I enjoyed the concept of this book and liked all the individual stories. I was half expecting there to be a link between them all but was not disappointed that this didn't happen.

This is the first book I've read by this author and it was full of twists and turns with unexpected outcomes for some of the characters. - what a great storyline,.

Each story was carefully plotted, with different storylines , my personal favourite was Nick's who although happy with his lot was forced into the the test by his then fiancé, and discovered a whole new and unexpected life for himself.

Who'd have though that a dating app to find your perfect genetic partner would cause so much controversy for some and untold happiness for others.

This book started off a bit slower than I would normally like, but it made up for it as the book picked up speed and you began to become entangled in the lives of 5 main characters and a myriad of supporting characters. Each story was connected to a dating app, called Match, which matched you to the one person you are genetically "made for." There is a twist in the lives of each of the characters, most of them quite unexpected, some of them expected but still creatively executed. It's hard for me to say a lot about this book without giving you spoilers, but if you are looking for a book to read on a plane, vacation or over a weekend when you can become absorbed - this one is worth taking for a spin.

First I just want to specify that there will be no spoilers in my review, so read at will!

Thank you very much to NetGalley for facilitating, and to Ebury Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review. And finally, a big thank you to John Marrs for keeping me thoroughly entertained (and now very tired) through his wonderful writing!

When I read the description of this book I thought "yeah, ok... interesting concept... I'll buy into this." And requested the ARC for this.

The style of writing is so easy to follow - it's not poetic, imagery filled creative writing, it's very conversational and so feels natural reading it. I hope people know what I mean by that. Sometimes books are so "beautifully written" that it becomes hard to follow the story because you're taken on many detours around the dictionary before a point is made. Whilst that's beautiful, it does make a relatively short story a hell of a lot longer! This does nothing like that. Every page is filled with relevant plot twists and character background. So when you read this book it is actually entirely the story you wanted to read. Like when you order a chicken korma and wonder how much chicken you'll actually get - this is all meat.

The concept of this book is a very interesting one and one that perhaps at face value, the implications of such a discovery do not surface. But if (like me) you spent a lot of time thinking about books between reading sprees you'll be thinking a lot about what this would actually mean in the far corners of our lives if it were reality. It was very very thought provoking and I liked that. For a book that I could easily "consume", this was surprisingly intelligent. Usually the meaty books are also the trashy "holiday" books. Not this one.

I loved loved loved each character and their unique situation. And although it's now a very common method of story telling, the flipping-between-characters-each-chapter thing was perfect for this book. It kept me up until 1am because "oh... I'll just see what happens to Ellie and then I'll put it down..." I couldn't actually choose a favourite character/storyline because they all gripped me completely. Although some were predictable endings, that only added to the juiciness of their predicaments because I knew they were making mistakes/slipping/misjudging themselves before they'd worked it out. I wish I'd had more time with each of them but their stories ended in the perfect place.

And do you know, I actually really applaud John for managing to include sexuality as a genetic marker rather than a "choice" within his book. Fair play for managing to get it in there and handle the confusion and heartache so delicately. Especially when you put that in contrast with killing being a choice and NOT a genetic trait. Well played and impressively handled.

This book is set almost in the present time, it's just that matching DNA to find life partners hasn't yet happened.
What could be a good use of science is, like cyber bullying i warps internet usage. It is, is used to satisfy the baser side of human nature. Just as marriages were destroyed by the creation of Friends reunited, Facebook etc, so too the belief that the grass is greener wreaks havoc among various relationships.
I found the psychopathic killer less unpleasant than some of the other characters. The self=pitying women seeking The One seem hell bent on abandoning family and any exsisting commitment in order to find their perfect mate.
If you feel a little down this book accurately reflects the worse side of human behaviour and will strengthen your disillusionment. because it appears no one can keep their word, refrain from lying or stop being thoroughly unlikable.
Some characters are more believable than others but overall it isn't a happy read

