Find your ONE person through your DNA. What a great plot. Chapters alternate among five diverse characters, including a serial killer. Most chapters ended in a surprise or cliffhanger, I couldn’t wait to get back to that character.

I especially liked the sentences that said the one.
For example: the one who accepts me for who I am. …..have children with the one. How did you know he was the one? Am I the one?

Highly recommended, even though I stayed up all night reading.

The concept of this book interested me. However, I couldn't really get a good feel for it...almost bored me. I wasn't as intrigued by the synopsis of it anymore. Thank you for the early access though!

This was definitely a book that makes you wonder - would you take the test to find your perfect match if it was available?

I loved the premise of this - one simple test that would tell you everything you needed to know about your perfect match. Although it may sound like a dream come true, I loved the way the story was told from many different perspectives and the results of the test were not always what they seemed.

This would be a great read for a book club - so many different perspectives to discuss!

The future is now and dating will never be the same. For more than a decade people looking for love have submitted their DNA to the company Match Your DNA to be matched with their perfect match. Match Your DNA takes away all the guesswork of dating - it is science. But even science can have some consequences. Marriages are destroyed and families have been torn apart all in the name of being matched. The One follows five people as they discover their match and it soon becomes clear that just because they are matched doesn't mean that they get their "happily ever-after."


The One could be considered a sci-fi novel because of the futuristic topic of DNA matching. Or they could consider it a love story because of the people who find love. But because one of the matched in the book, Christopher, is a serial killer - I would call it a psychological thriller. The five people that are so different, yet so fascinating. One is a high-powered exec. One is a man engaged to his college sweetheart and he is matched with another man. One is matched with a man that has cancer. One is matched with a man who is no longer with us. And one is a serial killer who is matched with a police officer. What is crazier than that? I wasn't sure that I was going to like this book because of the sci-fi element, but I really quite enjoyed it. Each one of the five had a little twist at the end, which may or may not have led to a happy ending. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS


Bottom Line - The One is a fast-paced thriller that will have you both on the edge of your seat and reaching for your tissues. It seems like an interesting combination, but John Marrs makes it work.

Details:

The One by John Marrs
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Pages: 512
Publisher: Hanover Press
Publication Date: 2.20.2018
Buy it Here!
Thank yo u to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a thought-provoking book! I loved the concept and how well Marrs wove all the stories together and showed readers both sides of the equation. I enjoyed the mystery and surprises.

loved the premise and originality of the plot...the characters fell short for me.
There are 6 main characters and their POV's, so it can get a little confusing at times...nothing stood out to make this a thriller for me, but it was fascinating to delve into the twists of DNA testing to find love. knowing there is always successes and failures and some are big failures...A bit of humor and the plot moved along nicely, if I'd connected more to the characters, I'd have enjoyed the story and been able to rate it higher, as it was I didn't much care if the characters were in good or bad relationships.

‘The One’ is one of the best thrillers I have read in a long, long time. Let’s start with the concept. An online website offers to find you your perfect match by a DNA comparison with another person. This person is supposed to be your soul mate. In this story there are 5 such people, hence 5 different POVs. Their POVs keep alternating, and the author knows when to each the chapters. Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. That is the beauty of the book, it ignites your curiosity and makes you impatient. The details are well provided and well spaced. Nothing feels out of place, and the author delivers the exact kind of dark and haunting climax the plot demands.

The plot is unpredictable at best (at least to me) and the character sketch is quite clear. We know whom to like and who is shady. But also expect twists because there are so many of them.
I might be late to the party, but I am glad I arrived. I regret not picking this book up before, but i am also glad I did. Go read it already.

The chance to find your life partner through science and DNA is the premise of this work. Dating and marriage would be so much easier. However, what if "The One" is not who you thought she/he would be. Enjoyed the surprises and brings up a number of issues to explore.

Thank you Harlequin and Net Gallery for the ARC reader copy.

When I first read the description, I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to read it. But boy am I glad I did! This book has it all - mystery, psychological warfare, love and loss. I don’t think I’ll be submitting my DNA to any service any time soon!

