The One

 

The One
By John Marrs

"A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick mouth swab and soon you’ll be matched with your perfect partner the one you are genetically made for.

That’s the promise made by Match Your DNA. A decade ago, the company announced that they had found the gene that pairs each of us with our soul mate. Since then, millions of people around the world have been matched. But the discovery has its downsides: test results have led to the breakup of countless relationships and upended the traditional ideas of dating, romance and love.

Now five very different people have received the notification that they’ve been “Matched.” They’re each about to meet their one true love. But “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed for everyone. Because even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking than others…"

STOP!

MILD SPOILER BELOW!

(Do not read below if you want to keep all of the cliff hangers a surprise!)

Buckle up, everyone! This book takes you for a ride.  At first I thought keeping track of 5 characters, who's stories do not overlap, would be tedious.  I was so wrong!

Every character's story was engaging and there were so many cliff hangers throughout the entire book that it was impossible to put down.

There were a few food and drink items mentioned throughout the book, but because it is essentially 5 different stories it was hard to capture the overall mood of the book in food form.  So, I decided to focus on the character responsible for discovering the Match gene, Ellie.  Without her, the other stories would not be possible.

"Can I get a Hendrick's gin and tonic please?" Tim asked the barman as Ellie took a seat by his side.  She liked that he'd remembered her favorite brand."

Ellie's favorite drink is a Hendrick's gin and tonic.  If you want to get fancy and technical about it you can use this recipe from Liquor.com.

If you're not a fan of Ellie or you're just looking for more options.  Here is a list of characters and a beverage they enjoyed at some point during the book.

Mandy: Coffee

Christopher: Red wine or Redbull

Jade: Pepsi

Nick: Lager

Ellie: Hendrick's gin and tonic (pictured above)

The One: ★★★★★

As you can see from my rating, I loved this book.  The stories of the 5 characters were kept in order throughout the entire book so you always knew who was up next.  The chapters were so short and usually left you longing to know more. Frequently, I'd finish a chapter and think "nooo, I need to find out what happens to this character," so I'd start the next chapter determined to power-read through to that character again, but then I'd just as quickly be sucked into another character's story.  It was a vicious cycle that made this book so hard to put down! 

Whether you've read the book or not I must ask: if there was a test that would identify your soulmate, would you take it?

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