This was my first book I've read by Sally Hepworth and I will be reading more of her books! Each chapter ended on a cliffhanger that made you resist putting down the book. I enjoyed how the book openly shared mental health issues in a way that helps us understand not everything is black and white, and sometimes we are enablers to our loved ones. I thought this book had a good ending and is a reminder to us all that we are stronger than we think. This book was a quick read and kept me guessing!

Who needs a soulmate in life when you can just read novels by Sally Hepworth?! Once again, Sally Hepworth has written a novel that kept me wanting more and more with each page! I could not turn the pages fast enough, and the short chapters with multiple twists and turns made this book even more enjoyable.

The Soulmate has two main POV’s that go back and forth. We have Pippa (Now), and we have Amanda (After). The weaving of characters back and forth was done flawlessly, along with their spouse’s stories. Every time I thought I had this story figured out, something else would pop up and I would be thrown for another loop.

In this book there are also many topics that are included such as marriage, infidelity, mental issues, suicide, loss of family… quite a few issues actually. Somehow they all pertained to this story without making the author look like she was just trying to throw in a bunch of social/personal issues that go on in the world right now. Everything blended in nicely and made for a thrilling story!

My only gripe however (I know, Boo!), is that I’m left a little underwhelmed with the ending. I think I was expecting something quite different. Had this book ended and went a different way (as to what I had pictured in my mind), I think I would have went with the full five stars. Otherwise, this is a great read and I highly recommend reading this book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of The Soulmate. Publication date is April 4, 2023.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC of @sallyhepworth’s new novel. This was the perfect book to wrap up summer reading. I always enjoy Hepworth’s novels because they are part family drama and part thriller mystery. This was a page turner that keeps you guessing through the whole book. Trigger warning for suicide.

Gabe and Pippa moved to a house on the cliffs to get away. However, it is not as idyllic as they expected because people keep coming to the cliffs to jump off. Gabe is always the one to talk them down with his charismatic charm until one day, a woman jumps and he is unable to save her. If sends their lives into a tailspin because it soon comes out that Gabe has a connection to her. This leads to a series of twists and turns and Gabe goes into a mental breakdown.
#netgalley #thrillers #thrillerbooks #bookstagram #bookrecommendations

Loved this book!

A husband and wife and their children move into a house upon a cliff. Apparently, this cliff is well known for suicides. As people come to jump, the husband is able to talk them down and save their lives - until the one time he is not able.

The book starts out with the perfect family and the husband - wow, i wanted to marry him...

Then you find out that he knew the woman that jumped. Then you start to see the cracks in the marriage... And the suspense and the twists just continue to build.

I won't say more about the plot because I dont want to give anything away. But I loved the characters and the writing and the pacing. I kept saying "one more chapter" or "wait, what? I need to see what happens next" until I finished the book in one night..

I will be telling my friends to read this.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

“There’s a cottage on a cliff.
Gabe and Pippa’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesn’t.
When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral... Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?
And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate . . . lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.
I really enjoyed Sally’s upcoming novel, The Soulmate.
This is told between dual characters- Pippa, Gabe’s wife, and Amanda, the dead women who jumped.
The characters were all super unlikeable honestly- the women are doormats to their husbands behavior but it was truly a really good twisted book. Nothing I didn’t see coming but still really well done. Sally writes her stories and they become addicting! I enjoy reading what she has masterminded!
The ending really nailed it for me. I won’t say too much but it was perfect for how I was feeling.

Wow! So many twists that I did not see coming! This book was a page turner for sure!!! I loved the dual female POV’s and the dual timelines. This was very well written! And the ending….left me speechless!! I definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a face paced, suspenseful drama!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s publishing for allowing me to read this advanced copy!

Wow, Sally Hepworth has written another stunning, fast paced book that I absolutely couldn’t put down!

Pippa and Gabe are a married couple living by the sea, with a cliff known as The Drop in their backyard. The Drop is known as a popular place for people to commit or attempt suicide. The book begins as Pippa spots a woman standing close to the edge and Gabe goes to speak with her and attempt to bring her to safety. I won’t tell you what happens next, as this is a spoiler free zone!

The story is told from two viewpoints, with chapters taking place in both the past and present. Chapters are short and make you want more of each character’s story. You think you’ll read just one more chapter and suddenly you are finishing the book and wanting to read it all over again. There are plot twists, secrets, and suspicious characters galore.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth, and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I would highly recommend this exciting read!

