Sally Hepworth is one of my must read authors, so I was PUMPED to get an ARC of The Soulmate. She just knows how to draw you in, and this one doesn’t disappoint! (Short chapters with cliff hangers at the end sure do help with that) I was on the fence for 75% if this was going to be a 3 or 4 star, mainly because some of the actions of the characters seemed ridiculous. I ended up like it SO MUCH MORE by the end when the major twists and motives start getting revealed. Another solid one from Sally!

This book is told in dual timelines with two narrators. One is Pippa, who is married to Gabe, and mother to their girls Freya and Asha. They live in a beautiful home with one downside- the backyard drops off into a dangerous, deadly, and well known local cliff that is a common spot for suicides. Gabe becomes known as a local hero by talking down many jumpers and saving them from making that choice. However, on one fateful day, he does not save a woman who comes to the cliff.

The second narrator is Amanda, who is the woman who falls to her untimely death. Was she pushed, or is she truly burdened with grief after her husband is unfaithful? Amanda is an omniscient narrator who fills in gaps and provides information to the reader that’s unknown to the other characters in the book.

I really enjoyed this domestic suspense read from Sally Hepworth. I liked the dual timelines and two narrators, particularly Amanda’s chapters. There were several interesting twists and turns throughout the book. However, my only disappointment was with the ending. It lacked any major twists or reveals and just didn’t do the rest of the book justice. However, I did enjoy the rest of the book so I’d recommend it to those who like a less intense domestic thriller where the focus is more on family drama than suspense.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and Sally Hepworth for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

You know when there is that one character that has so many red flags waving it’s a never ending banner? 🚩 yeah. Totally one of those in this story. There is definitely undiagnosed mental illness at play, but I love that the author had the family of that main character have the realization that it wasn’t the mental illness that made them do all of the bad things. Some of it was just that person who decided to lie and cover up everything. It made me happy that mental health was addressed and not blamed for everything said person does. Usually I shy away from books about characters with mental illness because of that, and it pisses me off.

Pippa and Gabe had an fairytale meet cute. Pippa was walking a dog in the rain, looking terrible because she was crying. Gabe was a groomsmen in a wedding at the park (under shelter) and literally walked over to her in the middle of the wedding (stopping it, which all the bridal party didn’t act surprised at his actions?!) just to talk to her. They were meant to be.

Two daughters later, multiple jobs and houses later, they move out of the city. They find the perfect house along the beach, with an amazing view. Pippa is the sole income, working full time as a will and estate lawyer. Gabe is a stay at home parent to their kids. Pippa’s family even moved with them to the smaller coastal town so they could still see them often. So what if the cliff directly behind their house is called “The Drop” and is a known suicide spot. Gabe has been able to talk all 7 down that have been there since they moved. Until the 8th.

Good thriller with lots of twists. I think Hepworth is a solid author. Would recommend to readers who like Lianne Moriarty.

Bubble Bubble Toil & Trouble! 😳😯🤯😳😯

Another sure firework hit for Hepworth with this crazy, thrilling mystery! The lies, deceit and darkness are endless and tangled so deeply, it creates the best take on a mystery! Adding in a marriage aspect of what we do for our significant others and whether that can help or hinder our own selves is a majorly provoking thought. Exquisitely done with just the right amount of intrigue, small reveals along the way until she hits you with an ending that's like your favourite pie in the face! I breezed through this novel and from the beginning was immersed and hostage to a very fun plot! The little, big bombs she drops along the way were perfectly timed and caused skipped heartbeats. Absolutely a Queen of literature! Believe me when I say, this is worth the wait for! Mouthwateringly delightful with a gut-punch ending.

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Pippa and Gabe have moved into their dream home near a cliff by the sea with their two daughters, helping them make a true fresh start after a rough past few years. However, they realize quite quickly that the area is more of a nuisance than serene as it's a local place many come to end their suffering. The most recent victim that Gabe tried to help, ends in tragedy unlike before and as the investigation goes on, she'll find out that not only did Gabe actually know the victim, but they're all entangled together. The question that worries Pippa... Did Gabe push her instead of help?

