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Soulmates
"For anyone who has ever suspected something sinister lurking behind the craze of new-age spirituality, Jessica Grose has crafted just the tale for you. With the delicious bite of satire and the page-turning satisfaction of a thriller, Soulmates is a deeply compelling, funny and sharply observed look at just how far we will go to achieve inner peace."—Lena Dunham
A clever, timely novel about a marriage, and infidelity, the meaning of true spirituality, perception and reality from the author of Sad Desk Salad, in which a scorned ex-wife tries to puzzle out the pieces of her husband’s mysterious death at a yoga retreat and their life together.
It’s been two years since the divorce, and Dana has moved on. She’s killing it at her law firm, she’s never looked better, thanks to all those healthy meals she cooks, and she’s thrown away Ethan’s ratty old plaid recliner. She hardly thinks about her husband—ex-husband—anymore, or about how the man she’d known since college ran away to the Southwest with a yoga instructor, spouting spiritual claptrap that Dana still can’t comprehend.
But when she sees Ethan’s picture splashed across the front page of the New York Post—"Nama-Slay: Yoga Couple Found Dead in New Mexico Cave"—Dana discovers she hasn’t fully let go of Ethan or the past. The article implies that it was a murder-suicide, and Ethan’s to blame. How could the man she once loved so deeply be a killer? Restless to find answers that might help her finally to let go, Dana begins to dig into the mystery surrounding Ethan’s death. Sifting through the clues of his life, Dana finds herself back in the last years of their marriage . . . and discovers that their relationship—like Ethan’s death—wasn’t what it appeared to be.
A novel of marriage, meditation, and all the spaces in between, Soulmates is a page-turning mystery, a delicious satire of our feel-good spiritual culture, and a nuanced look at contemporary relationships by one of the sharpest writers working today.
A clever, timely novel about a marriage, and infidelity, the meaning of true spirituality, perception and reality from the author of Sad Desk Salad, in which a scorned ex-wife tries to puzzle out the pieces of her husband’s mysterious death at a yoga retreat and their life together.
It’s been two years since the divorce, and Dana has moved on. She’s killing it at her law firm, she’s never looked better, thanks to all those healthy meals she cooks, and she’s thrown away Ethan’s ratty old plaid recliner. She hardly thinks about her husband—ex-husband—anymore, or about how the man she’d known since college ran away to the Southwest with a yoga instructor, spouting spiritual claptrap that Dana still can’t comprehend.
But when she sees Ethan’s picture splashed across the front page of the New York Post—"Nama-Slay: Yoga Couple Found Dead in New Mexico Cave"—Dana discovers she hasn’t fully let go of Ethan or the past. The article implies that it was a murder-suicide, and Ethan’s to blame. How could the man she once loved so deeply be a killer? Restless to find answers that might help her finally to let go, Dana begins to dig into the mystery surrounding Ethan’s death. Sifting through the clues of his life, Dana finds herself back in the last years of their marriage . . . and discovers that their relationship—like Ethan’s death—wasn’t what it appeared to be.
A novel of marriage, meditation, and all the spaces in between, Soulmates is a page-turning mystery, a delicious satire of our feel-good spiritual culture, and a nuanced look at contemporary relationships by one of the sharpest writers working today.
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First published July 5, 2016
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About the author
Jessica Grose
8 books164 followersJessica Grose is a journalist and novelist. Her second novel, SOULMATES, will be out in September 2016. She is also the author of the novel SAD DESK SALAD, the author of the Kindle Single HOME ECONOMICS, which is about how couples manage their finances, and the co-author of the book LOVE, MOM, with Doree Shafrir.
She is the editor of Lenny, the email newsletter. She was formerly a senior editor at Slate, and an editor at Jezebel. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York, The New Republic, Cosmopolitan, and several other publications. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
She is the editor of Lenny, the email newsletter. She was formerly a senior editor at Slate, and an editor at Jezebel. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York, The New Republic, Cosmopolitan, and several other publications. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
November 5, 2016
Soulmates by Jessica Grose is a 2016 William Morrow publication.
This is a quirky novel, not at all like what I was anticipating.
Several years back. Dana’s husband, Ethan, runs off with his yoga instructor, to live in a cult like environment, and make yoga videos for married couples.
But, when Dana discovers the couple has been found dead, she simply must travel to the compound, convinced something about the deaths just doesn’t add up.
I’m not sure what to think of this book. It’s a mystery. It’s a satire. I normally enjoy anything that’s off the beaten path like this, but what makes a satire work, for the most part, is knowing a little bit about the subject at hand and well, I know nothing about New Age, and while I have incorporated yoga into my exercise regimen from time to time, I had no idea yoga enthusiast had their own ‘community’. So, the exaggerations and perhaps ridicule of this lifestyle fell flat for me, as I found it mostly just annoying, and these people were eye rolling ridiculous to me.
Ethan’s narrative got on my nerves after a time, because I can't stand lazy, immature people with no ambition, in the first place, so this segment dragged on far too long, because, of course I knew how things were going to turn out for Ethan in the end.
