#the Soulmate

[kpopfanfictrash]

KIM SEOKJIN IS HOMEEEE

[themonsterthing]

Two weeks ago, I broke things off with my longest partner. Almost fourteen years of every different kind of dynamic conceivable. We loved each other in so many ways. We saved each other so many times. And he is an absolute idiot, and I absolutely made the right choice.

People remarked, that day, that I didn’t seem upset. No, I wasn’t, because what did I lose, except someone who didn’t treat me the way I deserve?

Since then, I’ve had moments of grief over little things. He knew me for fourteen years. Who else was I gonna text about burning through shoes (again), who else was I gonna be excited about hot pot with? No one is gonna appreciate stupid puns the way he did.

But yesterday I realized that, yes. I lost the only person who knew me deeply, completely - who was physically intimate with me - from before.

Before I almost died. Before I was abused. Before I changed.

The only person who supported my abuser. The only person who defended her. The only person who defended his own actions. The person I trusted to be my safety check, my ship in the storm, who never actually thought it was abuse.

So of course I feel good. That chapter of my life, that book, is well and truly closed.

I am a new person. I am a new me. Yes, these things happened, but there are no ghosts left in my life. Nothing haunting my heart.

And now I get to keep writing my new beautiful story, with my new beautiful life.

I am free.

[storytime-reviews]

Just Finished: The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

That's another funny thing about marriage. Sometimes, when you look back on it, the worst moments are in fact the best.

[uniquely-portable-magic]

A little Horror/Thiller book haul for the day 💀

[1-jar-of-stars]

On Friendship.

[froody]

“can straight men be romantically and sexually attracted to men?” sure, I’m not a cop

[bezsenn-osc]

[noodles-07]

on friends and soulmates and that type of love that feels like it's going to burst right out of your heart

@/zmije / @/leptodiera / @/bichopalo / lyrics from two best friends by bb bean / animatedjames on youtube / @/killingmyselfbutnotdying / unknown / @/sadiekane / friedrich neitzsche / katfish draws / @/elytrians / @/wormbus-art aka @/angel-pond / @/mushysuggestion / the unsent project / mhairi mcfarlane / unknown

[birintiharmelegi]

[pink-heart-writes]

[mandyraine]

Book Review: Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

I read Sally Hepworth's The Younger Wife last year and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The Soulmate has been featured online a lot recently and I was very interested in the premise, so I was excited to give it a go.

Gabe and Pippa live in their dream home -a cosy little cottage on the edge of a cliff in a sleepy seaside community. The only downfall of living there is the fact that the cliff the house is perched on is a local suicide spot. However, Gabe has a talent for talking lost, desperate souls out of jumping off and ending it all. Until one day, he fails.

I think one of my favourite aspects of the book was the fact that we got the posthumous perspective of Amanda, the woman who Gabe failed to save. Her spirit had such a powerful voice and to be honest, I'm not sure there was a better way of telling this story. She took us into her past, her marriage and her present as she watched the aftermath of her death unfold, providing a unique but vital insight into what had truly happened.

The twists kept coming, so I was never really sure that I had cracked it. I kept alternating between two different versions of what I thought was going on and that certainty really didn't settle until the very end. Information was fed to us very slowly, which suits me as a reader excellently. I like mysteries to be drawn out, as the anticipation often makes the payoff better.

There is a recurring theme of women taking the blame for men's bad behaviour. This felt very authentic to me and I'm sure most female readers will agree. We feel a duty to cover up or explain away the mistakes and grievances of the men we love, even when there is no question that they're in the wrong. Just like in real life, the female characters are aware that this is what's happening but it's almost a natural, normalised behaviour. I think we all know that this would rarely happen, if the genders were reversed.

Perhaps the strongest example of this female guilt is in Pippa being convinced that it's her actions that have caused Gabe to behave badly. Her mind simply cannot believe that he can have done something awful of his own accord -he must have had a reason and it's more than likely that she is behind that reason. It's an interesting, telling thought process that is sadly, very familiar to so many women.

One thing that struck me as odd was that a particular fact about Gabe, revealed towards the end, made me question why they lived where they live. In order to avoid spoilers, I won't say too much here but once that comes out, it does take you out of the story and start asking some very reasonable, logical questions. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book too much but it is something I'd be interested in asking the author about!

The Soulmate is a gripping, complex narrative that is packed full of detail and intrigue. Sally Hepworth is one of the masters of domestic drama and The Soulmate is a juicy, shocking and thought-provoking tale of betrayal, secrets and lies.

[happyheidi]

by Molly Buford

[storytime-reviews]

Currently Reading: The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

[w-intent]