I closed this book and just kinda went "hmm". There was no big huge jaw dropping twist. And honestly when it ended I felt a little unsatisfied. I was expecting more.

However, if I think back. to the other Hepworth books, they aren't jaw dropping, twisty turning thrillers- they are all more real life domestic drama. So maybe it was my mindset and expectations going into this read.

I didn't dislike it. I think I just thought it was going to be something more.But for what it was, it was interesting and page turning.

Gabe and Pippa have moved into their dream house on the coast. It also happens to be on the edge of a cliff, in a spot that is notorious for people jumping to their death. Gabe has gone out to talk people down several times, until one night, the woman he speaks to actually jumps. Pippa finds out that her husband knew the woman, and his story of what happened doesn’t add up. As Pippa tries to get to the truth, she begins to wonder if her husband - her soulmate - is the man she thought he was.

Another solid domestic thriller by Sally Hepworth! This story had me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning and kept me there til the very end. I loved the coastal setting, the unsettling vibes I got from the main characters, and I loved the supporting characters of Pippa’s family too. Told from dual perspectives, we get to see how Pippa and Gabe’s story began and how their history plays a part in their current life. As the layers were peeled back, each twist left me shocked.

Trigger warning: mental illness, suicide

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for the ARC! This book releases April 4, 2023.

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

Gabe and Pippa live in a gorgeous home, but one side of the yard backs to a cliff called "The Drop" - where people come to die by suicide. Gabe has become a local hero for talking people away from the ledge, but this time, a woman goes over the edge... and the woman, Amanda, is not a stranger, but someone Gabe knows. When Pippa realizes this, she wonders: what happened?! I loved this mystery and couldn't put it down. There were a bunch of interesting twists and turns, and the book is told from two POVs (Pippa and Amanda) to keep things moving. While I don't always love a beyond-the-grave perspective, this one felt realistic and balanced. There were a few somewhat far-fetched plot points, but I suppose that's to be expected in a suspense novel that contemplates murder. Overall, I loved it, especially the discussion around mental illnesses.

3.5⭐️ I was so excited for this, but it fell a little short for me! I was really interested in the beginning, but I felt like it was dragging a little by the end. The ending shocked me but I also wasn’t satisfied with the ending. However, still love this author and will continue to read what she comes out with! Thank you netgalley for the free copy!

Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
A great book! This is the first book by Sally Hepworth I've read. Soulmate was a wonderfully written to draw you into the story from the get go. The characters were likable and easy to connect with. Its another book of what's going on behind closed doors. You never know about someone's marriage till you see it. I would highly recommend this book. It is adventurous, suspenseful and keeps you hooked to the very end.

I received this complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley for a honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and mine alone.

“It goes to show how dangerous it can be, thinking that you know someone.”


In the acknowledgements, Sally Hepworth says she writes: “funny books about family and murder.”

This fits the other two Hepworth books I read: The Good Sister and The Younger Wife— both of which I thought were really good.

I also thought The Soulmate was really good but it didn’t have quite the same humor.

It was a fast read with a few twists, some more surprising than others. The ending wasn’t as satisfying as I was hoping for, but it was at least more resolved than her other books I’ve read which are a bit open-ended.

As I process the book after finishing, I look back at the slow reveal and see more and more the crumbs of information Hepworth left for us to discover.

In all three of these books, she tackles some bigger topics— The Good Sister has an autistic character, The Younger Wife has three characters with vices- stealing, eating, alcohol, and The Soulmate has its own thing it gives insight to (it’s a spoiler or I’d tell you). How it can affect a person and a marriage.

“The line between normal and not normal had always been so thin for him; sometimes I didn’t know if I was talking to a genius or a madman.”

“He had just enough magic to make him brilliant, but not so much that it sent him mad—unlike his brother.”

What does it take to be soulmates and can they weather a potential murder investigation?


Brief Summary

Gabe and Pippa are soulmates with the picture-perfect family and marriage.

Gabe is the animated and engaged father to their two little girls. He is the hero. The kind of husband you marry where it feels like a dream.

“He’s your classic run toward a burning building kind of guy… When people meet Gabe, they feel safe. Seen.”

