As always, I am a fan! Her books are soooooo good. What a mess these characters were. Crazy!

4.5 stars. Go read or listen ASAP.

I just finished the audiobook for The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. I will start off by saying, this audiobook was a pleasure to listen to. There were two different readers and both did a great job, but the reader for one of the main characters named Pippa had such a pleasant sounding Australian accent. I love that they got Australian readers for a book set in Australia, and written by an Australian. The book itself was divided up between two main viewpoints. One for a main character named Pippa and one for another main character named Amanda. Both viewpoints were then also broken up into "Pippa Then"/"Pippa Now" and "Amanda Before/"Amanda After". You would think this would be confusing, but it was not. It was written well and really helped give perspective from both sides as well as the required back story that would lend to the build up of tension etc. Each woman's perspective told their stories as well as the stories of their respective spouses, who were also key characters (Pippa married to Gabe and Amanda married to Max). The book was very well written and really held my interest. There were several layers to the plot and the mystery that was at the core of the book. But it all fit together very well and really kept me engaged. There were some surprising twists as well, that I didn't see coming. I wasn't sure how I would feel about an audiobook for a mystery/thriller, which is my favourite genre and I'm so used to reading the actual book, but this was very well read, recorded, paced etc. I really enjoyed the whole thing and would recommend the audiobook and/or the book itself. I wanted to give it a 4.5, but it only allowed a 4. I'm going to check out any other books that Sally Hepworth has written now.

By far my least favorite book by Sally Hepworth. Most of the book was boring and dreary. I loathed both narrators and wanted to ditch them. Codependent women are supremely annoying to me. The remind me of the dumb puppies in romance novels. This entire book was basically about two dysfunctional marriages. Yawn. There was no thriller here.

Worse still, there is a total lack of originality with the story. Every tired plot point is recycled here: affairs, secret love children, mobsters, etc. I also found it slightly offensive that yet again mental illness is being vilified. I also absolutely hated that the child found the USB drive AND that it showed up in the car on the way to grandmas. This is just such an absurd coincidence twice over.

It's a pity the book flopped as much as it did because there was huge potential.
Thanks for picking me to review it. I'll read more by SH.

I found this book dry hard to follow. The short chapters (which I normally love) skipped around way to much. It was hard to keep up who was narrating.

The Soulmate
By Sally Hepworth

“I glance briefly towards the street to see if the police are near. They won’t have sirens or lights on. Like Gabe, they prefer a more subtle approach, not wanting to surprise or crowd anyone.

‘Mummy,’ Freya says, ‘Asha is looking at me.’

‘Asha, stop looking at your sister,’ I say, my eyes still on the window.

Gabe takes a step towards the woman, which is also against the rules. ‘Don’t advance on them,’ he always says. ‘Persuade them to come towards you, towards safety.’

When Freya screams, I think I might faint. ‘For heaven’s sake,’ I say quietly, as I see the prongs of the fork pressing into Freya’s thigh and Asha’s huge brown unworried eyes. I grab the fork. ‘Asha!’
‘Come on girls,’ Kat says. ‘I’ll read you a book. Let’s go pick one out.’

I turn back to the window. In the dark it takes me a moment to locate them. When I do, I don’t understand what I’m seeing. The space where the woman had been standing is now vacant. Gabe is alone at the cliff’s edge. His arms are outstretched, palms facing the empty air.”

Genre:
Fiction, Psychological Thriller

Red Flags:
Sucide, Infidelity, Mental Disorders, Moderate Profanity

Recommended:
High School (16 and up)

Summary:
Gabe and Pippa have transitioned in life to a new location and a fresh start. They have two beautiful daughters, whom they love and adore. They have bought a beautiful home along the shoreline, with a stunning view, also known as “The Cliff” where a few have decided to take their lives. Gabe is known as playing a key role in the community attempting to talk down those trying to jump off. This time Gabe fails, and when the woman dies…their entire lives begin to unravel. The main characters go down a very dark path, filled with constant twists and turns, an unpredictable thriller at its finest, literally until the very last page.

