Soul Hate introduces a compelling “soulhate” concept—fated enemies bound together—set in a richly built fantasy world. While the slow-burn romance and unique premise draw you in, the plot becomes somewhat predictable and the protagonist’s arc lacks sharpness. With likable characters and immersive world building, it’s a solid pick for Romantasy fans, though readers wanting deeper twists might wish for more.

3.25 Stars.

Soul Hate is a solid start to what feels like a very ambitious romantasy series. I really enjoyed the unique concept — soulmates have been done to death, so the idea of soulhates (people fated to destroy each other) instantly caught my attention. Renza and Idris have great tension and chemistry, and there were definitely a few twists I didn’t see coming.

The pacing was strong throughout, and I liked how the political plotline intertwined with the central “fated enemies” angle. It kept the stakes high and the story moving. The characters, especially Idris, were compelling, and I found myself rooting for them — even when the romance took a major backseat.

That said, the prologue didn’t add much for me. It felt like an info dump about the gods and fates, and I think that lore could have been introduced more organically. Similarly, while the world had Ancient Greece/Rome vibes, it was hard to pin down — some modern language and references made it feel a bit inconsistent.

Renza could be frustrating at times (some of her choices had me internally yelling), and I wish the romance had been more developed between her and Idris, especially since their dynamic is such a big draw. But overall, I had fun with this book. It’s not a new favorite, but I’d definitely continue with the series.

A compelling premise, decent twists, and a slow burn that leaves you curious for more — Soul Hate isn’t perfect, but it’s a fab debut with real potential.

I loved this book. I was utterly hooked from the very beginning.
Full of action. A great fast-paced romantasy storyline.
Definitely a must-read. Can't wait for the next one.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. I really liked the concept but the writing made it hard to settle in to the story.

So Renza is basically crushing it as the youngest leader Halice has ever seen. She's working her ass off to make her city proud and finally get out from under her dad's shadow. Then boom – her whole life gets flipped when she meets Idris Patricelli.

Like, it would be bad enough that this guy is her biggest political rival, but nope, the universe decided to play the cruelest joke ever. Turns out Idris is her Soulhate – literally the ONE person she's destined to destroy. Every time she's around him, she's fighting this primal urge to just rip the dude's throat out.

While the rumour mill goes into overdrive and people start questioning if she can even lead anymore, Renza's scrambling to save her reputation. But fate's like "lol not done with you yet" – and now she's gotta figure out who in her inner circle isn't plotting against her when she can barely trust herself not to commit murder.

The whole Soulhate thing is actually a pretty cool twist on the whole soulmate concept. Instead of giving people just someone to love, fate's also handed out a designated enemy. Sounds like the perfect setup for some juicy enemies-to-lovers romantasy, right? But honestly it kinda falls flat.
In this world, when you find your Soulhate, you're basically expected to fight to the death. But here's the problem – there's zero backstory. Like, WHY do these souls hate each other? There's no ancient feud, no family history, no "you killed my father, prepare to die" moment. They don't even have some misunderstanding where they think the other person did something awful. They just hate each other because... fate said so? That's it?
It's not even a Romeo and Juliet situation with family drama. It's just "the universe says you two should murder each other, so get to it!" Kinda takes the emotional punch out of the whole thing, you know?

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Soul Hate is a YA fantasy romance debut that offers a solid start, with a compelling premise and a few surprising twists. While it doesn’t break new ground in the genre, it’s a respectable first novel and shows real promise.

The story begins with an intriguing prologue that sets the tone and introduces a captivating premise: political rivals bound by a supernatural curse, destined to destroy one another. Renza (the FMC) and Idris (the MMC) are “soulhates”, forced to work together to prevent rising tensions and an impending war. I appreciated that this story doesn’t lean into the overused “soulmate” trope. Instead, it offers a unique twist with the soulhate concept, maintaining a level of mystery and ambiguity that keeps the reader engaged.

The worldbuilding is solid and suits the story well. I especially enjoyed Renza’s character — she’s caught between fate and free will, and her determination to carve her own path adds emotional depth. The political elements mesh well without overwhelming the plot.

However, the character development overall felt limited. By the end, many characters seemed repetitive or flat. Despite this, I did enjoy the banter and slow-burning angst between the main characters. There were also two plot twists that genuinely caught me off guard, which was a refreshing surprise.

I wasn’t aware this was the first in a series, so the ending felt abrupt, leaving me with more questions than answers. It wasn’t quite satisfying as a standalone, but it certainly sets the stage for book two.

There were hints of historical fantasy, with Roman and Ancient Greek influences, but unfortunately, these elements weren’t fully realized. The book reads more modern in tone, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it felt like a missed opportunity. The prologue introduces a rich mythology of gods and goddesses, but that lore is mostly forgotten afterward. I would’ve loved to see the characters explore that mythology more — doing research, finding clues, or interacting with divine elements would’ve added more depth and “fantasy” to the story.

The pacing was inconsistent. The first 30–40% felt quite juvenile, with heavy info-dumping and little character interaction. I found it difficult to ground myself in the world and cast early on, as we were mostly inside Renza’s head rather than seeing her engage with others. The middle of the book picks up nicely, feeling more in line with typical YA fantasy, while the last 20% rushes forward at breakneck speed. It created a bit of a whiplash effect — some parts dragged while others felt too rushed.

Overall, Soul Hate has a strong concept, some compelling moments, and clear potential. With more character depth and a tighter grip on pacing, future installments could be even more impressive.

I unfortunately had to dnf. I thought the concept was really cool but the delivery was not what I expected.

Well, that was unhinged. In the best way possible. And completely what I was not expecting, also in the best way possible. Highly recommend.

