⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

“Is love a choice or a force beyond our control?”

Starting this book, I was not expecting a less than 200 page poem about the philosophies of soulmates and is there a line to what you would do for your soulmate, good or evil.

Patrick is looking for a soulmate and finds himself at Chemical Souls, a company that helps you find your soulmate. There he meets, Margaret, and instead of feeling hopeful of finding a soulmate, he already feels like he has in Margaret.

The way that these two test the theories of different philosophers and what they thought of soulmate and just the way they talk to each other, its a deeper level of understanding the person you want to spend your life with. There is also obsession mixed into this. Patrick and Margaret are so obsessed with one another in this book. When I say it felt like I was reading a poem the whole, it’s bc of the way these two talked to each other, like they were trying to find the meaning of being with one another.

Patrick is intense and very matter of fact on what he wants: love, real true love. His feeling, you can feel them bc of the way they are described in this book. It felt like the whole book was hopeful was melancholic in the undertones. It made me feel both. I wanted Patrick to find his soulmate bc it felt unbearable to him to not have someone understand him on that level, to truly want him in all his facets. And Margaret was the same but it more acceptance instead of understanding. She wanted someone to accept her the way that she was.

Tropes:
🧪Dark romance
🔪Psychological suspense
🧪Obsession
🔪Trauma
🧪Dangerous love
🔪Twisted characters with secrets

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover and the description. By the time I read to 60% I felt like no progress had been made. The MMC needed a therapy sesh, not to find a soulmate.

First of all: this cover?? Made me immediately request a copy and drop everything I was doing to read this. The characters wearing gas masks as a metaphor for the two of them being some of the most toxic people?? Especially in romantic relationships?? Iconic.

The first couple chapters had me HOOKED. What a way to set up the story. And it had me binging this book to see how things played out.

One of my biggest challenges though with this book was the frequent switching of POVs with no indication that the POV switched, so I had to go back and reread sections multiple times to figure out whose perspective it was.

But! With that said! There were so many times that I was like “oh this is how it ends - I know exactly what’s going to happen” and this book HUMBLED me with all the twists and for that I say thank you. Cause that’s the core of a great book - I don’t want to predict the ending. Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced e-arc copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.❤️

I loved this book! This is a mixed media psychological thriller that follows the romance between Patrick and Margaret. I am not going to give more details about this book because I think you should go into this blind like I did. The reason why is because after I went back to read the synopsis, I was glad I went into it blind. The way this book is written, it is better to go into it blind so you can be more drawn into the story. I highly recommend you checking out this book. It will release on 11/1/2025. I am thankful to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to read the advanced copy of this book.

ARC review
Publication date 1 November 2025.

"Chemical Souls" by Roxana M. Rotaru is a dark, psychological romance.

I received an e-ARC from the author (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

What you can expect:
- morally gray characters
- obsession
- unreliable narrator
- multiple perspectives and timelines (nonlinear storytelling)
- tension

The cover and description got my attention and convinced me to read this book.
Even if it is a short read, the characters and story are well developed.
I liked the writing from the start. There is a dark atmosphere and a phycological tension that kept me intrigued.

If Patrick's obsession was hinted from the description, the twist about Margaret was unexpected.
They have an unhealthy connection and the story turns darker as you keep reading.

This is a story different to what I usually read and it is not a romance.
Still, I read it in one sitting and I would read more books form the author.

For fans of YOU, toxic obsessive love, character-driven plots, and ambiguous endings.

A very different approach to the soulmates trope, with lots of philosophical and psychological discussions.
I found the writing style a little dialogue-heavy, and while this is not my favorite style, I still enjoyed the idea behind this and found it well-written and unique.

The cover is spectacular.

It wasn't easy for me to get into the story and I found it hard to stick with it at first. But the premise is interesting and my curiosity was certainly sparked after the first few chapters.

The writing style itself is very beautiful and made reading much easier. The sentences seem well thought out, the concepts and different points of focus are interesting and often very aptly embedded. Sentence by sentence or paragraph by paragraph, there is a lot to think about. Nevertheless, it is difficult to recognise a continuous narrative flow, as the plot often seems bumpy and somewhat scattered.

