Thank you so much St. Martin Press for providing me an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review of The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth.

This was my first book by this author, and I am not excited to read more from her.

This book starts out with Gabe and Pippa in their cute cottage near "the cliff" and their 2 little girls. Gabe is a great guy; he was recently spotlighted for talking many people down from the cliff. You see, the cliff is a well-known spot for people to commit suicide. One night while in the kitchen, Pippa spots a woman at the cliff. She immediately phones the police while Gabe runs out to try to help her.

As Pippa watches from the kitchen window, it only takes a moment for her to take her eyes off the scene; when she looks back, the woman is gone. Gabe is in a compromising position, and she's not sure if he pushed the woman off the cliff or if she jumped. How well do you really know your soulmate?

What I loved about this book was the alternating POVs between Amanda and Pippa, but the past and the present. Seeing life from beyond the grave was a great addition. I don't think I've ever read a book with a viewpoint from the deceased. Amanda's POV allows the reader to watch everything unfold, almost in real time. I also loved the short chapters; they really kept me wanting to read more. I binged this book in less than 24 hours and found myself wanting to come back for more. Every time I thought I had something figured out, I soon found out I was wrong. I really enjoyed the ending. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, there isn't much that surprises me, but this ending was a shocker. It was a bit underwhelming, but it really fit the book.

The author did a great job showing how mental illness not only affects the individual, but those around them. I found those parts to be very informative and they added value to the book. It was almost like getting inside of Gabe's head without having his POV directly in the story.

It was really fun trying to piece this mystery together. There wasn't really anything that I can pinpoint that I didn't not enjoy in this book. Other than making me want to immediately buy all of Sally Hepworth's books!

While reading this book I literally went through so many emotions. There was shock, gasping, some laughs, and I really felt bad for all those involved...all the way down to little Asha. Gabe and Pippa had a wonderful support system and having the familial ties was also a great addition. This was just such a great, well-rounded book. It really touched on so many topics.

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. I think it would be a great book for those who do not read thrillers often as well as those who absolutely love thrillers.

Overall, I gave this book 5 stars out of 5. I can't wait to read more from this author.

After falling in love with much of Sally's writing before turned to thrillers and really enjoying both The Mother-In-Law as well as The Good Sister, I have really not enjoyed The Younger Wife or this one. This book had so much good quality build up and suspense to see exactly how all of the characters were going to fit together only to be completely underwhelmed in the end. It is so incredibly frustrating to see, especially from an author that I know has the ability to make greater work. I'm sorry but that's just my honest opinion.

The Soulmate – Sally Hepworth

Star rating – 3.75

Thank you NetGalley, Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

So, this book was unpredictable to say the least, there were lots of twists, tragic love stories and unique perspective on the classic mystery/thriller. The book had multiple POV with one of them being the person who died seeing the world before and after her death. I thought this was a neat perspective that you don’t see very often. I really enjoyed the writing style in this book, but I didn’t find this book to be the most exciting. I wasn’t on the edge of my seat the whole way through, but it was interesting enough that I wanted to keep reading. Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot, if you are looking for an easy read this one is for you.

(Trigger Warnings: Mental Health, Addictions and Suicide)

Synopsis:
Gabe and Pippa bought their dream home on a beautiful coastal town, but their house is located near the infamous drop. The drop is where many people come to end their lives. Time after time Gabe is able to talk people away from this terrible spot. Until one day he doesn’t save someone, and when Pippa discovers he knew the victim she starts to become suspicious of this event.

By now I’ve read a handful of Sally Hepworth books, and I while I wouldn’t say I’ve LOVED them, I’ve LIKED all of them enough that she’s an author that I’ll keep reading.

This one checked all the boxes for me:
✔️It was a quick read. The chapters were very short and I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I read the second half in a day, which for me is very fast.
✔️It was twisty and while I thought I was guessing what was going to happen, I never really knew.
✔️Like her other books, it was just very readable and entertaining. A great escape read.

I think I kept my expectations lower because I’d seen a variety of reviews, so that probably helped because overall it felt like a perfect weekend (last weekend) read! I was satisfied. And a major takeaway? Don’t buy a house near a cliff!

The Soulmate is my second book by Sally Hepworth and it is such a fun ride. The story alternates between characters as well as timelines (past and present) so it really keeps you on your toes. The chapters are very short and I found myself reading a lot more than I planned at a sitting as one more chapter quickly turned into five or six.

