This was a fantastic thriller. The narrators swapping back and forth kept me on my toes and neither seemed reliable, which lead to great mystery. This author truly is fantastic.

She also does a great job of shedding light on mental health and even healthy marriages. Both should be taken very seriously. Check in on your spouses, ask if they're okay. Even ask yourself if you're okay.

I just reviewed The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth. #NetGalley

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth was a quick listen. Told from multiple points of view and jockeying between the past and present. The character development was good, but somewhat surface level, and I feel that Gabe's mental illness, while addressed was addressed in a somewhat weird way that didn't lend well to the story and drive it forward in a convincing manner.
The twist at the end wasn't predictable but also wasn't totally shocking. From the title of the novel. I was expecting more love and domestic thriller than what was portrayed.

Overall it was a good and quick story. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC copy of the book.

I have not been the biggest fan of Sally Hepworth books in the past, they have just been middle of the road for me. Unfortunately, this one lands the same way. It had a promising premise, and a beautiful cover. Ultimately, I think that we have just seen so many other stories just like this one.

This was my first Netgalley audiobook and I loved the Australian narrators. I was trying to both read the ebook and listen to the audiobook and stopped the ebook so that I could continue listening. The dual narration and Amanda's POV were nice touches, and I thought the back-and-forth POVs in the linear format worked really well for the story. I was hooked until the end.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Barrie Kreinik and Jessica Douglas-Henry
Pub Date: 4/4/23

The Soulmate is a domestic thriller that centers around Pippa and Gabe. The couple lives in a cottage by the sea, located next to a giant cliff where people often come to commit suicide. Gabe has convinced quite a few people not to jump, earning himself the title of a local hero. One night, a woman comes to the cliff, and Gabe isn’t able to change her mind. She jumps to her death, and even though Pippa sees the whole thing, she isn’t convinced that her husband doesn’t have something to do with her death.

The story is told from the POV of Pippa and Amanda, the woman who jumped. Amanda narrates from beyond the grave, which I wasn’t sure about at first, but it works out quite well. It’s told in a before/after and then/now timeline where each woman discusses their relationship with their husband before the incident and after and how they are all entangled. The story is fast-paced with short chapters and gave me just enough information in each one to keep me listening intently as I tried to piece together the story of these couples.

I loved all the twists and turns and the fact that I was never sure what would happen next! Mental health issues and infidelity play significant roles here and help to make the point that no character is truly innocent. This is my first book by Hepworth, and I enjoyed her quick-witted, humorous writing style.

The narrators did a lovely job of bringing the story to life, and I especially enjoyed the Australian accents.

One thing that bothered me was Pippa’s reaction to life with Gabe. It was pretty frustrating, and I had difficulty understanding her thought process. The twist towards the end and the ending were also underwhelming.

Overall, this kept me on the edge of my seat, and I really enjoyed it! Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for my ALC in exchange for an honest review. The Soulmate will be available on 4/4.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital audiobook arc copy of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.

Not bad, not great. Kind of middle of the road domestic drama for me. 2.5 stars, rounded up

Basically, this is the story of a husband and wife with two young girls who live in a house on a high cliff by the ocean that is a prime suicide location. Gabe and Pippa have warned the girls to stay away, but Gabe has made it his mission to talk people out of suicide and he has succeeded many times--until now. As he is talking to a woman she jumps--or did she? Pippa thinks she saw Gabe push the woman although he denies it. Then she discovers that the woman was someone they both knew--the wife of Gabe's former boss. What is everyone hiding?

The positives about this book were that it was pretty fast paced and kept my interest throughout. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was engaging. I do like reading about other peoples' train wreck lives because it makes me feel a little better about myself as bad as that sounds. I like Hepworth's writing and while I wasn't thrilled with this one, I will keep reading her books.

The negatives were that I had zero buy in for much of this book. I disliked the portrayal of Gabe's mental illness, anyone who knows anything could guess bipolar vs. ADHD. I also didn't care for the fact that supposedly this mental illness meant he was unhinged in some way, can we just stop with that? I didn't understand why Pippa stayed with him when he was lying and cheating and staying out all night and rarely had a job. Poor martyr Pippa. And why oh why would you move to a house like that with young children? It just makes no sense.

Overall, if you like domestic drama you'll probably enjoy this one.

