNA". This company is like a cross between 23andMe and Tinder: it takes a DNA sample your provide and tells you who your soulmate is. This book is a fast-paced thriller full of plot-twists, sure it hook anyone in. The chapters are short and has tiny bits of humor sprinkled in, which helps alleviate some of the darker tones.

I rated it 4.5/5 stars. The only gripe I have with this book is the constant cliffhangers. The book is 103 chapters and I would say all but 5 end on a "wait, then what?!" before switching character perspectives. While this was definitely useful in the beginning for keeping me sucked in throughout my reading slump, it became repetitive around the 60% mark (thank you, kindle) and I began to roll my eyes. However, the stories of each character are so intriguing that I pushed through.

Who I would recommend this to: honestly, anyone. Unless you dislike thrillers, I can't see why someone would not enjoy this. I ESPECIALLY recommend this for any reader who is in the middle of a reading slump, this book yoinked me out of it. I finished it in 3 days, which is unheard of for me.

!!SPOILERS!!

Trigger warnings for this book:

I marked this as spoilers because some consider it that. Please read them. The cancer one, especially. The author was not loose with this .

Book-specific spoilers below:

A lot of the plot-twists felt cheesy or obvious. From the second Jade said she felt something for Mark, I knew him and Kevin swapped matches. As soon as Nick would bring up Deepak and pregnant Sally got touchy about it, I knew it wasn't Nick's baby. Even Richard being alive, I jokingly thought to myself "dude it'd be so funny but so irrational if he's alive". Then, lo and behold, he is!! And as soon as Amy said she was a police officer, I knew she would catch him, however I didn't expect Amy to kill him.

All that being said, it's still a great book. I LOVED how the character plotlines intertwined at the end, but hated how Mandy's and Ellie's stories aren't really finished. Like, yeah, Richard moved and Ellie was put on trial. But does that imply Richard woke up? Is Ellie guilty or not? Honestly, I have a few friends who HATE unresolved endings, and I'm really going to warn them about this book before recommending it.

Content Warnings