Thank you to Sally Hepworth and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#sallyhepworth
#Psychologicalthrillers
#macmillanaudio
#Netgalley

I want to read ALL the books by Sally Hepworth! The Soulmate is my first and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to read her. I fell hard for The Soulmate. It has everything I look for in a great novel. The author writes with ease and purpose. Each word compelling, pushing the plot ahead. The Soulmate is a beautifully tragic look into marriage, family, relationships and what we’re willing to do in the name of love.

The multi POVs worked well in audio. Narration was on point. I got lost in the story and didn’t want it to end - loved every minute. I can’t stop thinking about how incredibly well the author weaved in so many different layers. Bravo!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4...

Hepworth's The Soulmate explores the misconceptions many of us believe about "soulmates" and the idea of a "perfect marriage. With both couples - Gabe and Pippa, Max and Amanda - everything is not as it seems. What starts as a suicide soon turns even more deadly as Pippa tries to unravel the mystery behind her perfect husband.

The weakest part of the novel is an awkward, bumpy beginning that, once you get through, gets into a smooth groove. Additionally, whereas the front half of the novel had me more intrigued by Amanda, the back half had me invested in Amanda. Between the two female protagonists and their male counterparts, I can't say that I particularly liked any of the characters, but I didn't hate them enough to not enjoy the reading experience.

All in all, The Soulmate was a fabulous page-turner: fast-paced, thrilling, and kept me on my toes up until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For the first 1/3 of this book, I was hooked but at about the halfway point, the story started to meander. Eventually, it felt like I was only reading about a dysfunctional marriage and there was absolutely no thrill in that. Mix in the mental illness trope and the repetitiveness of the plot, I wasn’t impressed with The Soulmate.

The audiobook narrator was pleasant to listen to.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this! This book built up the characters without going overboard. Lots of twists in this book and unexpected turns. The narrator was great

I normally love Sally Hepworth books, but this was a miss for me. The book revolves around suicide and mental health which was a tough topic for me to read about. I teach adolescents who are suffering with their mental health and have attempted suicide, so this book hit a little too close to home.

The book was very well written, Hepworth is a great author! The book was told through multiple perspectives and the reveal in the last 5% was so well done. This is still a great book if the subject matter is something you're interested in reading about.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook!

Sally Hepworth does it again! The Soulmate is a twisty, surprising, and fast paced thriller centered around a cliffside where many go to end their life. Yea, it's dark! Gabe and Pippa left their life in the city to escape their pasts and embrace slow living in a cottage on a cliff (yes the same cliff). Gabe becomes the hero as over and over again he approaches the people on the cliff ready to jump and gets them to come back to mainland. But one night a person jumps, an unfortunate outcome, but not anything that Gabe could have helped. Or was he involved? Questions start surfacing as more information come to light and Pippa begins to question if she ever really knew the man she married.

I really enjoyed this one! It moved quickly and as each layer peeled back I got more and more into it. There were elements of the book that I expected but Sally still managed to layer in a few surprises which I love. No notes really and no disappointments. A really fun thriller to suck you in and read in a day!

The narrators did a fantastic job - what is there to not enjoy about an Australian narration, really? They brought the story to life and helped me stay grounded in the characters - which was important since I was speeding through!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC - The Soulmate is out 4/4/23!

Gabe has a knack for talking strangers off the ledge... literally.

In fact, people come to the sea cliff right by his cottage, and he finds them on the edge. Ready to commit suicide.

But he's able to save everyone. Until...

A woman goes over the cliff in Gabe's presence. And, it turns out they have a shared history.

Pippa, Gabe's wife, is a witness to the fall and something was "off" about it. Both Pippa and Gabe lie to the police when questioned about the accident.

Woowee! What a premise. This was a super-fast mystery read (er...audiobook), written by Sally Hepworth and narrated by the uber-talented duo, Barrie Kreinik and Jessica Douglas-Henry.

Clocking in at around 7.5 hours, Hepworth gives us inside look at the lives of two familes with multiple secrets. And we're kept on our toes.

Who's at fault? Who knows who's secret? And who is protecting whom? We even get a glimpse of the perspective from the woman who went over the cliff on that fateful day.

