Soulmatch by Rebecca Danzenbaker

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✦ BLURB ✦

Two hundred years after World War III, the world is at peace, all thanks to the soul-identification system. Every eighteen-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.

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📚 When your past lives catch up with you—and bring a death count.

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✶ PRE-READING ✶

I’m always intrigued by stories that lean into reincarnation, especially when they get formal with it. A government-mandated reckoning of your soul’s entire resume? That’s begging for moral complexity, which is my jam. Also: if there’s a romance angle and a grumpy bodyguard involved, I am ready to invest. Please emotionally devastate me.

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✶ POST-READING ✶

As I thought... This did deliver on the sci-fi-soulmate front, but with more teeth than expected. The kirling process is haunting in its cool detachment - equal parts spiritual judgment and bureaucratic nightmare. Sivon’s character arc is a standout, starting with suspicion and slowly shifting into self-possession, even as she’s forced to navigate a system that sees her as a threat.

It surprised me by... …being so intense and twisty. The romance subplot never overpowers the bigger questions of identity, accountability, and autonomy. And the stakes? Astronomical. There’s this creeping horror that builds throughout, especially when it becomes clear how deeply broken the soul-matching system really is. Also, Sivon is not the only one playing chess.

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✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦

📖 Scythe by Neal Shusterman

🎥 The Giver (but spikier, and with more blood on its hands)

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦

Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song: “Control” – Halsey
Gritty, defiant, and absolutely vibing with Sivon’s arc of resisting what’s expected of her.

🎶 Vibe Album: Dead Club City – Nothing But Thieves
Shadowy synth-rock with existential angst? Ideal for a story about moral reckoning across lifetimes.

🎧 Artist Recommendation: Ruelle. Her entire discography could score this book.

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✧ VIBE CHECK ✧

🎨 Colour Palette: Charcoal grey, silvery white, and a shock of blood red

🎬 Soundtrack: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire meets Westworld season 1

🌸 Season: Late winter - cold, calculating, but with a sliver of thaw
💭 Mood: Introspective paranoia wrapped in defiant hope

🕯️ Scent: Ozone, gunmetal, and something faintly floral but unplaceable

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★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★

The Judgement – Transient Light Tarot

This card shows a horn suspended in darkness, a key dangling from its mouthpiece. It’s a stark image - no angels, no rising dead, just the summons and the silent promise of transformation. In Soulmatch, the key is literal and metaphorical: kirling opens the door to your soul’s truth, but not everyone wants what’s on the other side. Sivon’s journey mirrors this card exactly - once the horn sounds, there’s no going back.

Soulmatch publishes on the 29th of July, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.