Cover Image: The Marriage Act

The Marriage Act

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Member Reviews

Unfortunately this was not for me. This author has a ton of books I LOVE, but this one just wasn’t a favorite.

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This book was very easy to get into - I loved the propaganda for marriage (very "Black Mirror") and the shifting POVs of how the act impacted various people. The pace and intrigue of the book felt on par with his other titles, "The One" and "The Passengers." Overall, a very fun read and will happily recommend to patrons looking for "Black Mirror" type/sci-fi titles. Thank you for the arc!!

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This one was slow going for me, but in the last 1/3 finally gripped me and and I finished it. Very interesting concept, and one I hope never comes about for real! It didn’t grip me as well as other John Marrs books, so that was a bit disappointing.

Apologies for the late review here - I couldn’t figure out how to send feedback as I was only using the app, and it doesn’t have that functionality.

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I love books by John Marrs and couldnt wait to read this one. I was hooked and flew through this one! I highly recommend this!

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Another fantastic book from one of my new favorite authors!! So addictive, complicated characters, and endless moral dilemmas to explore.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙬? 𝘿𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙮? 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙈𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠, 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝-𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡.

I have absolutely loved this author’s books. John Marrs is easily becoming a favorite author for me when it comes to speculative thrillers: The One, The Passengers, and The Marriage Act are all must-reads!

While this can be read without having read those two books I mentioned, I do recommend reading them beforehand. First, because the whole idea behind those stories are mentioned in this one. Also, I just can’t stop recommending them.

I did go into this one not knowing a single thing - it’s John Marrs, I just have to read it. I’m so glad I went into it blindly because I had the time of my life reading it. It’s super addicting and I just couldn’t put the book down at all.

I was hooked from the very first page and my excitement never left a single time. There were twists here and there that I didn’t see coming.

Also, most of the characters aren’t that likable, but they’re each interesting in their own way. We also get multiple POVs with complex characters.

Something I’ve noticed John Marrs does so well is that each chapter always ends with a cliffhanger, hence why I can never put his books down. I always have to know what’s coming next, and most times I’m always blown away.

I honestly can’t stop recommending this author enough, his books are the perfect binge-able reads. This one was quite a delight and is now my second favorite book by him. I loved the audio with the full cast too. Highly recommend picking this book up - and anything else by this author!

Thank you so much NetGalley and HTP Books for the review eARC in exchange for my honest review!

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I did not finish this one. It was just not for me. I have read this authors past works in the futuristic setting and I think I am done with them

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This was my third John Marrs book. He always writes such interesting not-so-distant-future dystopian thrillers. This one was reminiscent of his previous book The One which I loved. It was written similarly with chapters relating to several different characters. I def loved this book!

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Marrs has written yet another excellent work. The similarities to 1984 are evident, but I also felt like I was reading a different futuristic, frightening tale. The concept was intriguing and well-executed. There is also a mention to DNA testing from his previous work, so the novels appeared to be linked. There is suspense, as usual, but I particularly appreciated the influencer perspective. It felt like a more exaggerated version of what was already going on. The tale and descriptions were a little too dark at points, but overall, it was an excellent novel that I loved.

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I loved The Passengers, it was my first Mars book. I did enjoy that this book tied in with that one. This book really made you think that's for sure. I enjoyed the multiple characters in the book, it seems to be his thing. The narrator was excellent as well.

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A thought provoking read eerily reminiscent of what could possibly happen in the future given the nature of social media and the hold governing powers have over its people. It is told from 5 pov and at times I did find myself going back to reference a particular character. It felt a bit discombobulated but you can still get the gist. It reminded of Big Brother is watching. The Marriage Act is a piece of legislation put into law governing couples and their marriages post Brexit and the pandemic where everything has changed. In order to get the economy moving again scary measures are put into place and what ensues is crazy. I did find the acknowledgements page interesting and how JM came up with this compelling and plausible read. Overall not my favorite of his books but definitely worth the read. Ty #NetGalley for the ARC all opinions are my own.

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“Just because I turn a blind eve does not mean I cannot see”

I read this book slowly because, honestly, sometimes it scared me. It’s really not that far off from what the world could be like & what technological surveillance could evolve to.