No one in this book was sane, I did understand the irony of how things turned out in the end, although I had a hard time buying it, and was pretty disappointed in it, but I think this book just flew over my head for the most part.
Thankfully, this is a short book and didn’t require a large investment of my time. But, overall, I applaud the imaginative plot, if nothing else, but this was not my kind of book.
2 stars
This is a quirky novel, not at all like what I was anticipating.
Several years back. Dana’s husband, Ethan, runs off with his yoga instructor, to live in a cult like environment, and make yoga videos for married couples.
But, when Dana discovers the couple has been found dead, she simply must travel to the compound, convinced something about the deaths just doesn’t add up.
I’m not sure what to think of this book. It’s a mystery. It’s a satire. I normally enjoy anything that’s off the beaten path like this, but what makes a satire work, for the most part, is knowing a little bit about the subject at hand and well, I know nothing about New Age, and while I have incorporated yoga into my exercise regimen from time to time, I had no idea yoga enthusiast had their own ‘community’. So, the exaggerations and perhaps ridicule of this lifestyle fell flat for me, as I found it mostly just annoying, and these people were eye rolling ridiculous to me.
Ethan’s narrative got on my nerves after a time, because I can't stand lazy, immature people with no ambition, in the first place, so this segment dragged on far too long, because, of course I knew how things were going to turn out for Ethan in the end.
No one in this book was sane, I did understand the irony of how things turned out in the end, although I had a hard time buying it, and was pretty disappointed in it, but I think this book just flew over my head for the most part.
Thankfully, this is a short book and didn’t require a large investment of my time. But, overall, I applaud the imaginative plot, if nothing else, but this was not my kind of book.
2 stars
February 7, 2017
“Soulmates” is a silly, zany, chick-lit mystery novel that pokes fun at self-absorbed yoga retreat enthusiasts. Author Jessica Grose tells the story of a woman who’s estranged husband is found dead in a cave in New Mexico. She’s an over-worked attorney in NYC. Her husband abandoned her years earlier after he became involved with a woman and a yoga ashram. Her estranged husband is accused of murdering his mistress and then committing suicide. She decides to go on a caper to find out what really happened.
It’s a silly story, far from realistic. Yet, it’s entertaining and engrossing. There is a sprinkling of daily affirmations. Grose uses a charismatic leader and vacuous followers as fodder for humor. It’s a book to read on a rainy day when you just want to chuckle a bit. As the book cover states, this novel is “a timely satire of our feel-good culture, an addictive and nuanced look at contemporary relationships”. I recommend it as a beach read or airplane read.
It’s a silly story, far from realistic. Yet, it’s entertaining and engrossing. There is a sprinkling of daily affirmations. Grose uses a charismatic leader and vacuous followers as fodder for humor. It’s a book to read on a rainy day when you just want to chuckle a bit. As the book cover states, this novel is “a timely satire of our feel-good culture, an addictive and nuanced look at contemporary relationships”. I recommend it as a beach read or airplane read.
October 13, 2016
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.
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.
Read
January 29, 2020i get the daily email newsletter the skimm & they recommended this book. i might just stick to reading the newsletter.
July 9, 2017
I was looking for some summer reading that was light but still smart—a harder task than it should be, in my estimation. Jessica Grose is the editor of the weekly e-newsletter Lenny, which is usually very sharp and well-done, so I thought her second novel, Soulmates, might fit the bill. Unfortunately, my instincts were incorrect. Grose sets up a reasonably intriguing premise, but it's undermined by the weakly developed protagonist, Dana, who mostly comes across as implausibly stupid. She's constantly entering into situations that seem astonishingly risky to any reader who's been paying attention, but Dana is never more than slightly cautious and never fails to be surprised by the danger that crops up in her path—there is no warning sign, no matter how blatant, that she can't blithely disregard for the sake of moving the plot forward. The book did have an interesting conclusion, and in the last few pages I finally saw what Grose had been going for all along. As I closed the book, I admired her ambition but, regrettably, felt that she hadn't achieved what she'd set out to do. One bright spot is that my copy of Soulmates contained a lengthy excerpt from Grose's first novel, Sad Desk Salad, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I'll seek out that book eventually, but, alas, I'm unable to recommend this one.
September 9, 2016
Meh. This one had a great potential and a fun plot but it didn't quite pull it off. I think what bothered me the most was the multiple 1st person narratives which all sounded the same (save for the dad) and Ethan's book about why he left Dana, which I just could not buy as anything other than a convenient plot device. I did appreciate the ending though, that was a nice touch.
July 16, 2017
What did I just read?
I don't even know. I'm somehow simultaneously bewildered, pissed, annoyed, and frustrated.