I loved the short chapters and differing character stories. It was easy to follow along. My only reason for not giving this 5 shining stars is that the end was not perfectly wound up in a bow for me. Maybe it was too abrupt? Or I just didn't love the outcome?

At any rate, you're sure to enjoy this one. And grab a copy of the audio because the Australian voice actors are brilliant.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for this fictional thriller. I listened to it via the NetGalley app.

This was a an interesting story about two couples and their intertwined history. It is told from multiple points of view and has then and now moments that develop the story very well. The character are engaging and the plot twists kept me guessing. While it was not my favorite Sally Hepworth book. I would recommend it and enjoyed it very much.

I received this audio book from NetGalley change for my honest review.

#thesoulmate. #NetGalley

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

I will read anything by Sally Hepworth and this book was no exception.

My only feedback is that I got a little confused with the way the past mixed with the present day. Overall a wonderful book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

This is a very interesting book. I love how it transitions from before after and during all the things that happened. I couldn't get over all the interesting parts that were in this book. I found the characters relatable and the relationships very relatable. The reveals on some of the things were turns I didn't see coming but make the book make even more sense. It kept me wondering what was going to happen next the entire time.

Another nail biting, what-is-going-on winner from Sally Hepworth! I couldn’t stop listening to this one. I found myself actually driving the speed limit to make my car trip last a little longer. It took me a minute to get a grasp of the characters because there were two, both of which give us a “then” and “now”, but once I got into each piece I had no trouble keeping up. Both women were well defined in their characteristics.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

OMG. This book hit all the spots and scratched every itch. It was awesome! I read a lit of mystery thrillers and i am a mystery thriller snob.... It is hard to surprise me. This one did. I never lost interest. I liked characters and it is 100 out of 100. Home run!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for this ALC!

Pippa and Gabe buy their dream house... which happens to be right next to a cliff notorious for suicide attempts. Gabe seems to have a knack for helping people who come to the cliffside, but one day, a woman ends up dead.

Sally Hepworth is phenomenal at writing domestic suspense. I loved the two couples involved in this story and seeing how all the details worked together to finally form a picture through multiple POVs and timelines. I listened to this one in basically one sitting because I was hooked. I HAD to know what the connection was and who was really nefarious. An excellent, bingeable book to have on your radar this spring!

Barrie Kreinik; Jessica Douglas-Henry were fantastic narrators on audio and I highly recommend it!

What a great book! From start to finish The Soulmate kept me guessing and I enjoyed all of the twists! I loved that it seemed like every piece was cleverly connected and there were no loose ends. I’ll definitely be reading more of this author!

Thank you, St Martin’s Press, for the gifted copy of The Soulmate {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 4.4.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆.5

“We trust people based on the strangest, most arbitrary things. None of which have any bearing on whether you or not you are inherently good.”

In this unique dual-perspective story, the reader looks at the relationship between two seemingly devoted couples. But, as in most domestic suspense novels, secrets lurk just below the surface. But the question is, how dark are these secrets, and how far are the couples willing to go to keep them hidden?

I think I’ve read *almost* every Sally Hepworth, and this one just felt different than the others. Not in a bad way. It was just different for me. I started out thinking it would be more of a domestic suspense, but in the end, it gave me more of a family drama feel.

The Soulmate (although I don’t think the title goes with the book) offered a relatively quick read or listen- I believe I finished it in just under 48 hours. The short chapters and interesting plot lines made me find many excuses to listen to my audiobook. And I loved the narrator too, so it was a delightful read.

I applaud Sally Hepworth and how she handled a particular element of mental health in her book. She did so with careful regard for those who do suffer from this while at the same time not allowing that character to fall back on their illness as an excuse. I see a lot of authors attempt to tackle mental illness with their characters, and they either get it all wrong, OR they create an offensive character. Sally Hepworth did a phenomenal job tackling mental illness in The Soulmate.

✌🏼Dual narrative
🗣️ Interesting perspective from one of the narrators
👏🏼 Well paced
📖 Short chapters
🎭 More of a family drama with suspense
🙃 Ending left me a tiny bit underwhelmed

❌ suicide

I recommend reading The Soulmate if you enjoyed reading The Wife Who Knew Too Much by Michele Campbell.

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