The Marriage Act follows several different couples who are all in some stage of a “Safe Marriage”. The book shows all the possible beliefs that surround such a system & how it affects different types of people. It emphasized the dangers of over surveillance & of people inserting themselves into lives that are not their own. The consequences of such greed, power, and control.

A really interesting book that I really enjoyed, very Black Mirror-esque. If you like that show you will like reading this twisted futuristic novel.

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I love John Marrs and the universe these books are set in. This was great and honestly I wish it was a little bit longer so I could stay in this world for a little bit more time. Highly recommend!!

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TW: Suicide, bullying, animal death (mentioned), dementia, cheating, rape, murder, sexual abuse, stalking, gaslighting, toxic relationships

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills — the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives — monitoring every word, every minor disagreement — and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.
Release Date: January 19th, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Pages: 430
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. All the characters were so crazy
2. The storyline was so good

What I Didn't Like:
1. Very political
2. Started off slow

Overall Thoughts:
This book brings with it a lot of questions;
A) how are young children emotionally impacted when they are forced to have a random new step parent forced into their family?
B) are people granted an auto divorce if it's a pedo or murder?

Arthur killing himself because they were taking his house away and forcing him to remarry 6 weeks after his wife is buried. Poor Arthur. Oh and then he kills himself rather than losing his house and going to a retirement home. So sad.

All the characters have so much depth and development. I knew so much about them. I loved that.

I found myself completely enthralled with this book. I could not put it down. Every character got more and more insane. John Marrs writes soap opera books where you're hanging onto every chapter and gasping to know whats going on.

Jeffery's crazy ways of stalking and trying to be his clients took things to a whole new level.

Final Thoughts:
The biggest issue I had with this book was I would have liked to see how all this passed instead of this just being how it is. The ending also rushed and it seemed like everything was wrapped up way too fast.

Also some of the stuff that happens comes off a little outlandish (Luca being dead with no air but still surviving after so long with no air.)

Recommend For:
• Complex multiple storylines
• Horrible callous characters
• Soap opera drama
• Sci-Fi government take overs

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The creativity John Marrs has is incredible. This book was so fun and so scary! Fun in the storyline, scary in thinking that could be our future 😬. It took some time to get into the various storylines, but once I got going, the stories just flew by. Such an enjoyable read. All the stars.

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THE ONE is one of my all time favorite stories and one that has stuck with me for years. The Marriage Act was another wonderful story that had me hooked from the beginning.

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I liked the premise but it took so long to read. A scary idea of what could happen in a scary near future. The author isn't afraid to kill off characters, so watch out!

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This book is just as great as The One. Fast-paced. thought provoking and relevant, The Marriage Act pulls you in and doesn't let go. It is a scary look into how technology isn't the best substitute for humanity but also how close we are as a society to the type of technology fictionalized in this novel. Really enjoyed. Students will devour this and have a lot to talk about.

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Thank you so much to HTP for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my second John Marrs book, the first being THE ONE. I struggled with parts of that book (unpopular opinion, I know) but was very hopeful that this one would be different for me.

I think this is a me-issue at this point and not an issue with the book so much, but I just struggle with the writing style. I'd still recommend checking out other reviews because I'm definitely in the minority here.

This book is available now!

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Thank you @hanoversquarepress for the @netgalley of this dystopian fiction novel which was published 5/2! Swipe for Amazon synopsis.

I love me some John Marrs and this is in the same world as THE ONE and THE PASSENGERS which I’d recommend reading first if you can for some back story but it isn’t necessary. Both are v good.

This takes place in a world where the government incentivizes marriage and punishes those who remain single but it’s really just a way to further control society. For example, Alexa-like devices are placed in homes fo monitor communication between spouses to make sure their marriage is successful. It’s very Big Brother/1984. The chapters rotate bwt different characters/couples- a social media influencer, a woman who wants a divorce and is a member of an anti government activist group, a “relationship responder” with secrets of his own, and a government official who’s facing a crisis of conscience.

May was a tough reading month for me so it took me a while to get through this but it’s not at all because I didn’t enjoy it. I thought it was an absolutely fascinating premise. My only compliant is maybe I would have wanted a little more in the ending.

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