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Melissa ~ Bantering Books's Reviews > The One
The One
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Have you ever had a book not sit right with you? Or just feel off?
This describes my experience with The One, the uber-popular, best-selling novel by John Marrs. Because while I read it, a knot of discontent formed and grew ever larger in my stomach as I slowly became sickened by the unfolding story.
The source of the stomach knot? The female characterization. Which is hugely problematic, seeing as the novel stars a female-centric cast.
Stereotypical and shallow is how I would describe it. And so very one-sided. Nearly all the women are framed as unstable and immoral, yet we are somehow led to feel pity for the two male leads, both of whom commit equally grievous and/or far worse acts. The double standard is laughable.
Whore is even flung about on one occasion. I truly despise that word.
I can see why the novel is a favorite of so many, though. The premise is fun � five people meet their perfect, DNA-matched life partners by swabbing their cheeks � and the story is undeniably wild. Marrs for sure knows how to thrill and shock, which makes for some entertaining and fast-paced reading.
But sadly, The One did nothing more than leave a bad taste in my mouth � and the bitterness of it still lingers.
Have you ever had a book not sit right with you? Or just feel off?
This describes my experience with The One, the uber-popular, best-selling novel by John Marrs. Because while I read it, a knot of discontent formed and grew ever larger in my stomach as I slowly became sickened by the unfolding story.
The source of the stomach knot? The female characterization. Which is hugely problematic, seeing as the novel stars a female-centric cast.
Stereotypical and shallow is how I would describe it. And so very one-sided. Nearly all the women are framed as unstable and immoral, yet we are somehow led to feel pity for the two male leads, both of whom commit equally grievous and/or far worse acts. The double standard is laughable.
Whore is even flung about on one occasion. I truly despise that word.
I can see why the novel is a favorite of so many, though. The premise is fun � five people meet their perfect, DNA-matched life partners by swabbing their cheeks � and the story is undeniably wild. Marrs for sure knows how to thrill and shock, which makes for some entertaining and fast-paced reading.
But sadly, The One did nothing more than leave a bad taste in my mouth � and the bitterness of it still lingers.
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The One.
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Reading Progress
June 17, 2018
– Shelved
June 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
on-my-kindle
June 17, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
April 9, 2021
–
Started Reading
April 11, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 73 (73 new)
message 1:
by
Debra
(new)
-
rated it 4 stars
Apr 09, 2021 12:09PM
I look forward to your thoughts! I hope you are enjoying it.
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Debra wrote: "I look forward to your thoughts! I hope you are enjoying it."Thanks, Debra! :)
Holly wrote: "A crazy one!"Yep! Christopher is creeping me out. :)
Oh nooo! I was hoping it would get better for you!
Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill wrote: "Oh nooo! I was hoping it would get better for you!"Ha! Nope. It didn't, Kim. :)
sorry this one didn't work for you, Melissa! I hope you next book is more enjoyable.
Finally!!!! You are the first person besides myself that did not enjoy this book. The premise was so completely ridiculous to me that I couldn't even be bothered with finishing it.
Oh no!! I'm so sad you didn't love this one, Melissa...but I hope your current one is a winner. :)
Debra wrote: "sorry this one didn't work for you, Melissa! I hope you next book is more enjoyable."Thank you, Debra!
Michelle wrote: "Finally!!!! You are the first person besides myself that did not enjoy this book. The premise was so completely ridiculous to me that I couldn't even be bothered with finishing it."Ha! I thought for sure I was the only person who didn't like "The One," Michelle. There were a lot of things about the story that really bothered me, thanks to my inner feminist, and I didn't care for some of the vibes I was picking up on. (I do plan to come back and write a review for it -- and I will expand a bit further on it then.) :)
Michael wrote: "Oh no!! I'm so sad you didn't love this one, Melissa...but I hope your current one is a winner. :)"Thanks so much, Michael! :)
Holly wrote: "Yikes!"I know, Holly. I just didn't care for it. :(
Ouch. Sorry to see this didn’t work for you, and looking forward to your thoughts.
