Soulmates audiobook

Soulmates is a standalone, satirical mystery novel written by Jessica Grose. Through the use of satire, this story features elements of New Age spirituality, the yoga culture, meditation practices, and how a stereotypical cult may operate/manipulate. The whole subject felt like one big internal chuckle and eye roll while you listen to a brand new duped fanatic talk about their amazing life discovery...and that's exactly how this novel is supposed to feel.On a non-satirical note, I found a real life lesson in watching the disintegration of a marriage. It's easy to expect that all the work we put into a new relationship will carry us through the long-haul but that's so far from the truth. The seasoned relationship is the one that requires the most nurturing. Like a garden, you can never stop caring for it or it will not continue to grow. Pay attention, show interest, be supportive, everyday remember why you chose that person, and grow your love ♥ My favorite quote:"When you have a partner that supports you fully, you can go places physically and metaphysically that you did not think were possible. You can walk right up to the edge of darkness, stare into the abyss and know someone is there to catch you if you fall."Note: According to an online interview with Ms. Grose found HERE, the plotline and subject matter of Soulmates was inspired by a true life, cult-related tragedy you can read about in this NY Times article. However, Ms. Grose stresses repeatedly that the people and events in Soulmates are completely fictional and are not to be confused with the true 2012 event.

I loved Soulmates especially the last chapter, I actually want to tell you what happens!! But I won't. The book is laid out kind of like a diary with each chapter being a different characters perspective and I'm learning that this is my favourite style of fiction. I read this book in a day and would have preferred to read it in one sitting but daily interruptions kept interfering. Read this if you get a chance. :)

When I tell you this book is strange, I feel I need to clarify that I mean this is the best way.  Like Stephen King is strange and Phillip Pullman is strange, and Phyllis Naylor Reynolds strange.  It's the creepy beach read I can definitely dig into a few hours and then realize it's time to go home and I feel so chilled and just utterly gobsmacked.It hit me in the lady nuts and then some.You think you know what's going to happen, and maybe a detail or two you do, but honestly things get so convoluted and whacked out by the end I literally stared at the wall for a few minutes after I finished reading this one.These are the kinds of books I tend to recommend to my friends, the ones that weird me out and leave me unsure of how to feel about life, humanity and the universe.I may not be the kind of girl who thinks she knows everything about everything, but I kept finding myself more similar to Dana than I would have liked, or more similar to Ethan even.  It's jarring when an author can create such complex and compelling characters in so few pages, and to ask such stirring questions in the guise of what seems to be your typical thriller.  Spoiler alert- it's not.If you like your reads with a creep factor up in the King/Barker range without the gore, grab this sucker and sit tight for a wicked ride!4.5 stars and my thanks again to TLC Book tours and William Morrow paperbacks for the review opportunity!

Dana Powell’s marriage to her husband, Ethan, wasn’t perfect; they had definitely drifted in different directions. Dana was a high power attorney, working 70 hours each week, while Ethan was working at a dead end job and still trying to find his niche. Still, Dana was shocked and dismayed when Ethan left her to run away to New Mexico with a yoga instructor, Amaya, from a local ashram. When she was contacted a year later and told that Ethan and Amaya had died in an apparent murder/suicide, she was devastated.....and in disbelief. In spite of the pain she felt when he left her, Dana knew in her heart that Ethan couldn’t have killed anyone. The sheriff in New Mexico asked to interview her, and Dana decided to visit the retreat where Ethan had become a resident and an instructor after leaving her; she hoped to find answers about the spirituality Ethan had embraced and his untimely death.Soulmates is a very interesting story about relationships and spirituality and how each can be used for good or for evil, depending on the intentions of each person involved. There were several surprises by the end of the story about how each person’s connection to the spiritual leader, Yoni, changed his or her life and destiny. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look for more by this author

This book is full of surprises. As the story begins, Dana is a hard-driving lawyer whose husband left her several years ago, and she can neither forgive him, not forget him, and neither of them has filed for divorce. Dana notices a newspaper headline as she is waiting in line, and sees a picture of her husband and the woman with whom he ran away - it seems that they have been found dead in a cave in New Mexico, and it looks like a murder-suicide. Dana knows that her gentle husband would NEVER murder anyone, and as she looks into his life, she finds that he has become very involved in yoga, becoming an instructor, and also has come under the spell of Lama Yoni (formerly John Brooks), the charismatic leader of the Zuni Retreat, a yoga driven spa in New Mexico. Dana resolves to go to New Mexico and get to the bottom of what happened to her husband. The surprises just keep coming.

Interesting, disturbing read, based on actual event.

