In The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren, Jess Davis is a single mom who feels like she’s forever just barely 
holding it together. Not that she would change a thing. She loves her young daughter Juno to the moon and back and enjoys the fact that they live in the same apartment complex as her beloved grandparents–who raised Jess when her own mom bailed. She also couldn’t ask for a better best friend than Fizzy, who is a popular romance author. And whose books happen to be the only type of romance going on in Jess’s bedroom these days. With little time and no luck when it comes to dating, she’s all but given up on the idea of finding her soulmate.
“A ninety-eight, to me, implies that we would be drawn to each other. That we would have instantaneous chemistry.”
…”And you don’t?”
“I generally want to commit a felony when I see him,” Jess said, a butter knife held in front of her. “I’m not sure that’s a sign of romantic compatibility.”
Everything changes when Fizzy somehow talks Jess into doing a DNA compatibility test to see if new breakout company, GeneticAlly, can find them both a match. Skeptical but interested in the premise seeing as she’s a statistician, Jess doesn’t expect much in the way of an outcome. So when she’s a ninety-eight percent match with GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena, she’s flabbergasted. Especially since she’s run into him a few times. And they didn’t exactly get along–or start off on the right foot. But time together to promote the company’s success has Jess very slowly changing her mind about River. The problem she can’t get past, though, is if the feelings she has for him are real or if they are a product of knowing they are biologically matched.
“Are you hitting on me?”
“It sounds like I am.” He seemed as surprised as she was.
“Do we even *like* each other?”
He adjusted his arms around her, heavy and secure. “Still under review.”
With a storyline that will spark your imagination and a cast of characters so unique and awesome you’ll adore them, Christina Lauren’s newest standalone, The Soulmate Equation, dazzled me immediately.
‘Did people given a score of ninety-eight just assume that person would be their happily ever after?’
This book! I had such a blast with CLo’s newest romance. So much so that I wanted to turn around and go right back to page one and start it all over again when I finished reading. It piqued my interest as soon as I checked out the book synopsis. I mean, finding a love match based on DNA compatibility? How cool an idea is that? And it was something that only got more intriguing as the story moved forward and Jess and River grappled with figuring out if their growing feelings were real or clouded by their incredible match results.
As with all of CLo’s work I’ve read in the past, I fell in love with the characters and enjoyed every moment of getting to know them all. There was single mom Jess, who had the weight of the world on her very capable shoulders. Her BFF Fizzy who had me in hysterics with her lack of a verbal filter. And Juno, Jess’s seven-going-on-twenty-seven year old super smart, lovely daughter. And then there was River, the scientist with a PhD–and a possible hidden romantic side? He and Jess weren’t enemies per se. But there was some animosity and dislike between them at first. I got a kick out of seeing why River acted aloof and cool and couldn’t get enough of him and Jess once they began to understand each other better.
The Soulmate Equation had all of the humor, genuine emotion, and sparkling dialogue I expect from author duo Christina Lauren. If you’re looking for a romance that will keep you completely engaged–and giggling profusely–this book is for you.
Book Info:
Publication: Expected publication: May 18th 2021 | Gallery Books |
Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents—who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno—Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.
But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands.
At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.
Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.
