Review: The Soulmate by Rona Halsall

                                                        

Print Length: 323 pages

Publisher: Boldwood Books (January 30, 2025)

From Goodreads.com: Do you believe in love at first sight?

Holly does, in spite of everything that’s happened in her life. Sometimes the thought that her soulmate is out there is the only thing that keeps her going.

Then she hears her favourite song being played. She’s drawn to where the sound is coming from, as if by a magnetic force. There is a handsome young man sitting at a public piano, who smiles at her, and she feels that spark she’s always dreamt of. She asks if she can join him, and sings along, seeing his face light up.

He’s called Mark, she later discovers. And he feels the same. They both feel like they’ve been hit with a thunderbolt. But even though it seems like they’ve known each other for lifetime, the truth is that they’re strangers.

Because Holly has secrets. And so does Mark.

And one of them might just kill to keep them…

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My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

This book was a little too all over the place for me with characters that I didn't particularly like. Sure, on the surface Holly seems like the kind of character that you should be rooting for after the hard life that she has been dealt, but the deeper into the story I got, the more I began to realize that she brought a lot of her misery down on herself. I also hated the way she was constantly second guessing herself even when she knew something wasn't right. And then we have Mark, who on the surface seems like a wholesome guy, but at the same time you get the feeling he isn't exactly who he pretends to be. The fact that he immediately dropped everything and drove seven hours to "rescue" someone he had just met was an immediate red flag to me. 

Of course, as the story goes on more things start to make sense and we learn more about these characters and their pasts, as well as the lies they have told over the years. This for me is when things really started to fall apart and I think that was due in part to the author (to borrow a phrase from the story itself) having to many spinning plates in the air at once. Instead of being a slow burn reveal of what is actually going on, the book hurls towards its inevitable conclusion at breakneck speeds. 

This book does leave one tiny side thread unanswered (and that's what happened to the chef where Holly used to work), but overall, that wasn't really a big deal for me. The bigger question for me was the dedication. Why was the book dedicated to widows missing their other halves when this book really didn't have anything to do with that (except a vague mention for one of the side characters).

However, despite it falling short for me, I was able to read it in less than two days and I do believe it will appeal to others, especially those who don't mind knowing right off the bat that things are definitely not what they seem. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.