Elinor wrote: "Ouch. Sorry to see this didn’t work for you, and looking forward to your thoughts."Thank you, Elinor! :)
Sorry this wasn't The One for you, Melissa. (I know, I know ... sorry. I couldn't resist. 😂)
You could've just given it ONE star 🤣
Kat wrote: "Sorry this wasn't The One for you, Melissa. (I know, I know ... sorry. I couldn't resist. 😂)"Ha! I love it, Kat. I'm always a sucker for a good pun. 🤣
Farrah wrote: "You could've just given it ONE star 🤣"You and Kat are on a roll, Farrah. Too funny! 🤣
So sorry it didn't work for you Melissa! (and even more sorry I couldn't come up with an awesome pun like Kat and Farrah!! 😂)
Catherine wrote: "So sorry it didn't work for you Melissa! (and even more sorry I couldn't come up with an awesome pun like Kat and Farrah!! 😂)"Thanks so much, Catherine! Ha . . . I know. It's not easy to be as clever as Kat and Farrah. 🤣
Bummer! Hope your next one is better!
Hope you love your next! 💕
Ah sorry you didn't enjoy this Melissa! I hope you like your next one more 🤗
Christina wrote: "Bummer! Hope your next one is better!"Thank you, Christina! :)
Jayme wrote: "Hope you love your next! 💕"Thanks, Jayme! :)
preoccupiedbybooks wrote: "Ah sorry you didn't enjoy this Melissa! I hope you like your next one more 🤗"Thank you very much, Fran! :)
This author is very popular, but I’ve tried and he’s just not for me. I hope you love your next!
JanB wrote: "This author is very popular, but I’ve tried and he’s just not for me. I hope you love your next!"Thanks so much, Jan! I'm pretty positive that Marrs is not for me either. I may still try "The Passengers," just to be sure. But I feel like it might be a lost cause. :)
Oh no, I'm sorry this wasn't better for you!🌺
Susan wrote: "Oh no, I'm sorry this wasn't better for you!🌺"Thank you, Susan. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to "The One," but I just didn't enjoy it all that much. :(
Always appreciate an honest review! Hope you love your next! ❤️
Thanks for the warning about stereotypes. Great review!
I enjoyed this one more than you did. Excellent review, Melissa.
Oh sorry this one did not work for you! I hope your next one is a glowing 5 stars!!
I’m sorry this book didn’t work out for you, Melissa. I hope your next one does. 🌺
Yikes, I loved the books but never picked up on this issue. I must not be a very discerning reader 🙁
I've felt this way about some of his other novels! This is the "one" I really enjoyed. Fair review Melissa!
I don't remember having these feelings about The One, but they seem in line with how I've felt about his other books I've tried to read. I've even DNF'd a few of them. Very fair and honest review!
Great review, Melissa! Sorry you didn't love this book, on to the next one :) 💛
Jayme wrote: "Always appreciate an honest review! Hope you love your next! ❤️"Thanks so much, Jayme. :)
Eeep, Melissa! Sorry this one missed the mark for you! When authors cannot write female characters, it really irks me too. Thanks for the fair and honest review! :)
Kerrin wrote: "Thanks for the warning about stereotypes. Great review!"You're welcome, Kerrin. And thank you for the kind compliment regarding my review. :)
Sheyla � wrote: "I enjoyed this one more than you did. Excellent review, Melissa."Thank you very much, Sheyla. :)
Tina wrote: "Oh sorry this one did not work for you! I hope your next one is a glowing 5 stars!!"Thank you, Tina. :)
Lisa wrote: "I loved this review! I've seen great reviews all over the place, for this. I've even had a few recs! But, I remember one of the earlier review's that I had read, just about mirrored yours. That was..."Thank you, Lisa. And, you're welcome. :) I'm so glad you told me you once read a review that shared my thoughts on "The One." Because I thought for sure I was the only person who felt this way about it. Every other review I have ever read for it was raving -- I prepared myself last night to be skewered for my thoughts.
I sure would like to "meet" this other reviewer. We would have a lot to talk about. :)
Kat (Books are Comfort Food) wrote: "I’m sorry this book didn’t work out for you, Melissa. I hope your next one does. 🌺"Thank you, Kat. :)
Pat (not getting friend updates currently) wrote: "Yikes, I loved the books but never picked up on this issue. I must not be a very discerning reader 🙁"Oh, I don't know about that, Pat. I think of you as a very discerning reader. We all just catch different things. :)
Holly wrote: "I've felt this way about some of his other novels! This is the "one" I really enjoyed. Fair review Melissa!"Thanks, Holly. I find it interesting that you've felt the same way about other Marrs novels. That leads me to think that his other ones might be even worse than "The One," and that it didn't bother you as much because it wasn't as prevalent in this particular novel. I was thinking of giving him another try with "The Passengers," just to make sure I'm right in that he's not an author for me. But now I probably won't even bother.
