Read with Fern

Goes to show how dangerous it can be, thinking you know someone.

Sally Hepworth, The Soulmate

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Spoilers below this point.

I opened this book, and didn’t put it back down until I finished it. The story’s fast pace is mostly due to short chapters and two narrators with past and present timelines. I liked that Amanda continued to narrate for Max in the present after her death because it perpetuated each husband’s mysterious actions.

The plot point I enjoyed the least was the final reveal that Gabe was Max’s nephew. There were enough connecting factors (Gabe worked for Max, Pippa tried to seduce Max, all four had met at a work party, Gabe has literally murdered someone else for Max’s company) to make the story feel real. Adding in the magically rich uncle was enough to bring me out of the story. That fact, along with Max’s death, helped tie all the future-based questions up with a nice, annoying, little bow.

“They can get divorced without worrying about money. There’s no more police case. The girls (and their therapy bills) will be taken care of. Sad about the first thirty-some years of Gabe’s life, but that’s what a round of rehab is for!”

Other than that blip in the last 12 pages, I throughly enjoyed this book. It had enough paced twists to keep me invested without feeling overwhelmed or bored. It was well-written, with secondary characters that felt necessary and fleshed-out. Hepworth uses her locations wonderfully, creating a feeling of closeness bordering on claustrophobia for the small neighborhood. She weaves the four stories together expertly, dropping one little bit of new knowledge on each page. I felt connected to both Pippa and Amanda, and wanted them to both get endings they deserved. For me, Amanda did. She had done everything she set out to do, and could finally rest in peace. Pippa, on the other hand, has a lifetime left to live with Gabe’s decisions.

In the end, I think this books shows you choose your soulmate just as you choose your own fate. You don’t necessarily realize it’s happened, but you are your own driving force each day, intertwining your life with theirs.