Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The One by John Marrs

20 reviews

paulaks's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I really wanted to like this book but  I don´t know... The writing was mediocre but the pace was pretty fast because of POV switches and short chapters. But holy crap the plot was CRAZY- Everything felt like a fever dream! The topics were interesting and definitely gave different nuances but it was just too much I guess. This is a me-problem and I truly understand the hype it had. I was fascinated by some moments and ideas but it was way too much for me. Check TW! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Chronic illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Medical content, and Pregnancy

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

librarianjennifer's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Gore, and Infertility

read_with_loren's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

thebookpirahna's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Medical trauma, Child death, Pregnancy, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Infidelity

Minor: Homophobia

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

dazzle_spider_reader_1212's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Murder

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Infidelity, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Cancer, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

cady_sass's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

What a spectacular, brilliantly creative piece of writing. I couldn’t put it down and fell asleep reading it after keeping myself up way too late on a work night, that good. There are a multitude of storylines for varying characters and relationships, all centering around the universal “truth” that, in this world, there is one perfect match for everyone on earth and it’s genetically determined. Just send in a DNA sample and await your results. Simple, right? Far, far from it. Absolutely riveting, I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Edited to add: this is sci-fi, and the science written here is obviously not sound. If you’ll be bothered by the scientific inaccuracies of the central element here then skip this, otherwise have fun pretending it’s real :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Grief, Terminal illness, Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Infidelity, Homophobia, Abortion, Infertility, Miscarriage, Car accident, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma

decembermagpie's review

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