Very interesting world and political system. I enjoyed the book but felt it was a bit rushed towards the end. Overall, a good read.

I really enjoyed this book and was so excited to receive this ARC.
I loved the action and the intricacies of the background information and how it paved the way forward through the book.
The writing was very well done and it kept me so immersed throughout the story.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of Soul Hate to review.

The premise and prologue of this was super interesting; as well as having a soul mate the people of Halice have a Soulhate, someone who you can't help but hate beyond all reason. I was excited to see how this dynamic would work in a book, but I was quite disappointed by how it was actually portrayed.

We follow Renza di Maineri, one of the elected officials that rule over the city of Halice at only 18 years old. She's dedicated to her city and dreams of coming out of her father's shadow in the senate. When a horrible tragedy strikes, she discovers her Soulhate, Idris Patricelli, and has to learn to work with him despite her deep hatred for him.

Unfortunately I didn't much care for this one at all. I didn't connect to any of the characters, and I couldn't understand why Renza was an elected senate member at such a young age. She didn't make the best decisions through the course of this book, so her being a member of the senate was just inconceivable to me.

The romance in this one was interesting as well, the vast majority of the book was Renza falling for her childhood friend instead of her Soulhate, as was promised. Renza and Idris barely spoke outside of shouting and wanting to kill each other until maybe 60% in where they needed to start working together, and their sudden shift from wanting to kill each other to having nicer feelings happened out of nowhere. Their romance just wasn't believable to me and I didn't care for it.

Also, I believe this book is marketed as YA, but there are two scenes of a sexual nature that are quite well explained. Like it's not closed door or anything like that, so it's weird that this is marketed as YA. It definitely read YA, but having those sex scenes was a little strange to me. This is also marketed as a romantasy but I don't think it fits into that category, as the romance wasn't a huge highlight and the fantasy elements aren't explored very well. This felt more like a political drama set in a kind of fantasy world with a little bit of romance.

Overall this just wasn't for me, which is super unfortunate as I'd hoped to enjoy the premise when reading the synopsis.

The prologue chapter was the only interesting part about this book. I really thought it would be a hit since that hooked me really fast but it lost me quickly after that.

The plot was very predictable and boring. It being marketed as YA is misleading bc though yes it reads like a YA novel, there was content that was notttt YA. And it was the most unnecessary scene too like it just felt very odd to me.

I liked the mmc a lot. He’s cute. The fmc was okay but I couldn’t find it in myself to really care about her? The chemistry and romance between them didn’t feel forced but it felt rushed and clumsy. There wasn’t any finesse to it.

Overall just didn’t feel any connection to this book whatsoever.

ೃ⁀➷ Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC ♥︎

This book took me a bit to get hooked into, but by the end I was in. I was a bit confused by the relationship between Renza and Nouis, especially how she didn't see everything more clearly, but love does strange things. I think the pacing was a bit off towards the end, but I think that's the nature of the book, especially after doing some worldbuilding at the top. If this is a series, I'd definitely be interested in a second book.

Great cover and great story: good storytelling, right mix of fantasy and romance, fleshed out characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book had me gripped from the first page. The thrilling story is woven between carefully crafted descriptions of places, atmospheres and characters that transport you into the story. A very clever play on the ‘fated mates’ trope that keeps you in your toes the whole way through. Soul Hate is a brilliant debut and an absolute gem of a read.

A refreshingly original twist on the fated mates trope, turning destined enemies into reluctant allies amid rich political intrigue. While the romance simmers slowly in the background, the clever world-building and sharp tension between characters make this a compelling and unique debut

GUYS! How have we never thought about the opposite of a soulmate before???

Hannah delivers your destined enemy perfectly! If you enjoy books with strong political intrigue, this one is definitely for you! The fantasy and romance elements take the back seat at times but I actually found that to be a refreshing change of pace.

This is a fast-paced romantasy with an interesting twist on the idea of fated mates. Renza is a leader in her community, and Idris is her soul hate and political rival. When a devastating event puts their city in crisis, they find themselves working together despite their unfiltered hatred for each other, and what follows is a real romp through their efforts to thwart a coup.

This was a really easy book to become immersed in as the action and intrigue come thick and fast. I loved both Renza and Idris, and I flew through the pages to get to each of their interactions. Their banter and developing relationship has so much potential, and I can't wait to see how it unfolds in the future! Between the unfolding drama and the promise of romance, I flew through it in a day, so I'd say it was definitely a winner.

i found the premise of soul hate really interesting. i liked that there are both soulmates and soulhates. i'm not keen on soulmates, i have a lot of issues with them in general, but i was excited by the concept of soulhates, and especially how the characters overcome the difficulties this poses to them.

i found the plot lacking. it was boring for the most part, right up until the end. it's very political (where i love political books, this one was just boring), and lacked anything to speed the plot up. i was longing for some action or something.

the romance, being that this is a romantasy, was also really confusing. the first 40% or so is renza having a bit of a fling with someone else, and didn't focus at all on the main romance. because of this, i found there wasn't enough tension or longing to actually pull me through.

unfortunately this book wasn't for me, but i think there's an appropriate audience out there for it. this book had so much potential and ultimately failed to deliver for me.

I really wanted to love this book, the premise of having soul hates was such an interesting concept to me.
I felt like the soul hates part should have been more prominent, however it was dropped a bit to focus more on the political angle of the book.

I enjoyed the characters however did not know that the book would be such a slow burn, I wanted more between our two main characters.

The world building is okay, however did confuse me as the wording in the book was quite modern, vs the time period I understood it to be set in. I hope in the next books this will be rectified to reflect the world better.

All in all it was an okay read, I’m not sure I would be interested to read and sequels for this world though, unless everything mentioned above was tightened and improved.