Member Reviews
Sally Hepworth's writing keeps on getting better and better. No question about it, The Soulmate is another jewel in Hepworth's crown. I adored the setting - a lovely home on the edge of the cliff. Gabe sees a woman struggling at the edge of a cliff one night. He approaches her and tries to talk her out of ending her life. In the blink of an eye, the woman falls to her death. The unending question is did she jump, or was she pushed? This pageturner is chock full of the author's signature twists and turns. I could not turn the pages fast enough.
Wow. I don't even know where to start with this book. I've been craving time to finish it all week, and I finally did and now I don't know what to say. The fact is, I was about 15% from the end and I still wasn't sure how it was going to wrap up. However, I never saw it being wrapped up the way it did. Usually, an author will leave little hints along the way, something to make you feel like a twist is right around the corner. But that's the thing with Sally Hepworth. She doesn't do that. She just drops the bomb on you and leaves you with whiplash. And, might I add, it's one of my favorite things about reading her books!
There is not point trying to summarize the book for you because that's what the publisher gives you (and I posted above). I will say that the book starts by talking about how picture perfect Pippa feels her relationship to Gabe is. Then, she begins to break it down and shows all of the faults she has glazed over throughout the years.
I think one of the things I love dearly about this book is the title. I spent the entire novel thinking it was about Pippa and Gabe and how they felt they were "soulmates", but now that I've finished, I believe it wasn't named after them at all.
And how well do we know our spouses in reality? Is what we know about them purely because we trust them? Because we trust the words that they say and the actions they take? This book has really left me pondering this concept.
Any book that can keep me flipping the pages and then still end up smacking me across the face and leaving me disecting everything I've just read is really a rockstar. I mean, Damn. Kudos Sally Hepworth. Kudos to writing such a stellar book.
Could not put this book down till I finished. I was drawn into the story from the first chapter. Definitely a surprise twist I didn’t see coming at the end.
Sally Hepworth does it again! This is my second thriller by Sally Hepworth and I have to say, I’m a fan. The Soul Mate begins when Gabe finds a woman standing on the edge of a cliff near their beach from property. Known by locals as The Drop for the regular visits by those contemplating life, Gabe has become a pseudo counselor to those wishing to end it all. However, when Gabe’s wife Pippa notices his interaction from the window, she realizes this is not his typical encounter. Then, in the blink of an eye the woman falls, leaving everything Pippa witnessed in doubt. Did Gabe push this woman from the cliff? And if so, why? Packed with love, loss, and a surprise twist. I highly recommend The Soul Mate.
1 event takes place
go back to before event ... go forward after event
what happens, why, how ...
as get deeper, as go back, get more involved, you will not be able to stop reading!
ok, there were many times that I almost stopped reading this. I was just so chaotic with the Then and Now. But, I pushed through and it actually turned out to be a good read. A LOT of twists and turns. All in all, pretty good
I have enjoyed other books by Sally Hepworth, but this is my favorite so far. It started out a little slow, as we got to know the 4 main characters - Gabe and his wife Pippa, along with Max and his wife Amanda. Sally built the story as she wove from present to past, from story line to story line until what was being presented to the reader came into sharper focus and the ultimate reveal, when it became clear how ties are bound even stronger than the reader can see, despite clues being thrown out now and again. The way the story ends is a pretty unexpected shock to the system. This book was excellent - I wanted to both tear my way through it and enjoy it slowly…. But tearing through it won out, as I just couldn’t put this one down. If you have enjoyed other books by this author, B.J. Paris or Rachel Hawkins, you are going to love this novel.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fast paced and complicated story. In this novel we go between Pippa and Amanda, the woman who committed suicide at the cliff behind the family’s home. We uncover lies and secrets throughout on all sides… It was gripping enough to keep me turning the page to uncover all of the twists, however I think I just really get the relationship between Pippa and Gabe. Maybe getting Gabe’s view would have made it more convincing, or even from one of Pippa’s family members.
Overall, it’s a twisty and entertaining domestic thriller and I will definitely recommend even if it is not my favorite Sally Hepworth work!
Importantly, I'm afraid of heights, so this idea that people would willingly live (with small children no less!) near a cliff known as a popular suicide spot makes me suspicious of them at the outset ;)
Told in alternating viewpoints and in Then and Now by the two wives, Pippa and Amanda, we see the events that lead up to Amanda's death.
The husbands are both sketchy characters, and one of the marriages is more of a contract, but the women eventually flesh out the truth.
I wasn't wowed by the secrets that were revealed, and I felt like I had to make a few big leaps in believability, but it was a compelling read and I definitely didn't see that ending coming!
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks NetGalley!
I wish I had the ability to sit down and read in one sitting. This certainly could have been a fast read if I had the time. The short chapters and twists were engaging.
Pippa and Gabe have a fabulous house on a seaside cliff, but one caveat is the cliff is infamous for people wanting to commit suicide. Gabe is a stay at home dad to two four year old girls while Pippa is a lawyer. Gabe has talked many people out of jumping except for the most recent person, Amanda. We alternate pov’s between Amanda and Pippa both from before the incident and after to determine what caused Amanda to go down that path and how is Pippa involved.
We explore both of their significant other relationships and how everything ties together. I would classify this as a domestic thriller and how lives intertwine. There was a few twists along the way but I ultimately was waiting for something a bit more thrilling.
I do think this was aptly titled Soulmates based on the ending and the idea of loyalty vs fidelity was very well written into the theme.
This was a very good read but just didn’t have the oomph I was looking for.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy
One again Sally Hepworth did not disappoint! The storyline grabs hold of your interest and keeps you wanting more and more until the very end..
The Soulmate is much more than I expected. I could not put it down. Told from two different viewpoints and in the past and present..
I highly recommend this book.