Dana is a lawyer who works 90 hours a week to support herself and her husband Ethan, who is doing a good job of not having a job. He's a creative type, waiting for inspiration by playing video games and watching Law & Order re-runs. This causes major resentment on her part and their marriage becomes tense but Dana doesn't think of it as more than just a rough patch. Evidently, Ethan disagreed. He leaves her for his yoga partner Amaya, who "understands him". And you know, "encourages his spiritual growth". And also sleeps with him. He leaves Dana a note and never contacts her again. Two years later, she finds a picture of him and Amaya in the newspaper. They were found dead in a cave not far from the ashram in New Mexico they ran off to. This brings up a lot of unresolved feelings for Dana as she never really got any closure. The sheriff in New Mexico wants to meet up with her and she decides that if she goes to see him, she can also check into the resort/ashram and maybe find out what happened to Ethan and Amaya. She doesn't really buy into anything that is practiced at the ashram but finds a pamphlet there that Ethan wrote about this experience finding himself and leaving Dana for Amaya. This gives her insight into his side of the story and leads her to discover things she never knew about him. There is a whodunit vein running throughout the book or at least a whathehellhappened kind of thing but the ending left me feeling empty and pissed that I spent hours reading this book.
Honestly, I don't think I have anything positive to say about this book. Dana spends 85% of the book as one person and the last 15% as someone completely different. There is no explanation for her transformation and even if there was, I still don't think I'd buy it. It was a complete 180-degree change that was just utterly unbelievable. I had a lot of sympathy for Dana throughout the entire book. Then the ending just obliterated all of it.
I didn't even enjoy the writing. The sections that are written from Ethan's point of view as a pamphlet read like a badly written diary entry. He is basically whining about how mean Dana is to him and how that justified his affair and abandonment. He can't believe that when he tells his brother that he made out (what grown man calls kissing "making out") with Amaya (while married to Dana) his brother becomes angry and disappointed in him. What did he expect, a pat on the back? Permission because Dana is grouchy from working 90 hours a week? I hated that Ethan was made into such a terrible person that I didn't care that he was murdered. Or Amaya. I felt like that should have been the point of the book. He never came off as a sympathetic character.
This was just a truly underwhelming read that left me feeling cheated and just plain pissed. I do not, will not, recommend.
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I don't even know. I'm somehow simultaneously bewildered, pissed, annoyed, and frustrated.
Dana is a lawyer who works 90 hours a week to support herself and her husband Ethan, who is doing a good job of not having a job. He's a creative type, waiting for inspiration by playing video games and watching Law & Order re-runs. This causes major resentment on her part and their marriage becomes tense but Dana doesn't think of it as more than just a rough patch. Evidently, Ethan disagreed. He leaves her for his yoga partner Amaya, who "understands him". And you know, "encourages his spiritual growth". And also sleeps with him. He leaves Dana a note and never contacts her again. Two years later, she finds a picture of him and Amaya in the newspaper. They were found dead in a cave not far from the ashram in New Mexico they ran off to. This brings up a lot of unresolved feelings for Dana as she never really got any closure. The sheriff in New Mexico wants to meet up with her and she decides that if she goes to see him, she can also check into the resort/ashram and maybe find out what happened to Ethan and Amaya. She doesn't really buy into anything that is practiced at the ashram but finds a pamphlet there that Ethan wrote about this experience finding himself and leaving Dana for Amaya. This gives her insight into his side of the story and leads her to discover things she never knew about him. There is a whodunit vein running throughout the book or at least a whathehellhappened kind of thing but the ending left me feeling empty and pissed that I spent hours reading this book.
Honestly, I don't think I have anything positive to say about this book. Dana spends 85% of the book as one person and the last 15% as someone completely different. There is no explanation for her transformation and even if there was, I still don't think I'd buy it. It was a complete 180-degree change that was just utterly unbelievable. I had a lot of sympathy for Dana throughout the entire book. Then the ending just obliterated all of it.
I didn't even enjoy the writing. The sections that are written from Ethan's point of view as a pamphlet read like a badly written diary entry. He is basically whining about how mean Dana is to him and how that justified his affair and abandonment. He can't believe that when he tells his brother that he made out (what grown man calls kissing "making out") with Amaya (while married to Dana) his brother becomes angry and disappointed in him. What did he expect, a pat on the back? Permission because Dana is grouchy from working 90 hours a week? I hated that Ethan was made into such a terrible person that I didn't care that he was murdered. Or Amaya. I felt like that should have been the point of the book. He never came off as a sympathetic character.
This was just a truly underwhelming read that left me feeling cheated and just plain pissed. I do not, will not, recommend.
*I received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
October 29, 2016
No. Just no.
July 25, 2017
I just hope my friends and sister are a liiiiiittle more convincing/concerned if I ever decide to take a sabbatical to go investigate my dead estranged husband's murder-suicide in rural New Mexico at a New Age retreat center.
May 7, 2017
I usually do not read others' reviews before writing my own, but this time, I did. I also read an extensive interview of the author, Jessica Grose Jessica Grose http://www.vogue.com/article/jessica-... , which I do recommend others read if you are going to consider reading this book Soulmates: A Novel, anyway (after reading my or others' reviews). I had to read others' POVs because my own were all over the place.
I ended this book feeling angry, disappointed, betrayed, disgusted and confused, and that was all the author's fault. However, once I read the interview with her and some of the other reviews online, I was able to sort it all out.
