Are you still searching for The One?


From fairy tales of a sleeping princess who can be woken only by a kiss from her one true love to bedtime stories that inevitably end in the words ‘happily ever after,’ we learn from an early age of the importance of finding ‘The One,’ that perfectly complementary other half we are told we need in order to make our lives complete. Of course, the importance of finding ‘The One’ only increases as we get older: a multitude of dating apps along with a booming and increasingly ostentatious wedding industry is evidence enough of that.


Now, we’ve all had disastrous dates in this quest to find 'The One', just like we’ve all kissed a few frogs before finding our very own Prince Charming nice-enough-guy-with-a-just-about-bearable-amount-of-annoying-bad-habits. But what if you could take the guess work out of finding ‘The One?’ What if the true love you’ve been searching for was written, not in the stars, but in your DNA? Wouldn’t love – and indeed life – be so much easier if everything was left, not to chance or fate, but to science?


Welcome to Match Your DNA.


Match Your DNA, which works on the premise that everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, eradicates the guess work involved in finding that elusive ‘one true love.’ For the princely sum of £9.99 you can download the details of your perfect match and let chemistry take its course from there. This isn’t a gimmick: Match Your DNA has an almost 100% success rate that guarantees your very own ‘happy ever after.’ Not only that, ever since the advent of Match Your DNA, the rates of reported spousal abuse have fallen dramatically, while divorce is pretty much a thing of the past.


If this all sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is. Match Your DNA has its downsides; divorce rates among couples matched via science may be almost non-existent, but the emergence of Match Your DNA has led to an upsurge in divorces among already-married couples who, on discovering they are not married to their one true love, leave the marriage to instead settle down with their DNA-matched soulmate. Yikes! Can you imagine?! Then, there’s the fact that you could be matched with someone who lives on the other side of the world. Problematic. Worse still, you could find your perfect match only to discover that they have recently died. Not ideal. It gets even worse. What if you find yourself paired with an actual psychopath in the form of a serial killer responsible for the depraved murders of several young women? Do you run for the hills? Or do you stick around because, you know, this guy is your perfect match – and there has to be a reason for that. I mean, what does it say about you if you find yourself matched with a psychopath? Food for thought, indeed.


A thoroughly unique thriller, The One by John Marrs is fast-paced, absorbing and guaranteed to keep you reading late into the night, as you set off on a journey of discovery and adventure with five people who have put their faith in science and found their perfect match. They say the course of true love never runs smooth, but with nothing left to chance, what could go wrong? Spoiler alert: more than you could ever imagine, that’s what!


Recommended to those looking for a thriller that’s different from all the rest!

Fantastic. I loved this book. Great writing from John Marrs and I could genuinely see this one day happening! A very good, highly recommended read!

Holy.... Crap…. Words cannot begin to describe The One by John Marrs. This is Science Fiction that could possibly one day become science fact. (But, isn’t that what all Science Fiction is?: Fiction until the time comes where it is reality?????) John Marrs, where did you come up with this idea? You are brilliant and I loved this novel!

This book has been released in the United Kingdom for some time and it is FINALLY released here in the States! It seems like I have been anticipating this novel forever; So much so I began to worry that it would fail my high expectations, but Marrs exceeded them. The One had been previously titled as A Thousand Small Explosions and there are references to the former title in the novel. I prefer the title of The One to the previous title.

The One makes you think and will cause debate… Could this become a reality and would you take the test? What could be the results of taking the test? We experience the stories of five extremely different individuals who take the test and the positive and negative consequences they all face. These stories all have very different results in their relationships as the test only takes into account DNA, and not race, religion, gender, or even location in the world.

This is a very compelling and addictive novel and you just want to keep turning those pages! Marrs is brilliant with his short chapters that have you in disbelief as you reach each conclusion. The stories go back and forth between each of the five persons and you don’t know what is going to happen next. (Or you think you know and you are wrong!) I found myself saying, “I must keep reading!” The short chapters make The One a quick and compulsive read.

The question still remains: Would YOU take the test?????

***Many thanks to the publisher for granting me an e-arc via NetGalley and also John Marrs as I won a signed copy via GoodReads. I really enjoyed this novel and will treasure my signed copy.