The One didn't quite meet the promise of the premise for me. The premise that DNA and genetic matching can take the guesswork out of finding one's "soulmate" was intriguing. The characters in this book, though I felt there were too many, were varied, and complex. I was interested in the out come of their matches. Mr. Marrs chose to have the chapters end on what I would call mini cliff hangers, which made the read and the pace rather choppy for me as I waited for the resolution/continuation of character's arcs. There were numerous twists and turns so I did find the book entertaining. I also found it to be rather depressing overall. I won't spoil the stories, but suffice it to say, genetic matching would not be my choice. I think The One was interesting from a discussion scenario, and it might be a suitable choice for some book discussion groups.

The One by John Marrs asks a question. Would you take a test that would identify the person you are meant to spend your life with? Two things make this such a fun book to read. The first is that there are surprises. Some of the plot twists I can see coming, but some catch me off guard. The second is that the book does not answer the question. It takes the reader along for what proves to be a quick, page-turning ride.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2018/06/the-one.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

A solid 3.5 stars.

I really liked the concept (there is a 'The One' for everyone in the world, identifiable by DNA, but I didn't connect with the characters at all.

I think that this may have been because there were so many of them.

I understand the reason for this - to show different scenarios of what could happen if being able to pre-identify your real match through DNA was a possibility, but I really didn't care for any of them.

I didn't buy into their stories. I think a lot of it may have been because I wasn't invested enough as I didn't feel that I knew them - there were too many other stories between the ones that I was most interested in.

I think Nick was the only one who felt vaguely 'real', and even his story got tied up far too neatly. The end felt rather rushed, perhaps because the stories all had to be tied up without losing the tension within each of them.

A great idea though, and the writing was generally good. I'd recommend to others.

I actually finished this book ages ago, back in February, but I did not write a review because I honestly didn't know what to write, and I had been in a reading and writing slump for a while.

I do remember that I enjoyed the story for the most part, at least until the plot twists came. I didn't find some of them very believable, as well as some of the characters' choices, so I was disappointed.

Still, I found it a very thought-provoking book and do recommend it.

<i>Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.</i>

In The One, a scientist has discovered a way to match you to your perfect mate using DNA profiles. In the ten years since, this controversial method has made couples happy, yet torn others apart. The story follows five people who recently found their match.

The story wasn't necessarily the thriller that I thought I was going to get. The second half of the book is definitely more exciting than the first half. The first half dragged. However, in the second half, twists kept coming so it was almost worth finishing. The biggest problem with the book was it suffered from too many perspectives. Every time the story switched to a different person, it took a minute for me to orient myself to which one I was reading about. There was probably at least two story-lines that could have been left out. Of the five people featured, Nick's was my favotire story-line. To me, it was the most honest. Mandy's story was kind of icky and I could definitely sympathize with her family at their reaction to the decision she made regarding her match.

I had a lot of questions about the science in the book. You kind of have to suspend some belief to buy the DNA match scenario. However, a revelation at the end does make you think about relationships and attraction. The book is worth a read. Just don't expect a big thriller or mystery.

My review for this book can be found on my GoodReads account. The link to that account is https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Unfortunately I was unable to read this book before my review copy was archived. I will give it an average of 3 stars and apologize sincerely for this mistake.

Guaranteed soulmates

What would you do if there was a simple DNA test you could take and be matched up to your soul mate? Is the thought appealing? Or does it sound too contrived?

Match Your DNA has a thriving business and an unparalleled success rate in matching up people. What happens if you're already in a relationship and find out it's not with your soul mate?

This intriguing book follows five people that have gone through Match Your DNA and have found their soul mates. But is that always a good thing.

This story really made me think. What would I have done in my younger years if offered this chance?

This was a fun, fast paced read and I enjoyed the different characters and the overall concept.

I received this book from Harlequin Books through Net Galley and also through the VINE program from Amazon in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

“Don’t let the chance to be happy pass you by…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.”

Don’t think that this book being about love means everyone gets a happy ending. Trust me, they don’t. Sure you have the love story, of someone falling for someone else after getting matched up via the app, but you also see how the app affects people already in relationships or what happens when people start blaming the app for their problems.

