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mairi99'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, and Sexual content
gailcooksandreads's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Dementia, and Murder
Minor: Car accident
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
auscaz'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Murder
chrleee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Death, Rape, Suicide, and Murder
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"The Marriage Act" takes place in a near future world in which you can elect to upgrade your marriage to a Smart Marriage. Doing this means that you and your spouse will be monitored 24/7, but you do gain access to all the best housing, hospitals, and more. This story follows four different couples who are having their own struggles, and questioning if the government should really be this involved in their personal lives.
I thought this was a really interesting concept, and highlighted technology that is not too far off from existing. In a world where our devices are already always listening, it seems pretty plausible that Alexa could just as easily listen to our interactions and provide feedback on how to improve our relationships.
The couple in particular that really struck a chord with me was Arthur and his wife. Devastatingly, Arthur's wife passed away, but he did not want to notify the government of that because he did not want them to take her body away. They had a long and happy marriage, but because they were in a Smart Marriage, Arthur made some poor decisions that put a target on his back. In order to not lose everything, the entire life he worked so hard to build, he had to find a new wife quickly, which seems absolutely bonkers. This is a prime example as to why the government should not be involved in people's personal lives.
There was a subplot about deep fakes in this story that I think is very timely and everyone should take the time to become more aware of. It is so easy to be fooled by what you see online, and AI is advancing at such a rapid pace that you really never know if something is truly authentic.
I really enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to reading more from John Marrs in the future.
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Domestic abuse
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
boop123'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Pandemic/Epidemic
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