Rebecca Danzenbaker’s debut novel Soulmatch arrives like a chess grandmaster’s opening move—calculated, unexpected, and setting the stage for a complex game where the stakes couldn’t be higher. In a world where past lives dictate your future, eighteen-year-old Sivon discovers that being a “new soul” makes her the most dangerous person alive, even though she’s never lived before.
Set 200 years after World War III, Danzenbaker constructs a society built on the Soul-Identification system, where every teenager must undergo “kirling”—a terrifying government process that reveals their past lives, career paths, inheritance, and potentially their soulmate. The premise alone is enough to hook readers, but it’s Danzenbaker’s execution that transforms this high-concept dystopia into something genuinely compelling.
A World Built on Past Lives and Present Fears
The world-building in Soulmatch is methodical and immersive. Danzenbaker introduces us to SEIK (the Sanchez-Esteban Index of Kirlings), a massive database tracking every soul across multiple lifetimes. The social implications are staggering—imagine knowing your best friend was a war criminal in their past life, or discovering your soulmate through government algorithms rather than chance encounters.
The kirling process itself is brilliantly terrifying. Sivon’s journey through the Soul and Kirling Institute (SKI) reveals layers of institutional control that feel uncomfortably plausible. When good souls leave with inheritance and career paths while bad souls leave in handcuffs, the system’s arbitrary nature becomes clear. Danzenbaker doesn’t shy away from exploring how this knowledge shapes society, from the tragic figure of Flavinsky (who has committed suicide in eleven consecutive lives) to the way past-life criminals are perpetually punished.
The author’s background in photography and detailed planning shows in her vivid descriptions. The rainbow aura that coats Sivon’s bedroom walls, painted by her aura-reading mother, becomes a constant reminder of her otherness. The crossroads symbol that appears in all her artwork and dreams creates an effective through-line that pays off beautifully in the narrative’s latter half.
Sivon: A Protagonist Worth Rooting For
Sivon emerges as a refreshingly complex protagonist. Her chess prowess isn’t just a quirky character trait—it becomes central to understanding her strategic mind and how she navigates the political machinations threatening her life. Danzenbaker writes Sivon with genuine teenage voice, complete with self-doubt, sarcasm, and the kind of emotional volatility that feels authentic rather than contrived.
What sets Sivon apart from many YA protagonists is her immediate acceptance of responsibility. When she discovers she’s a new soul—the first in forty years—she doesn’t spend chapters wallowing in self-pity. Instead, she begins calculating her next moves like the chess player she is. Her relationship with her identical twin best friends, Vivi and Corah, provides emotional grounding while her growing attraction to her bodyguard, Shepherd, adds romantic tension without overwhelming the plot.
The supporting cast feels equally well-developed. Shepherd (whose birth name is Donovan) carries the weight of protecting someone whose very existence threatens the established order. His sister Ziva’s tragic suicide early in the novel demonstrates the devastating consequences of being labeled a “bad soul,” adding urgency to Sivon’s situation.
Romance That Enhances Rather Than Hijacks
The romantic subplot between Sivon and Shepherd develops organically throughout the story. Danzenbaker navigates the bodyguard-protectee dynamic thoughtfully, acknowledging the power imbalance while allowing genuine emotional connection to develop. The tension is particularly effective because Shepherd already has an identified soulmate—Crosier—creating a love triangle that feels necessary to the plot rather than inserted for drama.
The author explores different types of love through various relationships: the symbiotic bond between soulmates Vivi and Corah, the tragic obsession between Justice and Kopar, and the growing attraction between Sivon and Shepherd that defies the system’s predetermined matches. This variety prevents the romance from becoming formulaic while reinforcing the novel’s themes about choice versus destiny.
Political Intrigue and Pacing Concerns
Where Soulmatch truly excels is in its political maneuvering. The revelation that Prime Minister Mirovnik is actually the soul-stealing villain Ladiron, who has been systematically hunting Sivon’s past incarnations, provides a satisfying explanation for the mysterious deaths threatening her friends. The concept of soul theft—wealthy individuals paying to steal desirable souls—adds another layer of horror to this dystopian world.
However, this complexity occasionally works against the novel’s pacing. The middle sections, particularly during Sivon’s media appearances and the investigation into various deaths, sometimes feel bogged down by exposition. Danzenbaker has created such an intricate world that explaining its mechanisms can slow narrative momentum. The author’s tendency toward detailed world-building, while impressive, occasionally sacrifices the urgent pacing that dystopian thrillers demand.
Technical Craft and Writing Style
Danzenbaker’s prose is clean and accessible, with flashes of genuine beauty. Her background in visual arts shows in her ability to create memorable images—the Carrefour Diamond necklace that seems to warm against Sivon’s skin, the way Advertitude buildings display messages to SKI residents, the horrifying moment when Crosier falls from the cliff. The author knows when to linger on emotional moments and when to propel the action forward.
