minimicropup's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Atmosphere 👍: Very much in the characters' heads and seeing the world through their eyes. Create imaginings without risk of the author destroying it later. The settings is varied throughout the UK and Australia depending on which character we are following.
Main POVs: 5 people who have recently received a notification they have a DNA match. They all choose to pay for access to their match's contact deets.
-A slightly naive, single adult who is close to their family but yearning for a relationship, children, and to settle down into family life
-A single adult that has been communicating on a shallow basis with their match online and is kind of in a rut. Their friends are urging them to take things to the next level (YOLO).
-An obsessive, self-described single sociopath and serial dater preying on people using "traditional" online dating apps. They are curious about if their DNA match could ever match up to them.
-A powerful, wealthy, dedicated single CEO and entrepreneur. They are hopeful but skeptical that their DNA match will be able to see beyond their wealth.
-A happily engaged adult told by their suddenly insecure fiancé to go meet their DNA match so it isn't the elephant in the room of their marriage.
Cred Rating 🤓👩🔬: Realistic in the narrative world and plausible in ours. Except for a nerd alert moment (see Growls and Howls).
Growls and Howls 🐺: The math and biology doesn't add up for ONE gene to be mutated to such an extent that only 2 people have the matching (or antisense matching) copy and relatives are never matched (yikes). I got around it by mentally adding an "s" to "gene", and pretending that the company developed a scientifically based algorithm for matching specific genomic sequences to find best matches. Similar to how ancestry predictions work at present.
Reading Journey 👍: Roller coaster meets monorail. Sight-seeing with twisty ups and downs.
Great match if you like:
-Not-too-distant future or alt-history (depending how you read this, it's flexible)
-Techno thrillers with utopian vibes
-Realistic sci-fi energy
-Relationship and romance dramas
-Thought-provoking commentary on how we define love and how relationships are shaped by our society and peers (include tech as a peer!)
-Does tech hurt people, or do people hurt people?
-Twisty, unpredictable plots and character studies
Vibes: 🤯🥺🥰
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Main POVs: 5 people who have recently received a notification they have a DNA match. They all choose to pay for access to their match's contact deets.
-A slightly naive, single adult who is close to their family but yearning for a relationship, children, and to settle down into family life
-A single adult that has been communicating on a shallow basis with their match online and is kind of in a rut. Their friends are urging them to take things to the next level (YOLO).
-An obsessive, self-described single sociopath and serial dater preying on people using "traditional" online dating apps. They are curious about if their DNA match could ever match up to them.
-A powerful, wealthy, dedicated single CEO and entrepreneur. They are hopeful but skeptical that their DNA match will be able to see beyond their wealth.
-A happily engaged adult told by their suddenly insecure fiancé to go meet their DNA match so it isn't the elephant in the room of their marriage.
Cred Rating 🤓👩🔬: Realistic in the narrative world and plausible in ours. Except for a nerd alert moment (see Growls and Howls).
Growls and Howls 🐺: The math and biology doesn't add up for ONE gene to be mutated to such an extent that only 2 people have the matching (or antisense matching) copy and relatives are never matched (yikes). I got around it by mentally adding an "s" to "gene", and pretending that the company developed a scientifically based algorithm for matching specific genomic sequences to find best matches. Similar to how ancestry predictions work at present.
Reading Journey 👍: Roller coaster meets monorail. Sight-seeing with twisty ups and downs.
Great match if you like:
-Not-too-distant future or alt-history (depending how you read this, it's flexible)
-Techno thrillers with utopian vibes
-Realistic sci-fi energy
-Relationship and romance dramas
-Thought-provoking commentary on how we define love and how relationships are shaped by our society and peers (include tech as a peer!)
-Does tech hurt people, or do people hurt people?
-Twisty, unpredictable plots and character studies
Vibes: 🤯🥺🥰
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Miscarriage
Minor: Stalking, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
ohkaereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was a four-star read up until around the 300-ish page mark. While it kept its momentum, the story got a bit convoluted and melodramatic. The One is a relatively contemplative and surely fascinating read as well as strong enough to carry the weight of all its characters and their five different storylines (I stray away from saying povs because we get a pov from two ‘matches’ at two points in the book) but its thrilling nature outweighs its literary lure. It lacks satisfying characterization, balanced unrest and rest, and inoffensive narration. While the book is immersive and the stories anchor in a tinge of reality, the characters never fully develop as people but rather stay characters who just serve to further the plot.
Those are my difficulties with the book. I felt it had potential and like the mcs with their ‘matches’, I wanted to like the book more than I actually did. I, personally, love books with a message and while this novel had one, it never delivered said message gracefully. It was an enjoyable ride but not a remarkable one.
Those are my difficulties with the book. I felt it had potential and like the mcs with their ‘matches’, I wanted to like the book more than I actually did. I, personally, love books with a message and while this novel had one, it never delivered said message gracefully. It was an enjoyable ride but not a remarkable one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical content, Stalking, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gaslighting, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Infertility, Ableism, Blood, Cursing, Sexism, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicidal thoughts
libraryluna's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Acephobia/Arophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, and Cancer
siob___'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Ableism and Miscarriage
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