Within a few dozen pages of Soulmates, I realized how much I missed my weekly yoga practice. Within a few dozen more, I realized there were certain aspects of yoga that I definitely didn't miss. Specifically, that person who takes the new-age teaching to the next level. Usually, they smell strongly of nag champa. If you don't know who I'm talking about, they are probably you.Grose really tickled my satire bone. Her use of alternating voices between level-headed, but still holding pathetically hard on to her nonexistent marriage, Dana, and the prose of her ex-husband, Ethan, that attempts to aid in self-help while hilariously failing to sound philosophical, had me chuckling endlessly while rolling my eyes. My favorite movement is a good eye roll, so that really means something. I loved that despite the change in tone, voice, and perspective (even adding two chapters of backstory for other character's perspectives), she was able to maintain tense so well which allowed the story to move along seamlessly.That being said, I had such a love-hate relationship with Ethan. Honestly, I just really loved to hate everything he said. Grose did an amazing job making him sound both reasonably abandoned in his marriage, yet selfish and unsympathetic to anything that wasn't his belief. Though, I swear if he mentioned his devotion to clean eating one more time, I was going to throw my quart of ice cream right in his child pose doing face.Dana, on the other hand, had me skeptical from the beginning. Her eager, do good, perfectionist personality made me twitch from time to time. She is the type of character that you love to see do the right thing but when she falters slightly you want to grab her by the shoulders and scream in her face to get her act together.There were so many times that I didn't really know what was going to come next for Dana on her soul-searching adventure, but I definitely wasn't expecting the ending. Without giving too much away, dang, girl, you crazy. Also, definitely put on The Leftovers soundtrack during all scenes involving ayahuasca. Trust me.If you are able to find humor in the things that some people take seriously, this is the book for you.

I am suddenly aware that audiobooks are an entirely different experience to reading an actual book. There are audiobooks I am enjoying so much I pick up the actual book because, let’s face it, it must be even better in the written format. Surprisingly, the book often turns out to be just, meh. At first I thought this was an anomaly but it has happened too many times to shrug it off. So maybe this is a thing and not my imagination, and subsequently, explains why I really liked this particular book and so many people here on GR did not. (Well, that, and maybe I have poor taste.)I can’t remember the last book I read where satire was done so successfully. I immediately recognized this story was a bit tongue in cheek and enjoyed quite a few laughs. This book takes a swipe at the wellness/yoga crowd and unfortunately, they can be a pretty easy target. This is not a criticism. Just an observation. I like yoga, too. Simmer down. The audiobook did a fantastic job of creating all the yoga vibes. The varying narrators brought the story alive and at times I felt like I was there at the yoga retreat in the Santa Fe compound eating lentils and meditating with Dana, the main character, and Lama Yonni, the villain. The story is a thriller and becomes less satirical and more absurd towards the middle of the book. I think readers interested in recent history will like how the story looks back at the counter culture revolution of 1960’s San Francisco, tracing it’s evolution and legacy in contemporary alternative spirituality practices. The ending is an unexpected twist and inadvertently shed some insight into our current political climate about cult leaders and the people who follow them. Nothing profound here, but a very enjoyable summer audiobook.

Once I started reading, I could not put this book down!Soulmates is the story of Dana, a workaholic lawyer in New York City. At the beginning of the story, we find that Dana’s husband Ethan left her for another woman, Amaya. On the way to work one morning, Dana sees Ethan and Amaya’s pictures across the front page of the newspaper, declaring them found dead in a cave. What follows is Dana’s attempt to find out what happened to Ethan since he left her. Dana is led on quite a journey as she tries to make sense of what happened to Ethan.

Enjoyed the first 80% of this book immensely. The premise and story-telling drew me in and I keep reading to find out what would happen next. In the end, the main characters that I was so invested in sort of fizzled out. That feeling when a movie ends and they blatantly set it up for a sequel that you have no desire to see - you wish the story had been given a proper ending. It did make me think and I would recommend but left me unsettled.

This book started off like a lot of mysteries: really slow in the beginning. And then I hit the point where things started getting interesting, which was about 30% into the book, I couldn’t stop reading. I HAD to know what happened to Ethan and his lover! This book just completely took a turn I was NOT expecting! My only criticism was that I felt the ending was very rushed, and I wish it wouldn’t have been. But ultimately it was VERY good!

As a strong believer in clean eating, meditation and the likes, this book was definitely my cup of tea. I love the prose and this book was a page-turner for me from start to finish. I love that the ending is not what we expected.This books gives us insight into why people actually become members of a cult, something most people would never understand. Looking forward to reading more works by Jessica Grose!

If you've ever suspected that there's something suspicious lurking behind the hippie-dippie new-age spirituality, this book will confirm that you're correct. I read SOULMATES years ago, but it still haunts me. One of my all-time favorites.

Insightful and compelling modern story on marriage, the nature of cults, and the people who find themselves drawn toward them, even when they know they know better. The characters in this book could be any one of us given a similar set of circumstances, perhaps even my cynical self.

The Ugly Truth; Evil is Eternal in this WorldI was terribly shocked at the dénouement, I did not expect such a tragic end. A very compelling plot with black realistic themes.

Interesting story, but after reading this, I have decided to forego yoga classes and stick with Zumba!!!

Slow burn

I tore through this book. Did not see that ending coming, will definitely keep you engaged throughout. Highly recommend it.