How far would you go to find The One?
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’re 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..
Title: The One | Author: John Marrs | Publisher: Hanover Square Press | Pub. Date: 15-07-16 | ISBN13: 9781335998859 | Genre: Sci-Fi Thriller | Language: English | Source: Owned | Starred Review
The One Review
When a book has me saying “what the fuck?” to myself six pages in, I know I’m in for a good time. I’ve been having a hard time getting into reading lately with everything else going on in the world. I’ll pick up a book, read 10-20 pages, then wander off because I can’t focus. The One, however, is a textbook example of a slump buster. Once I got into the meat of it, I had to keep reading to see where this insanity lead!
The One is mostly thriller with just a pinch of sci-fi. In a very near future, a gene has been identified that can be used to match you to your soulmate, the person whose gene is a perfect match for your own. The book follows five characters as they pursue their match, but it turns out true love isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
This book had me feeling cocky for about 15 minutes. I was so sure that I had figured out the twists each character’s arc would take, and to give myself some credit, I WAS RIGHT in all cases…except there were still 250 pages left of the book when most of these twists came to fruition. Where each plotline ultimately ended up kept me guessing until the last pages.
The characters themselves were the weakest part of this book. While their stories were interesting, I found myself struggling at times to keep them straight in my head. Most of them have their Match + one defining personality element, and that’s kind of it. There’s a definite lack of depth in that department. There were also some elements which were just a bit too farfetched for me (especially in Ellie’s arc) and some of the characters are just plain dumb (looking at you, Mandy) but the story was so engaging, I was willing to look past some flaws.
This certainly isn’t a perfect book, but damn is it a fun read.
You can find The One via its Goodreads link or, if you’d like to help support literacy programs, via Better World Books.
Sam joined the Coolthulhu Crew in December 2018. She reviews science fiction and horror for the site and is our resident Canadian.