Here are my issues with this book and the reason I gave it only 1 star (which I rarely do for a book I can actually finish):
1) it is (by the author's own admission, which was brazenly given in the above-linked interview), NOT a well-researched fiction-based-on-fact book, even though it pretends to be. The aspects of Buddhism, yoga, retreat centers, cults, leadership issues in same, and potential for exploitation and seduction (psychological and sociological) that this author presents are mostly and hugely inaccurate and misleading. In her words, a "mish-mash" which she "made up."
2) there are about three types of characters, and then each of them sounds just like all the others in their group. Even the main characters are not well-differentiated from each other and not well-drawn.
3) the plot is not credible. Many other reviewers have picked it apart in their write-ups, so I won't rehash all the issues, here. NO spoilers. However, I will say, if you're looking to read a "who done it" that answers questions by its end, which this book is sometimes billed to be (a "mystery"), you will be disappointed. Almost nothing key is answered definitively.
4) the changes that Dana (the protagonist) undergoes are neither credible nor suitably motivated.
5) there is no one to like in the cast of characters.
6) most of the characters are 2-dimensional and not interesting.
7) this book is filled with stereotypes and cliches from the 1960s and 1970s plastered into the 20teens for no apparent reason (which she tries to justify in her interview and fails, in my opinion).
I kept reading it because I needed to know how badly this author would trash sane spiritual seekers, authentic spiritual teachers who operate with integrity, and genuine practitioners (I am personally acquainted with dozens). However, there was no one in her book fitting those descriptions, so I never found out.
This book is a poorly written, unsatisfying, failed satire/ unresolved mystery: don't bother
I ended this book feeling angry, disappointed, betrayed, disgusted and confused, and that was all the author's fault. However, once I read the interview with her and some of the other reviews online, I was able to sort it all out.
Here are my issues with this book and the reason I gave it only 1 star (which I rarely do for a book I can actually finish):
1) it is (by the author's own admission, which was brazenly given in the above-linked interview), NOT a well-researched fiction-based-on-fact book, even though it pretends to be. The aspects of Buddhism, yoga, retreat centers, cults, leadership issues in same, and potential for exploitation and seduction (psychological and sociological) that this author presents are mostly and hugely inaccurate and misleading. In her words, a "mish-mash" which she "made up."
2) there are about three types of characters, and then each of them sounds just like all the others in their group. Even the main characters are not well-differentiated from each other and not well-drawn.
3) the plot is not credible. Many other reviewers have picked it apart in their write-ups, so I won't rehash all the issues, here. NO spoilers. However, I will say, if you're looking to read a "who done it" that answers questions by its end, which this book is sometimes billed to be (a "mystery"), you will be disappointed. Almost nothing key is answered definitively.
4) the changes that Dana (the protagonist) undergoes are neither credible nor suitably motivated.
5) there is no one to like in the cast of characters.
6) most of the characters are 2-dimensional and not interesting.
7) this book is filled with stereotypes and cliches from the 1960s and 1970s plastered into the 20teens for no apparent reason (which she tries to justify in her interview and fails, in my opinion).
I kept reading it because I needed to know how badly this author would trash sane spiritual seekers, authentic spiritual teachers who operate with integrity, and genuine practitioners (I am personally acquainted with dozens). However, there was no one in her book fitting those descriptions, so I never found out.
This book is a poorly written, unsatisfying, failed satire/ unresolved mystery: don't bother
November 17, 2016
This is the story of Dana, who sees her ex-husband on the front page of a newspaper, along with the woman he left her for. They're both dead, and Ethan is being blamed for it. Dana goes about exploring what happened, and setting things right: the end of her marriage, the end of Ethan's life, the direction of her own future.
I really liked the way this started. It felt very modern, and pulled the reader right into it.
And the idea of closure, of finding out what really happened to the end of Dana's marriage, is too tantalizing to ignore.
Getting the different points of view fills in the picture fully.
And Dana's immersion into Ethan's life before his death is a risky adventure, but one worth taking.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the story derails. I didn't like the ending at all, and the set-up doesn't really lead to this conclusion. But for 90% of it, this is a really great read. If you're interested in it, you'll be happy you read it, so pick it up.
My thanks to Library Thing for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the way this started. It felt very modern, and pulled the reader right into it.
And the idea of closure, of finding out what really happened to the end of Dana's marriage, is too tantalizing to ignore.
Getting the different points of view fills in the picture fully.
And Dana's immersion into Ethan's life before his death is a risky adventure, but one worth taking.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, the story derails. I didn't like the ending at all, and the set-up doesn't really lead to this conclusion. But for 90% of it, this is a really great read. If you're interested in it, you'll be happy you read it, so pick it up.
My thanks to Library Thing for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 18, 2017
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. :)
July 14, 2017
Review from foxywriterchick.com July 7, 2017
Intriguing premise? Check. Domestic bliss gone bad? Check. Interesting characters? Check. Or so I first thought.
I grabbed this book off the new releases shelf at my local library and was pulled in by the blurb on the inside cover.
Young, ambitious lawyer, Dana Morrison Powell is on the fast track to make partner at her NYC law firm. She lives for work and works to support writer/dreamer Ethan Powell, the college sweetheart she met and married in Minnesota not so long ago.