The dialogue feels natural for the most part, though occasionally characters speak more like plot devices than teenagers. Sivon’s voice remains consistent throughout, maintaining her chess-player logic even in emotional moments. The author effectively uses Sivon’s strategic thinking to help readers understand complex plot developments without resorting to clunky exposition.
Themes That Resonate
Beneath its dystopian surface, Soulmatch grapples with timeless questions about identity, free will, and the weight of inherited guilt. If you knew your soul had committed terrible acts in past lives, would that define who you are now? Sivon’s status as a new soul forces her—and readers—to consider whether we’re products of our past or architects of our future.
The novel also examines how institutions use fear to maintain control. The kirling system, ostensibly designed to create peace by identifying dangerous souls, becomes a tool for manipulation and oppression. When Sivon realizes that powerful individuals can steal and swap souls at will, the entire foundation of their society crumbles. It’s a pointed commentary on how those in power manipulate systems supposedly designed for everyone’s benefit.
Minor Critiques and Missed Opportunities
While Soulmatch succeeds on multiple levels, it’s not without flaws. The sheer complexity of the plot sometimes overshadows character development for secondary figures. Dikela, Bardou, and other kirling institute residents feel underdeveloped despite their potential for compelling subplots.
The novel’s ending, while satisfying on a plot level, rushes through emotional consequences. Crosier’s death and its impact on Shepherd deserves more exploration, as does Sivon’s psychological processing of becoming a target for assassination. The author seems more interested in resolving the political conspiracy than examining its emotional aftermath.
Additionally, some convenient coincidences strain credibility. The revelation that Sivon’s symbol appears in her friends’ past-life treasure hunt feels slightly too neat, though Danzenbaker handles it better than many authors might.
A Promising Start to What Should Be a Series
Despite these concerns, Soulmatch represents an impressive debut that announces Danzenbaker as a voice worth watching in YA dystopian fiction. The novel’s exploration of identity, institutional control, and the price of knowledge feels particularly relevant in our current moment of questioning traditional authorities.
The author’s ability to balance multiple plot threads while maintaining emotional stakes demonstrates sophisticated storytelling skills. The world she’s created has room for expansion, and the questions raised about soul theft and institutional corruption suggest rich material for future installments.
Comparisons and Recommendations
Readers who enjoyed Neal Shusterman’s Scythe will appreciate Soulmatch’s examination of how societies might use advanced systems to maintain order. Like Ally Condie’s Matched, it questions the price of predetermined fate while offering a romance that enhances rather than dominates the plot. Fans of Kiera Cass’s The Selection will enjoy the political intrigue, though Soulmatch offers more sophisticated world-building.
Readers who enjoyed the complex worldbuilding of Neal Shusterman’s All Better Now will find similar satisfaction in Danzenbaker’s careful construction of her post-war society. The chess metaphors and strategic thinking also echo Marie Lu’s Legend series, though with a more mystical foundation.
For Similar Reading Experiences:
If you enjoyed Soulmatch, consider these titles:
- Scythe by Neal Shusterman – Complex world-building with moral implications
- Matched by Ally Condie – Questioning predetermined destiny and choice
- The Giver by Lois Lowry – Society built on controlled knowledge
- The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau – Government systems that determine fate
- Reboot by Amy Tintera – Questions about soul and humanity
- Article 5 by Kristen Simmons – Dystopian government control
Final Verdict
Soulmatch succeeds as both an engaging YA thriller and a thoughtful exploration of destiny versus choice. While the complex plot occasionally overwhelms character development and pacing, Danzenbaker’s sophisticated world-building and compelling protagonist make this a worthwhile read for dystopian fiction fans.
The novel raises questions that linger long after the final page: If your past lives were revealed tomorrow, would you still be the same person? Can love transcend predetermined compatibility? And most unsettling of all—who really controls the systems we trust to define us?
For a debut novel, Soulmatch demonstrates remarkable ambition and largely successful execution. Danzenbaker has created a world worth revisiting and characters worth following through whatever challenges await them. While it may not revolutionize the YA dystopian genre, it certainly proves the author’s place within it.
- Perfect for: Fans of complex dystopian world-building, political intrigue, and romance that serves the plot rather than dominating it. Readers who enjoy protagonists who think strategically and stories that question the nature of identity and institutional control.
- Content note: The novel deals with themes of suicide, institutional oppression, and violence, though these elements are handled thoughtfully rather than gratuitously.
Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of Soulmatch from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Like Sivon discovering her true nature through the kirling process, I approached this book without preconceptions, allowing the story to reveal itself organically. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own—no soul-swapping or institutional manipulation involved, just one reader’s genuine response to a compelling debut that earned its place on my shelf through merit rather than obligation.