You know that feeling when you find an author you really like, and you read everything they’ve ever written? Or when you find an actor you adore, and you obsessively watch every tv show or movie they’ve ever been in? Inevitably, you’ll find that one book, movie, or tv show, that was good, but wasn’t your favorite of the batch. Well, I have a favorite author in Sally Hepworth, but I finally found my least favorite of her batch of books. The Soulmate was good, but it wasn’t as good as The Good Sister or The Younger Wife.
I’m not even really sure I can explain properly why I struggled with it. Because I didn’t hate it. Hopefully, as I write this review, I can streamline my thoughts, and something will come clear. I hope you stick around, because it’ll likely be an interesting review. Enjoy!
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Synopsis of The Soulmate
Gabe and Pippa found their dream home on the coast of Austrailia. They move in quickly with their two children, but soon learn that their dream home is the nightmare for others. The cliff behind their home is the site for numerous “jumpers,” many of whom Gabe manages to talk back from the ledge… literally.
Until one woman actually jumps. And Pippa finds out Gabe knew her.
As details emerge about the woman, Gabe’s relationship to her, and other secrets he’d been keeping, Pippa is left wondering who the man is she married. Is he truly her Soulmate… or does she even really know him?
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of The Soulmate, in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Excerpt
Amanda – After
So, this is it. I’m dead.
The police are retrieving my body. An arduous process, apparently, and they are out of practice to boot.
I’ve heard it said that the most difficult death to process is that of a loved one who is taken from you without warning. I agree that that is difficult. But I can now confirm that it is equally traumatic to be the one taken without warning. The whiplash of it. One minute you’re here and the next you’re gone – yanked from one world to the next as if torn with forceps from the womb. Except, instead of being placed into the arms of a loving mother, I’m alone.
The moment of my death was distinct. There was no slowing down, no light at the end of the tunnel, no moment in which to choose. No decision to make at all. There was a crack, like glass breaking, painless and clean. By the time I realized what was happening, it was done. Nothing to fear in death, I realize. No pain or suffering, at least physically. And yet, I feel a feverish desperation to claw my way back. Because unlike the scores of people who have come to this spot before me, I did not come here to die.
My Thoughts on The Soulmate
As I said above, this wasn’t my favorite book of Sally’s. That isn’t because it wasn’t good. It was. I still very much enjoyed it. I think part of it is because I found it more predictable than her other books, and I felt at times like she was trying to push the twists, rather than just let them arrive naturally. In The Good Sister, the twists felt natural and flowed perfectly in the story. In The Soulmate, it almost felt the opposite.
Even though it was predictable, I still enjoyed parts of the story. Pippa was a very cool character, and the relationship that she holds with her family was amazing to me. I’m super close with my own family, so when I read books where the characters have those same types of relationships, it makes me happy.
Trigger Warnings
The Soulmate does have a couple scenes where they talk about people killing themselves. I don’t remember whether they are specifically stated, or graphically described, but the subject is brought up several times, just because of where Pippa and Gabe live, and the reputation their “backyard” carries.
Timeline
The book is told in two timelines, divided into the various chapters. If you’ve read many of Sally’s books, you’ll be familiar with this, because she uses this technique in most of her books. I don’t always like time jumps in books, but when the author is careful about making it clear what time frame they’re talking about, it helps a lot.
Characters
Gabe
Gabe was my least favorite character, to be honest. He’s portrayed as this heroic guy who saves all these lives, but I just had a bad feeling about him. I didn’t trust him, even though I had no clue why. I’m not going to ruin the story for you, so I won’t tell you if I was right or not.
Pippa
Pippa was a cool character. She was a little too trusting, I think, because she was so blind in her love for Gabe that even when she started seeing things that meant Gabe wasn’t completely honest, she refused to believe them. She forced herself to trust him, even during times she wanted badly to question him and find the truth.
Amanda
I loved Amanda. She was the opposite of Pippa. She went into her various relationships with her eyes wide open, and when things happened that went against what she believed was the truth, she questioned and she asked about it. Her relationship with her husband was interesting, to say the least.
Change in Opinion
I may have started out distrusting Gabe, but since I held that opinion of him through most of the book, I can’t say my opinion changed much about him through the book. I won’t say too much about my dislike of Gabe, because my biggest opinion change happened with Pippa. Again, I’m not gonna spoil it, but by the end of the book my opinion of Pippa, and Amanda to a point, had changed about 3 times each. I went from sympathizing with both of them, to really just wanting to slap their brains back into their heads a couple times.
Biggest Takeaway
My biggest take away from The Soulmate is that we create our own soulmates. I can’t say, based on this book, that love at first sight really exists. Pippa’s experience saying it does causes her to be blind to a lot of things she should have seen. Because she considered Gabe her “soulmate,” she ignored various red flags that I saw as the reader. Her lack of common sense in the area of love was really frustrating. For example, when I met my husband, he was up front about some personality issues/traits he had, which allowed me to decide with my eyes open whether those traits were something I could live with. I decided I could, and 7 years later, we are happily married, and I still tell people I hit the jackpot. Did I consider him my soulmate when we met? Nope. Do I consider him my soulmate now? Absolutely. Because we’ve gone through the work, and we’ve gone through life together. Those experiences helped us grow and evolve into soulmates and allowed us to keep our eyes open to the various frustrations that come with marriage and relationships.
My Recommendation
I’ve read every Sally Hepworth book and definitely recommend all of them. Even The Soulmate. It was good, even if it wasn’t my favorite. The parts with Amanda were my favorites, because they were what really pushed the story forward. I hope you’ll head over to Amazon or your favorite retailer to buy this book!
I’m Interested! Take me to Amazon to purchase The Soulmate!
Conclusion
Have you read any books by Sally Hepworth? I hope you have, and I hope you read more! I’ve read almost all of them, and while The Soulmate was my least favorite, I’ll still recommend it along with all the others. Start with The Good Sister, for sure!
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Until Next Time, Friends!
