I really enjoyed this book and was so excited to receive this ARC.
I loved the action and the intricacies of the background information and how it paved the way forward through the book.
The writing was very well done and it kept me so immersed throughout the story.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of Soul Hate to review.

The premise and prologue of this was super interesting; as well as having a soul mate the people of Halice have a Soulhate, someone who you can't help but hate beyond all reason. I was excited to see how this dynamic would work in a book, but I was quite disappointed by how it was actually portrayed.

We follow Renza di Maineri, one of the elected officials that rule over the city of Halice at only 18 years old. She's dedicated to her city and dreams of coming out of her father's shadow in the senate. When a horrible tragedy strikes, she discovers her Soulhate, Idris Patricelli, and has to learn to work with him despite her deep hatred for him.

Unfortunately I didn't much care for this one at all. I didn't connect to any of the characters, and I couldn't understand why Renza was an elected senate member at such a young age. She didn't make the best decisions through the course of this book, so her being a member of the senate was just inconceivable to me.

The romance in this one was interesting as well, the vast majority of the book was Renza falling for her childhood friend instead of her Soulhate, as was promised. Renza and Idris barely spoke outside of shouting and wanting to kill each other until maybe 60% in where they needed to start working together, and their sudden shift from wanting to kill each other to having nicer feelings happened out of nowhere. Their romance just wasn't believable to me and I didn't care for it.

Also, I believe this book is marketed as YA, but there are two scenes of a sexual nature that are quite well explained. Like it's not closed door or anything like that, so it's weird that this is marketed as YA. It definitely read YA, but having those sex scenes was a little strange to me. This is also marketed as a romantasy but I don't think it fits into that category, as the romance wasn't a huge highlight and the fantasy elements aren't explored very well. This felt more like a political drama set in a kind of fantasy world with a little bit of romance.

Overall this just wasn't for me, which is super unfortunate as I'd hoped to enjoy the premise when reading the synopsis.

The prologue chapter was the only interesting part about this book. I really thought it would be a hit since that hooked me really fast but it lost me quickly after that.

The plot was very predictable and boring. It being marketed as YA is misleading bc though yes it reads like a YA novel, there was content that was notttt YA. And it was the most unnecessary scene too like it just felt very odd to me.

I liked the mmc a lot. He’s cute. The fmc was okay but I couldn’t find it in myself to really care about her? The chemistry and romance between them didn’t feel forced but it felt rushed and clumsy. There wasn’t any finesse to it.

Overall just didn’t feel any connection to this book whatsoever.

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC ♥︎

This book took me a bit to get hooked into, but by the end I was in. I was a bit confused by the relationship between Renza and Nouis, especially how she didn't see everything more clearly, but love does strange things. I think the pacing was a bit off towards the end, but I think that's the nature of the book, especially after doing some worldbuilding at the top. If this is a series, I'd definitely be interested in a second book.

Great cover and great story: good storytelling, right mix of fantasy and romance, fleshed out characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book had me gripped from the first page. The thrilling story is woven between carefully crafted descriptions of places, atmospheres and characters that transport you into the story. A very clever play on the ‘fated mates’ trope that keeps you in your toes the whole way through. Soul Hate is a brilliant debut and an absolute gem of a read.

A refreshingly original twist on the fated mates trope, turning destined enemies into reluctant allies amid rich political intrigue. While the romance simmers slowly in the background, the clever world-building and sharp tension between characters make this a compelling and unique debut

GUYS! How have we never thought about the opposite of a soulmate before???

Hannah delivers your destined enemy perfectly! If you enjoy books with strong political intrigue, this one is definitely for you! The fantasy and romance elements take the back seat at times but I actually found that to be a refreshing change of pace.

This is a fast-paced romantasy with an interesting twist on the idea of fated mates. Renza is a leader in her community, and Idris is her soul hate and political rival. When a devastating event puts their city in crisis, they find themselves working together despite their unfiltered hatred for each other, and what follows is a real romp through their efforts to thwart a coup.

This was a really easy book to become immersed in as the action and intrigue come thick and fast. I loved both Renza and Idris, and I flew through the pages to get to each of their interactions. Their banter and developing relationship has so much potential, and I can't wait to see how it unfolds in the future! Between the unfolding drama and the promise of romance, I flew through it in a day, so I'd say it was definitely a winner.

i found the premise of soul hate really interesting. i liked that there are both soulmates and soulhates. i'm not keen on soulmates, i have a lot of issues with them in general, but i was excited by the concept of soulhates, and especially how the characters overcome the difficulties this poses to them.

i found the plot lacking. it was boring for the most part, right up until the end. it's very political (where i love political books, this one was just boring), and lacked anything to speed the plot up. i was longing for some action or something.

the romance, being that this is a romantasy, was also really confusing. the first 40% or so is renza having a bit of a fling with someone else, and didn't focus at all on the main romance. because of this, i found there wasn't enough tension or longing to actually pull me through.

unfortunately this book wasn't for me, but i think there's an appropriate audience out there for it. this book had so much potential and ultimately failed to deliver for me.