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for this ARC.
Release Date: April 4, 2023

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 4.5 / 5 Autumn Leaves! 🍂

this is a dnf for me. i just feel like this was a basic thriller with basic problems you come to expect when reading thrillers so I lost all interest in reading it.

This is my 7th book by Sally Hepworth and she never disappoints!! Pippa and Gabe move to a house that is literally on the side of a cliff. Little do they know many people have come to this cliff to end their lives but Gabe is always there to talk them out of it. Until …. Lots of twists throughout and I could not put this book down. I loved all the characters in the book and that’s always a plus! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published April 2023.

I always enjoy Sally Hepworth's books. She is great at writing real characters. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, however I still enjoyed reading it. The twist at the end felt a bit tenuous.

This was my first by Hepworth and I will definitely be picking up her backlist very soon! The Soulmate had so many twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was fully engaged throughout and read cover to cover in two sittings. The dual timeline and POVs added just the right amount suspense. I very much enjoyed this one and can’t wait to add it to my shelf in April.

The problem with getting advance copies of Sally Hepworth's work is that I simply can't resist reading them, and now when everybody is excited in April, I'll just be jealous 👀 As always with Sally's work, there are several plot points throughout that leave you questioning what's going on - a moderately unreliable narrator who's never telling the full story, slow reveals of essential details, and a dash of POVs from then and now - I just love it. This one was one of my favorites so far!

*Expected pub of April 2023.

This was good but not my favorite. I went into this expecting more thriller but got domestic suspense. It really wasn’t even all that suspenseful either. The writing was good and the two narrator past & present storyline worked well. Everything was tied up in the end which I like but it all just left me feeling sad.
TW: suicide. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This might be my new favorite domestic suspense book!! Combine an intriguing plot, memorable characters, and Sally Hepworth’s dry wit to get a really engaging and twisty story that I absolutely loved.

I will be the first to tell you that domestic thrillers/mysteries/suspense novels don’t always work for me. I find the vast majority of them to be forgettable - but this book is anything but forgettable! It’s twisty, with some entertaining narrative mixed in, and an eerie and captivating mystery to keep you turning pages.

This book is told from two different POVs, where one of them is Pippa and the other is the woman who died. I thought I would hate reading the POV of a ghost, but I think it actually worked really well in this case! You see notable similarities where both women entered into their marriages with certain expectations, but they both end up on a crash course towards situations they were not prepared for. Then it all comes together in a tense finale to give you the complete picture of how all the events really unfolded.

This one kept me turning pages, and I'm so glad I read it! I have posted my review to my Instagram (therosereviews) on 9/27/22. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

Pippa and Gabe and their two young daughters live in a home close to a cliff known for prior suicides. Since they moved in, Gabe has saved multiple would be jumpers simply by talking to them. But there’s one, at the opening of the book, he fails to save. What happens after is the basis of The Soulmate, the forthcoming book by Sally Hepworth.

The Soulmate just didn’t do it for me. I just could not get invested in the plot nor did I find myself caring for what I thought were superficially drawn characters. The big reveal? Meh.

My thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing an ARC of the book.

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed reading from different character perspectives going from past to present day. I loved how original the idea of telling the story was, the kickoff pulled me right in. This was a true 5 stars for me. Without giving away too much, I really liked how we got to still hear from one certain character after she was gone.

The Soulmate was my first read from this author, so I really didn’t know what to expect going in. But I picked this up while in a thriller mood and it kept my attention. This is less thriller and just a domestic suspense that centers around 2 women and their marriages. It’s also has a dash of “was it murder or suicide?”

