I adore this book! At first, I was unsure but not for long because as soon as the story got going (i.e. Idris appeared), I was hooked. This has definitely become one of my top 10 reads and I cannot wait to read more of Hannah Kingsley's books. Renza was my favourite character, but I loved all of the characters. I really could not pick out one flaw. This is a must read for any romantasy fans.

Thank you to net galley, Hannah Kingsley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was overall a good read but definitely fell flat in a couple areas for me. I dislike the flipping between modernism and historical fantasy - it throws off the story and ruins the cohesiveness of the plot. I also felt the plot line is original and interesting, however there was very little information given into the gods/goddesses and the whole soul hate premise. Overall, a really good idea for story, but didn't fully align for me.

What a unique premise! I had a blast with this one. So delightful. What a twist on a beloved formula!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great title and fun premise. Definitely written for ya but enjoyable and a plot we don't see too often.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this story

I love a good prologue... this one was okay...
It was a bit info dumpy- I would have been more engaged with some more something- description? Dialogue? Less of a pamphlet or glossary and more of a story?

As for the rest of the book- it seems to be advertised as an enemies to lovers romantasy vibe, but the political stuff is a lot more heavy than the romance. This is not a bad thing- I quite like it to be more complex, but it was a bit misleading on what I thought I was getting into.

I thought the premise was super interesting and unique; soulhates- a kind of supernatural step further than enemies. But that is kind of the only interesting thing it had...
I didn't really LOVE or connect with any characters, the language went back and forth on if it wanted to be modern or not- feeling incomplete, and despite my love for political intrigue- it felt like it was missing some of the exciting intrigue and was just political stuff drawn out.

Do I think it has potential and the concept it cool? Yes, of course.

Loved the concept of this book! It had me interested from page 1 and after finishing it, all I want is MORE. It was the perfect enemies to lovers story with unexpected (but sorta expected) twists and turns. Great debut- I will definitely be anticipating her next books!

i LOVED this! A very entertaining enemies-to-lovers style book and I thought that it was so well done and had great banter, great characters, and interesting plot. Will be excited to continue on and read more from this author.

This book was great! The story was very interesting and it kept my attention the whole time and I could not put this book down. I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you for giving me a chance to read this book.
I loved it. At first i tought this would not be my kind of vibe. But i got sucked into the book as i got further.
Can’t wait to read more of this autor

☆.7
This novel could’ve been so much more.

I will start by saying that this is usually the kind of book that I enjoy so how disappointed am I that I finished this and realized how bored I was throughout my reading and how I actually could not seem to care about the story.

This is a very politically driven book and I don’t think it was done in a way that gives advantage to the narrative as you end up reading about political schemes for 75% of the story which just makes you so saturated with it that you lose interest in the small part of everything else that’s going on with our protagonist and her love interests. I felt like all the characters were one dimensional, they all fell flat for me. I could not find myself rooting for our main character nor could I care about anyone else, her love interest were mostly annoying, her friends all seemed to be duplicates of one another as they did not have a single personality, the villains were… mean I guess ? They were all just very bland and like I said you get so little of them in comparison with how much politics you’re fed that you end up not caring.

When I first started reading this novel I was actually so interested in the whole soulhate/soulmate bond I thought this was an original idea and such a cool concept for fantasy that you don’t often get. I was very excited to actually read more about that and how one would break a bond as it would seems to be one of the main themes of this book but it just end up being over shadowed by the political plot. The authors does not focus at all on the God/Goddess who created these bonds which would’ve been such a breath of fresh air in this book instead you get a lot of very repetitive scenes with our protagonist and her love interest where the dialogue/inner dialogue is all the same about being soulhate, I felt like I read the same paragraph four times.

All in all, I think there’s a story in there somewhere that I would’ve enjoyed. I don’t think this is a bad book at all, I just wish some things were more in focus while we got less of others. This is a debut novel and it feels like it, it’s marketed as a YA fantasy which I also think is true even though I would’ve liked more of the fantasy aspects. On a more positive note, I’m a big fan of the cover and I think it’s beautifully done. Thank you Netgalley and OneMoreChapter for this arc review will be posted on socials closer to publication day!

The concept of this book is excellent! The prologue in the beginning did an incredible job of laying the foundation of the world, and I was immediately captivated. I really loved our main character and found her motivations very believable. I ended up reading this in one sitting, which goes to show there is a lot of captivating content in this story.