The suspense and pacing of the story kept me devouring page after page. The writing is compelling and the characters are very engaging. In fact, it is the relationships between the characters that are what is at the heart of The Soulmate. Essentially, it revolves around two couples - Gabe/Pippa and Max/Amanda. The secrets and lies were well constructed and I was most definitely surprised where the story went. The Soulmate will make for a great beach read this summer! Thank you to St. Martin’s Tess and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sally Hepworth is a favorite author, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of The Soulmate from Netgalley. I was drawn in immediately to this domestic suspense novel, and as usual, Hepworth's writing kept me hooked.

Pippa and Gabe seem like the picture-perfect couple. Gabe is handsome and dedicated to his two young daughters. Pippa is an attorney full-time while Gabe cares for the girls at home. The family lives in view of a well-known suicide location, and Gabe has attained local celebrity by managing to talk down several people from jumping from the cliff. One night, Pippa witnesses a woman jump, and Gabe was right there, seemingly unable to convince her to reconsider her actions. However, as the police investigate, Pippa realizes that they knew the woman. What if her husband is not the saint she thinks he is after all?

This book was full of twists, and I loved the dual perspectives between Pippa and Amanda. The whole book I wondered who was lying, and why. Gabe became extremely unlikable as the novel progressed, and I often wanted to shake some sense into Pippa. However, I liked how the drama unfolded and I raced through the pages to learn what really happened on that cliff. I thought the title of the book was very clever, as both main couples believed they married their soulmates, until realizing that they didn't really know their significant others as well as they thought.

A Cliff - Gabe and Pippa live in a house that overlooks a cliff
An Accident - and Gabe has actually thwarted quick a few attempts of people jumping off. Until one night, he doesn’t and he claims it was an accident.
Identity - Pippa then realizes that the identity of the jumper is familiar to her. Why did she jump? And was it truly an accident?

This book jumps between the past and present as well as both chapters from Pippa’s point of view, and Amanda’s the woman who jumped. It was kind of a slow burn but when you start to see how different perceptions can form into misconceptions, it is comes together eventually. It’s not totally shocking but it does have twists.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. This one was just okay for me. Just an average domestic thriller. I think I was expecting something different than what it was and that might have been part of the problem. I kept expecting something specific and more exciting to happen and it never did. There were a lot of twists—like every time you thought there couldn’t be another twist, there was another one. But all of the characters were pretty unlikeable and really not very interesting, and that made the twists not that interesting to me, either.

"Goes to show how dangerous it can be, thinking that you know someone." This quote stuck with me as I was reading "The Soulmate." The premise was intriguing: Pippa and Gabe live with their two girls in a home overlooking a cliffside that is known for being a suicide spot. Gabe has become a hero for talking numerous people out of jumping, but then a mysterious woman arrives and the course of their lives changes. As the story unfolds, you learn more about each of the main characters. There were many surprises I wasn't expecting and you realize that each character has secrets they are hiding that changed my perspective on how they were represented at the beginning. I was really looking forward to this new Sally Hepworth book, and I was not disappointed! Overall, it was an engaging book and I would recommend it to any fan of this author. It was not my favorite book of Sally Hepworth's, but it was an interesting read.

I will always read everything by this author because I have loved all of her books, and this one is no different. I was invested immediately and intrigued throughout the entire thing, which I finished in a day.

Pippa lives a charmed life – handsome husband, two beautiful little girls, a close relationship with her parents and sister, and a gorgeous cliffside home in a small town in Australia, overlooking the ocean. The only problem is that their cliffs are a notorious suicide spot for people set on ending their lives. Whenever this happens, her husband Gabe goes out to the cliffs to talk the distressed person out of it – and so far, he’s always been successful. Until one night he isn’t. Pippa finds out later that the woman who jumped is someone who Gabe knew – a fact he neglected to mention to anyone, including the police, including Pippa herself. And if he was hiding that secret... what else might he be hiding?

The story is told from Pippa’s point of view, but also from Amanda’s - the woman who died, telling her side of the story after her death. They both are unreliable narrators in a way, keeping their secrets close and letting bits of key information go slowly, in ways that totally reframe what you thought was happening in passages before. Pippa is especially unreliable in that she has this relentlessly rosy view of her husband which is slowly chipped away. The audience only gets the whole picture once she is able to see him clearly.

This is a solid, fast-paced thriller with plenty of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Definitely worth reading.

Representation: Lesbian characters, POC characters, mentally ill and neurodivergent characters

CW: suicide, infidelity, severe mental illness

This was a slow burn of a novel that I really enjoyed. I did not like Pippa’s d-bag of a husband and his crazy antics so that took away from the story at times. I did not understand why Pippa stayed with him! I liked that as the story went on more and more was I woven to show the dysfunction and secrets. The twists at the end were brilliant!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for access to this ARC.