This is the first 5 star review I've done in a while and I can't recommend this book enough,I thoroughly enjoyed it.I am tired today because I stayed up way too late last night to finish this book, and I don't care one bit, because it was so good.I like the short chapters alternating between the characters it makes for an easy reading style for me at least and keeps me interested and wanting to read just one more chapter, then another one... I don't think I would want to take a DNA test to see if I could find my perfect match I think some things are best left to nature but its a fascinating read to see what happens when the characters in this book take the DNA test it doesn't always go to plan,and I'm not spoiling the story by saying anymore, you are in for a treat, hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This book's USP is that it is so totally relatable that it is terrifying. One step beyond comuter matching, this alt-reality of a similar timeframe has a scientist developing an almost 100% accurate 'mate matching' test based on DNA.
The science tells the reader that there is a person with your name on, somewhere in the world and when you meet that person a chemical and biological reaction to that match will be undeniable.
Excellent then, no more wasting time looking for the 'One' when a simple mouth swab will connect you. Saves time, money, and cuts straight to the chase.
But...and here's where it gets terrifying and engaging, is love a chemical reaction? Can you boil that attraction down to genomes and where in the world of ethics and morals does spontaneity fit ? What if your match is decades older/younger/already married or not signed up for it?
What this book has are multiple character narratives, skilfully woven with some cracking cliffhanging chapter ends, from male and female perspectives.
The couple about to get married who do the test to confirm they have made the right choice. But what will the results show?
The woman desperate for a family, but how far will she go to get one?
The scientist who invented the test, will she meet her match?
The woman who travels half way around the world to meet her 'match' and gets a horrible awakening?
Oh, and a serial killer in the midst of this, just to shake things up a bit....
I really cannot recommend this book enough, it flies along at lightning speed, totally engaging and readable.
I loved it.

If you could find your perfect match from a DNA swab test, would you take the test?

This book follows 5 people who've all been DNA matched with their perfect partner, 'The One' but is it that simple? Each persons story is told a chapter at a time and many times each chapter would end on a cliffhanger and I was desperate to get round to the next chapter in that persons story to find out what happened next, thankfully the chapters were short and flowed so well that before you know it you're there again.

This book is perfectly executed and I don't know how the author came up with the idea for this storyline but it's pure genius! Thankfully I've already found my 'One' and should a test like this ever become available I definitely would not be curious enough to take it, even more so after reading this book.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I loved it. Thank you to Penguin Random House UK for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon UK & US.

Well this was unexpectedly good! A cast of characters, short punchy chapters with page turning power. It reminded me of a cross between Fishbowl ( the chapter character thing) and watching Love Actually.
Wrong in my opinion to class as a physchological thriller. It isn't. I guess an easy genre to try and slot it into but it'll miss some of its potential audience as a result.

There is an old saying "As God makes them He matches them" and after the discovery a decade ago that there was a certain gene that matched you with your perfect mate it would seem to be true. But God also has a sense of humour and sometimes the matches are unexpected, there may be a huge age gap, they may be the same sex when you have been quite sure you were heterosexual, they may have died by the time you get 'Matched' Things are not exactly as expected for the five couples this book deals with!

I thought this was a brilliant idea and it was carried out perfectly. Each couple had their own story and each one was a good tale but there was an overall link . I found myself thinking about the story when not reading it and reading when I should be sleeping!

I think this is my top book so far this year and I want to thank Netgalley the author and publisher for giving me the chance to read and review it.

I settled down thinking this would be a romantic, sometimes sad, poignant book about love and soulmates. Two chapters in and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. It's romance, drama, suspense and thriller all rolled into one, with a premise that is truly unique. I am picking this as one of my best books of 2017 and it's only January! I would recommend this book highly. Fabulous.

The One by John Marrs (Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing)

Review copy provided by Netgalley.

Genres: Romance, Drama, Thriller

RATING: 4/5

The Story

Scientists have finally discovered the key to a lasting romance – DNA. Geneticists have identified one gene, which each person shares with just one other individual, their Match. Five people decide to take the test in the hope of meeting their one true love. What they encounter will change their lives irrevocably, and will they get their happily ever after?

The Review

Imagine if you could scientifically identify the love of your life. Would you do it? The One is a fantastic exploration of the implications of this idea – what if your one true Match isn’t a good person? What if they are already in a relationship? What if you are in a relationship? It also challenges what our idea of love really is, and how much people are willing to sacrifice in order to have it.

The premise of this novel is a really unique idea, and its one which I think would appeal to a lot of people. Imagine being able to prove you were meant to be with someone. I think I’d take the test.

The One is written from the perspective of 5 people who sign up to Match Your DNA with the hope of finding their true love. Whilst using 5 individuals is a really clever way to explore the different effects taking the test could have, I found it detracted a little from the flow of the novel. There was great tension created, and each of the 5 storylines were very distinct, but I think it would have worked better if there were fewer characters or more than one chapter dedicated to each person at a time. At times I felt a bit detached from the characters.

I also wonder whether this structure meant some of the characters weren’t as well defined as they could have been. For instance, there is a character called Ellie who initially claims not to be materialistic, but then states how much she loves clothes.

Chapter 5:

“Ellie’s business was her priority, not the thread count of the Egyptian cotton covering her bed, how many David Hockney paintings hung from her picture rails or the number of Swarovski crystals used in her hallway chandelier.”

Chapter 30:

“As much as she admired a strong female role model like Madonna, Ellie was no Material Girl.”

Conversely, in Chapter 35:

“…he held her vintage Alexander McQueen coat open for her to slip her arms into…she knew she shouldn’t feel guilty for buying nice things…and she was a girl who loved her clothes.”

