Few books out there make me feel the way Soulmates did, a book that threw no punches and got right down to business with making your heart flutter and weep. It’s without a doubt one of my favourite books, one I’ll come back to time and time again. And not only is it a wonderful story filled with great characters, dialogue and one of most original storylines I’ve ever read, but it raises questions on what love is really about, how often it’s found through serendipitous chance and what it means to find that one true relationship. Soulmates will break you, but you’ll love it.
Romance Isn't Dead
Soulmates, by Holly Bourne, is a YA novel about two students, Poppy and Noah, who discover they are real, perfect fits. Soulmates. As they date, become more intimate and start a relationship, things in the world change. Weather patterns become erratic, things get unpredictable and it becomes clear that their relationship is breaking the earth apart. And in the shadows, an agency is monitoring them, watching their every move and discovering the damage this couple could cause. I haven’t become so invested in a couple since Hazel and Gus in The Fault in Our Stars. You just long for these two to get together and live happily ever after, and you just want to keep turning pages and see how things unfold. And throughout all of this, you know they’re being watched and you flick the pages with a fear it’s all going to end. Poppy and Noah have the perfect relationship, the sort of connection I think we all desperately want. The sort of relationship when the very touch of their skin shatters your world in a million beautiful shards of glass. The sort of relationship when nothing else matters. The sort of relationship when the two of you become one, you are made immortal in those moments. That’s what Poppy and Noah have.
Soulmates had me spiraling down into sadness and soaring up into happiness all the time. Happy for them, but sad because this is a book, and relationships like these are rare planets found in the furthest reaches of the universe. I don’t know if you believe in soulmates, but I like to think that they do exist, but that comes with a fear. Say you do get a relationship, but it’s not the one. What if your soulmate is still out there searching for their own? Do you break off to search again, or stay in a great relationship? Great isn’t perfect, but it’s still a damn fine place to be. It reminds me of a picture I saw on Tumblr. Two people have blue skin, but they wear masks out of shame. They’re looking for someone with blue skin, but walk right by each other without a clue they passed their soulmate. Soulmates explores these questions, and it makes me scared shitless that soulmates do exist. Many of us have had those great relationships, but something gets in the way. And you can only do one of two things: break away to start again, or carry on and hope for the best.
Soulmates had me spiraling down into sadness and soaring up into happiness all the time. Happy for them, but sad because this is a book, and relationships like these are rare planets found in the furthest reaches of the universe. I don’t know if you believe in soulmates, but I like to think that they do exist, but that comes with a fear. Say you do get a relationship, but it’s not the one. What if your soulmate is still out there searching for their own? Do you break off to search again, or stay in a great relationship? Great isn’t perfect, but it’s still a damn fine place to be. It reminds me of a picture I saw on Tumblr. Two people have blue skin, but they wear masks out of shame. They’re looking for someone with blue skin, but walk right by each other without a clue they passed their soulmate. Soulmates explores these questions, and it makes me scared shitless that soulmates do exist. Many of us have had those great relationships, but something gets in the way. And you can only do one of two things: break away to start again, or carry on and hope for the best.
The One
I never knew that Soulmates would ruin me the way it did. Books rarely make me cry, but Soulmates had my lip a-wobblin’ more than once. It brought back painful memories of those said ‘great relationships’ and how they came to end, and it also made me wonder if it’s worth giving them another try. It’s one of those books that’s impossible to put down, but you also don’t want to finish. I wanted it to go on and on, as if there were phantom pages to read after the physical ones were done. Romantic books aren’t what I read at all, not proper ‘romance’ books that have their own bookstore shelf-space. This is the sort of romance I can read. Not filled with over-the-top description about one kiss or dirty secrets made passionate behind closed doors. I’m judging, I know, but Soulmates has romance in all the right shades. Like most YA books I’ve read, relationships are handled so well, written realistically with a smidgen of impossible to make it all work. Just check out Let it Snow for three stories interlaced with romance. All of them are brilliant.
Holly Bourne is an incredible writer, someone who has amazing ideas and a great sense of humour that made me smile so many times. When reading Soulmates and The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting, it didn’t feel like I was reading anyone else’s book but Holly Bourne. Just like when I read a Stephen King story, I read a Holly Bourne tale and think, yes, this is a Holly Bourne book. I implore you to read Soulmates, and yes, it’s worth the heartache, unpleasant memories and sad nostalgia. And at the end of it all, Soulmates teaches you a lesson quoted by someone I can’t remember, but it goes a little something like this: ‘don’t be said it’s over, be happy it happened.’ And that’s a goddamn good quote for life. Be happy the good shit happened.
Songs of the Week:
Holly Bourne is an incredible writer, someone who has amazing ideas and a great sense of humour that made me smile so many times. When reading Soulmates and The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting, it didn’t feel like I was reading anyone else’s book but Holly Bourne. Just like when I read a Stephen King story, I read a Holly Bourne tale and think, yes, this is a Holly Bourne book. I implore you to read Soulmates, and yes, it’s worth the heartache, unpleasant memories and sad nostalgia. And at the end of it all, Soulmates teaches you a lesson quoted by someone I can’t remember, but it goes a little something like this: ‘don’t be said it’s over, be happy it happened.’ And that’s a goddamn good quote for life. Be happy the good shit happened.
Songs of the Week:
- 'Strong' by London Grammar
- 'Nightcall' by London Grammar
- 'Hey Now' by London Grammar
- 'Maybe' by London Grammer
- 'Darling, Are You Gonna Leave Me?' London Grammar
- 'Awakening' by Halo 4 Soundtrack
- 'Never Forget (Midnight Version)' by Halo 4 Soundtrack
- 'Arrival' by Halo 4 Soundtrack
- '117' by Halo 4 Soundtrack