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killmoore_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I started the marriage act after getting about 50 pages into the Family Experiment and I'm really glad I did. Talk about infuriating though.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Gore, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
risaleel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
dayanitha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Grief
Minor: Suicide
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.75
"In the end, it didn’t matter, because she couldn’t rewrite the past. She could only ensure she didn’t repeat her mistakes."
It's no secret that I consider John Marrs to be one of my favorite thriller authors, and I've read and loved the majority of his books. It's true that I tend to enjoy his dystopian/speculative thrillers most though... The Marriage Act is a stand-alone set in the same alternate near future as for example The One and The Passengers. I'm still not sure why I hadn't read it until now considering it was a most anticipated release last year... But since I was approved for the ARC of his newest story set in the same universe, I decided to play catch-up and read The Marriage Act first. It's true that each book can be read as a stand-alone, but there are some references to the previous books that you might not pick up otherwise. I have to say that this author is SO exceptional at creating extremely plausible and basically terrifying alternate futures... And this story is no different. The concept behind The Marriage Act is no less than brilliant, and its premise blew me away. Why not give it the full five stars then? This mostly had to do with the multiple POV structure slowing down the pace considerably, and the POV switches were too frequent as well. It took a little while to successfully keep all the characters apart, although I can't deny that the way the different POVs start connecting is very clever. What also put a minor damper on things was the fact that the majority of the characters are extremely unlikeable and flawed, and this made it hard to start rooting for them. The Marriage Act can get pretty dark and a lot of unpleasant secrets and trigger warning worthy topics are incorporated along the way... Some was used to show just how corrupt and terrifying this alternate future was, but still. There is no denying that the story as a whole will stay with me for quite some time though, and it's another successful speculative thriller that makes you wonder if things could really escalate to that level.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
theinstabookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Some things didn't age well (i.e. mentions of Twitter, IGTV), but that's a very minor detail and not something that had any kind of effect on my reading experience. Also, I found the pace to slow a bit in the middle, but it did pick up. Marrs is an auto-buy author for me and I'm very excited for his two new thrillers coming out this year!
Favourite quote: "Don't do as you're told when you know something is morally wrong. Have the strength to stand up for what you believe in. Don't be afraid to confront your enemy or they will continue to rise in the most unexpected ways."
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
naereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
d0505'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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
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