Scan barcode
xwritingstoriesx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
heartofhorrors's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Dementia, Car accident, and Alcohol
laughtrack17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting
soobooksalot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada and Bookclubbish for my giveaway win copy of The Marriage Act!
It's the not-so-distant future. Marriage in Britain is greatly encouraged, and by formalizing through The Marriage Act, aka "Smart Marriage". Couples in such are privvy to benefits in the economy and service access.
But the Act also comes with serious consequences if the requirements aren't met. Relationships are continually monitored, and can be intercepted at the first hint of issue.
John Marrs has created a most detailed and fascinating dystopian thriller, told in alternating chapters among four couples in differing relationships.
The opening chapter is a shocking indication of what's to come.
Recommended, and enjoy!
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, and Murder
effy's review against another edition
4.25
This book was full of quite a satisfying number of twists and turns that left me audibly gasping as they were revealed. Whilst all of Marr's speculative works do have quite a Black Mirror feel to them, this was probably the book that felt most like an episode of Black Mirror and I was so here for it!
I feel quite emotional about the fact that finishing this book means that for now, my journey with John Marrs is at an end but I know that this is just a temporary break of journey until the next book comes out because Marrs is now one of my favourite authors whether he is writing thrillers or speculative fiction. Until next time...
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
stacey_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
ocean_the_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I've never read speculative fiction, or a John Marrs. I like his writing and the stuff in this book is definitely something to contemplate.
Moderate: Death and Violence
just_a_bibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The Marriage Act is set in a world where marriage is so immensely encouraged by the government that couples who 'upgrade' to these 'smart marriages' receive benefits such as tax incentives, better healthcare, better neighbourhoods, and the list goes on. Upon signing up to this act, couples would also, essentially, give up their freedom of speech in having a device called the Audite (think the future of Amazon Alexas) monitoring their conversations to keep their marriage on track.
I really got invested in the story and the characters straight away, and it genuinely felt nightmarish. Parts of it were, undoubtedly, highly implausible and a little ridiculous, but I think for me I was too invested in it to bother with these overly ridiculous aspects. Even if the world felt a little too unbelievable at points, the situations that the characters were in felt 100% scarily real. From the toxicity of social media, to where we're heading with AI technology today, to the choices that people were forced to make, it genuinely felt like parts of the storyline could have been very much real.
My one tiny little complaint putting me off giving this the full 5 stars is just the fact that there was so many perspectives to keep up with. With the five different characters we had perspectives from, it was a little difficult to keep up with and remember who was who at the beginning. Also, I kind of wish the characters had some sort of link with each other instead of them all being completely separate from each other for the vast majority of the story.
Other than the little confusion at the start, I thought the characters' perspectives were really cleverly written. I liked how there were characters of all ages and genders and situations - it definitely made it a lot more intriguing to see how the act impacted all sorts of people. What was interesting to note was that none of the characters were particularly likeable per se - the majority of them were highly detestable - and yet the story worked really well with this.
While maybe not being the best for those who can't stand a slightly unrealistic story, I was absolutely hooked to it and would definitely recommend - I'm intrigued to read some of the author's other works.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent