The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

The Soulmate

By: Sally Hepworth

Genre:

Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Contemporary

Pages:

336

Published:

April 4, 2023

Format Read:

Audiobook

Ratings:

Narration: 5/5 ⭐️

Plot: 2/5 ⭐️

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars

Synopsis:

Get ready for a thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge in Sally Hepworth's The Soulmate.

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.

My Thoughts:

Absolutely beautiful cover and an intriguing plot made me grab this one up so fast on audio when I saw a skip-the-line loan on Libby - plus everyone grabbed for this book when it came out so I couldn't resist.

But I am not sure what I just read.... 3-star book at best... sorry to be in the minority for this one.

First - this is not what I would consider to be a "thriller" .... suspenseful women's fiction at best. IDK why you guys hype up Sally Hepworth so much when every single one I read is subpar at best. Maybe I need to stop reading these books because I am always let down.

There wasn't even much mystery to this one besides trying to decide whether Gabe had a hand in this woman's death. It was a lot of stupidity, a woman who let too much slide in her marriage, and a very bad job at dealing with mental health issues. Sometimes I can get over unlikable characters - but in this one I just couldn't. Both sides of the story - Pippa and Amanda's - were unlikable. Here is two women who quite literally dealt with some major crap in their marriages. This should have been more of an inside look on marriage instead of a thriller. I can't divulge more without revealing spoilers so those will be below.

The plot twists??? Where?? Nothing surprised or shocked me. That ending?? I don't even want to talk about it. I at least was hoping for some big ending and we got nothing. 3-star rating at best. If you like domestic fiction with some suspense - I guess give this one a go? This one does have a ton of people enjoying it so maybe I am just weird.

SPOILERS BELOW - continue at your own risk

- First off, why does Gabe get so much credit for being a stay-at-home dad???? Everyone's like "OMG LOOK AT HIM AMAZING" NO NO NO .... if this was a story of a SAHM she would not be getting the same treatment. She would be seen as tired and underdressed and struggling. I hate that a woman wrote this in a plot line especially since they make Gabe seem so perfect. Plus PIPPA WTF? Why would you let your husband who is clearly having problems and causing you stress - not to mention slept with other people AND was coming home drunk - become a stay-at-home parent????

- Gabe just causes a lot of problems for me in general in this tale. He's constantly F'ing up and Pippa's over here just like oh well look how cute he is let's keep him. When your family is coming to you being like hey we are worried - you listen - most of the time. Plus good for you Pippa for taking in his love child after you just struggled what postpartum depression and not just leaving him right then. I would not have dealt with this for one second.

- Why would they move their family to a KNOWN SUICIDE SPOT??? Most of these are parental things I just cannot understand as a parent myself. I would NEVER move a family - especially with young girls - near a freaking CLIFF dropoff - nonetheless one that people are throwing themselves off of. Like do you want your children to fall off or become mentally scarred watching people plunge to their deaths???

- Pippa why would you even lie about sleeping with your husband's boss? I know you want to hurt him but why lie? That was such a stupid plot point that stuck with me. I would have actually been more thrilled and shocked if she had done it and slept with him.

- That ending? So they actually did both throw themselves off the cliff? Not exciting or does it even make sense. At least Pippa got some sense in the end... but then the thrown in little tidbit about her and Dell?? (I think I listened to this so the name could be spelled wrong) I thought this was some old ass man who owned a diner not a potential love match. It felt like Hepworth just threw this in to make someone be in love at the end.

I probably have more I could write about but I'm just over it at this point.