Easing slowly from a panic attack is a mental battle known far too well by far too many.

The Soulmate starts pulling on the long thread of life in which the unraveling becomes a daily activity. Remaining strong at all costs is a 24/7 personal lighthouse that is both exhausting and mindboggling.

Pippa and Gabe Gerard have moved from the demands of Melbourne to Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula of Australia. They have two adorable young daughters, Freya and Asha, so close in age that they are regularly mistaken for twins.

The home that they recently purchased has spectacular views and sits on the pinnacle of a cliff with a deep, deep rocky drop below. They wrestled with the danger of it all, but the beauty won them over. The little girls were constantly cautioned not to go anywhere near the edge.

But the message of caution was the very thing that drew individuals to the site. It became known as The Drop to those wishing to end their miseries. And Gabe soon becomes known as a hero to the local police and rescue squads. He's talked people out of ending their life time and time again. His soft-spoken demeanor draws them from the edge. But this time it just didn't work out.

A forlorn woman stands near the ledge on a windy cold day. Pippa watches through the window. She's already called the police. Gabe speaks in hushed tones to the woman, but the woman flips backwards and plunges into the abyss. Pippa watches Gabe's hands. Was this an accident or are her eyes deceiving her? Oh, Baby, let the static electricity end up zappin' your innards. Yikes!

This is my fifth Sally Hepworth novel. She tends to shift the tides each time. And that unraveling life thread will take on a new center of gravity in that cottage by that cliff. Let's face it. Standing that close to inevitable death takes a toll. Pippa begins seeing it in Gabe. Gabe has been diagnosed with ADHD years ago. His moods swing. He's had umpteen jobs in the past years unlike lawyer Pippa. But Pippa realizes that there is a definite change in Gabe. And what she is experiencing has her on her own edge.

Hepworth sets this story up with "Then and Now" chapters. We even have the voice of the dead Amanda who will have quite the impact in this story. This can be a tedious technique when implemented, but it does serve the purpose of filling in the gaps from each of the character's perspectives. We begin to understand motivation and the instability of heavy lies and deception. There's built-in hyperventilation as Hepworth reveals dark corners. Life looks far different when standing on the ledge peering down below at the jagged rocks. Double WoWzers!

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Sally Hepworth for the opportunity.

Sally Hepworth's books are consistently among the best in this genre, and her newest novel is no exception. The Soulmate, an unputdownable domestic thriller, is told with alternating POVS and past and present timelines. There are several good twists and surprises, but beyond those, the entire book is cleverly plotted and an overall fantastic read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this ebook for review consideration! All opinions are my own.

I was so excited to receive this because I love Sally Helpworth! And the premise looked fascinating right off the bat. I was immediately sucked in from the first chapter. This is a domestic thriller and, at first glance, it might not look all that enthralling. Strained marriages, secrets, affairs etc. So many books today are treading that territory down to the earth’s core by this point. But once you dig in to this one, you find that there is a lot more going on!

The layout of the chapters is very interesting. I suppose readers could find it confusing, but I personally found it pretty easy to follow. We jump between the present and the past, and follow two narrators: the main protagonist, and a woman who dies at the beginning of the book. I thought this style was really interesting since usually we are left to guess everything about the person who died. However, the deceased character is omniscient and follows those left behind as she gradually shares bits and pieces of her story without giving it all away at once.

Because of the flipping between timelines and characters, the chapters moved quickly and I stayed interested. I wanted to keep reading to get back to where the last character left off in each timeline! It was no surprise when I found myself 70% into the book in one day and finished it by 4 a.m. WHOOPS.

The main character is very forgiving of a man who puts her through hell, but the way this is written makes it very understandable. I could completely see how she could continue forgiving him and wanting to work hard to continue their lives together. I thought it was a very good representation of a toxic relationship when even I felt like I could be forgiving of this man to a point. With that said, the ending is very satisfying when our girl finally gets the autonomy she deserves.

Without including more spoilers, I'll say that the last twist of the book is possibly a bit implausible, but it didn't bother me in this case for some reason? I think it made sense once I considered that the coincidences leading up to it were all very much on purpose, so it wasn't just a freak occurrence.

My favorite Hepworth book is still The Good Sister and this isn't quite at that level, but this was excellent anyway! The ending was especially satisfying.

