Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Soulmate

This was several thrilling mysteries and domestic dramas rolled into one. The ambiguity inherent in the central mystery - did the woman jump, or was she pushed? - kept everything moving forward, but ultimately wasn't the most interesting part of the story. I enjoyed the multiple points of view and timelines, and how they all came together at the end.

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meredith_williams_'s review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Soulmate was the first mystery I’ve read in awhile. The book centers on a married couple who lives on a cliff side and frequently has to deescalate strangers’s suicide attempts. On the night of an unsuccessful rescue attempt, the wife grows suspicious of her husband’s potential involvement. I really liked Hepworth’s writing style. Her pacing keeps the story moving and she does a great job of flipping between timelines to slowly release key information about the relationships between the main characters. Having one of the characters narrate from beyond the grave was also a really interesting style choice that added to the overall intrigue. I didn’t love how a lot of mental health issues were sensationalized for the purpose of the plot. I understand the appeal and I think it happens frequently in the genre, but in my opinion it’s reinforcing some negative stereotypes. A few of the reveals were also a little over the top. But overall I will read more of Hepworth’s work. If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining, and dramatic read, I recommend The Soulmate.

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spicy_tofu's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The characters were extremely unlikeable and I found it hard to connect with any of them. The main character was unbelievably stupid, weak, naive, bland and tiresome. I was disappointed and frustrated that she lacked any common sense and continued to gaslight herself throughout the ENTIRE book and it made it hard to be invested in her story. The way she is SO obsessed with and forgiving of her TERRIBLE husband (with countless glaring red flags) just because he's gorgeous. 🤢🙄🤡 Mental illness was used as a plot device and I felt like it was done so in an extremely disrespectful, lazy and damaging way. It either reflected poor understanding of mental illness or poor writing?? The few lines at the end of the book about the main character's realisation regarding her husband's mental illness felt lazy and nowhere near sufficient to save the book from its damaging portrayal of mental illness. I did enjoy the format with the short chapters and mini cliffhangers and different perspectives and times. But the second person's POV was kind of a crazy concept... Anyway the main character and her husband gave me bad vibes from the start and they were all confirmed by the end, which was kind of predictable. There was also zero character development, and this was reinforced by the final chapter where we get to glimpse one year into the future. I also found the portrayal and writing of some of the characters very inconsistent and confusing. Many aspects about the ending were also very frustrating.

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thismermaidreads's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I mean, let's talk about wild ride...I almost DNFed about 3/4 of the way through the book. I was so tired of the representation of Gabe's mental health struggles. I think this book also made me decide that "rich people drama" just isn't my bag. Like, "boo hoo I have millions of dollars and live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet I am so bored let me cheat on my whoever because apparently I'm crazy and I have no idea how else to manage my life..." And Pippa's willingness to continue despite her spouse's flaws [crazy] and at the end how she was able to have sole custody like Gabe wouldn't have fought that, wooow...it's just crazy. So yeah, unlikeable characters, almost put me in a reading slump, rich people problems, a web of lies and deceit, all culminated in the TRUE soulmates being #dead. That's my rant...oh also, like the AFTER portions of the book for the dead character was just ABSURD to me like, for real, we couldn't get that information from Max's perspective? Like I get wanting to have dual female perspectives, like girl power yada yada, but like why not have Max's perspective then for after Amanda's downfall (CRAZY). ok now I'm really done lol

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eclaires90's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookedupandie's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow, what a twist! A super fast read/listen, that I thoroughly enjoyed. Plus, the audiobook is narrated by someone with an Australian accent, which is perfect since it takes place in Australia (and is a gorgeous accent, in general). It was crazy listening to all the layers unfold, and then the twist!! Definitely recommend.

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