Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Soulmate

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

31 reviews

spicy_tofu's review against another edition

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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wonderfulxwonderful's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

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eclaires90's review against another edition

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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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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

After hearing a few reviews about this book, I was curious and decided I needed to pick it up for myself.
"The Soulmate" is a mystery/thriller that follows a woman named Pippa. Pippa and her husband, Gabe, are building a seemingly picturesque life for themselves at their cottage on a cliffside. Unfortunately, their home tends to draw broken people who want to attempt suicide by jumping from the cliffs edge. Gabe has single-handedly prevented several suicides over the years, until he one night, he does not. But did Gabe fail to talk the young woman from the ledge, or did Gabe give her the push that killed her?
I really loved the idea of this story, and I really enjoyed learning more about Pippa and Gabe's relationship. They are both deeply flawed, and the reader learns how each has brought their own baggage into the marriage. I was far more invested in learning the mysteries about their marriage than I was about the actual mystery of the woman on the cliff.
The plot and mystery of this book was fine, but it did not blow me away. I was engaged and had a fine time, but I did not think the "big reveal" was anything new to me. I do think this book is well-written and a fine time for someone who enjoys the thriller genre.
I am still very much interested in Sally Hepworth as an author and will be picking up more from her in the future.

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cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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bitesizedbeet's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

3.5

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meeklovestoread's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked the book for what it was. However, I wouldn't necessarily categorized this book as a thriller and more like a mystery/cozy mystery. So if you're expecting this book to be super thrilling then lower your expectations because that's not what this book is. Once I realized that and got over that fact the book was pretty entertaining to me.

I'll have to admit the book was messy. There was alot of drama going on here. It was kinda crazy. The book didn't give me crazy feelings or anything. In fact, I didn't really feel anything after I finished and I don't think I'll ever think about it again, but it was still entertaining for what it was.

Amanda being ghost make no sense the entire book. I saw a comment that said that it seemed like she was nowhere but everywhere at the same time and I completely agree. I also I lowkey still feel like Gabe pushed Amanda off that cliff. I'm so happy Pippa FINALLY left him. I felt like he was a red flag from the jump and I really wish her family didn't cottle her feelings and just told her how they felt about him because she endured all his drama and for what. Also his intial diagnosis of ADHD didn't make sense to me because he literally had a psychosis early on and that's not a symptom of ADHD. Even I saw that!

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