Audiobook Review: The One by John Marrs
The One
Author: John Marrs
Narrators:
Clare Corbett
Vicki Hall
Simon Bubb
Jot Davies
Sophie Aldred
Published: February 20, 2018
Audiobook: 11 hours 1 minute
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 4-9, 2024
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
How far would you go to find The One?
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…
A word-of-mouth hit in the United Kingdom, The One is a fascinating novel that shows how even the simplest discoveries can have complicated consequences.
Jessica’s Review:
I first read The One back in 2018 and loved it! It was a re-read for my book club that I am in for this month, and we meet on Saturday to discuss it: And I’m looking forward to it! This time I listened to the audiobook and it was a cast narration.
Here is the link to my original review back in 2018. I can’t really add more to say than that as it would be spoilers. I can add to say what I think about the narrators: Which is the narrators all did a fabulous job! They helped to distinguish the characters from each other and just brought these five people to life with their experiences.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis: A Book Review and Series Comparision
Today Kim is going to bring you a book review and Netflix series comparison to Walter Tevis’ novel The Queen’s Gambit:
The Queen’s Gamit
Author: Walter Tevis
Published: March 11, 2003
243 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
When she is sent to an orphanage at the age of eight, Beth Harmon soon discovers two ways to escape her surroundings, albeit fleetingly: playing chess and taking the little green pills given to her and the other children to keep them subdued. Before long, it becomes apparent that hers is a prodigious talent, and as she progresses to the top of the US chess rankings she is able to forge a new life for herself. But she can never quite overcome her urge to self-destruct. For Beth, there’s more at stake than merely winning and losing.
Kim’s Review:
What a great story! It was nice that I had the faces of the characters from the Netflix show in my head as I was reading, but the story itself could stand all on its own. Beth Harmon is such a dynamic character and watching her grow and learn and mature was fun. Just when you think you have her figured out, she surprises you. This book reads like a history and seems to fit Harmon’s frame of mind. It’s very concise and aloof and yet it makes you care! I’m sure I would have enjoyed it even more if I understood chess; but my brain doesn’t work that way so I’m not too torn up about! Thankfully, it’s easy to read even for those of us who prefer checkers or battleship. Despite some adult themes, I think this would be a good one to get teens into reading! I absolutely recommend it to anyone!
Netflix Series Comparison:
https://youtu.be/CDrieqwSdgI
Kim’s Video Series Comparison:
Novel Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Blog Tour: The Cinderella Plan
Today I share my review as a part of the blog tour for The Cinderella Plan by Abi Silver. This Science Fiction/Legal Thriller shows us where our future may go with autonomous vehicles. This one really left me thinking about this topic afterwards!
**There is also a giveaway going on for those of you lucky enough to be in the UK!**
Book Description:
When James Salisbury, the owner of a British car manufacturer, ploughs his ‘self-drive’ car into a young family, the consequences are deadly. Will the car’s ‘black box’ reveal what really happened or will the industry, poised to launch these products to an eager public, close ranks to cover things up?
James himself faces a personal dilemma. If it is proved that he was driving the car he may go to prison. But if he is found innocent, and the autonomous car is to blame, the business he has spent most of his life building, and his dream of safer transport for all, may collapse.
Lawyers Judith Burton and Constance Lamb team up once again, this time to defend a man who may not want to go free, in a case that asks difficult questions about the speed at which technology is taking over our lives.
Author: Abi Silver
Published: July 11, 2019
272 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: June 18-26, 2019
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Jessica’s Review:
All science fiction is fiction until it becomes science fact and we are heading in the direction of autonomous/driverless cars. Though is novel is not exactly science fiction, it is more of a legal thriller, but The Cinderella Plan leaves you thinking about that future and the effects surrounding that society.
James Salisbury owns a British car manufacturer of autonomous vehicles and drives one himself. One day tragedy happens: James and the autonomous vehicle are involved in a deadly accident. Autonomous vehicles cannot have accidents….Or can they? This is the impasse that James faces as he has no memory of the accident: Was he responsible? If so, then he faces prison. If he was not responsible and the vehicle was to blame, there goes his business he has tirelessly worked for many years. For James, he loses no matter what the verdict is: guilty or not guilty.
From the start, I was pulled into the story as we experience the accident. The actual court case was a bit too technical for me, so it dragged at times. It is obvious that Silver did her research as she wrote this novel. There are also some unexpected twists that occur. Silver also mentions how autonomous vehicles effect everything, including laws and everyday business. The novel also shows what the positives and negatives of autonomous vehicles are. The Cinderella Plan does really make you think about the future with these vehicles:
Once I finished The Cinderella Plan I was thinking about how soon we might be 100% autonomous vehicles. I honestly do not seeing that happening in the immediate future as I live in a state where you need a vehicle to get where you need to go as public transportation is not readily available everywhere. In fact, there is a big stigma towards it. These cars would be expensive and the average driver in my state would not be able to afford one. Autonomous vehicles may be coming soon, but I think it will be a long time before we are using 100% autonomous vehicles.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Lightning Books Website
**Readers can order the book from the Lightning Books website at 50% off (with free UK p&p) if you enter this code at checkout – BLOGTOURCIND
About the Author:
Yorkshire-bred, Abi Silver is a lawyer by profession. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and three sons. Her first courtroom thriller featuring the legal duo Judith Burton and Constance Lamb, The Pinocchio Brief, was published by Lightning Books in 2017 and was shortlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. Her follow-up The Aladdin Trial, featuring the same legal team, was published in 2018.
Read more about Abi and her work at www.abisilver.co.uk .
Contact Abi:
Website
Twitter: @abisilver16
**UK GIVEAWAY**
Win 5 x PB of The Cinderella Plan
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the Rafflecopter box above. The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
[Top]