Welcome to Litsy!

In this sequel to The One, a near-future United Kingdom has instituted policies that greatly favor married couples who submit their relationships to AI monitoring, granting them priority access to health care, lower taxes, etc. A wide cast of characters show the consequences, intended and otherwise, including a serial killer who takes advantage of his role as a Relationship Responder to target victims. An intriguing and disturbing read.

Read in April 2025
18 Books
Five 5-Star reads this month:
• All Good People Here
• The Marriage Act
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
• The Seven Year Slip
• Haruki Murakami Manga Stories 3

#Goodreads #Bookstagram #OUABC #Litsy #Libby #Audible #Kindle #Bookish

5 Stars • In The Marriage Act by John Marrs, a dystopian Britain enforces the Sanctity of Marriage Act, promoting "Smart Marriages" with AI surveillance and penalizing singles. Four couples navigate the oppressive system, facing privacy loss, betrayal, and government control. A resistance group fights back in this suspenseful, twist-filled thriller.

#TheMarriageAct #DarkFuture #JohnMarrs #Bookish

I love this author! This one hit hard too. I can't even imagine how my life would be if “The Marriage Act“ was real! All the AI stuff is scary! Zoey and Lobster were lying next to me when I was finishing this one :)
#LibbyLoan

#ISpy “Author of“ - @TheAromaOfBooks

This book helped me get through some tough days after the election, the horrible violence in Amsterdam and all the fake news surrounding that night.
I knew I could count on Marrs. This is another good speculative novel set in a near future Britain where people are encouraged to upgrade their relationship to a Smart Marriage, which is tempting because then you benefit from NHS and top education for your kids etc. ⬇️

I am not sure if this is true but it sounds very plausible. And yet AI is taking over… so scary!

#TenBeforeTheEnd #10BeforeTheEnd

Two books down. Slowly making my way through a sci-fi anthology audiobook. 7 stories completed and I‘ve only enjoyed one of them. 18 more to go. Holding out hope for this collection🤞🏼

Thinking I‘ll be starting Bookshops & Bonedust next🤔

Chapters rotate through 5 MCs who have different relationships to the marriage act, a govt program that incentivizes couples to marry with better housing, cars, healthcare, & more. While implausible, I also found this dystopia unputdownable. The level of surveillance and AI involvement was highly creepy. Won‘t be buying an Echo any time soon. Second book down for #TenBeforeTheEnd #10BeforeTheEnd

Started this science fiction read last night and it‘s bananas! Characters keep checking their smart watches because for ten minutes every day the government will be listening.

Given how many concerns I have about smart tech listening in right now in my reality, this speculative future is already making my skin crawl.

Barbara, I can see why you like Marrs! Thank you for sending me this and getting me hooked!

In the near future, Britain has made it hard for single folks. There are penalties for being single and perks for leveling up to a “Smart Marriage,” which allows the government to listen in through an Echo-like device and dispatch counselors if you‘re disagreeing too much. Marrs writes from the perspective of 6 people dealing with this Orwellian nightmare!

Thank you to my wonderful cohosts of all things ToB for the great birthday presents!!

Molly loves her toy, and I love the portraits of rescue dogs, Helen!! Such a cute bookmark (though upside down in the photo 😂).

Barbara, I‘m so excited for Pet, which has been on my TBR for awhile, and a Marrs you loved!! The incense smells good, too.

This book is trippy. The government gives you perks if you sign up for a Smart Marriage but you have to install listening software (Alexa) in your home. When you fight you automatically get marriage tips sent to your smart watch…BUT as most things managed by the government, it gets real bad when your marriage shows flaws😳

I have read several of his books. I like the way they are all tied together in this alternative near future. This book was no exception, he keeps you turning the pages.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😢this book is terrifying!!! Imagine a world where AI will dictate your marriage and Alexa type devices listens to your lives and other end is the government. Marrs never disappoints and his fears about our not so distant future makes The Black Mirror seem like child‘s play.

If you are not afraid of all that lies in the future with AI leading the way then this book will not scare the heck out of you. This will be my best read of the year, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The marriage act law gives married people the perks of living in Britain. DNA matching also allows you to find your perfect match. Who needs true love? This speculative fiction read is way scarier than the IT clown!🤡. I love John Marrs, great read.

Dark dystopian fiction set five minutes into the future. Immersive and shocking read. Hard to put down!!

Marrs' latest book is set in the same universe as The One and The Passengers, both of which are referenced but not necessary to read first, and, like those books, this offers a scarily plausible* near future. I enjoyed his MO of short chapters with frequent POV changes. Likeable characters are few and far between but all of their stories interested me while I fretted over who would come through unscathed. I'll be on the watch for his next book.

A decent read, but I preferred The One

This book returns again to the near future of the Marr's previous books “The One“ and “The Passengers“. Now marriage is deemed beneficial by the right wing government and singles are heavily penalized. Married couples meanwhile are monitored by listening devices to ensure their relationship remains strong. While there were perhaps too many characters, a lot of them unlikable, it was thought provoking with a strong ending. and I liked it. 4/5!

It‘s going to be the perfect rainy weekend for a #20in4 #readathon!
My goal is to finish both of these 🎾💍

The Marriage Act could have been used to make some really interesting point, about policy-making, about surveillance, about patriarchal institutions… but instead, there was no critical thought to accompany the concept, beyond “Wouldn‘t be scary if the government used Alexa to listen to our marital spats?”. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-marriage-act-john-marrs/