From Dana’s perspective, everything seems to be going great in their marriage until Ethan runs off with his graveyard-shift work buddy turned yoga partner, Ruth “Amaya” Walters.
Two years later and still reeling from her MIA husband, Dana picks up a newspaper and learns Ethan and his yoga-slut, Amaya have been found dead in a New Mexico cave. From Namaste to Nomore.
So when Dana hears from a New Mexico lawman who is trying to solve the mystery behind the deaths of the yoga power-couple and hypothesizes a murder-suicide, Dana knows she’s got to get involved. She knows Ethan better than anybody, and Ethan would never do such a thing.
I wanted to love this book. Such a great set up. But after a wonderful premise, the first hundred pages of the book was really just backstory. It did little to further Dana’s quest to solve the mystery. And the sheriff, who I thought would make a promising sidekick, was relegated to the status of a minor, uninspired cardboard cutout.
As I read, I found my attention wavering. I should have been turning pages, but I was really just turning off.
Grose makes some good points about cults and New Age “spirituality,” but her message was bogged down with contrived plotting and multiple points-of-view that all seemed to read the same.
Case in point: The gruff old father-in-law from Montana AND the old yoga hippie-chick who hailed from 1960’s Haight-Ashbury AND workaholic lawyer Dana all sounded the same. If each chapter hadn’t been labeled with the narrator’s voice, a reader would be hard-pressed to identify the speaker.
As the story plodded along and there was just too much wild coincidence for this reader. I found, in the end, that I just didn’t care that much about what happened to the characters. Most were pretty flat.
As for Ethan, the dead husband, he was a dumb-ass. The smartest thing he did was marry Dana. But then he just devolved into selfish, lazy, entitled, whiny giant penis looking for spirituality in all the wrong places and then biting the big one in a cave. Analyze that, Mr. Freud.
This is not a story that I will think about in the coming days with any degree of wonderment. Except maybe to wonder how a major publisher got behind this book.
Intriguing premise? Check. Domestic bliss gone bad? Check. Interesting characters? Check. Or so I first thought.
I grabbed this book off the new releases shelf at my local library and was pulled in by the blurb on the inside cover.
Young, ambitious lawyer, Dana Morrison Powell is on the fast track to make partner at her NYC law firm. She lives for work and works to support writer/dreamer Ethan Powell, the college sweetheart she met and married in Minnesota not so long ago.
From Dana’s perspective, everything seems to be going great in their marriage until Ethan runs off with his graveyard-shift work buddy turned yoga partner, Ruth “Amaya” Walters.
Two years later and still reeling from her MIA husband, Dana picks up a newspaper and learns Ethan and his yoga-slut, Amaya have been found dead in a New Mexico cave. From Namaste to Nomore.
So when Dana hears from a New Mexico lawman who is trying to solve the mystery behind the deaths of the yoga power-couple and hypothesizes a murder-suicide, Dana knows she’s got to get involved. She knows Ethan better than anybody, and Ethan would never do such a thing.
I wanted to love this book. Such a great set up. But after a wonderful premise, the first hundred pages of the book was really just backstory. It did little to further Dana’s quest to solve the mystery. And the sheriff, who I thought would make a promising sidekick, was relegated to the status of a minor, uninspired cardboard cutout.
As I read, I found my attention wavering. I should have been turning pages, but I was really just turning off.
Grose makes some good points about cults and New Age “spirituality,” but her message was bogged down with contrived plotting and multiple points-of-view that all seemed to read the same.
Case in point: The gruff old father-in-law from Montana AND the old yoga hippie-chick who hailed from 1960’s Haight-Ashbury AND workaholic lawyer Dana all sounded the same. If each chapter hadn’t been labeled with the narrator’s voice, a reader would be hard-pressed to identify the speaker.
As the story plodded along and there was just too much wild coincidence for this reader. I found, in the end, that I just didn’t care that much about what happened to the characters. Most were pretty flat.
As for Ethan, the dead husband, he was a dumb-ass. The smartest thing he did was marry Dana. But then he just devolved into selfish, lazy, entitled, whiny giant penis looking for spirituality in all the wrong places and then biting the big one in a cave. Analyze that, Mr. Freud.
This is not a story that I will think about in the coming days with any degree of wonderment. Except maybe to wonder how a major publisher got behind this book.
June 23, 2017
Dana has moved on in the two years since her husband left her. She works hard and the law firm has noticed. She's also in great shape. But when she spies a headline and her ex's picture on the from page of the New York Post, she realizes she hasn't moved on quite as well as she thought. Ethan and the yoga instructor he left Dana for have been found in a cave. Or rather their bodies have. And now Dana is determined to find out what happened. In order to do so, though, it means traveling to New Mexico and spending time with the very group that Ethan abandoned everything for. A group that, for Dana and most outsiders, seems to be some sort of cult. But Dana knows that if she's ever to understand what led to Ethan's death, she'll have to convince these people that she belongs and believes - something the cynical lawyer admits is going to be difficult.