When we got into the first chapter, I had a little bit of trouble jumping right into the political landscape and wish it had been more of a natural progression of us receiving information. This book was marketed as an enemies to lovers romance and had the potential to be excellent given the backstory of the world. However, I found myself wishing there were more interactions between our main characters to really sell this as a 'romantasy'. The focus was more on the political landscape, which isn't a bad thing, but the way the book was marketed gave me a different idea of what to expect.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

An unexpected favorite this year with a cast of interesting characters, a nicely executed plot with exciting mystery elements to it. I was hooked from the first page and couldn't stop reading until I reached the end.

I liked the worldbuilding and found the setting intriguing, the writing was good and the characters felt well-rounded for the most part. The idea of reverse soulmates is from what I can tell pretty unique and it made for an interesting dynamic between our characters. And it's definitely a case of enemies to lovers, but at the same time it's kind of not. Because the hate they feel isn't theirs, and they know it. It's still a very interesting bond though and it does pose a lot of problems.

I will give this book five stars because of the fact that I really enjoyed the plot and kept wanting to know more. I was really invested in this story and how they would solve the rising problems. However, I do feel like there's a lot of information that could be removed. The very interesting narrative and the plot and the characters often gets lost in exposition, info dumps, unnecessary details and other things that simply clogs the page. I found myself skimming a lot as I was reading.

And well, I am inclined to want to say that it was too predictable. The twists and turns weren't as much twists as they were perhaps meant to be. Now, I don't want to spoil anything here, but I could see the two biggest twists coming from the very beginning and I grew frustrated that the main character didn't. She's supposed to be a clever woman, adept in politics and all the kinds of schemes politicians use to get their way, yet she'd completely blind to the most obvious of truths out there.

But despite the downsides, I'll give this a five start solely based on the fact that I couldn't stop reading.

Hannah Kingsley does a fantastic job in getting the reader to question what was going on. It had a strong fantasy element that I was looking for and enjoyed the topic of this novel. I was invested in the characters and what was going on with the idea of Soul Hate. The cover is beautifully done and am excited for more from Hannah Kingsley.

This story is a whirlwind of fate, politics, and forbidden attraction. The concept of Soulmates and Soulhates adds a fresh, exciting twist to the enemies-to-lovers trope. The emotional and personal conflicts Renza navigates make her a deeply relatable and engaging character. Overall, this book is full of twists, making it an irresistible read that’s impossible to put down.

'what is this feeling, so sudden and new?'

Soul Hate follows Renza di Maineri as she navigates the hardship that comes with being an elected political leader of Halice. When a huge tragedy strikes the city, she is forced to work with Idris Patricelli, her Fated Soulhate and her greatest enemy. They most somehow find a way to save Halice without killing eachother in the process.

I really enjoyed Soul Hate! I would 100% recommend this to anyone who is a fan of a 'Dramione' dynamic as this felt just like them! This, paired with my current 'Wicked' hyperfixation (I'm sure many can relate), made for a perfectly enjoyable read.
I do wish that there was a greater focus on the romance rather than the politics as I prefer slowburns to be more interaction-heavy but that isn't to say that Idris and Renza didn't exchange a lot of dialogue together. I imagine any later installments would be more romance focused.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hannah Kingsley for the arc and I hope to see more of Idris and Renza in the future!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this prior to release.

There is a story in here, strip away the modern dialogue, the modern references, the lack of flip flopping of historical fantasy inspiration and modern and you'd have a 'good story' that requires work to make it better.

Picture a world that apparently is ancient Rome. Gods cursed people to have 'soul hates', meaning that there is someone on earth that once they are in your proximity it triggers an anger switch that takes over and makes you want to rip / maim / kill the other. Our female lead is currently discovering hers. Hers is a boy she knew of, had not seen for years, but returned with some weight in the same circles she is in. Seeing that she wants better for her city, and is on a mission to do so, she is now facing the issue of her soul hate working in the same circles.

This is where the story starts to fall apart. The importance of the soul hate - hence the book - is pretty crucial, strong. You think the author would allow more of a focus on gods, goddesses, soul hates - breaking a soul hate? No. Besides the fact that we were told that soul hates exist and continue to exist... you never hear anything else supernatural or strange again.

BUT, you do get such a modern-esque prose and approach from the author regarding the setting and its characters that it takes you out of thinking you're in a fantasy land where people wear togas, wraps, sandals, etc. The author cannot drop the modern day references. Instead of 'courting' she uses the word 'dating'. 20th Century words are thrown around a lot... and it's like, why set it in ancient fantasy times if your writing keeps straying to call and use modern day references. It took me completely out of it book, especially since people are using swords and daggers to kill one another instead of guns.

