The One

My Thoughts:

The One was an enthralling story with a unique and intriguing premise! What if a DNA test could detect our perfect match or soulmate? I listened with Audible to this highly entertaining, fast-paced, light science-fiction thriller.

We get five main characters, each telling their unique story in relation to Match Your DNA. It was difficult at first keeping track of five different characters, their perfect matches, as well as secondary characters in each of their stories. I usually prefer no more that three points of view in a story. However, I liked that each character had their own narrator, and each track was a different character. The author gave us five different stories, which he rotated in a specific order, and eventually, I was able to keep track of everyone.

We learn early on that everything isn’t as easy, happy, and cut and dry as you would think it would be, when finding your perfect DNA match. Some of these characters are already in committed relationships. What if your “one” is much older or younger than you, deceased, terminally ill, a serial killer, or the same sex as you are, when you don’t consider yourself gay? These are scenarios that play out with our characters, as well as thought provoking questions about morality.

The pacing of this story was super fast, which I appreciated! This was due to short chapters, with a mini cliffhanger or exciting revelation at the end of each chapter. The One was not a character driven story, as we don’t really delve deep into who each character is. The information we get about them is very surface level. I would instead classify this story as plot driven.

The One was not my typical read, but it was chosen as my book club’s read for the month of March, and I was excited to venture out of my comfort zone. I ended up enjoying this story so much, and was excited to learn that it’s coming to Netflix! If you enjoy light science fiction thrillers, with a lot of excitement, and entertainment, I would recommend checking out the audible book of, The One, by John Marrs!

What would happen if such a test were available? How would you react if you could find your soul mate, and what would be the long-term consequences? Fascinating read, kudos to the author for dreaming this up and creating a realistic scenario.

I was hooked! Read this entire book in one sitting

Thought-provoking, exhilarating, the epitome of unputdownable, THE ONE is one fantastic psychological thriller!

Ten pages in, I sat in total shock, anticipating an exciting story; I made myself comfortable because I knew I wouldn’t be stopping soon. And I didn’t: technically, I read THE ONE in a single sitting, the lengthiest interruption to fix a quick sandwich. I love the structure of the book: short chapters, told in third person from the five main characters. Although I had a bit of a problem at first with remembering who was who, the characters are multifaceted and interesting. They’re so well crafted that, depending on the events, you like them and then you don’t; you think they’re wrong or are they?

The dialogues and internal monologues are especially well written; the individual voices are crystal clear and distinct. I also very much appreciated that John Marrs becomes invisible and lets his story fly, soar I should say. There were a couple of inconsistencies, some details were a bit iffy, but the story is so compelling and there are so many fabulous and completely unexpected plot twists that I forgive the author for those minor missteps.

How John Marrs could sustain the furious pace, and the nail-biting tension all the way through is entirely beyond me. If you read the book description and you think it’s your kind of book, don’t hesitate to pick it up, you will not be disappointed; the concept is fascinating, and the execution masterful. John Marrs was a new author to me and he’s just gained a very enthusiastic new fan.

SO SO GOOD.

After reading the blurb for The One, I knew I had to read it. The whole idea of being able to find your “perfect match”, your “perfect soul mate” by simply sending in a sample of your DNA had me thinking that with all the dating apps continually being brought out, exactly how far away can this scenario be?

I wasn’t totally sure whether I liked the cover or not. I think the cover it has appeals to a general fiction and thriller audience but I think it maybe won’t appeal as much to Sci-fi, and Dystopian readers. The title of the book that has the O in, which appears as a blood splat with a thumbprint in it, is a good representation of the killer in the book as well as being a subtle nod to the DNA needed for the Your DNA Match service. Everyone that has read my reviews know that I love a good byline and I really like the use of “Have you met your match?” as it can have more than one meaning which you will uncover as you read the book.

The genres I have seen listed for this book are Sci-Fi and Thriller which I agree with both those, though I would also add dystopian and futuristic too.

How can I describe this book? It’s sort of one large story split into five different individual character’s stories of what happens to them, their matches and the people around them when they use the “Match Your DNA” service. After watching TV programs such as Married At First Sight, Blind Date, and Take Me Out the type of app/service called Match Your DNA featured in this book, seems like a viable, and believable prospect in the not too distant future!

So, there are many different people that choose to be matched to their soul mate via the Match Your DNA service. I reckon most people would admit to having and withholding have a few secrets they don’t reveal straight away when meeting new people or potential soul mates but wow! some of the characters in this book take “secrets’ and withholding information to a whole new level!

As a reader we meet the five main characters that are the basis of the whole book. The five characters cover a whole range of people from diverse backgrounds and are using Match Your DNA service for their own individual reasons. But can an app really match you to your soulmate?

