If you read The One by John Marrs, this book takes you in the same fast forward direction as that book.
The British government has declared that married people are the best and would receive better homes and cars if they signed up to be wed through The sanctity of marriage act. The only caveat is that you agree to be spied on by the government’s AI software that’s installed in your home (Echos we’re mentioned as a very old similar device w/o the spyware technology) and your wedding bands had listening/tracking devices to make sure your marriage stays on track!

We track several couples dealings with the AI technology and how and why it can go so wrong when a bot decides your marriage is on shaky ground.

Another fascinating twisted story that John Marrs weaves!
Be careful of your words Big Brother may be listening!

Thank you @HTPbooks @Netgalley for my gifted copy.

Excellent speculative fiction that will make you pay much closer attention to what's going on in the tech industry and the political arena.

In the near future, in Britain, The Sanctity of Marriage Act is law. Everything possible is done to encourage marriage and those who sign up are rewarded while those who refuse are punished. Everyone is strongly urged to marry and to get the maximum benefits by agreeing to a Smart Marriage. A wide chasm between the haves and have-nots has formed and growing larger every day. The government controls the lives and relationships of those citizens and monitors them 24 hours a day. Several couples whose activities and communication indicate that they are in trouble will soon learn just how far the proponents will go and how impossible it is to escape.

This was super good and I really enjoyed it. It is sort of a companion to the previous novels by this author, The One (DNA love match), and The Passengers (autonomous vehicles). The character development was excellent, and the writing style and pace were perfect. I had such a powerful reaction to the situations that occurred in the novel and fearful about how much of the plot could be taken from the headlines today. Scary stuff here. As someone who is very leery of AI and its potential for misuse, my fears were not alleviated but heightened. I am already also concerned with government intrusion and overreach into personal and private life. This was all too believable and the absolute chill I felt while reading the last paragraph was undeniable and alarming.

What a great discussion this would create for book clubs and I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this e-book ARC to read and review. Don't miss it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟
John Marrs has used that bizarre and crazy imagination of his for another uniquely wild thriller. The idea for this book came from his husband (also named John) and includes DNA matching from his 2016 thriller “The One”. I usually skip over the Acknowledgements, but these are fascinating! Don’t miss them.

“The Marriage Act” is a UK-based novel and the Government has found a way to repair the issues of society. They believe happily-married couples are the solution to upstanding citizens and enact “The Sanctity of Marriage Act”, offering benefits to encourage marriage and discourage singletons by severely penalizing those individuals, including widows/widowers.

When you agree to receive the extra benefits (tax incentives, upgraded housing, and more), you also agree to let the Government install a system in your home that randomly monitors your conversations. If it detects anything outside loving and friendly conversation, you are sent a warning. If issues persist, you are upgraded to a higher level, and a human is sent to your home to evaluate your marriage. They decide whether the marriage is repairable and should continue. Shut the front door! Who can be polite and friendly all the time?

This is my sixth book by Mr. Marrs and all have been at least 4 stars! This guy is amazingly talented and I request his books without reading the description. I’m so glad one of my GR’s friends (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49815208-marilynw) recommended “The One”! Without that push, I’d be missing out.

Sincere thanks to John Marrs and HTP Books for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#TheMarriageAct #JohnMarrs #htpbooks #htpinfluencer #netgalley #UK #Britain #giftedARC #honestreview #favoriteauthor #psychologicalthriller #thrillerfriendsunite #mysteryandthrills #readwithme #bookaddict #thrilleraddict #thrillersofinstagram #bookstagrammer #lovebooks #bookreviewersofinstagram #lovetoreadbooks #cantstopreading #fortheloveofbooks #ad #justfinishedreading #newrelease

A few years ago I read The One by John Marrs and absolutely loved it! When I saw that he had this new story set in the same world at The One, I knew I had to read it.

This book started off so slow. I would say it takes until about the 70% mark to really pick up the pace. There are interesting things happening throughout but the pacing picks up at the end.

The book is follows multiple POV’s and I definitely felt more invested in some stories than the others. The ending has some twists I didn’t see coming which I liked.

Overall, I didn’t love the way I loved The One but I thought it was interesting once I got into it.

Thank you @netgalley, @harpercollinsca and @hanoversquarepress for the advanced copy.

I love John Marrs. His books are all so hard to put down. After reading most of his back list I love how they all fit into this future sci-fi world that calls back to each other in the best ways. If you enjoy black mirror and being scared of the future, then you should read some John Marrs books. If you haven’t read any yet, I would suggest starting with THE ONE.