“The Soulmate” definitely had an interesting premise that drew me in – a family lives by a cliffside popular for suicide attempts. Since moving to their new home, Pippa’s husband Gabe has talked multiple people literally off the ledge and back to safety. One evening, though, a woman goes over the edge and dies.
Pippa can’t shake the image she has of witnessing the immediate aftermath and how Gabe’s hands were held out as if he had pushed her.
One thing that made the story a little slow for me in the beginning was going back and forth in time and learning the details of how Pippa and Gabe met and first got together. I felt a little frustrated initially because I was anxious to find out more about the present-day situation, not the past, even though the past is pretty much key to what led to the present circumstances.
In addition to Pippa’s POV, we also got to hear from Amanda, the woman who has died at the very beginning of the book, and learn about her relationship with her husband, Max. Of course all of these chapters intertwine together to create the full picture, but it is a very gradual process to figure out exactly how they are connected.
After 25% is when things started picking up for me as more key details were revealed.
I think the main format of the novel, peeling back layers of the story right until the very end, is what made the actual truths that were revealed more interesting, because without the function of suspense I don’t think the story itself would be that compelling.
I also felt that Amanda and Pippa’s voices were very similar and neither woman was a distinctive enough personality.
All that said, this is a well-written and straightforward suspense/thriller that I would recommend as an easy read for people who are fans of this genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Another winner by Sally Hepworth! This book sure had some twist and turns, and kept med entranced through the whole thing. The family was so loveable and suspicious at the same time! I don't think SH can do any wrong... She is one of the queens of Thrillers.
Wow, just wow. I've read several of Sally Hepworth's novels and while I always enjoyed them, none of them were over 4 stars for me (still very highly rated). This one hooked me from the first page and I couldn't put it down, staying up past midnight to read. The story has so many addicting plot lines that make sense as the story progresses. Pippa and Gabe have a complicated marriage with their two daughters, but Pippa continues to show up for her husband. When she needs it most, Gabe has hid the truth to now protect Pippa. As the story unfolds, you learn more about several more characters and realize that things are never as simple as they appear. This is the ultimate domestic thriller. I often do not like when thrillers tackle mental illness because a lot of negative stereotypes get grouped into characters who suffer, yet Sally Hepworth handled the mental illness with grace, understanding, and really put the reader right there with all the other characters. Definitely recommend this one.
What a treat to be able to read anything written by this author. I enjoyed the story tremendously and I also enjoyed the narration style. This was a very entertaining story from beginning to end.
Excellent story and thriller. Having never read a book by this author, I was attracted by the review in Net Galley and the cover. Told in a way that is increasingly used by many authors of changing characters point of view per chapter adding here the concept of changing the time in the story per character.
This is a tale of what one will do for their soulmate despite how much it might disrupt’ s one’s life. As always there are many surprises on the way. The author did a very good job of leading you in many directions finally coalescing in ending that totally surprised me. Thoughtful, soul searching, and told in a very thrilling way, this book will keep you riveted.
Thanks to Net Galley for providing an e-book copy for a review.
This is my first book by Sally Hepworth and I really liked it! I’m going to be honest… this incredible cover made me want to read this book! It was definitely a bingeable read and I couldn’t put it down once I started it. This book was twisty, intriguing, and new things were being revealed constantly. The short chapters made it easy to just fly right through the book and leave you constantly needing to know what happens next. I didn’t think the ending was very shocking, but it was still a great read!
Things I enjoyed:
•unique POVs
•complex characters
•short chapters
•secrets
•twists and turns
•before and after timelines
Overall, I would recommend this book! Thank you for the chance to read and review this one!
Wow! I’ve been a a funk lately with thrillers but this totally brought me out of it !
Pippa and Gabe have a house near the Drop where people often go to jump. Gabe usually talks people out of it h til one day … a woman jumps. The stories of the woman and the story of Pippa and Gabe become intertwined. I have to admit I guess completely wrong and this one totally surprised me! Such a good book!!
THE SOULMATE is the next Sally Hepworth novel that will be coming out next April!
Sometimes I request a NetGalley and have no real hope that I will receive the ARC, and then when I do, I gasp in surprised joy! This happened with this one, and while I try to review closer to the pub date, I just finished this last night and feel like I need to share!
A quick rundown of the story, since I hesitate to share much of a suspense plot, is that Pippa watches her husband Gabe head out to help yet another person who has paused at the edge of their yard, a cliff known as a place to end one's life. She watches as the shadowy figures move, and then suddenly there is just one figure. When it is revealed that Gabe knows the woman who is gone, it spurs on many more questions.
I really enjoyed this story! This was a suspense/domestic drama with a lot of layers that are peeled away in a fresh way. I was a bit surprised at one of the POV, but it worked and I thought it was a great addition by the end. This is a multiple POV's and timelines, but reading the digital copy was easy to keep track. The chapters are short and keep the story moving quickly with revelations coming in just the right moments.
Beyond the structure, the story addresses some mental health issues and a lot of suicide references. I felt like it was addressed well, though if this is a trigger, be aware. There was a glimpse into some issues of bipolar disorder that was compassionate and I learned a bit from it.
Thank you to @NetGalley and @stmartinspress for this digital ARC! I was so excited to receive this auto-read author's next book! All opinions are my own. Keep this on your radar for next spring!
Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced copy. I enjoyed this new novel by Sally Hepworth. The twist and turns in this book were not predictble as so many are these days. I can usually see where an author is going with the plot but with this one, for most of the book I really couldn't figure out where we were going. This is a definitely positive for me as I love a good surprise.
The characters were interesting and you never really knew who the good guys were and who the bad guys were and really even at the end you could debate either case.
I recommend this book to readers who like suspense and finally want a surprise. Good on Sally Hepworth for thinking outside of the box on this one.