Pippa, her husband Gabe and their young children, moved to their cliffside home in Portsea, a sleepy coastal town a couple of hours out of Melbourne, a year ago. And in that year, Pippa has had to make 7 phone calls to the police about people lingering near the edge of the cliffs. Being from the city, they weren’t aware of the notoriety of “The Drop”, where the tall cliffs outside their home had become popular among those wishing to end their lives. Gabe had always been able to talk the people away from the cliff, he was even featured in a newspaper article about it. But at the beginning of the story, the woman he goes out to talk to at the cliff’s edge this time ends up at the bottom, and Pippa isn’t quite sure what she saw… When Pippa learns that Amanda was not a stranger, things get even more complicated.

We follow the lives in past and present of both Pippa and Amanda, the woman who fell off the cliffs. We even get some after chapters from Amanda, when she has already died, which was interesting. Lies, struggles, the good and bad sides of marriage, secrets, domestic disputes, raising children, mental illness, work stresses, and how long women are willing to try/how much they’ll overlook for the men they love. The characters were hard to root for or get invested in because they weren’t really like-able, but psychologically it was interesting to watch unfold. I think some of the work story in the middle got a bit much and I was always waiting for something more or something bigger to happen (it never did). But this was a quick read, which I appreciate it!

Thank you to the publisher (St. Martin’s Press) for an e-ARC via NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own. The Soulmate has a publish date of April 4, 2023.

My thanks to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

Pippa is madly in love with her husband Gabe, his magnetism is undeniable. They’re raising two young girls in their new home, located next to the Drop, a dangerous cliff where people have taken their own lives. Gabe has successfully talked multiple people into safely retreating, until one night one woman winds up over the edge. But when it’s uncovered Gabe knew the woman their seemingly perfect lives begin to unravel.

This is the perfect twisty domestic suspense novel. Short chapters, alternating perspectives and timelines kept me engaged and turning pages quickly. Hepworth kept surprising me with new information that constantly shifted my perspectives of the characters and kept me on my toes, ending the story in a way I never expected.

4.5 stars for this one. Highly recommend!

This was the best book I have read in awhile! I couldn’t stop reading and the ending was not what I was expecting but SO much better! I highly, highly recommend reading The Soulmate! It had me hooked from the very beginning and I love when a book gets my attention that early on.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my feedback!!

Overall, The Soulmate was just OK. It has that wonderfully tense Sally Hepworth feel of wondering who to trust and who’s twisting the truth, but it kinda felt like the whole book was a fakeout. I like to be able to guess a little bit of a thriller, but it’s less interesting when the baddie is TOO clear and obvious. Disappointing "reveal" and disappointing ending. I’ll still get the next Hepworth domestic thriller, though, because I loved The Good Sister and The Mother-in-Law so much!

Another simply fabulous Hepworth story. If you have read any of her others and liked them, this is definitely for you. And if this is your first, be prepared to be blown away.
Pippa and Gabe Gerard seem to have it all: two gorgeous little daughters, a great house overlooking the sea and a very loving supportive family. The only downside is that the house faces a cliff that is known for its suicide jumps. Gabe is considered a local hero who has managed to talk down several jumpers until the night he fails and the stranger, a woman, jumps to her death.
Or does she? The police begin investigating and the story absolutely takes off as secrets begin to come out in to the open and all of a sudden the real question is: who WAS the stranger and did she really jump?
Great characters, terrific storyline with murderous undertones.
Riveting and completely unable to be put down.

As soon as I see Hepworth’s name on Netgalley, I immediately hit request! She has quickly become one of my favourite authors the last few years & her thrillers are so amazing.

The book starts with what appears to be a perfect couple. So right away you ask, what’s really going on & how long till the other shoe drops? And it drops big time. Hepworth is one of the best at writing about people having secrets & the slow unraveling of them. The unique choice of having the couple live next to a popular suicide spot was so intriguing. As all the mysteries & secrets are unwrapped, I was quite shocked by some. The main four characters are not what they seem! So much to unravel but I’ll leave it vague so as not to spoil anything.

You really can’t go wrong with reading Hepworth’s books, she’s one of the strongest authors I’ve read & I look forward to future works. Read this one & the run out & read her other stuff!