themarinabox's Reviews (195)

This is my second time reading Christina Henry's retellings. To be honest, I kept waiting for this dark parts to appear but it didn't. I read Lost Boy and thought that was a dark retelling of Peter Pan and the only reason why I picked this up was because I wanted to read a dark retelling. I did not get that with this one.

That said, it's not a jolly book lol. It still showed the ugliness of humanity. Not just about how humans treated animals but also how humans just treated each other.

Amelia, the Mermaid, wasn't my favourite character at first but she slowly became my favourite. I love her view of the world, her strong personality, and her bravery.

All in all, not a book that I expected and am slightly disappointed by that but I still somewhat enjoyed it. I guess.

I don't know you guys. I loved the premised and it started off well. I like the introduction and the twists about each characters (well not every character but some at least haha). But my must say this took me a while to read because it got quite slow in the end. I understand that it's the build up but it got a bit much, I feel. And at some point, it felt slightly repetitive. Don't get me wrong, I generally enjoyed the book but sometimes I'm like "omg get on with it lol".

The reveal was interesting enough but it took so long to get there that I'm just like okayyyy. I enjoyed the first part and while I also enjoyed the last bit, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would just because it took so long to get there. I don't know, maybe I'm impatient.

That said, I will still read more from the author and have enjoyed both The Hunting Party and The Guest List. I'm glad I read this despite it not being one of my favourites.

When I first read the synopsis, I thought that the premise is super interesting and I have to read it. And I’m not completely disappointed. Lol let me justify my 3 stars.


First and foremost, I love the characters that were so vividly described and that their personalities shone through. And for a book with a large number of casts, that’s important. Oh and, it makes jumping from one host to another not too confusing and honestly, quite fun to read.

I was hooked and confused from the very beginning which I love and expected. But somewhere in the middle or so, I started to drift. Not because it’s boring, but in the end, I did feel like it’s too long at some parts and not long enough in some areas. And I would love some kind of epilogue to make a more rounded end.

BUT all that, I still think it’s a great and clever book! And for an author to be this creative, I’m definitely on the lookout for the next book :)

I’m okay with this. The premise and idea of this book got my attention. It started well but kinda lost me for a bit when it started feeling quite a slow-burn to me (not necessarily a bad thing just not my pacing). Anyways, I did enjoy the jumping of timelines (which was not difficult to follow) and the multiple POVs. But that said, some of the POVs where you’re revisiting the same scene can feel quite repetitive. I totally understood why and we could understand the perspective of the other character with the same convo but sometimes it felt repetitive. Oh well. I enjoyed the last third of the book more as it started to pick up the pace. Interesting twists and all that good stuff.

My first Alice Feeney read and definitely not my last.

I love Sometimes I Lie. The suspense, the thrill, the multiple timelines. I started the book earlier just 30 pages or so but finished the rest all in one sitting and I would definitely recommend you to do that if you can! It's hard to put down and was my perfect book company for the long train ride.

Page-turner, amazing twists. I love it! I don't remember details of a lot of books even the ones I love but I think this one will be in my brain for a long time.

The Minders really blew my mind. I’ve read The One and The Passengers first which I would high recommend you to do so if you’re interested to have a better understanding of the connections as they are all set in the same world.

The Minders might not feel as fast paced as The One and The Passengers but it kept me really invested in the story. Bit by bit, I get more intrigued and it truly made me care about The Minders.

But this book has is so much deeper than just a great thriller. I find myself questioning if I would ever give up my life to be a Minder. To be a new person. To start something new. How much would you do for your loved one? Maybe would say they would do anything but how far?

Each character in the book made me ponder so much which not many thrillers have done and I appreciate this book so much.

I will remember this book for a long time.

Thank you John Marrs for writing this.

What a book to start with! It was everything I wanted to drag me out of a reading slump. The pace was just right. It was not too fast but also never a dull moment to me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where it is kinda going backwards this way so it was quite refreshing. The surprises is the book was exciting and made me make this emoji face

3.5 stars (Goodreads please let us rate half stars lol)

This is my first Grady Hendrix and will not be my last. I cannot wait to read the rest.

The Final Girl Support Group grabbed my attention immediately as someone who love watching good ol' slasher movies. While I thought some parts were a little bit slow for me, the writing still kept my attention and kept me wanting to know more, I just wanted to know them a bit faster haha. I have to be more patient haha.

Better late than never right?

A book that is much more than a murder mystery. In my eyes, I find that this book has so much heart to it. Humour, love, sadness, friendship, love and grief. Oh and of course, murder.

All I can say is that I am very much looking forward to read the second book and more.

In life you have to learn to count the good days. You have to tuck them in your pocket and carry them around with you.

This is my fourth book from John Marrs in this futuristic dystopian world. 

This book gave me this eerie feeling all throughout the read. Because while something might be far-fetched, you can imagine that most of the things can happen in real life, or even some are starting to show through a little. I've always loved and appreciated John Marrs's books on the dark side of technology because I think it's important to realise that these things could happen. 

The Marriage Act is not just about the futuristic technologies that can ruin your life lol but it also explores human relationships and connections. How does technology affect your family dynamics? How does social media affect your relationship? How does all of this affect one's mental health? All these can be seen throughout the book. 

Just like The One, The Passengers, and The Minders, you will read from different POVs/storylines. I, personally, enjoy that. I never found it confusing, and it's interesting when the characters' storylines kind of intertwine with each other. I would say not to worry so much about remembering who is who because you'll get used to it soon enough. There will be characters you will loathe, sympathise with, or just be annoyed at. Though honestly, you'll hate most of them.

However, I must say, after having read The One, The Passengers, and The Minders, that The Marriage Act, to me, feels on the slower side. The chapters are short, and you can really keep on going for sure, but the general pace of the storytelling is a bit on the slower side, unlike, say, The One. 

While this book is not my favourite of all the John Marrs's books that I've read, I enjoyed reading it and felt quite unsettled haha. 

I would say that if you have read The One and are expecting this to be jaw-dropping twist after twist, then you have to change your expectations.

The whole unique theme gained 4 stars from me but general reading experience is 3.5 stars for me.