John MarrsThe One

one of my favorite novels.

This author had a good idea and turned it into a boring waste of paper. It's far too easy to guess what's going to happen, and the book is so full of tired cliches it becomes a real struggle to keep going. The only original part of this novel is the concept of a single gene that determines that has a perfect match with only one other person. Obviously the author doesn't understand genetics but the idea that there is only one match and that this is determined by only one gene and that they happen to be alive at the same time as you and often living in the the same city is absurd. The characters are hard to like so there's no attachment, I'm really struggling to see what people would like about this book.

The book was incrdibly easy to read, with each chapter usually only being 2-4 pages in length. It made for an easy to pick-up-and-put-down novel.The story was good and unique, and it was great to jump between the characters and see how their stories developed.I did feel like a lot of it though only scratched the surface of what could have been achieved with such a fantastic idea, and left me wanting more.

4.5 starsMatch Your DNA is THE way to find your soulmate. Simply send off a DNA sample and wait for Match Your DNA to email you with the details with your one and only match. In The One, we follow multiple people as they find their match and the changes that it brings to their lives. Would you take the test?What a cracking thriller! This is my first book by John Marrs and it definitely will not be my last. I listened to the audiobook of this during my work commutes and thought it was brilliant. The different POVs all have different voice actors who did an excellent job and meant I quickly remembered who was who. I was so desperate to find out what had happened that I physically read the last 100ish pages one evening as I couldn't wait until my morning commute to find out how it all ended.Fast paced and jam packed with twists and turns, this is a brilliant thriller which I think a lot of people will enjoy. (Clearly many do already as it has been turned into a TV Show!)

I only knew this was a book when I came across the Netflix series. However, just two episodes into the series, I gave up - finding it just didn’t gel with me. Yet, I still loved the idea of DNA matching to find your soul mate, so I decided to give the book a go, and I'm so glad that I did.I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Initially, I admit to finding it a little struggle to remember who the characters were and did at some points have to keep flipping back to remind myself what character we were with. However, this is a case of the book beating the series, hands down!The pacing is spot-on, and the characters are all so well-drawn and show so many flaws. It’s easy to be taken in and immersed by the entire premise.This is written to engage and has several twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. But more so, I love how though the initial idea of finding that perfect partner is utterly compelling, life itself isn’t always as simple as that.The book does encourage the reader to consider what their response would be in that same situation – however, by the end you may completely change your mind after watching how so many of these matches play out!Overall, a great thrilling read and one I’m so glad I bought in the end!

After reading my first John Marrs book earlier this year, I couldn’t wait to read more of his work. When I heard The One was coming to Netflix, I immediately purchased the book, keen to read the story before watching the screen adaptation. I’m so glad I did as this is such a great book and so different from anything I’ve ever read before. I can’t wait to watch it now too!When you look at your husband/wife/partner how do you know they’re the one? Whenever anybody enters a relationship, they’re always taking a risk. Many spend years with someone before realising their partner is not actually ‘the one’! So, imagine if you could cut out the uncertainty and remove the chance of being in a relationship that doesn’t work out years down the line. Match DNA are a company that make this possible, one quick mouth swab and £9.99 later, you can find your perfect partner. Match DNA claim you are only genetically linked to one other person in the world and as long as they have taken the test too, you can be sure to find your happily ever after!Mandy, Christopher, Jade, Nick and Ellie have all taken the test and now all have a match, we follow each of their stories as they discover who they are destined to be with and whether they really have found ‘the one’!Now you could think for a minute that this is a romance novel, think again! This is a Psychological Thriller and thrilling it certainly is!The chapters skip between the five characters and their stories, which you’d think could be confusing, but it wasn’t at all. I found this book almost impossible to put down as I’d be reading about one of them and their chapter would end with a twist or a cliff-hanger and then I’d have to keep reading through the other four characters chapters to find out what happened next, but then the same would happen with each person, this is such a great way to hold the reader’s interest.This book is cleverly crafted with brilliant twists and turns, some I guessed but some I didn’t see coming at all. The whole concept of the story is ingenious and original. I am not surprised it has been snapped up by Netflix.A Psychological Thriller, with a sci-fi edge to it and a few heart-wrenching moments too! I highly recommend this book and if you’re not a big reader then why not check out the TV series instead!