4/5

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

Gabe and Pippa have finally gotten the fresh start they've been looking for: they've moved into their dream house on a cliff with their two beautiful daughters and been able to start over in a new place with Pippa's family close by. However, when another stranger shows up to the cliff outside their home -- a popular suicide spot where Gabe is known for talking people off the ledge -- things aren't quite what they seem. Pippa and Gabe's perfect world is about to be entirely unraveled, with old secrets and new grasping them when they least expect it.

I was instantly intrigued by this story with such a clever and unique premise, though I think the execution could have been a little bit better, especially towards the end, which is my reason for 4 stars instead of 5. Overall, however, this book had plenty of surprises and twists and the short chapters kept my attention piqued from start to finish. While some aspects of the story were slightly predictable, there were plenty of moments that elicited true surprise from me. I grew to appreciate the characters throughout the story, which always adds to my overall enjoyment. All in all, this was a really solid thriller and I'm eager to read Sally Hepworth's other work!

I did enjoy the writing and the twist at the end but felt like the middle part dragged on a little bit. I did enjoy the narrator.

The Soulmate is a good story, it is engaging and keeps you interested all the way to the end. Something I love about Sally Hepworth’s writing style is that she tells you a lot but not enough to figure out everything from the beginning, so you are still trying to guess the ending. She leaves little one liners that you can easily miss but add a lot of intrigue to her stories if you catch them. I would say that this story is not groundbreaking, but it is interesting enough to still make you think and enjoy the story. The characters are likable and relatable, the plot is good, the descriptions are interesting but not overdone. I liked the dual POV, the only issue I had was sometimes it was hard to keep track of which characters knew what secrets. The story has a “happy” ending, but sometimes happiness is different than what we originally expect. The narration is beautiful and Australian. Both narrators do a good job and they are different enough that you can easily switch to the correct character. I am rating it 3.5 stars rounding up to 4.

An excellent thriller/mystery novel! Marriages aren’t easy but one couples attempt to start anew is thwarted from the beginning of this novel when the death of a local sparks suspicion amongst the community.

There were plenty of surprises along the way to keep me hooked and, more so, the deeply buried secrets with all of the answers.

Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my e-arc and ALC of THE SOULMATE by @sallyhepworth ! This books publishes April 4!

I have read 4 ( including this one!) of Sally’s books, and have enjoyed them all! They are always full of lots of shocking twists, family drama, secrets, and are fairly fast paced!

I also grabbed this one in my March BOTM box, and I was reading the author’s note at the back of the book… basically she was in lockdown in Australia for months and months and her and her girlfriends were surviving on how they loved their husbands… but also wanted to murder them 😆 and that’s where her idea for this book came from!

I listened to this book in one day, becaus I could not stop! I had to know what was happening next! I love that in books, especially in thrillers! Sally’s books, especially the endings reveal all the secrets, and most of them are so shocking, and you don’t see coming! I don’t think this one had quite the shock factor that I felt in her other books I have read, but I still really enjoyed this one!

Book: The Soulmate
Author: Sally Hepworth
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Thriller
Places Featured: Australia
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: As expected from this author, it’s a good twisty thriller that leaves the reader guessing at what will come next. Gabe and Pippa have moved to their waterfront dream home with their daughters—the only drawback to the house is that it’s near a cliff where suicidal people will sometimes go to end their lives. Gabe, though, has become a bit of a local hero as he’s been able to convince many of them not to jump…until one day when a woman goes over and is killed. Having witnessed the lead-up, Pippa is confused by what she saw…and she’s even more confused when she realizes that Gabe actually knew the victim and they both have an intertwining connection to the dead woman. We learn more, too, from the dead woman herself as parts of the story are also written by her (which does add somewhat to the mystery, but I’m not sure it was needed). Hepworth knows how to write a good mystery.

Thank you for the ARC for this book. It was from two different perspectives and two different timelines. The story did flow nicely and I did enjoy the book once I got into it. I had a hard time getting drawn into the beginning so stick with it. The storyline had a great turn of events and showed how not everything is as it seems. One of the perspectives were from a woman after she died so that was a bit odd to me. I do understand the need to share some of her insights after death but again it just struck me as odd. I do recommend this book as the ending was really good. It does talk about suicide and mental illness so if that is a trigger for you then I would pass on this. Otherwise it does give you some insight into those layers as well.