I have to say that I really appreciated Grose's humor and snark in this latest. I, too, have what I think is a healthy skepticism for any kind of cultish mentality and that's exactly what the group Ethan joins seems to share. At least at the outset. In reality it's kind of worse than she expects.
In spite of all the signs that she shouldn't get involved, not least of which is some time spent with Ethan's father before heading off to the "yoga retreat," Dana throws herself into her investigation. And it's not just the truth behind Ethan's death that Dana is searching for, it's what happened to their marriage as well. How the man she thought she knew so well could become someone so different. Someone who would leave her so easily.
I'll try not to be spoilery, but I have thoughts about the ending. Thoughts I've been dying to mull over with someone!
The end of Soulmates was not at all what I expected. I kind of saw it coming, but it still wasn't what I expected. And I wasn't sure how I felt about it either. It's definitely an ending that I think a lot of readers will probably not be so keen on, but after much thought I've decided that I kind of loved it. Again, it wasn't where I expected the story to go, but it was the kind of ending that sticks with you. And I found I stewed over it. Until I decided it worked. I'll admit a younger me would have hated it thought :)
I have to say that I really appreciated Grose's humor and snark in this latest. I, too, have what I think is a healthy skepticism for any kind of cultish mentality and that's exactly what the group Ethan joins seems to share. At least at the outset. In reality it's kind of worse than she expects.
In spite of all the signs that she shouldn't get involved, not least of which is some time spent with Ethan's father before heading off to the "yoga retreat," Dana throws herself into her investigation. And it's not just the truth behind Ethan's death that Dana is searching for, it's what happened to their marriage as well. How the man she thought she knew so well could become someone so different. Someone who would leave her so easily.
I'll try not to be spoilery, but I have thoughts about the ending. Thoughts I've been dying to mull over with someone!
The end of Soulmates was not at all what I expected. I kind of saw it coming, but it still wasn't what I expected. And I wasn't sure how I felt about it either. It's definitely an ending that I think a lot of readers will probably not be so keen on, but after much thought I've decided that I kind of loved it. Again, it wasn't where I expected the story to go, but it was the kind of ending that sticks with you. And I found I stewed over it. Until I decided it worked. I'll admit a younger me would have hated it thought :)
November 10, 2016
Well, this book had a lot of potential and an interesting premise. Dana Morrison is doing fine after her husband Ethan left her for another woman two years ago. Then Dana sees a newspaper headline with a photo of Ethan and his paramour: "Nama-Slay: Yoga Couple Found Dead in New Mexico Cave." That's when Dana realizes she actually hasn't gotten over Ethan. She resolves to find out what happened to him and in the process finds herself exploring Ethan's world of new-age yoga and mysticism.
The plot of finding out what happened to Ethan is actually secondary to the main plot of Dana's discovering herself. And this is the major disappointment. I read this book with the expectation of reading a mystery novel. It's not a mystery novel. Although there is a mystery (Ethan's death), and the mystery is solved in the end (in a most unsatisfactory way), this is not a mystery novel. The majority of the novel revolves around Dana's exploration of new-age spirituality, and the book goes into great detail about her experiences. Admittedly, author Jessica Grose's descriptions are bitingly funny in their acerbic lampooning of new-age culture, but these descriptions are the gist of this book.
Maybe if my initial expectations had been properly set, I would have enjoyed this book more. Don't read this book expecting a mystery because you'll be greatly disappointed.
The plot of finding out what happened to Ethan is actually secondary to the main plot of Dana's discovering herself. And this is the major disappointment. I read this book with the expectation of reading a mystery novel. It's not a mystery novel. Although there is a mystery (Ethan's death), and the mystery is solved in the end (in a most unsatisfactory way), this is not a mystery novel. The majority of the novel revolves around Dana's exploration of new-age spirituality, and the book goes into great detail about her experiences. Admittedly, author Jessica Grose's descriptions are bitingly funny in their acerbic lampooning of new-age culture, but these descriptions are the gist of this book.
Maybe if my initial expectations had been properly set, I would have enjoyed this book more. Don't read this book expecting a mystery because you'll be greatly disappointed.
December 5, 2017
If you like The Girls by Emma Cline then you'll like this book. so sad this book is also not for my mood. It could be good romance thriller but it hard to related to the character. Because I consider myself as religious person so I totally consider this spiritual mumbo jumbo kind of bullsh** just like Dana in the beginning then the ending is totally big 'wth'
October 27, 2017
Absolute trash. Sloppy and lazy writing. All of the characters have the exact same voice and the story is so cliche that there's no suspense. This is either "My very first creative writing class assignment" or "Trying to write a (badly executed) parable about what happens when a woman gets too caught up in a failed relationship." Either way, the result is garbage.
June 30, 2016
2.5
Too many plot details were over-explained, I didn't feel like I was trusted as a reader to meet the author halfway there. Kept my attention though, and as another reviewer mentioned, the ending had me thinking!
Too many plot details were over-explained, I didn't feel like I was trusted as a reader to meet the author halfway there. Kept my attention though, and as another reviewer mentioned, the ending had me thinking!