How can I review this book????? It is just excellent!!!!! I wanted to devour it and was sad when it ended!!!! The imagination of John Marrs is amazing, it lives up to the hype and you must read it!

The One is a book that I've been sitting on for a while now, but I ended up listening to the audio version instead since I just love listening to thrillers. And, WOW, what a book. This is a book that centers around five different people, they have all taken the Match test and found their true love partner. And, then they lived happily ever after. No, this is a thriller so it's not that simple. Instead, does this test actually give a lot more problems for the people in this book. Yes, I'm being deliberately vague and that's because this is the kind of book that the reader preferably shouldn't know much about when it comes to the different people's stories.

Now the book is labeled a psychological thriller, and yes I agree with it. However, it's so much more than that. Some stories really pull at one's heart-strings. And, there are even funny moments. However, the heart of the story lies in the fact that you may have found your soulmate, but this perfect match can change your life totally, and in some way, it can even be deadly.

The One thrilled me, surprised me and in the end, it stole my heart. I found the idea of the book refreshingly new and I loved all the different life stories.

I've seen a lot on social media about John Marrs, and I'll admit I was curious to read this book partly for that reason. It also struck me as a unique plot.... To start with I wondered whether there were too many characters and I wouldn't be able to remember their individual stories, but I soon got the hang of them all, and looked forward to each new 'instalment.' As is often the case with books which cover multiple POVs and storylines you end up caring for one or two above the others, but as the chapters were quite short this didn't matter and I was soon being pulled along very effectively. The premise of the book sounds utterly ridiculous, but also very believable at the same time, and overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a fast paced, well constructed read.

I raced through this book. It has a fabulous premise: scientists discover everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, making them your perfect love match. And, of course, there’s a website that will find your match for a fee.

The narrative follows five different characters as the meet their match. Some of the characters I related to more than others, and it has the effect of a series of connected short stories. Full of twists and turns, and funny as well as exciting. A little over-dramatic for my tastes, but completely enjoyable.

I seriously enjoyed this book, it weaved its way through different peoples lives. especially the guy who just happened to meet his perfect match (ironically). good book that i've read in a while.

I first discovered John Marrs after reading The Wronged Sons. He is one of the best new authors around. Every book is completely different to anything else out there on the market as this is no exception. Highly recommended.

Very clever and original. Short chapters made it a very easy read, flew through it and really enjoyed it.

The premise is simple. A decade after the discovery of a gene that everyone shares with just one person, a DNA based dating website has completely changed the world. One tiny mouth swab and you will find your perfect partner. The One follows the fate of five people who take the test – the scientist who discovered the gene; a graduate downhearted she had to move back in with her parents; a psychopath with a big project; a woman starting to despair she will never get her happily ever after; and a happily engaged man whose fiancée insisted they both take the test.

This is a really snappy read – five people, five stories, told in alternating short chapters each with a mini-cliffhanger ending. It’s next to impossible to put down – the chapters are short enough you will say ‘just one more’, but each chapter ending will make you say ‘just one more’ again. I read it in one sitting (or lying to be precise!) and it was a great holiday read. In the cold light of the next day I realised that the plots had gotten pretty ludicrous in places but you are highly unlikely to care when you are rattling through it. Great fun!

A very neat idea using the classic science fiction form of changing just a single thing in our world and exploring the ramifications of this. This writer's 'one thing' is an invention which enables someone to be matched biochemically to a single other person in the world - just the one.

Of course a different novel would result from a society which had this invention available for generations or where it suddenly bursts upon the world. In this exploration John Marrs chooses to look at the lives of people just a few years down the line when it is viable for everyone. Just as with finding out the gender of your unborn baby, you cannot then un-know it and nor can you change it. Is it better not to know?

Every scenario you can think of is probably already in this novel but they may not play out the way you expect. To cram so much in, the writer gives us episodes involving a variety of people in (and out of) different relationships. Plenty of food for thought and discussion, making it an ideal book club choice.

Oh good god. If ever there was a book which confirmed that my decision to remain single was undoubtedly the most sane one ever made by a human being, then this one could be it. I have to be completely honest and say that this book played into every single one of my convictions regarding relationships, including that most people cannot be trusted and the idea of finding ‘the one’ by pure coincidence is a complete crock of … Well you know what.