The characters - villains included - are boring. Very flat. They had the equivalent of paper dolls - made to go to point A to B.

I could understand the story, but the world building, the atmosphere and the characters themselves lacked.

DNF at 40% ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Rating: ⭐⭐/5

First of all, I was really excited to read Soul Hate. The concept sounded amazing, a “soul-hate” instead of a soulmate and enemies to lovers? Sign me up!! That’s such a cool idea to explore and a fantasy setting is perfect for it. Unfortunately, the book didn’t live up to my expectations at all.

1. Writing
The writing was just…bland. It felt like it was trying to be easy to read, but instead, it came across as too simple, almost juvenile. Don't get me wrong, I am no literature snob, I don't have anything against simple writing but this just wasn't it. I didn’t feel any connection to the world or the characters because there wasn’t enough detail to make anything feel real or immersive. The descriptions were repetitive and dull, and the dialogue felt super modern for a setting that’s supposed to be inspired by Ancient Rome. It pulled me out of the story every time.

2. Concept
The idea of soul-hate had so much potential, but it wasn’t explored properly. The execution was shallow. The primal rage characters feel when they find their soul-hate seemed unimaginative. Like the characters just fight each other and sometimes die. That’s it. It’s so surface-level. I get the idea, but there’s nothing else going on to make it interesting. It’s just basic, and I kept waiting for it to get better, but at 40%, I didn’t see any hope of that happening. And if you can't captivate me by 40% then why should I keep reading?

3. Characters
The characters didn’t do it for me either. Right at the start, I felt like I was being info-dumped about everyone, their motives, histories, political roles, everything. It was too much, too fast, it felt like an info dump designed to avoid developing these details organically later.

The secondary characters were especially disappointing. They felt like they only existed to support the main character. They didn’t have their own lives or struggles explored enough, and I didn’t care about any of them. Honestly, I didn’t care much about the main characters either.

4. Stakes
By 40%, I didn’t feel like anything was at stake. Nothing in the story made me curious about what would happen next. The political system was basic, the worldbuilding was thin, and the plot wasn’t gripping. Even with books I don’t love, I’ll sometimes keep reading if I want to know how the author will end the book, but with this one, there was just nothing pulling me forward.



Overall, Soul Hate was a huge disappointment. I really wanted to love it, but the writing, characters, and plot all fell flat for me. That said, I do think this book might work better for a younger audience, like the younger 13-15 side of YA. They might enjoy it a lot more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I wish the author the best for their future projects, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Soul hate is a thrilling story about enemies to lovers and the battle to fight fate in order to choose one’s own love.

There is so much to this book that I absolutely love and adore, I am a huge fan of enemies to lovers and I love the idea of there not only being soulmates but there also being soulhates.

The book starts out with Aldo and Chiara angering the god of fate which results in the creation of soulmates and soulhates.

The book then goes on to follow the life of Renza di Maineri, tragedy happening as she’s swiftly thrown into power not knowing who she can trust and who might or might not betray her.

I cannot recommend this book enough this is truly one of my favorite books I’ve ever read .

Thank you Netgalley HarperCollins Uk and one more chapter for the arc

This book is frankly GENUIS. I couldn't put it down, nor could I stop thinking about it when I'd finished.

If you're looking for political intrigue, morally ambiguous characters and a super portayal of enemies this book is for you.

Soul Hate explores the (GENUIS) idea of what would happen in a world where not only soul mates exist but also the opposite. Every body has a person they are fated to destroy, to hate beyond measure, who upon first sight they are compelled to kill. Add to that the idea that the one you are destined to destroy may be the only one who can help you save the city you love and you've got a book that will have you hooked from the first page.

The politics in this book will grip you and the resulting plot will keep you intrigued the entire time. Our MC is devoted to the city she lives within, and has worked within its chambers to improve the lives of its citizens from a young age. Through her eyes we get a glimpse into the internal elements of politics, exploring how differing opinions between politicians may be frustrating but still come from an individuals inner desire to do the best thing for the city.
The exploration of a soul hate allows the author to explore the darker side of human nature and how sometimes, emotional feeling can blinker us to the reality of the situation, allowing us to assume the worst in others.

I could go on and on about how much I adore this tale, how incredible and independent the MC is, how gripping the concept and more but I don't want to spoil anyones experience of this tale.