September 28, 2016
Would give book 2.5 stars. Some of the satirical new age "yummy mummy"/lulu lemon wearing women was deftly written and amusing. Found the ending to have come out of no where and wholly antithetical to who some of the main characters are. Should be noted received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
May 12, 2025
I listened to this on Audio on double speed. I feel like I’m cheating this year on my target listening to audio books but after spending my working day reading documents, it can be difficult on the eyes reading a book. The audio book is well done and I would recommend it if physical reading is difficult for any reason.
Dana is a successful litigator making her way up the ladder to reach Partner status at her law firm. Her husband Ethan relies on her for financial security so he can fulfill his writing dreams which do not come to fruition.
After a few years of Ethan spending his days in front of his XBox making no writing progress, Dana encourages Ethan to take a job he doesn’t like (poor Ethan…). It is here Ethan meets Amera who carries out a love bombing offensive on Ethan, successfully replenishing the self worth he feels Dana has stripped from him by forcing him to get a job. After sleeping with his work college and getting seriously into Yoga he decides to drain his own account and the joint account he shares with Dana to pursue his new self absorbed objective of enlightenment. Before robbing Dana, Ethan gives her the chance to join him on his yoga journey but Dana is not interested in the woo woo nonsense and leaves Ethan to carry on alone with his new work buddy Amera. Dana might be grumpy at the end of a work day and cares about worldly things like paying the bills, but she still cares about Ethan’s happiness and is glad he’s doing something that brings him joy.
Regardless of everything Dana has done for Ethan, he’s royally disrespected by Dana’s indifference to his new hobby (despite the years she helped him try to achieve his previous passion) and leaves her to be with his new lover Amera at the cookie cutter Yoga cult. A year or so later, Amera and Ethan are found dead in a cave as a result of a suspected murder suicide.
Upon hearing this news, Dana goes undercover in the cult to find out what really happened. Dana feels this will finally give her the closure she needs to move on from Ethan.
I thought the ending was good in a way, but the stuff about Ethan’s mother wasn’t necessary. He was vulnerable enough to end up in the cult without being perused.
There was good research and the story was ok but the characters were a bit flat. I don’t understand why Dana still held a candle for this selfish, useless, disrespectful partner. It was not clear why she loved him other than thinking he was nice enough not to a murderer. I would have liked to see her character more developed.
I noticed Manson Family themes, separating kids from their parents (Nxivm, children of god, FLDS and synanon to name a few) the members being shut off from the outside world and relocating to unregulated areas, humble brags from cult members regurgitating conversations had with members above them in the hierarchy. The author also included themes of flirty fishing, a cult leaders harem, dislike of gossip and other stuff.
Easy breezy listen and useful to get out of a reading slump.
Dana is a successful litigator making her way up the ladder to reach Partner status at her law firm. Her husband Ethan relies on her for financial security so he can fulfill his writing dreams which do not come to fruition.
After a few years of Ethan spending his days in front of his XBox making no writing progress, Dana encourages Ethan to take a job he doesn’t like (poor Ethan…). It is here Ethan meets Amera who carries out a love bombing offensive on Ethan, successfully replenishing the self worth he feels Dana has stripped from him by forcing him to get a job. After sleeping with his work college and getting seriously into Yoga he decides to drain his own account and the joint account he shares with Dana to pursue his new self absorbed objective of enlightenment. Before robbing Dana, Ethan gives her the chance to join him on his yoga journey but Dana is not interested in the woo woo nonsense and leaves Ethan to carry on alone with his new work buddy Amera. Dana might be grumpy at the end of a work day and cares about worldly things like paying the bills, but she still cares about Ethan’s happiness and is glad he’s doing something that brings him joy.
Regardless of everything Dana has done for Ethan, he’s royally disrespected by Dana’s indifference to his new hobby (despite the years she helped him try to achieve his previous passion) and leaves her to be with his new lover Amera at the cookie cutter Yoga cult. A year or so later, Amera and Ethan are found dead in a cave as a result of a suspected murder suicide.
Upon hearing this news, Dana goes undercover in the cult to find out what really happened. Dana feels this will finally give her the closure she needs to move on from Ethan.
I thought the ending was good in a way, but the stuff about Ethan’s mother wasn’t necessary. He was vulnerable enough to end up in the cult without being perused.
There was good research and the story was ok but the characters were a bit flat. I don’t understand why Dana still held a candle for this selfish, useless, disrespectful partner. It was not clear why she loved him other than thinking he was nice enough not to a murderer. I would have liked to see her character more developed.
I noticed Manson Family themes, separating kids from their parents (Nxivm, children of god, FLDS and synanon to name a few) the members being shut off from the outside world and relocating to unregulated areas, humble brags from cult members regurgitating conversations had with members above them in the hierarchy. The author also included themes of flirty fishing, a cult leaders harem, dislike of gossip and other stuff.
Easy breezy listen and useful to get out of a reading slump.