Character development is definitely part of the story and also takes up a lot of space. However, the characters weren't really tangible or comprehensible for me. A lot of things seemed to be hinted at rather than clearly worked out, so I found it difficult to sympathise with the characters.

I found it easier to read after the first few chapters, mainly because of the small stories within the story and the writing style. The themes revolve around human experiences, the discrepancy between expectations and reality, and how one shapes and deals with one's own perceptions.

Some twists I saw coming, others surprised me, which gave the story some good moments. The ending picks up on a lot of interesting thoughts and discussion points, but ultimately doesn't offer a satisfying conclusion for me personally, but again has a few loose threads that are thought-provoking.

Overall, a book with lots of exciting ideas and some good moments, but I was more captivated by the sentences than the overall story.

Chemical Souls was very captivating, to the point that I was able to finish it in a matter of hours. I was interested to see where the story was going. We follow the shy Patrick to his interview at Chemical Souls to find his soulmate, but he finds it in someone unexpected. I definitely found myself confused at some points of this book, but had a general understanding of what was going on. I went into this expecting a typical romance, so I definitely was jarred when I found out it was more of a psychological story. The characters also had very intellectual conversations that I didn’t really see the point of. I also would’ve appreciated more insight into why the characters did what they did, especially near the end. Overall, this story had an interesting premise and was a quick and easy read! I would recommend this to those that enjoy mutual obsession, mind fucks, and slow burn. Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chemical Souls is a short but gripping read that takes the stalker trope in a fresh and unexpected direction. I have been wanting a story that explored the question, “What happens if the stalker gets bored?” and this book absolutely delivered.

The story follows Patrick Carline, a man who signs up for a soulmate matching service that claims to find perfect partners through a chemical DNA process. During his intake interview, he meets Margaret Warren, the woman evaluating him, and there is an immediate spark between them. What begins as a seemingly ordinary matchmaking process quickly becomes something much darker and far more tangled.

The connection between Patrick and Margaret is intense, magnetic and unsettling. As the layers of their personalities and pasts start to peel back, the line between passion and danger becomes almost impossible to separate. The book thrives on its psychological tension, keeping you on edge while also exploring the thrill of connection and the fragility of excitement in a relationship built on extremes.

Roxana M. Rotaru delivers a fast paced, darkly fascinating romance that is both twisted and thought provoking. It is the kind of story that keeps you reading just to see how far the characters will go for love and what happens when the thrill begins to fade.

ARC Review – ★★★★☆

Chemical Souls felt like a twisted Black Mirror episode collided with a haunting fairytale—in the best way possible. The atmosphere is dark, obsessive, and undeniably addictive.

The two main characters are absolutely vile (and that’s part of the charm); I couldn’t look away from their toxic dynamic. There’s a major twist that completely caught me off guard, and I loved it for that. I devoured this book in just three days, and it still hasn’t left my mind.

If you’re a fan of shows like You (on Netflix), this book will be right up your alley. It’s not overly gory, but it deals heavily with themes of death and intense stalking. Definitely one for readers who enjoy darker characters and psychological tension.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!
#ChemicalSouls #ARCReview #Thriller #PsychologicalThriller #DarkFiction #MorallyGray #IntenseReads #QuickReads #NetGalley #2025Books #HighlyAddictive

The cover caught my eye and the blurb reeled me in further.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time staying within the book. I couldn’t find a graceful flow with the characters, their dialogue or the storyline.

I really wish I could’ve enjoyed this more as it had sounded promising.

Based on the blurb I knew it would be entirely my sort of thing but I wasn’t fully sure what to expect.

The use of description was excellent and at times extremely vivid and immersive. There are periods that Margaret and Patrick are talking that I felt like I was in the room.

I didn’t care all that much about Patrick solely because the author made Margaret so perfect. She was magnetic and I wish I could have seen more of the story through her eyes.

My only issue with this book is I will have to read it again as I completely misunderstood the first couple of chapters.