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.

He couldn’t imagine what it might be like to be with someone new after losing the person you were designed to be with. How could any potential relationship stand a hope in hell when you know you’ve loved somebody else with every inch of your being?

This book has a hella interesting concept though. Swab your mouth, send it in, and if your perfect genetic match has also sent in his/her swab, then you’ll be told that your perfect match has been found. Then, just pay 10 pounds and you’ll get his/her name, number, location and a physical description. But it’s up to you to make contact, if you dare to have your life forever changed. Seriously – who wouldn’t want to know if he/she actually had a soul mate out there? That is, if you weren’t already with the person you thought was your soul mate. Now let the drama commence.

“But I found that those who have been Matched often feel something deeper and more complete. The other person is literally their other half.”

I read this book in a day, so take that as you will, but let me just say that I haven’t read a book in a day in a very long time. There were certainly characters I enjoyed more than others, but at times I had to flip back and be like “Who is this character again?” Marrs has 5 different stories going at once, so there are 15 names MINIMUM that you have to remember and remember how they interacted with other people and just what their relationship to the Match Your DNA app was. (Having two mother characters being named Pat and Pam though? Really?) It was tiring, to say the least. I applaud Marrs for trying it, but he and his editor really should have not broken up the stories and just made this book into 5 parts. It really would have helped a lot.

He glanced toward the treatment room just as Alex turned his head. And suddenly, as their eyes made contact, Nick felt himself take a sharp, involuntarily gasp of breath. His heart began to beat wildly, and he could feel his eyes widen. His stomach felt like it was about to turn over, and by the look of sudden bewilderment on Alex’s face, he could tell he was feeling exactly the same thing.

“From the moment I opened the front door to you, I felt those explosions they talk about.”

I will give Marrs credit though for making all the stories pretty damn different from each other. His characters made me feel angry, disgust and just total revulsion, but there was also laughter, happiness, joy, and most importantly, that gooey feeling inside when the two people that found each other because of the ridiculous app that this book revolves around officially, really, get together. I do appreciate that all the stories were so different from each other, but I would have kind of appreciated them overlapping a bit, A) because that would have been less names to remember, but also B) because if you’re going to attempt a book like this, with so many stories, giving them an inanimate object in common is cool, but having them connected as people is also important.

It turned out the feeling Nick and Alex had shared in Alex’s clinic wasn’t a fluke.

In the end, if you want to read a thriller mixed with romance, but not so much of both that it’s overpowering, this is a good one to pick up and read. And if you want to read a book where it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows and not everyone ends up in love in the end, pick this one up too. That means you’re a realist, and you’re right – not every relationship works out for everyone, but I think it’s pretty clear that once you find it, or think you find it, you have to try your damn hardest to never let it go.

“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.”

Favorite kiss of the book, after said kiss: “Why now?” she asked. “Why after all these weeks?”
“Because my parents said you’re leaving.” Mark ran his hands through his wet hair. “And I couldn’t let you go without knowing what I was going to spend the rest of my life missing.”

Other great quotes:

In the space of just a few months his whole life had been flipped on its head, and he’d survived it. And he’d previously had no idea how much joy there was to experience because of it.

She’d been happier with him than she had ever thought imaginable, but only now she understood it wasn’t because their DNA had dictated it, but because she’d opened herself up to the concept of love.

“…If you’ll have us, we’re here for keeps."

I will admit when I began this novel it took some time to get into the ebb and flow of the various storylines. And the fact it jumped between individuals made it a bit confusing and difficult to track. But as the story progress I became engrossed with it. I had to see how each pair would work out. I loved how varied the situations were. And I loved that this could feasibly happen in my lifetime.
The writing was well done and the plot twists were well developed. I suspected a few results in a couple of storylines but didn't guess completely.
I definitely recommend this book if you love relationship stories and seeing the messy and dirty aspects of it

Creepy premise that was well done. This book was strangely hypnotizing. A few plot points were obvious from the start, but there was enough surprise to keep me hooked. It stayed with me for a while after I finished and I ended up recommending it to several people.