Sally Hepworth always knows how to spin a crazy domestic thriller and I am here for it! Gabe and Pippa's dream home is a amazing cottage situated on a cliff. The cliff is a terrible drop and a known suicide-watch-spot. Gabe has, in fact, talked 7 people off the cliff (literally). Until the one he doesn't save. Pippa discovers that Gabe knew the victim. So what actually happened? Did she fall or jump, or did Gabe push her? Would Gabe lie?
This novel is told in 2 different POVs, one being Pippa's and the other is Amanda Gerard's, the victim.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

I loved this one! For sure a 5 star for me. It has everything I want in a psychological thriller, which is my favorite genre: short chapters, multiple point of views, an ideal setting, twists and turns, and a heavy guessing game. I can't believe this was my first book by this author but I am immediately adding Sally to my auto-buy author list! Trigger warnings: bipolar disorder, depression, infidelity.

Unreliable narrators are typically my jam. I love trying to piece together what the truth and motivation is behind a character's actions. The Soulmate gave me all of the unreliable narrators and I have to admit that even I was in shock by some of the revelations. The time-jumping was a little confusing to me and factored in to my overall rating of the book. But overall, a solid thriller.

This one has lots of twisty turns and "I didn't see that coming!s" It was a fun ride.

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

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth is a novel about marriage, secrets, and drama. Gabe and Pippa have unknowingly moved into a new home with a dark history. They live near a cliff that has become a popular spot for people contemplating ending their lives. Gabe has developed a special knack for helping these people come back from the cliff. Until one day...Read and enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Soulmate lands solidly within the title/genre of 'domestic suspense'. This book shares two POVs- one from Amanda and the other from Pippa as well as alternates between past and current timelines. Telling the story of what lead to a suspicious suicide and all the tangles that lies can create in a marriage.

This book captures the reader's attention very quickly. I picked it up while reading a few others- just to read a few pages and get a sense of the vibe- and before I knew it I was 50 pages in. The author gives little clues spaced out between chapters of current fallout and the balance is something that keeps you basically at the edge of your seat.

Twists in thrillers have to have such a precarious balance for me. While I love them, they have the ability to go wrong for me so quickly. There was one particular twist that just ended up making me a bit angry at several of the characters and really adds an element of tragedy to the couples. I don't usually end up crying in thrillers but one of my favorite parts of this book was how a couple truly can be soulmates and how that doesn't necessarily look like we think it should. (and that sometimes you aren't soulmates at all)

This was a quick and entertaining read. I really enjoyed the unraveling of all the secrets and the writing was well done.

Gabe and Pippa move to a house that is an infamous spot in town- seemingly where people go when life becomes too much for them and they want to take it all away. Normally, Gabe is able to talk them down from the ledge (literally), yet this time he fails to stop a woman from becoming the next victim of the cliffs. Pippa, watching from her house and distracted with wrangling the kids, is sure that the woman jumped. But then she isn't quite sure once she realizes that it wasn't just any woman who went off the cliff- it was someone known to her and to Gabe. Told in alternating voices of Pippa and of the deceased woman, nothing is as perfect as it appears to be.

Holy lies, batman..the secrets, the betrayal and the DECEIPT. The short chapters allowed the pacing to continue rapidly and I felt I finished this in the blink of an eye. I thought that there were some spots that could've been edited out that maybe didn't pertain to the storyline or plot, but didn't necessarily deter from it. Following both Pippa and the woman who went off the cliff was an interesting take since it still brought us to the past and present for BOTH of those. It's been a while since I read a narrative from the 'other side'. I will say that I don't know if I would classify this as a thriller, it had elements of one but it was almost more of a mystery to me. The ending had me gasping out loud and I really thought it was perfect for THIS story when brought all together. I can say I typically don't like the way books end in this manner, but Hepworth did it justice IMO.

Overall I would recommend, but would caution that it is more mystery than thriller and includes sensitive topics like mental health and suicide.


(I was granted both the audio and digital versions of this ARC- same reviews posted for both, & the audio version was lovely and the narrator was great!)

What I loved about this book was the complex story line that made it so interesting and unique. The characters were so well developed as well I felt I knew them intimately.
Amanda dies at the beginning by a fall off a cliff. Did she jump? Was it an accidental fall? Or did she commit suicide and jump off as Gabe claims as the one who was with her says.
Gabes wife Pippa loves and supports everything Max says and does.
Gabe works for Max who is Amanda's husband so as you can see, things are very enmeshed.
The story is told from each person s pov even Amanda's.

I want to thank St Martin's Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.