I really wanted to love this book, the premise of having soul hates was such an interesting concept to me.
I felt like the soul hates part should have been more prominent, however it was dropped a bit to focus more on the political angle of the book.

I enjoyed the characters however did not know that the book would be such a slow burn, I wanted more between our two main characters.

The world building is okay, however did confuse me as the wording in the book was quite modern, vs the time period I understood it to be set in. I hope in the next books this will be rectified to reflect the world better.

All in all it was an okay read, I’m not sure I would be interested to read and sequels for this world though, unless everything mentioned above was tightened and improved.

I was a little bit worried about this going in because of the other less positive early reviews I've seen, but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised and loved it. I think the issue with this book is possibly the marketing because it's being marketed as a romantasy but I'm not sure if it completely falls within that category.

I really enjoyed that it was quite political and I liked all of the scheming and backstabbing. I felt connected to the characters and particularly enjoyed the slow burn between Renza and Idris. The world was well thought out and it's based on Ancient Rome which is very different. This book was a great start to the trilogy has set up the next one really well. I'll definitely be continuing with the series.

I will say this books is insapore: nothing sparkled in me while I was reading it and everything felt very flat. The setting is supposed to me similar to the Roman Empire and as an Italian I was enthusiast for it but at the same time, the way the characters talked and behaved are very modern and it put me out of the narrative. I found the Soul Hate plot very original and never seen before (like, they are enemies because I say so, and that's amazing) but in the end the political subplot just did not stick to me. I found Renza, the FMC, very immature and childish despite being a political person in the book (why she was even in that position in the first place? Her behavior is not one of politics), while I found Idris okay and quite interesting. The whole book is a "no" for me and sincerely won't recommend.

A creative debut fantasy lead by an interesting concept: everyone has a soulmate, but they also have a soulhate (a person they are destined to feel a firery passion to destroy). Just like in our world, soulmates may not meet in their lifetime....you might be the unlucky few who meets their soulhate - often leading to a violent duel to the death. Hannah Kingsley focuses this inventive world on two soulhates determined to work toward political endeavors and avoid violence.

The concept of Soul Hate is really interesting. Fate has not just given people a soul *mate*, but also a soul *hate.* What sounds like a great setup for an enemies-to-lovers romantasy falls a bit flat in execution. In this world, when one finds their soul hate they’re required to fight to the death. The problem with this approach is there’s no backstory, there’s no understanding for why the two souls hate, they just do, now they fight, end of story. This is no typical Romeo and Juliet where family history pits one against the other or even some miscommunication where they only think the other did something despicable. It’s a product of fate and nothing more.

TLDR: great concept, but lacking in real depth.

🌟 3.5

Very interesting concept! I’m keen to read more by this author.

Cover art ✔️ It is such a perfect cover for the book and its content.

🗡️ Fantasy romance
🗡️ Enemies-to-lovers
🗡️ Forget soul mates/ soul hates! 😂
🗡️ Rivals
🗡️ Clever plotting and world building
🗡️ political intrigue
🗡️ morally ambiguous characters

I'll start with what I liked about this book. I liked it there was a very unexpected setting. No mediaeval England. No dragons or witches but set in a hot country. Maybe like Africa or similar. I also loved the writing. I think if you want a study in world building by stealth then this book is for you. No 200 pages on the world or the setting but World building as you are going along. I also really enjoyed the diversity of characters, both sexually and racially. However, there was just not enough spice for me and I also found the plot a little boring. While the plot had all the intrigue and mystery you needed. I just didn't Vibe with it.

😍😍😍(Out of 5)

Big thanks to NetGalley and Hannah Kingsley for a copy of this book. This is my honest review.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter for providing me this ebook in exchange for an honest review*


Soul Hate is an enemies to lovers masterpiece with banter, characters to root for and an amazing world-building. I can't believe Hannah Kingsley is a debut author. I mean...wha??? I can't wait to get into my hands the Forbidden Wing edition. And I can't wait to read more of this author!

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the idea of this..but the execution just didn't do it for me. DNF.

This wasn't the worst debut novel I've ever read, but unfortunately it wasn't anything unforgettable either. This one had a lot of potential and the premise was very intriguing, which was what made me request the book. Sadly, it didn't deliver what was promised.

The question on the cover was what sold me, but I wasn't really sold as I was reading the book. I found it to be very predictable, and I figured out pretty much the whole plot by the first few chapters, which made the entire reading experience a bittersweet one. The side characters were interesting enough to want to keep reading but the main characters left a lot to be desired. I didn't feel the pull between Reza and the love interest, and it all felt very rushed just to fulfill a certain point in the story.

This would make a very interesting TV adaptation, but it lacked depth on the page.