July 13, 2017
Dana's marriage fell apart years ago, but she has never fully gone through the phases of moving on. When she grabs a paper one morning she sees something that makes her entire world come to a complete halt. Her husband the woman that he ran off with have been found dead in the desert and the police are thinking its a murder suicide. Dana knows that Ethan is not capable of violence, and so she hops a plane to New Mexico to find out for herself what is going on. She spends some time at the resort and then makes her way to the police station, where she can talk to the sheriff and figure out what might have happened. No one has any answers, but Dana is determined to dig deeper and find out what happened.
Ethan writes down what happened between him and Dana, and it is quite a shock to her to read about it in the library of the resort. She steels herself and digs in, determined to learn his frame of mind. But what she discovers is nothing close to what she expected. The feelings of hate are replaced by sympathy.
In the meantime, she talks to Ethan's dad and finds out more of the story as he reveals a bit about Ethan's mother. When she is offered a chance to return, she jumps and takes the month at the Homestead, to try and learn more as she can. But as time goes on, one has to wonder what will actually happen. Is she in danger from Yoni, the man who runs the entire organization and has a somewhat shady past? Join Dana as she embarks on her search and the truth of what really happened...
Ethan writes down what happened between him and Dana, and it is quite a shock to her to read about it in the library of the resort. She steels herself and digs in, determined to learn his frame of mind. But what she discovers is nothing close to what she expected. The feelings of hate are replaced by sympathy.
In the meantime, she talks to Ethan's dad and finds out more of the story as he reveals a bit about Ethan's mother. When she is offered a chance to return, she jumps and takes the month at the Homestead, to try and learn more as she can. But as time goes on, one has to wonder what will actually happen. Is she in danger from Yoni, the man who runs the entire organization and has a somewhat shady past? Join Dana as she embarks on her search and the truth of what really happened...
July 16, 2017
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!
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!
October 31, 2017
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
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
March 21, 2018
I picked up this book in hardcover edition from Www.bookoutlet.com because it seemed interesting. my personal review of the book is as follows:
I personally related to "Dana's" processing of her husband cheating on/leaving her and how seeing events from her ex's prospective combined with time helped her to deal with it. I do see how some "New Age" people can use their power and teaching to hurt people.
I personally feel like the main lesson of the book is as a warning to never give up your personal power or make anyone the source of your personal growth or enlightenment. Overall I personally rate this book a 5 out of 10.
I personally related to "Dana's" processing of her husband cheating on/leaving her and how seeing events from her ex's prospective combined with time helped her to deal with it. I do see how some "New Age" people can use their power and teaching to hurt people.
I personally feel like the main lesson of the book is as a warning to never give up your personal power or make anyone the source of your personal growth or enlightenment. Overall I personally rate this book a 5 out of 10.
February 26, 2023
I could not put this down. I had to know what happened. And with each turn I couldn’t wait to know where we were going. I loved the mystery of this book as Dana looks into what really happened to her (ex-)husband and Ethan’s reveal of his personal journey as we slowly look behind the curtain of a yogi guru and his following. Loved it.
November 18, 2017
First 250 pages: 3.5 stars. Interesting and engaging plot, and having secondary narrators really helped round out the story.
Last 25 pages: 2 stars. I did not like this ending; it felt like a cop-out. Oh well.
Last 25 pages: 2 stars. I did not like this ending; it felt like a cop-out. Oh well.
March 1, 2018
I liked the author’s first book but this one was just not good. Rambling, hard to believe, a main character that acted in ways that made very little sense.
I also felt like I’d read wide sections of this book before in Modern Lovers and in Fitness Junkie.
I also felt like I’d read wide sections of this book before in Modern Lovers and in Fitness Junkie.
February 26, 2020
I was expecting a lot more.
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October 30, 2023
I have a hardbound copy of this book. Who wants it?
October 15, 2019
This book has taught me many things:
not all satire is equal. I think my upbringing may have inhibited my ability to recognize the satire.
The book was not fun. It could have been. My seven word description of the book: Woman obsesses over silly man then yoni. Oh wait. that was funny. I think I may have finally got some of the jokes. I think I was just too annoyed by the selfish ex husband and the main character's obsession with him. I practiced yoga and fell off a lot after I injured myself. I went through a yoga pants at work phase but that was really to see if anyone would say something about it.
I am glad I completed the audiobook. I actually enjoyed most of the ending that is the reason for the third star. It compelled me to call my sister and strongly advise her to beat me with one of my five yoga mats if I ever start making seriously bad moves over a man.
Also the sheriff or chief, whoever, was the most minor character ever in a book.
not all satire is equal. I think my upbringing may have inhibited my ability to recognize the satire.
The book was not fun. It could have been. My seven word description of the book: Woman obsesses over silly man then yoni. Oh wait. that was funny. I think I may have finally got some of the jokes. I think I was just too annoyed by the selfish ex husband and the main character's obsession with him. I practiced yoga and fell off a lot after I injured myself. I went through a yoga pants at work phase but that was really to see if anyone would say something about it.
I am glad I completed the audiobook. I actually enjoyed most of the ending that is the reason for the third star. It compelled me to call my sister and strongly advise her to beat me with one of my five yoga mats if I ever start making seriously bad moves over a man.
Also the sheriff or chief, whoever, was the most minor character ever in a book.
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