othersociologist'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Cancer, Terminal illness, Violence, and Ableism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Kidnapping
themoodreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Murder, Death, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Stalking, Abandonment, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
3martini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Child death, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Murder
opplecopter'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
5.0
Let me start off by saying this whole concept is creepy in itself because I can completely see this, along with the absolute chaos that ensues, being a possibility in the future. This is a modern day Twilight Zone tale or I suppose Black Mirror would be a better fitting comparison. We’ve got some psychological thriller/suspense with a dash of sci-fi thrown in. The story follows five people who have been “Matched.” Mandy, a divorcée who just wants to find love after heartbreak, Jade, who is angry and disappointed in her life as a whole, Nick, a man who is planning a wedding with his fiancée, Ellie, a woman of wealth and power, and Christopher, who is a serial killer (not a spoiler, you find this out immediately when he is introduced).
We cycle back and forth between the lives of each of these people, so if you prefer a book with one straightforward storyline and don’t like jumping around, then you probably won’t enjoy this. The chapters are numerous, but very short since each one focuses on one of the five people. Personally, I enjoy the short chapters, some of which are only 2-3 pages, because it helps me remember everything still going on with the other characters. I feel like if they were longer, I would’ve been constantly flipping back to reread so I could keep up. I will be honest and say a couple of the storylines started out boring while a couple seemed to grab my attention much sooner (like Christopher’s), but they all deepen and get better as you go on. Starting off, we get to know their lives and backgrounds before we watch their worlds get shaken up and flipped upside down. There were so many layers, twists, lies, secrets, and betrayals. The ending was so unexpected and changed the entire atmosphere of the book and made you question everything.
I’ve been looking for another 5 star for months, and every time I thought I found one, I was disappointed. I have zero complaints on this one.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Torture, Murder, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Medical content, and Cursing
Minor: Pedophilia, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
kaylee14'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
5.0
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Abortion, and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia
mlindley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Research trigger warnings if you are a sensitive reader because this book touches on A LOT of topics.
The plot moves along nicely with multiple POVs and excellent character development.
Would read again!!! Highly recommend.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
read_with_loren'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? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Death, and Medical content
lostintheplot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Cancer, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Kidnapping
minimicropup's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Infidelity and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Miscarriage
Minor: Stalking, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
atalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The book follows 5 different individuals in various stages of their lives as they decide to use their DNA in order to find their soulmate. The multiple PVO's led to various explorations of this topic and the consequences it had on their respective lives. The chapters were short which meant you were never too long with one POV and made for an addictive read.
If you're a fan of Black Mirror or just speculative fiction in general, I can highly recommend this book!
Graphic: Murder, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
Moderate: Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Miscarriage