It is just a small niggle, but it’s these sorts of things which vex me slightly. Nevertheless, the cast of this book are distinct, and all of them are at times relatable (even one who many would describe as abhorrent, though maybe less relatable than others!)

Sometimes The One can feel a bit fanciful, such as they way some characters lock eyes and instantaneously know they are Matched, but I suppose if you buy into the concept of a scientific test for your soul-mate these cliches can be overlooked. Maybe that’s the body’s physiological response to meeting someone with the same DNA match as your own!

One of the things I liked best about this novel was the tension. There were some twists and turns that were a little too obvious for my liking, but some I definitely didn’t see coming – and I’m not ashamed to admit that one even had me shedding some tears! There was a particularly juicy twist right towards the end, but obviously I won’t share it with you. Let’s just say it definitely took me by surprise.

The book started off a little weak for my tastes, but it got better and better, and as I was nearing the end I couldn’t really put it down. A very engaging story, if you have the patience to see it through the first few chapters.

The One is released on paperback on 4th May 2017, but you can get it on the kindle NOW!

John Marrs can be contacted via twitter.

This is an absolutely brilliant book! Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it as an arc. A new dating agency has been developed, one which matches potential couples through their DNA. As you can imagine the consequences are explosive! It is a difficult book to describe, it is a story of relationships and betrayals, partly a thriller with a bit of science thrown in the mix. Five individual stories are played out within the book and you are desperate to find out just what happens to them. Quite an emotional book, also one that makes keeps you turning the pages to find out what on earth is going on. Difficult to define but a fantastic read that I would highly recommend.

If you could be matched with your perfect partner, the one person you are biologically made to be with for the mere price of £9.99 would you take the test? That is the remarkable premise of this contemporary novel, as we mind five different individuals with one thing in common, the quest to find their perfect partner. Don't be fooled though, this is no romantic story released in time for you to curl up on St Valentine's Day, this book shows the sinister consequences of what happens when you go dabbling in nature. Think about it as Jurassic Park for lovers...

Mandy is a divorcee whose husband abandoned her for his Match after they failed to have a child. Now she has been Matched with a handsome surfer a bit younger than she is but is in for a shock when she manages to track him down on Facebook. Christopher (my personal favourite) is a charismatic psychopath who submits his DNA for testing out of curiosity, he's not looking for love but is curious to find out what type of person could be Matched with someone like him. Jade has been Matched with a sweet guy she has been talking to over the phone for six months, the only problem is he lives in Australia. One day she decides to pack up and travel to the other side of the world to surprise her Match, but all is not as it first seems. Nick is engaged to the woman of his dreams. He doesn't believe in Match, but agrees to do the test because his fiancée wants to be sure they are right for each other before they take the plunge. Ellie is the CEO of a multi-billion company and doesn't have time for a personal life. She signed to be Matched a decade ago, but it's only now that a Match has been found for her and he couldn't be more down to earth. Or so Ellie believes.....

The pace of the story is quite slow to begin with as we are introduced to all the characters and given a feel for their differing situations, then about half way through the book BANG, the book turns on its head as the speed begins to pick up with every twist to this dark tale. Told in third person following the five main characters, the chapters are all short, each one ending on a mini cliffhanger, switching seamlessly between characters, ensuring the reader is compelled to keep going.

The story was set in various locations and the author does not go into too much detail on the settings but that does not matter, these five couples could be anywhere and their stories would still be the same. The characters are fairly well-developed. Marrs manages to create characters which are convincing, with enough depth and complexity to engage the reader in every single story-line and with every single relationship. Even the most inhuman of the group is relatable if not easy to empathise with.

This novel is reflective of society today in the sense that we no longer have the time or patience when we are overwhelmed by technology and apps that can do the job for us. There are some light dystopian themes running through alongside themes in relationships; love, trust, anger and betrayal. The book also poses interesting questions like what if your soulmate is a person of the same-sex, but you're not gay? What if they are decades older/younger than you? What if they are not what you expected? Would they still be the one?

I did enjoy this book, it's a bit different from the type of book I normally pick up, but I like to be pushed from my comfort zone every now and again. Even though the science wasn't wholly believable this could be something that happens one day, as humans are matched through their DNA, not taking into account personality, circumstance, human nature and feelings.

This is a clever thought-provoking novel that leaves you wondering; Would I?

Overall rating four fabulous stars. Thanks to John Marrs and Ebury publishing for my advanced review copy.