They live near a cliff, famously known as The Drop, where people come to commit suicide. Since they moved in, however: “out of the seven souls who have come to the cliff since we moved in, seven have walked away. Gabe has saved them all.”

Until the one he didn’t.

Their lives start to unravel when a woman (Amanda) jumps? falls? is pushed? off the cliff and dies. Because she and Gabe knew each other. She was the wife of Gabe’s former boss (Max) at a job he was fired from. And Gabe withheld that information from the police.

What really happened on that cliff? Why was she there? Is Gabe hiding something? Who is he protecting?

Max is convinced Amanda wouldn’t have jumped. She was not suicidal and she knew how suicide had already taken two of his family members and affected him deeply. He is determined to figure out the truth. He has ‘connections’ and will use whatever means necessary to get it.

Through alternating chapters between Pippa (before and after) and Amanda (before and after) we start putting the pieces together. And things are not what they seem.


Comments

One thing I wasn’t sure whether I liked or not were the Amanda chapters. I think the ‘before’ chapters make sense. It gives us background to who she is and what her marriage to Max is like.

But after her death, in order for the reader to know what’s going on with Max and give us some more ‘insider’ information, Hepworth writes the ‘after’ chapters from Amanda’s POV after death. It’s as if she is floating around and observing the investigation into her death.

Which, in a way, is fitting for the title. But there were a few times where it didn’t make sense. One in particular was her observing and narrating what was happening between a phone conversation between Max and Gabe as if she could see both of them even though they were far away from each other. I guess there aren’t any established rules with the afterlife, so maybe omnipresence is acceptable.


I liked how Pippa has a really good relationship with her family and her parents. It’s a very supportive group and it’s nice to see that stability— that they take care of each other. Plus her parents are the ones that bring the humor in this book.


“According to Mum, ‘All little kids are psychos. It’s a necessary, important phase of growth.’”

I love how much Pippa loves her people, even when it’s hard. She’s a very forgiving person, perhaps to a fault. But it’s a nice difference from the tropes of unstable and paranoid women who hate being a mom.

There were a lot of parts of this book that were relatable in terms of being a parent and the familial reactions so I enjoyed that connection point.

A couple examples: reading their kids the book- The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We bought that book in London to read to our kids and it’s a favorite; the way their girls fight and talk about food; two of the characters took a trip to Bora Bora and a safari in Tanzania, both of which are trips we’ve been considering.


Recommendation

I really enjoy Sally Hepworth’s books. They have good suspense, good characters, some humor, and are pretty clean.

I definitely recommend this book and the other two I already mentioned.

If you’re looking for a thriller that will read quickly, this is it.



New words I Learned:

limerence- the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person, but typically nonsexually

‘Come on slowcoach’- the British version of slowpoke I guess?

doona- the Australian version of a down comforter

Freddo frogs- an Australian chocolate bar shaped like a frog

been on tenterhooks- another version of ‘on eggshells’; state of tension or anxiety



[Content Advisory: 7 f-words, 8 s-words; suicide; an LGBTQ couple]

**Received an ARC via NetGalley**

Hepworth knows how to weave a tale that keeps you guessing until the end. This has been such a highly anticipated read for me and I enjoyed it so much..

I enjoy the way Hepworth present these characters to you. I enjoyed the twists and turns and the absolute humanity. They were all flawed and real, doing not so good things for a good reasons. The intertwining of these two very different families, discovering the ways in which they were connected, and ultimately, the secrets they are each keeping, all against the backdrop of this noteworthy cliff side property, was just fantastic.

This is my first Sally Hepworth book and it found it to be okay. I didn’t love it nor hate it. I put it down a couple of times because I found the beginning to be a bit slow. The last third of the book is when the pace picked up and I couldn’t put it down. The characters were well developed, but I just felt as though something was missing throughout the book. Although I didn’t love this one, I will definitely read Hepworths backlist.

Thank you so much NetGalley for an advanced copy!

The Soulmate is told from dual POV and alternating time periods. I really enjoyed this format. The before timeframe provided so much back story to get to the point of someone jumping off of the cliff.

Pipa and Gabe moved into a cliff house and since then Gabe has been saving people from jumping. When one of "jumpers" is someone from their past the story really begins. Does Pipa really know her husband? There is a decent amount of suspense and a couple "what" moments in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy everything I've ever read by Sally Hepworth! This was no exception! I don't want to spoil anything, so please please please read this one to see for yourself!!