Never having been interested in close human entanglement, I’ve often wondered how anyone can declare they have found their ‘soul mate’ or ‘the love of their life’ unless they had met absolutely every person on the planet. What if there was another ‘one’ out there? How can you possibly know. You’ve simply met the most compatible ‘one’ of all the people you had met up until that particular point in your existence surely? Do go and meet the remaining several billion people on the planet and prove me wrong by all means… Yes folks. I’m truly as romantic herpes.

So… This book takes all of my cynicism regarding love and kicks it up a notch (apparently that is possible). The result is a book which is often humorous, sometimes poignant, occasionally cloying (romance – yuk), tense, thrilling and completely and utterly compelling.

I listened to this book in a single day. Centred around several singletons and even some couples, this is what the world would look like if Match.com and Amazon got married, cross bred and had lots of little internet-dating/world-dominating genetically engineered babies. Some bright spark has identified a genetic marker which signifies a couple as being the perfect pair, the ones who are meant to be together, revolutionising not only internet dating but the whole concept of love as we know it. Causing rifts in seemingly perfect families and matching complete strangers from across the globe, it is almost taboo to be in a relationship which has not been genetically engineered. And here is where our story begins.

From the woman who finds her perfect match only to have her dreams crushed by tragedy, to the couple who are certain they are meant to be and yet are not genetically matched, even down to the text sharing lovers separated by the entire globe, there is no denying the power of finding ‘the one’. There is no pairing too taboo, no boundary, either religious or financial which cannot be transcended, and the evidence for the success of this genetic matching is compelling. And yet not everyone is happy. Is it truly possible that relationships are based purely on nature and not nurture?

Perhaps part social commentary on the need for perfection in everything in life, it is certainly a concept which takes the challenge and uncertainty out of dating, that opens up the door for the ‘less desirable’ in life to find their dream match, however seemingly unlikely. But would it remove the fun too? If you know you are meant to be together because your genes dictate it. Is not the fun in the chase, the uncertainty and the steady blossoming of a fledgling romance?

Don’t be fooled by the premise of the story. This is not all blind romance and gushing luvviness. There is a lot of tragedy within too, as well as deception galore. No matter what genetics dictates, this is a story of human beings after all and lord know we’re a race that excels at conning and controlling each other. Some deception is with the purest of motives, some by misguided love and some, worst of all, by the need for revenge. Along side all of the relationship drama, a rumbling undercurrent of unease, the certainty that something is not quite as it seems, keeps the interest levels high, for me at least.

This is a very clever book. Perhaps not for all, but I loved the writing style and to be honest the story definitely lends itself to the audio format. All of the disclaimers read out relating to the things that the company ‘Match Your DNA’ could not be held accountable for which were read out at the beginning set the tone of the rest of the book and certainly meant I left the end of my street already with a smile on my face. From moments of great tension as the story wound to it’s conclusion, the satisfaction of guessing what one of the characters nefarious intent was, to the need for one of the most star-crossed pairings to finally get their happy ending, it had everything I needed in a book. Yes – I got a bit mushy with that last one. I’m anti-relationship for me, I’m not inhuman. Everyone had to at least want that one to work out. I can’t tell you why but I really did like Nick and hoped he got his happy ending.

And then there was Christopher. Now what to say about Christopher. He was probably the most and yet least likely person you would expect to see on this particular dating app and if you read the book you’ll understand why. Now don’t shout at me for this, the guy is not someone you should really like, and I don’t why but I really did like him. Perhaps because his inclusion is so out there compared to the other stories of people looking for love but then his match is just so ironically amusing that it makes you smile. The guy is twisted but if the concept of ‘the one’ is correct, there really is someone for everyone, no matter how wrong they may be. And this pairing is so tantalisingly incompatible and completely wrong that it is also very, very right.

Loved this book. Loved the styling. Loved the audio. Go on and try it. You might like it.

** Disclaimer ** I still have absolutely no faith or belief in the concept of ‘the one’. I do not endorse travelling the entire globe meeting all 7.4+ billion people in order to test my theory out, nor do I accept any responsibility for any disease, injury or death resultant from such a fool hardy quest. You’re on your own there kids. Just stick with what ya know. Ignorance can be bliss. Don’t believe me, read this book.