4.5 STARS

The Marriage Act is the fourth speculative thriller written by John Marrs, set within the same world as The One, The Passengers, and The Minders. Just like his others, The Marriage Act was tense, unsettling, and impossible to put down. It follows four couples as they navigate “The Marriage Act”— an agreement where a couple allows the government to monitor their marriage via a home listening device in exchange for tax benefits, access to better healthcare, homes, and schools. But in addition to listening in on their marriage, the government also has the authority to decide if they need outside help or intervention, and can ultimately divorce them if it decides the marriage isn’t salvageable.

John Marrs’ speculative thrillers never fail to totally creep me out. Reminiscent of Black Mirror, the ideas that John brings forward seem not too far off given the advances in technology and today’s political climate. While this is still very much a suspenseful read, I found it a bit more drama vs thriller especially compared to his other books. Nevertheless, I was completely wrapped up in each couple’s story, and Arthur’s even had me crying at the end (something I’d never thought would happen while reading one of Marrs’ books). I also loved that each chapter ended with a cliffhanger. It really kept me reading, and there was this underlying feeling of dread, like a ticking time bomb, knowing everything had to be culminating to something explosive.

In the end, I was happy with how everything came together. (As happy as you can be in a dystopian novel anyway.) Some characters made frustrating choices, other’s stories were heartbreaking, and some were satisfying, but I appreciated the variety and how it fit the development we saw throughout the novel. John Marrs truly never disappoints and I will continue to pick up everything he writes!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Collins Canada for providing me with a complementary copy in exchange for an honest review.

What I adore most about John Marrs’ novels is the thoughtful way in which he creates completely different worlds with rich detail, complex characters, and morally ambiguous dilemmas that always make you ponder the question how far is too far? We re-enter the world of “DNA matching” from a previous novel, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆, only to have gone even further now with the creation of the “Smart Marriage”.

I will note that there is a huge, and I mean HUGE, cast of characters, each seemingly unrelated. I found that taking copious, detailed notes really helped me to keep each of our POVs straight until eventually, they all begin to connect and become less confusing. Otherwise, you can easily lose the thread and it won’t be as fun. Trust me on this. It’s worth it.

This was fantastic on audio and includes a full cast including Marrs himself. Each and every narrator was perfect at setting their character apart from the others and bringing them to life in an almost movie like fashion.

Read if you like:
•dystopian novels
•sci-fi thrillers
•bingy reads
•multiple POVs
•The One

Thank you {partners} HTP Books and Harper Audio for the gifted copies in exchange for my honest review.

The Marriage Act is John Marrs' newest installment in his line of dystopian fiction set in Great Britain. In The Marriage Act, the government controls your marriage. They listen in through a device similar to an Alexa, they can determine if your marriage is "in trouble", and even determine if you need to divorce. Obviously, not everyone is on board for such intrusions. The novel has MANY points of view that can be difficult to keep track of. I often found myself confusing different people's story lines. There were a few that stood out and were memorable, but there were a few that were lackluster. This book is hefty at over 450 pages, it took me a while to get through. I did like the premise but felt that it could have been cut back some. Overall, I did enjoy it but you have to enjoy this niche of fiction to enjoy the novel itself. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I always thought my favorite book of his would be The One, but I was so wrong. Loved the writing. Love his dark plots and twists. His books always are fast paced and keep my attention. I also really like how the cover is simple and yet really grabs your attention. I appreciate that it’s not a cliche cover. Highly recommend this one

I loved The One and The Passengers, so I was so excited for this book. Unfortunately I found this one just moved a bit to slow for me and I set it aside with hopes that maybe it will work on another day,

This dystopian thriller was outstanding! I really like that it alternated between several points of view. Reading this book reminded me of an much more detailed and nuanced episode of The Twilight Zone. I found the near future Britain of the novel disturbing, appalling and fascinating. This is one read which was impossible to put down!

This might very well be a “it’s not you, it’s me” thing because I was so hooked by this premise but so little of it satisfied. Infact, I found the whole thing to be bleak and un-fun. And yes, I mean, if you read the plot you might think of course it’s bleak, of course it won’t be fun, but I think there could’ve been a way to have all these themes, these events, and not come away feeling as I do.

Naturally, we aren’t about to root for the system that’s been set-up in this near-future world. But you’d think we would have some characters, or some situations, to root for. Except the only one who was really deserving.. well. He has the most heartbreaking plotline. Everyone else, even those who weren’t sociopaths or narcissists, they were all somehow complicit or hypocritical and while there’s something to be said for shades of grey, complicated personas, well.. yeah. I guess there’s something to be said. But not here.

