The One by John Marrs published 4 May 2017

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Synopsis

If a simple DNA test could find the ‘One’, the person you were destined to spend your life with, your soul mate, would you take it?

For ten years people have been taking the test to meet their DNA Match and find true love.  This test has no boundaries or discrimination; it crosses the barriers of religion, gender, age, and geographical location.  Its resulted in the reduction of racial and religious discrimination, divorce rates are down as are std’s, all positive.  But is too good to be true, everyone has secrets, and different reasons for taking the test, as Mandy, Jade, Ellie, Nick and Christopher are about to find out.

Review

I have heard a lot about this book on Facebook, in particular TBC on Facebook so I was really looking forward to reading it for myself.  It certainly has an original and interesting plot, that will make you question human relationships and how they are formed; if you believe in the ‘one’ and what that means.  It also raises the moral questions about the reasons people take this test, and if there should be restrictions to stop certain groups from taking the test, i.e. criminals, those with mental health issues.

I found this a really addictive read, I literally couldn’t put the book down.  John Marrs is very clever in his writing; each chapter follows the story of the five main characters and their matches and the choices they have to make.  His brilliance is in ending each chapter on a cliff hanger and you can’t find out what happens next until you have read the following four chapters until you get back to that character’s story.

The characters themselves are all from different cross sections of society.  Their diversity gives the chance for the plot to develop and raise questions regarding the problems this test could  incur to be explored thoroughly.  Their different stories will make you laugh, cry and exclaim in shock in the matches themselves snd the situations that arise from taking the test.  I have to say that I wish the book could have been longer as I wanted to find out what happened next for the characters.

The One is an innovative, engaging and most of all an entertaining read.  It is well written with strong characters and an original plot that will keep you enthralled for the duration of the book.  Be warned, you won’t be able to put this book down once you start so clear your day of all plans, make a cup of tea and settle down for one of the most original and compelling books this year.