This was a slow burn of a novel that I really enjoyed. I did not like Pippa’s d-bag of a husband and his crazy antics so that took away from the story at times. I did not understand why Pippa stayed with him! I liked that as the story went on more and more was I woven to show the dysfunction and secrets. The twists at the end were brilliant! I really enjoyed the narrators and I think they did a great job voicing the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this ALC.

Sally Hepworth always knows how to spin a crazy domestic thriller and I am here for it! Gabe and Pippa's dream home is a amazing cottage situated on a cliff. The cliff is a terrible drop and a known suicide-watch-spot. Gabe has, in fact, talked 7 people off the cliff (literally). Until the one he doesn't save. Pippa discovers that Gabe knew the victim. So what actually happened? Did she fall or jump, or did Gabe push her? Would Gabe lie?
This novel is told in 2 different POVs, one being Pippa's and the other is Amanda Gerard's, the victim. 2 different actresses give an authentic feel to this twisty story.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

This book had me hooked from the first chapter. It shifts between the past and present and is told in multiple POV. I found it to be an easy listen, and finished it in 24 hours!

This book does talk about mental health issues such as ADHD, PPD, and bipolar disorder. Sally Hepworth does a great job talking about both Gabe and Pippa’s mental health. She does it in a way that is tasteful without making the characters whole personality revolve around it.

I really enjoyed the book and how things came together in the end. I would absolutely love another book from Gabe’s point of view.

Gabe and Pippa move to a house that is an infamous spot in town- seemingly where people go when life becomes too much for them and they want to take it all away. Normally, Gabe is able to talk them down from the ledge (literally), yet this time he fails to stop a woman from becoming the next victim of the cliffs. Pippa, watching from her house and distracted with wrangling the kids, is sure that the woman jumped. But then she isn't quite sure once she realizes that it wasn't just any woman who went off the cliff- it was someone known to her and to Gabe. Told in alternating voices of Pippa and of the deceased woman, nothing is as perfect as it appears to be.

Holy lies, batman..the secrets, the betrayal and the DECEIPT. The short chapters allowed the pacing to continue rapidly and I felt I finished this in the blink of an eye. I thought that there were some spots that could've been edited out that maybe didn't pertain to the storyline or plot, but didn't necessarily deter from it. Following both Pippa and the woman who went off the cliff was an interesting take since it still brought us to the past and present for BOTH of those. It's been a while since I read a narrative from the 'other side'. I will say that I don't know if I would classify this as a thriller, it had elements of one but it was almost more of a mystery to me. The ending had me gasping out loud and I really thought it was perfect for THIS story when brought all together. I can say I typically don't like the way books end in this manner, but Hepworth did it justice IMO.

The audio narrator was LOVELY and it was a highly pleasant listen.

Overall I would recommend, but would caution that it is more mystery than thriller and includes sensitive topics like mental health and suicide.

Drama, dysfunctional relationships, secrets and twists make for an interesting story - The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth! I love her books and this one kept me on my toes throughout. I didn't see those twists or that ending coming - which is always a treat. Thank you for this early audio copy!

Secrets and lies is what most of this book is about! It is also a book dealing with mental health and family drama. It is seemingly being advertised as a thriller, but it is not, and I mostly enjoyed it throughout. From the book description sounding intriguing and having read several of Hepworth’s previous novels, I was ready for this one.

We have Pippa and Gabe who recently moved to this cottage on the extreme edge of a cliff with their young daughters. They are in for more than they bargained for since people seem to like to commit suicide on this cliff! Gabe has a knack of talking potential jumpers out of what they are doing until one lady shows up and jumps. Later on Pippa finds out that Gabe knew the woman who jumped and many questions start to come to mind.

We have both Pippa and Amanda as our narrators. Amanda’s narrations take place before and after her jump. Through both narrators the reader/listener find out all kinds of connections that come to a head. Some are unexpected: but remember its all about secrets and lies!

Part of the climax really wasn’t, it was more of a letdown. Ultimate motives really did not work for me. But the ending was ultimately satisfying as everything came together despite everything that occurred.

I did have some issues with the narrators. Their voices seemed so similar for me that it was hard to distinguish between Pippa and Amanda at times. For this particular book, I would say read it. I think I would have enjoyed it more that way.

So far this is the weakest novel by Hepworth for me, but she is still enjoyable and I look forward to reading more by her!

Many thanks to the publisher Macmillian Audio for granting me an audio arc to listen to and review.