By John Marrs | Released July 15th 2016
What’s love got to do with it?
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It all starts with a quick swab of your mouth to collect your DNA and then you’ll be matched with “the one”. Your perfect partner, your soulmate. Or so, we the reader are told. But, in this book we journey through 5 different stories of those who’ve been matched and the trials and tribulations of love. All of which at me thinking “what’s love got to do with it?” by the time I finished the book.
What a surprise – another romance book
No, genuinely I am surprised because romance books are not my thing. Now, I’m wondering what it was that made me want to read this particular book in the first place. Whatever the reason, I’m glad that I did because although it took me twice as long as any other book I’ve read recently I really did enjoy this. Although there are people falling in love, I still didn’t really consider it a romance book. In m brain this book was playing out like a mystery. I had a constant thought of “what the hell is going on?”
If DNA matching were ever to be a real thing, yes the stories are believable that this is how people are falling in love. Still, I found a lot of the actions people were taking to be wild. In what world are people doing these kinds of things for love? I don’t know but, it made the book interesting and as I mentioned had me thinking “what’s love got to do with it?”
What I liked about this book
My favorite thing about this book hands down is how the author did such a clever job closing out the story of Ellie. If you aren’t careful you’ll miss it but, we do know what her fate is. The other thing I enjoyed about this book was that none of the characters in the story intertwined. Everyone did the DNA match but we didn’t have our characters falling into each others world and that made the book easier to follow. John Marrs really used his imagination for some of the stories.
It was fun to see how being DNA matched didn’t mean anything was going to come to you easy. Almost all of our characters had something they needed to resolve. All of our characters had a choice to make and whether that choice was truly based on love or selfish desires is really up for us to decide.
SPOILER ALERT
In one story a woman is matched and off bat I thought her Facebook stalking was a little weird. So was the playing hard to get by not reaching out. But nevermind that, this character is “getting older”, recently divorced, childless and longing for her true match. She takes the test gets linked with a handsome man and BOOM just from the Facebook photos she’s swooning and immediately in love. But, love doesn’t come easy in this book. Before she can meet her match she sees that he has a funeral coming up. OH BOY!
You’d think she’d leave it there but no, she really fancies herself a grief stricken would be widow and shows up to this man -this strangers funeral. Was it out of love? NO THAT I BELIEVE! Attending was her own personal choice because she sure as hell wasn’t invited. And that leads us into even crazier situations as we move through the book.
I don’t want to truly spoil this storyline for you so I’ll leave it there. But, if that’s enough to peek your interest, please grab your copy.
What I didn’t like about this book
What I didn’t like about The One was that there didn’t seem to be much character growth to me. These people felt the same at the end as they did in the beginning. We just got to see even more of their true nature by the end of it all. Like Ellie who might have been my favorite character; it’s clear she’s all about self-preservation with a vibe of F U to any obstacles to her goals. Throughout the book we see her develop her relationship but STILL be protective of herself. At the end of the book she’s still protective of herself, her public image and giving even more of an F U vibe to those against her.
Also, all the POVs were definitely not my cup of tea but since the stories were individual that helped me stay on track (even though at the beginning of every chapter when I read the characters name I couldn’t recall their storyline until I read more of the chapter).
anyways…
Would I recommend this book?
Oh absolutely I would recommend this book. Even if you aren’t into “romance” books (because as I said I didn’t really view this as a romance book). This book will leave you wondering was any of it really about love? In some cases I felt like it was about desperation, desire, the need to feel a part of something – to feel normal. You might find yourself having a lot of questions once you finish too like “would i have done that?” “Would I have felt this way?”. Really, it’s just a good read.
But, if you’ve read it or watched the show, let me know your thoughts. Especially on Ellie and if you caught on to what her fate was and how you felt about it.
Talk to you soon! I’m currently reading The Dead Husbands Cookbook by Danielle Valentine and let me tell you its soo good! It’s my first ever audiobook and I promise you i’m ready to buy a hard copy!
FIND ME ON FABLE!
I absolutely love the Fable App. I discovered it a few months ago while I was looking for a community based app where I could connect with other readers and find bookclubs. Fable was a perfect match because I could keep a record of all my books, leave book reviews, read book reviews, and interact with other peoples reviews, plus join or create my own bookclubs. Which by the way I do plan on creating a bookclub soon —Join my Newsletter— so when its announced you’ll be the first to know! Not only that but their book rating system allows me to choose at .25, .50 and .75 which is great for books that aren’t a solid star. Fable is easy to use and I definitely enjoy reading along with others or seeing what other people think about the books I’ve read or plan to read.
Join me on a reading adventure in the FABLE APP! CLICK HERE
While we’re on the topics of apps, I also want to share two of my favorite apps to use for reading and they are Libby and Hoopla.
Both of these apps will require you to have a library card but, they’re amazing for avid readers on a budget. Or people who want to support their local library -both of which are me. If you’re wanting to test new genres, read the latest and most viral books, or simply just don’t want the clutter of books around your house I recommend either one of these apps. You can also borrow audio books which I think is a great feature for people who don’t have the time to read but love to listen! I hope you check them out