Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The One by John Marrs

18 reviews

opplecopter's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

Imagine if finding your most compatible partner was as simple as mailing off a saliva sample and getting the results emailed to you. Dating would be unnecessary. Going through the awkward phases of getting to know someone or stumbling over your words would be cast aside completely. You wouldn’t have to worry about second guessing anything because on a genetic level, you would have the person who is best suited for you. No other person could ever connect or love you as deeply as your Match could. Not only would this person be your Match, but they would be “the one.” The only other person in the entire world that is perfect for you. Sounds crazy but also kind of intriguing, right? 

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.

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Content Warnings

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

rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Vomit and Miscarriage

Minor: Child death

knitdyeread's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Torture, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

leebeeloves's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Infertility, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Torture

Moderate: Bullying, Dementia, Rape, Violence, Fatphobia, Infertility, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Cancer, Body shaming, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual content

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. 

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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

readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

Unexpected gore and detailed serial killer info, couldn’t push through because it was too graphic. Should have read the TW before reading. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Hate crime, Gore, Torture, Death, and Body horror

marareading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

An amazing thriller! Imagine a company exists that has created a DNA match test to ensure that every person is matched with the ONE person on earth who is perfect for them, but only if you choose to find them. I'm this book there are multiple POVs. One of them is a serial killer. The twists had me floored. I was actually speechless. I will recommend this book from now on. I enjoyed it so much! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, Torture, Blood, Death, Gore, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Infertility, Kidnapping, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

rosyeehaw's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this book follows 5 povs in a modern world where soulmates are found based off of genetic code, however there’s lots of twists and parts you don’t expect. some of it is a bit weird and doesn’t really seem like something that could happen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Torture, Infertility, and Death

Minor: Abortion

decembermagpie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Terminal illness, Blood, Death, Murder, Gore, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Stalking, Child death, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Cancer, Outing, Car accident, Infertility, Medical content, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexual content

aus10england's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Holy HECK this is one of the best thrillers I have ever read. What a ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Murder

Moderate: Excrement, Torture, and Gore

Minor: Fire/Fire injury