Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The One

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

vivisms_82's review

dark mysterious reflective tense

4.0

Firstly, what a treat for an audiobook - five narrators! And they were terrific.

I like a book that brings to the table a premise that does not exist in our current world, but is put together well enough to make you think "what if this happened?" This book does that. As we discover page 1 (or within 15 seconds of the audiobook) a simple DNA test can match you with your ideal mate. We are introduced to several characters and how this new science does/does not change how they feel about current, past and future romantic relationships. This new way of knowing who your "perfect match" is, makes for thrilling reading and will no doubt cause much debate in bookclubs! I definitely made some audible gasps whilst reading/listening to this book :) Always a good thing.

The characters/I needed to get this off my chest(!!):

1. Ellie - ethically immoral or scientific genius? Hasn't some science and medicine in our modern world had some shady origins? Wouldn't modern science and medicine be behind without it? 2. Tim/Matthew's parents were victims of this illegal obtaining of dna - were his revenge actions then justified? 3. Jade and Kevin were an interesting couple for me - I get why Kevin did what he did for his dying brother, but can a relationship survive if you've been lying to the person you love since the beginning? Even if said person is your DNA match? 4. I found Mandy the least interesting character and frankly annoying. 5. Psychotic Pat was a curious take on the desperate, barren woman. 6. Christopher being matched with Amy, a police woman initially made my eyes roll until I thought "wait, this could get juicey!" And it did. Getting into Christopher's mind and even having a serial killer in the mix was (I thought) clever of the author. That couple made me think a lot. 7. And the scenario that made me the most invested in was Nick and Alex. It also made me the most disappointed - mainly because I think it had potential to be teased out further and parts felt lazy compared to the rest of the writing. Deepak's wife happening to work with his match - yes out of all the millions of options on the planet she is 2 degrees of separation - was one of the few things in this book that made me wanna scream - why do author's do this? It's flippin preposterous and your reader will always be unimpressed. Sally dying (for me) was too neat; means she doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of her and Deepaks scheming - this could have been less tidy if she had survived and more satisfying. Withholding this important information is fucking selfish and I wish that was explored further. Sally pushing her bf to do the test. Then Sally became a goddam hypocrite. What did she think was gonna happen when a mixed race kid came out? Essentially is still an affair whether she is your match or not. Manipulation. And poor, little Dylan. Rejected by Deepak and Sumaira!! Nick was rightly disgusted. 2 wrongs do not make a right but geesh. Yes that last scenario made feel like I got a cake without the icing. I wanted more dammit and he had set it up beautifully to be more!

Overall I enjoyed this book and all the teasing out of scenarios was intriguing. The questions it raises if such science does become available was thought provoking, reflective and marvellous.

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maregred's review

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dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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mockingjayx16's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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sarahmaemae's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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msbgalens's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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thequiltyreader's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another near future page turner by John Marrs. There were a lot of characters which worried me at the start, but they each formed part of their own little story and didn't cross over so was easy enough to follow. Basically a book following a number of independent situations all stemming from the same start point of this dating app. Fun quick read.

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