There’s Mandy who desperately wants to have the fairy-tale wedding and family that her sisters appear to have, but she hasn’t met her Mr Right yet. So she sees “Match Your DNA” as the ultimate answer. Mandy receives her matche’s name and of course immediately checks him out on facebook. Mandy is quite literally drooling over Richard Taylor and cannot wait to meet him in person. Without giving too much away things don’t really go as straight forward as she hoped. After a massive disappointment when she turns up to meet her DNA match. When another opportunity arises that may give Mandy part of her dream, as you’d expect she doesn’t ask very many questions. Will Mandy’s fantasy family be realised or in her effort to achieve her dream could she end up being taken advantage of by other members of the Taylor Family that she meets.

Christopher is another one of the people that uses the Match Your DNA service as he is socially awkward and only really knows what he should do, say and interact with people by reading books. Christopher receives the notification of his match as he sits looking around his latest victim’s home! Christopher is a perfectionist, perhaps a little OCD. He plans his murder meticulously but soon becomes distracted by the thoughts of his perfect soul mate and who that could be. When he meets her and learns more about her it makes his secret killing even more of a thrill for him.

Jade has been messaging her match Kevin for quite a while whilst continuing to work what some would call a dead end job at a hotel near to her parents home with very few prospects. The job Jade had really wanted to do was in travel & tourism but after taking a temporary job at the hotel she had just never moved on. Though Jade had always kept her dream of wanting to travel but whilst her friends had gap years she was too busy working hard to pay off her student loan. It is her colleagues at the hotel that give her the final encouragement needed to take her fate in her own hands and buy herself a ticket on her credit card and turn up on the doorstep or rather at the farm where her true match lives and works in Australia. Once again Jade finds things are not always what they seem and has some tough decisions to make.

I won’t go into detail on the other two characters as I think that would be going into too much detail and could spoil the individual reading experience. I did enjoy reading Nick’s story, how he was supposedly so happy yet a doubt was put in his mind, by, in my opinion a kind of peer pressure so much he took the DNA Match test which caused him so many problems until fate took over. In Ellie’s story once again everything seemed to be a fairy-tale but it just wasn’t as it seemed. I adored the character of Andrei from Ellie’s circle of friends/colleagues and wished he had featured more within her tale. Perhaps had she listened to him a little more things would have been different. To be honest I thought he would have been as near a perfect match for her as possible. I was surprised when Andrei just left before the “end” of Ellie’s story. I didn’t think that was something he would have done so easily.

I did love how the different characters had their own chapters. It also kept you hooked into the book as usually each chapter had a little bit of a cliffhanger too. There are lots of clues and a few red herrings as to what is happening to the individual characters within their own chapters. It really was like reading five different stories centered around the five main characters, but at the same time they all had the Your DNA Match in common and that theme was running through the whole book too.

My favourite characters were Jade, Kevin and his family, including his brother Mark, and their mother Susan. I love the way Jade follows her dream and even when she arrives to a situation nothing like the one she expected, she is determined to stay around even when it seems there can be no real happy ending for her and her true match.

I also enjoyed disliking Tim who deceives his perfect match Ellie. It’s really quite ironic when it is revealed exactly who Ellie is.

Wow! Full of twists and turns. The complexities of a DNA system that can match you with ‘The One’ you are meant to be with. That one person you meet that you immediately just know you are meant to be with.

What an interesting and amazingly different read. From the individual fascinating characters and their stories to the details and behind the scenes view of the Match Your DNA group. This book is like a jigsaw of individual tales that fit together to form part of a larger picture of peoples’ ideologies on love and their one true match.

Ten years ago, a scientist discovered the gene that when matched with another represents your perfect genetic mate. The company Match Your DNA.com was born and the world now operates as if these matches are the definitive methods for lifelong relationships. Even when couples are paired the old fashioned way, doubts remain about whether they’ve made the right choice, wondering if they’ve missed out on the opportunity to be with “the one.”

What a fascinating concept! The story focuses on five people (three women and two men) who represent a wide spectrum of situations related to their experiences with Match Your DNA, including the owner/inventor. They were the voices of all the narratives. Every scenario I could construct of what could go wrong or right was captured through these characters and their relationships. I couldn’t predict the paths of each story, not that I wanted to, and I hated putting the book down. I became invested in each of their situations and had to see them through. Multiple narrators were used in the audiobook edition and it made a measurable difference, especially through the transitions.

I went into this story blind and loved that I did so I’m sparing you details if you’d like to do the same. It’s not often that I get to read something unique in foundation or premise and this was nothing like anything I can remember. The narrators delivered great performances and I’m glad I opted for this format. The ending was just as unpredictable as the rest and this was a wonderful reading experience. 4.5 stars

I loved this book. I love the authors writing. Very intriguing to read.. I could not put it down.

Very different style and hard to put down once you start reading

I really liked this book a lot- I’ve gotten a bit sick of the ‘wow-great twist’ books that have been coming out at the rate of a dozen a month or more and this book was altogether different. Great read!!!