The One by John Marrs presents a near future where internet dating has evolved from mundane personality quizzes and finger swipes to actual, match making science. MatchYourDNA.com promises to find you your soulmate through your own DNA. It can't get anymore accurate than that, now can it? But the course of true love never did run smooth, as they say, so what if, even when it's a scientific fact, your soulmate isn't... Right for you? 

I thought that was an interesting premise, despite the fact that the term DNA match couples made me think of incest, but I found that the execution was rather lacking.

The thing is, I never felt invested in the main characters, and their voices never felt very distinctive. They were all quite bland, so I honestly didn't really care what happened to them. Most constantly made stupid decisions that made no sense. Their stories moved along predictably, and I found the 'twists' underwhelming and unsurprising. The mechanics behind the DNA matching weren't as impressive as I was expecting, either. 

I found the writing itself unremarkable, and the pacing was slow. I would not describe this as a thriller at all. There were some passages, especially in Christopher's chapters, that kept being repeated, almost word for word, for no reason I could discern, which annoyed me. The stories were all very isolated, and there was never any interaction between the main characters, not even minor ones, to stitch the book together a little more. I mean, one of the plots involves a serial killer, yet no mention, not even peripherally,  is made of it in any of the other stories, not that I can remember. It just felt like the book was made up of random stories bundled together under the same subject. 

Readers who enjoy slower paced action and complicated romantic entanglements might find The One to be right up their street, however, if you're looking for a mind bending psychological thriller, perhaps you might want to look somewhere else.

I absolutely loved this book, had I not a job and family to attend to it would have been read in hours! So many plot twists it kept me wanting to know more. I enjoyed the development of each character and the personal journey each was on. Reading this made me question the existence of a 'perfect match' and the implications for us if such a service like the one offered in this book existed. A fantastic read, really enjoyed it.

My thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. 

I gave this a well deserved 5 stars or 10/10. 

WOW. That one word could very easily sum this book up. I have to admit that at first I did struggle with getting my head round all the various characters as the story flits from one to another. However, at one point the story just took off and had me gripped. 

There is so much that could be said about the story, but to do so would spoil it for others. I agree it's a psychological thriller, but their are so many layers that to me it was more than just a thriller. The layers peel away one after the other like an onion and it's many layers. At it's heart are 5 people, some lonely and some maybe not as lonely, that are all determined to take the test in order to either find the one that is a true match for them and ultimately the soul mate, the one they are destined to be with for life if they believe the hype.

The premise may sound a little far fetched, but it's already in use, meet Gene Partner. https://www.genepartner.com/index.php/aboutgenepartner

This story was previously published as A Thousand Small Explosions.

If you read only ONE book a year, this year make it The One.

In a world where you can be matched to your soul mate would you take the test? Following the lives of those who have taken the test to find your matched I was hooked from page one. What a fantastic storyline with me loving every character involved even the psychopath murderer. Could not put this book down. Makes you really think about he possibility of this happening one day. Would you take the test?

This was a real page turner, every chapter left you on a cliff edge and I must admit. part way through I skipped a couple of chapters to find out what had happened to one of the characters. The premise was very topical and imaginative, the characters superb and the storyline pretty unique albeit highly probable in today's dating climate.. There were odd times when it almost stumbled into chic lit but thankfully it veered back on track soon after. I haven't read anything by this author before but I certainly will from now on. I highly recommend this book.

3 and a half stars.

An interesting concept here that i dont feel is fully explored. Throughout the book we only follow 5 characters stories. Granted, each one of them is different and kept my interest throughout. I was never bored with any of them. I just feel that such an interesting idea could have been treated a lot better.

That being said this is by no means a bad novel at all. I particularly liked following Christophers depraved storyline. I felt that his and Nicks were the two strongest, and both of them had the most shocking moments.

Definitely worth a read.

This one just wasn't for me I'm afraid. I didn't like any of the characters from their opening chapters and don't really like the writing style. The incredibly cliche 'I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding' used on page 1 didn't help! By chapter 6 I had rolled my eyes too many times to carry on.