Because much of what is found in his society, the Smart devices, the Smart homes, etc, already exists in ours, it’s not hard to make the leap that the rest could one day be true, too. Already we see the push to control others, to dictate what’s acceptable, so why wouldn’t this be the next step? It does make you think. But I guess I expected to feel something, too. And I didn’t.

I think if you like an Orwellian dystopian world, especially one that feels just a half-step away, with various POVs that slowly overlap in subtle ways, you might enjoy this. And while I can’t count myself among them, I try this author again.

The Marriage Act by John Marrs is a realistic, near-future dystopian novel set in Great Britain.

The Government has weaponized marriages, making marriages beneficial (tax breaks, better areas to live) and making staying single, even after being widowed, a negative (impacting taxes, jobs, friendships). The Government controls this through listening devices that monitor for marital issues.:

Told through shifting point of views, this novel had me hooked and I had a hard time putting it down to go to bed.

A clever and fascinating story

Despite an interesting premise and my love for John Marrs, this was a DNF around 50%. While he wrote about a freaky concept, there were so many plotlines and the overall experience was disjointed. I also struggled to connect with any of the characters and felt confused more than anything. Plenty of other readers seemed to enjoy this one, so maybe it's a me thing?

Such a unique and captivating book. This premise was so different than anything I’ve read before. I loved the multiple POVs and the twists throughout. Definitely a freaky concept to consider. Very chilling.

I was so interested in the concept here, it was so original and terrifyingly believable that I felt like it had to be a fascinating read. While parts of it were interesting and the overall idea was solid, unfortunately the story as a whole didn’t really work for me. There was a lot going on here with several viewpoints from different couples who are impacted by The Marriage Act in some way and instead of things flowing smoothly it all felt kind of choppy for me. The style also just felt really dry and bland as well and things dragged for me at different points, so it was also too long for me. It seems like I’m an outlier here so if you enjoy this author or this one just sounds intriguing to you give it a try, it just wasn’t the book for me.

I really enjoy reading books by John Marrs and this one is no different. This book is about an Act from the British government that makes marriage seem like the perfect concept. Married couples can upgrade their marriages and get amazing things such as better housing, tax breaks, better schools for their children, and more! The only catch is that you allow the government to listen to your conversations to ensure that you have the perfect marriage.

I loved that this book follows different characters POVs. Some of the characters I liked more than others but each chapter is only a few pages until you get to the next person. It was easy to move in and out of the minds of each character without trying to remember what happened previously. I really enjoyed this book. My one suggestion would be to read “The One” and “The Passengers” first. I did not realize that these books took place in the same universe. While not necessary to read these books first, there are minimum spoilers, I just would have liked to know what they were referring to in the past.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable. I like that Marrs can make a book feel like 1984 and a science fiction thriller at the same time. The technology is easy enough to understand and the book focuses on the characters more than the Act sometimes which I appreciated. The ending was especially exciting for me, I was very satisfied with the way the story lines were wrapped up. I look forward to reading more books from him.

Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

Was excited to get to read John Marrs' newest and to say I wasn't disappointed is putting it mildly! I do have to caution that this book follows multiple storylines with fairly short chapters and so it can be confusing at times trying to keep up with all of the various characters but I simply loved it. I never got bored with where one particular storyline was going as each chapter just gave you enough information to have you coming back for the next. I thought it was pretty neat how John included a sub-storyline featuring DNA matches after that had been the driving force behind my previous favorite of his, The One. I also thought it rather cheeky the way that he alluded to the fact that this was set in the future, with things like "classic movies from the 2000s" or 70-some year old Arthur listening to Oasis that had been popular in his 20s, or King William. I was impressed with this book on multiple levels and can't wait to handsell it to those looking for a fantastic new read!

I had such high hopes going into this one but just immediately felt disappointed and confused as to what I was reading. There was too many characters that I didn't care for, a plot I cared even less about and just an all around meh feeling. The only reason I didn't DNF is because I kept holding it for it to get better because I love this author. However, sadly that did not happen. I wanted to be on the edge of my seat with this one but inside I was heading out the door. Definitely a different plot to this book but it just completely fell flat for me

John Marrs is one of my favorite authors, and I'm absolutely thrilled to have read another book set in the universe of "The Passengers" and "The One." "The Marriage Act" once again explores the dangers of too much government oversight and technological advances being used to control citizens. In this book, Smart Marriages featuring AI control whether or not couples stay married, and couples in these marriages are given significant financial and social benefits.

The book is built with short chapters from several perspectives, and each ends on a delicious cliffhanger that drives the reader through the book. I love this format, and Marrs does it incredibly well. I laughed, cried, cheered, and gasped while reading this novel. It is creepy at times and heartbreaking at others but not devoid of hope. It's speculative thriller done right.