Sally does it again. Incredible book. This book absolutely draws you in from the first page and keeps it going until the masterful ending. Highly recommend!

Sally Hepworth has a great writing style to making a mystery novel. I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on and it had what I wanted from a mystery/thriller book. I enjoyed the plot of the book and getting to know the characters in it. I was invested in what was going on and got what I wanted from this book. I can't wait to read more from Ms. Hepworth.

"The walls in the house are thinner than I’d realized. As I lie in bed, I hear the familiar domestic noises with startling clarity—arguments between the girls, negotiations between Mum and Asha about what healthy food she must consume before she’s allowed to eat one of the Freddo frogs that Mum always keeps in her handbag. "

She has done it again! Two couples whose lives are intertwined but not in the way you expect. There is a death and we get her insight...told through Amanda and Pippa...before and after. Love and marriage, loyalty and fidelity. Loved the whole story with an ending that is not expected.
Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Gabe and Pippa Gerard live with their two preschool-aged daughters in a quaint beach cottage with a beautiful view… and a dangerous cliff. People go to The Drop to end their own lives. But Gabe—a handsome and charismatic investor relations executive turned stay-at-home dad—has been able to talk people away from the edge. Until Amanda Cameron.

“The Soulmate” is told from two perspectives and different timelines. The points of view alternate between wills and estates lawyer Pippa and society wife Amanda, between Then and Now for the work-from-home mum and between Before and After the drop for the well-off older woman. Yes, after the drop—Amanda is narrating her part of the story from a purgatory-like state. From the women’s viewpoints and the time jumps, readers learn about their lives, their respective husbands, the events leading up to that fateful day, and inevitably the couples’ connections to each other. Pieced together, the story asks: What are you willing to do for your soulmate? What is the foundation of your relationship? And what can break it apart?

The novel is suspenseful, with twists and turns and unexpected reveals. If you’re in the mood to devour a domestic thriller in one or two sittings, something atmospheric but not too dark, this is a good option. But it is not without flaws. This is the fourth novel I’ve read by Sally Hepworth and while it has a stronger storyline and conclusion than “The Younger Wife,” it doesn’t quite match the thrill level and character quality of “The Good Sister” and “The Mother-in-Law.” The last act also seems rushed and lacking emotional payoff—a bit disappointing when you spend many chapters watching two women give their all to relationships and getting comparatively little in return.

Still, it’s an enjoyable novel and I can see many people packing it in their bags for their own coastal getaways. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. My review was posted online on August 25, 2022 to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4812122637.

I have quickly become a huge Sally Hepworth fan. This book had a lot to live up to because The Good Sister was one of my favorite reads. I was not disappointed. Twists and surprises throughout the book but done in a way that they were believable and not too much. I enjoyed the changes of perspective between the living and the dead. Great character development, along with a great story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth. Ms. Hepworth’s books are always well-written, fun reads. The Drop was a great setting for the book, but I’m not sure why there weren’t guardrails! Of course, with Gabe there to talk people down maybe that was enough (until it wasn’t). It was frustrating that the men ruled the roost and the women just put up with them, and I never felt any real emotion between either of the couples. I liked Amanda’s perspective because she knew so much. At the end everything came together but I wish there had been more clues about a few things. If you love a good twist, this book is for you! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book was very suspenseful and plot driven. There were many plot twists and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened.

Thank you Netgalley!! I was so excited to get this book. It was absolutely wonderful…couldn’t put it down. Sally Hepworth is an amazing author and none of her books disappoint. This book had a little bit of everything in it: psychological thriller, mystery, romance, some humor and really made me think about life, marriage, divorce and mental illness. Enjoy readers!!

Thank you Netgalley!! I was so excited to get this book. It was absolutely wonderful…couldn’t put it down. Sally Hepworth is an amazing author and none of her books disappoint. This book had a little bit of everything in it: psychological thriller, mystery, romance, some humor and really made me think about life, marriage, divorce and mental illness. Enjoy readers!!

Thank you Netgalley!! I was so excited to get this book. It was absolutely wonderful…couldn’t put it down. Sally Hepworth is an amazing author and none of her books disappoint. This book had a little bit of everything in it: psychological thriller, mystery, romance, some humor and really made me think about life, marriage, divorce and mental illness. Enjoy readers!!