The Marriage Act

Books | Fiction / Literary

4.7

John Marrs

What if marriage was the law? Dare you disobey? Black Mirror meets thriller with a dash of Naomi Alderman’s The Power in this dark, high-concept novel by the bestselling author of The One.Britain. The near-future. A right-wing government believes it has the answer to society’s ills—the Sanctity of Marriage Act, which actively encourages marriage as the norm, punishing those who choose to remain single.But four couples are about to discover just how impossible relationships can be when the government is monitoring every aspect of our personal lives—monitoring every word, every minor disagreement…and will use every tool in its arsenal to ensure everyone will love, honor and obey.“The king of near-future what-ifs is back with a smart and chilling page-turner. Twisty, unsettling, scarily believable and thought provoking, this is his best yet.” —Ellery Lloyd, author of The Club“Clever, compelling and terrifyingly plausible. A near future nightmare that grips from the first page and never lets go. THE MARRIAGE ACT is a brilliant examination of relationships and the power we let others have over us. And talk about a page-turner. This one will leave you with paper cuts!” —C. J. Tudor, author of The Chalk ManDon't miss other suspenseful reads from John Marrs (you'll never see the twists coming!): The Marriage Act The Vacation The Family Experiment The One

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More Details:

Author

John Marrs

Pages

432

Publisher

Harlequin

Published Date

2023-05-02

ISBN

0369742036 9780369742032

Community ReviewsSee all

"Interesting read on what can happen if AI were to take over our lives and watch our every move. I can see how it can drive people mad. This all being said, I was surprised on where this book went and how the stories of our characters played out. Would you allow AI to monitor your marriage for more money in your life, a better house & vehicle along with tax breaks? I did enjoy some of the matchmaking via D.N.A. or your personality. Interesting read and worth your time. "

J H

Joe H

"4.5⭐️ I feel like John Marrs stretched himself writing this book, in the best way. It's a darker take even for the other books in "The One" universe. The way every character is significant in the story and ties into the overall themes and systems he's critiquing is masterful. SPOILER But like dang barely anyone survived! And then he had to go and end the book like that! Like OK yea it's probably extremely likely 😭 but you ain't have to end it like that. Can I get a happy ending bruh!"

Maya

"I thought this book was going to be a five ⭐️ for me, the expectation was very high. I enjoyed the concept. Great plot twist at the end. It wasn’t exactly what I hoped for though."

C W

Courtney W

"John Marrs’s speculative thrillers are my absolute favorite. They are the Black Mirror of novels, always looking at how technology could be enforced in our lives and what those repercussions could look like. This book is so much more than a look inside AI monitoring marriages, it addresses deepfakes and a new approach for school systems. While I needed notes to keep up with the characters for a bit, each storyline was unfathomably interesting and I really love how the perspectives left all merged together in the end. I’m hopeful Marrs is working on his next speculative thriller, as they are all pure genius (4 books, all 5 stars reads). "

J G

Jama Glenn

"If you read [b:The One|40670312|The One|John Marrs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612001976l/40670312._SY75_.jpg|52114608]by John Marrs, this book takes you in the same fast forward direction as that book. The British government has declared that married people are the best and would receive better homes and cars if they signed up to be wed through The sanctity of marriage act. The only caveat is that you agree to be spied on by the government’s AI software that’s installed in your home (Echos we’re mentioned as a very old similar device w/o the spyware technology) and your wedding bands had listening/tracking devices to make sure your marriage stays on track! We track several couples dealings with the AI technology and how and why it can go so wrong when a bot decides your marriage is on shaky ground. Another fascinating twisted story that John Marrs weaves! Be careful of your words Big Brother may be listening!"

J L

Jodie L

"A futuristic book about governmental sanctioned marriages. A little too close for comfort with all of the AI. I really enjoyed this book. A lot to think about."

M G

Megan Gordon

"This actually surprised me with how good it was. I thought the plot sounded interesting but the individual characters were well developed and their stories captivated me. I would like to be able to read this for the first time again!!!!"

K C

Kimberly Collins

"3.5. Cool idea but could’ve been better"

Jenna

"I don’t like the miscommunication. I get it if they both feel a certain way about each other but how are you going to have them be in a relationship but they don’t tell each other things it was very irritating the ending I saw coming it just wasn’t worth it"

A N

Agnes Nelson

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