Sally Hepworth does a great job of weaving a story into an entangled web. Pippa and Gabe's relationship is complicated. Gabe's behavior is irratic and troubling at times, but Pippa stays devoted. The reader spends their time trying to unravel everything to find the truth. The plot was interesting and the ending really got me. I had so many feelings at the end, that I can't discuss without giving a spoiler. I'm still reeling a little because it wasn't what I expected. I give this book 4.25 stars.

A Soulmate, a partner, she can't imagine life without him. Life is perfect. Or so it seems at the start of the book. A house on the cliff. Sounds so wonderful. Except the cliff is known for suicides. Gabe has a way of talking people into giving life another chance, As the book progresses the details of Gabe and Pippa's life shows some cracks in the perfection. It really gives a look at marriage and relationships. How much do we overlook to keep the peace in a relationship? What a story! A good book.

Whoa, was I into this one. She just keeps getting better and better - this one sucked me right in and I wasnt' sure how it was all going to play out!

The Soulmate was a great book. It talks about family, trust, secrets and mental health.
I loved the fact that the chapters are short and kept me very into it.
It’s a really fast paced reading!

I really recommend this book.

Thank you so much for the advanced digital copy #NetGalley #St. Martin's Press

4.5 Stars!

Wow! I really enjoyed this one. Just when you thought you had something figured out, boom! Another twist in the story. Now if I could just get over that ending.

Thank you NetGalley for this e-book ARC. Hepworth is back!!! I was captivated and encompassed the entire 3/4 of the book! THEN, Hepworth took it a step further with a twist at the end of the story, I don’t think anyone will see it coming! I for sure didn’t. She was so slick at the end. I will continue to support her when I can. Mild sexual content. Mild swearing.

Pippa and her family have moved to a house on a cliff for a fresh start. Their house is next to an infamous drop where many people have come to end their lives over the years. Since living there, her husband, Gabe, has prevented multiple people from going over the edge. This all changes one day when a woman shows up on the cliff and then goes over the edge. At first, Pippa thinks it must just be a suicide, but she can't stop thinking about how her husbands' hands looked. And things get even more complicated when she learns the woman was the wife of Gabe's ex-boss.

I thought this was a decent thriller. I thought the bigger shocks for me were in the first ½, and then the second half was ok comparatively. It was easy to read though and a good family suspense/thriller book.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good domestic suspense. There's nothing groundbreaking here but it's a reliable, compelling read. The short chapters made it easy to keep reading.

Loved it! Sally does it again.
The house on the cliff …
The relationship builds …
The lies and immense love for family that bind …
The soulmate and all it’s beautiful drama makes for an addictive page turner.

THE SOULMATE review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

content warning: suicide

🌊Can we take a moment for this cover. 😮‍💨😮‍💨 I’m obsessed with it. The cover goes so well with the over all plot/storyline too. The queen of family dramas is back y’all. This is my fifth Hepworth book I’ve read and it’s tied for my second favorite of hers (tied w/ The Mother-in-Law, nothing will beat The Good Sister imo). I want to emphasize that this is a family drama, not a thriller. If you go in expecting thriller vibes you’ll be disappointed. But the secrets these family members keep, the twists and the turns the plot takes, this book was such a fun ride!

🌊Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Pippa and Gabe live in a home right off the coast of Australia. In their backyard is “the drop” where people jump to their deaths. Gabe has talked many people down off a literal cliff. One day Pippa sees a woman on the cliff’s edge, Gabe tries to save her but he’s too late. When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, she can’t help but wonder if Gabe had no intentions of saving her…

🌊The dual POVs in this story felt a tad confusing at first, but when they come together and you understand how the two storylines are connected you’ll be 🤯🤯. I loooooved the short 2-3 page chapters in this book. I truly wish more books were written this way!! This book really focuses on the theme of having a soulmate, and how far would you go to protect/lie for your soulmate?? The ending of this one was perfection imo. I’ve seen some mixed reviews for the ending but I truly wouldn’t have wanted it to end any other way! I have 3 more of Hepworth’s backlist that I haven’t read and I can’t wait to read them all in 2023!!

🌊This book publishes April 4, 2023! Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ARC!