Every so often a book comes along that simply blows my mind. This was one of those books. I read so many thrillers that I am starting to see a lot of repetition story-wise so, when I see something as unique (for me anyway) as this, I know I have to read it cos, as long as it is delivered right, I just know I am going to love it.
So, a DNA test can find your perfect partner. Yay for singletons, that'll make the dating game relatively easier for sure. Not so good I'd imagine for those already coupled up / married / whatever... That would throw up all manner of questions. Am I with the right person? Is there someone better than him/her out there for me? Am I happy with what I already have? Do I need change? How accurate is it anyway, I've done OK so far? What if this person is incompatible to me physically, mentally, morally? So many questions...
This book follows five people as they embark on this journey of discovery. Five very different stories all putting a unique spin on this little DNA test. There were a lot of characters to get to grips with quickly but, although I am usually rubbish at following a big cast and tend to get confused, I wasn't here. I would put that down to the skill of the author's characterisation. I also think that short punchy chapters helped as we were never away from any of the threads for very long, revisiting in rotation as their storylines weaved about the book. Cliff hanger endings didn't hurt either although they are not my favourite thing in the world. Write good stories well and you don't have to blackmail me into reading on! And, as already mentioned, this story IS good and it IS well written. Plotting is tight, pacing is good, characters feel real. It's also a book that can be read on different levels. You can read it merely at face value or you can take the time to sit back and think about some of the moral/ethical/ etc things raised within it - obviously after you finish reading cos it's too good to put down for thinkie things and anyway, you may find your questions answered by the end!
I think that there is so much else going on in this book that less is more with this review. I also don't think there is a need to sell it to other reader with anything other than - "Read this book, it's brilliant!"
I have already read and enjoyed The Wronged Sons, also by this author, I do have Welcome To Wherever You Are on my TBR. I can see that being bumped up and read soon.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I'm not a big thriller reader but I thought this was such a clever book!
While romance was the main thrust of the book with finding "the one" through testing your DNA being the central theme, it delved into deeper issues such as living in the moment, why you connect with certain people, the pressure for the woman to marry and have children.
Great stories in bite sized chunks you follow five different people who have been matched. It reminded me of serial that I've read in the papers.
Great story and I will be recommending to everyone in the library.

Wow...
Wow, wow, WOW.
In case you were in any doubt, I was pretty impressed by this book: nominally a crime thriller, but so much more.
The setting is sort-of-now, but a DNA test to find your one match in the world is available. The impacts of this possibility on individuals, existing relationships, society and world governments are explored as we follow a number of specific people and the people in their lives. I won't go into any more detail to avoid spoilers but I could talk about this for hours - it is truly fascinating. And a proper nail-biting experience at times as well!
Even before twists that I could not predict had started to appear, I was thinking that this is one of the best books I'd read in a considerable time. I'll be recommending it to everyone I know and hope that you'll take a look too. READ IT NOW!

I loved this book. That's it, that's my review - well what more could you possibly want? It was imaginative, well plotted and scary as hell. i read this over one day and literally didn't do anything other than read it. Fabulous

What would you do if there was a way to discover the person you were destined to spend the rest of your life with? Would you want to find out? Would you be willing to risk everything - your way of life, your family, life as you know it, maybe even a commitment you've already made - just to be with this person?

Those are the questions THE ONE by John Marrs asks, and answers.

Told in rotating points of view by five different characters who have all been matched with their ONE true mate through a simple DNA swab, Marrs takes us through a cleverly crafted series of events and emotions for each character.

Mandy, NIck, Christopher, Jade, and Ellie are as diverse as people can possibly be, yet all yearn to find the one person on the planet who will love them unconditionally and for all time. With MATCH YOUR DNA.com, they do.

Or do they?

I hate spoilers, so you need to read the book to get that answer, but I will tell you this: this read is sosososo worth your while.

We live in an era where a simple cheek swab can tell you a million things about your heritage, your health, even your predilections to disease. But what if that same DNA could be matched with the one person on earth who is your true mate? We drop dollars by the bucketful to find out who are ancestors are. Would we be willing to shell out a chunk of cash to discover what our future could look like?

Ask yourself this: if you've already found the person you think you're going to spend eternity with, would you chance that decision not being the correct one by taking the test? And what would you do if you found out you weren't after all, with the right person? Would you leave them? Stick with them knowing in the back of your mind there was someone "out there" who could fulfill every want and need you have? That's heady stuff and Marrs explores it expertly.
I'm giving this book 5 well-deserved stars because it made me think, entertained me, mystified me, and in the end, solidified in my mind what this whole DNA-learning industry can do right --and wrong.

I absolutely loved this book, my first ever John Marrs and definitely not the last. Gripped from the very first page it drew me in quietly.
Written from the main characters perspectives in short sharp gripping chapters it flowed so well. Each character has a story to tell about meeting The One, their one true love. This is made possible by having your DNA matched , you find your match and everything in your life is rosy...or is it?
This follows the lives of Ellie, Nick, Mardy, Christopher and Jade, their lives changed by finding their match, their one true love.
An outstanding book I simply couldn't put down, this could easily be my book of the year