Rebecca Danzenbaker
Simon & Schuster
29 July 2025
496
eBook - PDF
YA Fantasy
ARC via Edelweiss
Two-hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every 18-year-old must report to the government to learn about their past lives, a terrifying process known as kirling. Good souls leave the institute with their inheritance, a career path, and if they’re lucky, a soulmate. Bad souls leave in handcuffs.
It's a nerve-wracking ordeal for Sivon, who, given her uncanny ability to win every chess match, already suspects her soul isn’t normal. Turns out, she was right to worry. Sivon’s results stun not only her, but the entire world, making her the object of public scrutiny and anonymous threats.
Saddled with an infuriating and off-limits bodyguard, Sivon is thrust into a high-stakes game where souls are pawns and rules don’t exist. As deaths mount, Sivon must decipher friend from foe while protecting her heart against impossible odds. One wrong move could destroy the future lives of everyone Sivon loves, and she can’t let that happen, even if they’ll never love her back.
Soulmatch was a book with a really fun premise that also posed a lot of interesting questions about guilt and responsibility for past actions. The story has a dystopian edge, and in some ways it takes me back to some of the works popular around 10 years ago. Sivon was a compelling heroine and I enjoyed following her evolving relationships with the other characters in the book as she tried to navigate her newfound fame and position. The only place this story fell down a little for me was in the ending, which felt a bit rushed compared to the good pacing in the rest of the novel, especially as the heroine conveniently gained amazing insight she'd been missing earlier in order to save the day. Nonetheless, this was still a well-written book, an exciting, action-packed read and a tale that I can see appealing to YA fantasy readers. I am giving it 4 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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