I think this is my favorite Christina Lauren book that I've read so far - the perfect blend of romance, nerdiness, drama, and laugh-out-loud moments. Jess and River were great characters with amazing chemistry from start to finish. All of the side characters making up Jessica's world offer so much to the story - from her grandparents, to Fizzy and Juno. Felicity (Fizzy) adds so much humor throughout - the perfect best friend character. And Jess's daughter Juno is adorable to the tenth degree. I literally want to go back immediately and read it again from the beginning. Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This might be my favorite Christina Lauren book yet. I loved Jess as a main character, her grandparents were an adorable support system, and Juno seemed super cool. I liked how River seemed like the brooding type until you got to know his character more as the book progressed. Jess and River as a couple were the best and I loved their scenes together. I wish we got a little more of the happy ever after towards the end of the book. I will be recommending this to anyone looking for a good romance.

I loved this romance! Jess lives in San Diego with her adorable daughter Juno, in a duplex owned by her grandparents, who raised her. She has a great best friend, Fizzy. Jess is a freelance statistician and Fizzy is a romance writer. They meet every day at a cafe to work. Every morning, a tall, dark, handsome, and snotty man appears at 8:24, buys a coffee, and leaves. When it turns out he is the founder of a new, pre-IPO dating technology based on DNA compatibility, Fizzy talks Jess into donating their spit and seeing if it works. Amazingly, Jess and the crabby guy are a once-in-a-bazillion match. His company pays her to date him (!?!) to test the science. Of course, their attraction is off the charts, and this aspect of the writing was stellar. So believable. And funny. When they kiss for the first time in front of a room of potential investors (they've never even touched much, and are unprepared for this, but somebody insists and they go along with it), the kiss is so hot, the chemistry so compelling that all you get is the scraping of chairs as people run out of the room, assumedly to call their brokers.

I laughed so much through this book.

The romance is classic, following all the expected beats, but the characters are well-drawn and so enjoyable. Jess and River are both amazingly smart, but Jess has abandonment issues and River, who is actually shy and nerdy rather than snotty, is obsessed with his work. They grow closer, it's satisfying, and then there's the inevitable heartbreak at the 85% mark before the HEA. I enjoyed this story so much. Recommended. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing it with me.

I just found my new favorite romance book. I loved everything about this book and was sad that I finished it. This is one of those books that I’ll wish I could go back and read it for the first time again.

Yep. Yep. Yep. Another absolute winner from Christina Lauren! This one has me reading until the wee hours of the morning and I do not regret the bags under my eyes today. I loved the characters. I loved the story, and I just loved everything about this one! I highly recommend this book to fans of CL and romance in general. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery for my review copy!

The Soulmate Equation was a fun and quick read. It made me laugh out loud and feel for the characters when things were tough. They made the tension between Jess and River feel real. The supporting characters led to a fully emersive story that I didn't want to stop reading. My only critique would be that I would have liked to see more of a resolution after the main conflict. Overall, a great read. 4.5 stars

Being a huge Christina Lauren fan I was so excited to read her newest book. Jess is a single mom who has an amazing support system in her grandparents and her quirky, but lovable best friend but hasn't found "the one". When Jess and her best friend are introduced to a new dating app that looks at compatibility by analyzing two people's gene's Jess is every bit the skeptic. When she's matched with the founder of the company she gets pulled into a relationship that will end up changing everything.

As in all of Christina Lauren books the characters are all so likable you feel like you are reading about your best friends. I not only loved the love story between River and Jess but also the other relationships in the book of River with Juno and the best friend relationship of Fizzy and Jess.

Overall anyone who is looking for a wonderful love story needs to check out this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy for exchange for my honest review.

Pub Date: May 18,2021

Writing: Easy and Fluid

POV: 1st Person

Genre: Romance

Steam Factor: 1 steamy scene. More of a slow-burn romance.

CW: Drug Addiction, Abandonment, Alcoholism

Brief Synopsis: Soulmate Equation follows our lead protagonist t Jess, who is a statistician and a single mother who meets Dr.River Pena. Dr.River Pena is head of a company called Genetically, which is a genetic match-making company. Soon what follows is a hate to lover's romance between Jess and River Pena.

I wanted soo badly to love this book, I love Christina Lauren they are my favorite romance duo authors. But...unfortunately, this book was a complete miss for me.

Pro's

- Diverse characters
- Realistic story of a single mom and I can see her story being relatable to other single mothers out there.
- Depth to the characters and their backstories
- I loved the friendship between Fizzy and Jess. They are friendship #goals!!

Cons:

- The biggest con was the main romance in the story between Dr.River Pena and Jess. I just couldn't buy it. I was not invested in the story at all. I couldnt for the life of me understand why Jess hated Dr.River Pena so much and their banter was weak...That hate to lovers troupe was not established in my opionion and overall their romance felt very insta-love ( which is something I dont enjoy in romances)

- Also...this book is not as light-heartened as I anticipated there are some serious topics in this book and some serious scenes. I don't mind when romances do this ( cough: Beach Read) but...I don't think it was done well in this book.

- The storyline with the mom...could have been omitted ( I really was not a fan of her storyline at all)

I'm just so bummed I didn't fall in love with this love story. I will continue to read everything else Christina Lauren writes. They are still my favorite romance authors and I still encourage you to check it out. It was not my cup of tea but, it could be yours

Thank you to netgalley, Gallery Books and Christina Lauren for an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.

Christina Lauren’s “The Soulmate Equation” is a fun, sweet light-hearted read. Jess Davis is a freelancing single mom who isn’t looking for love... but a chance encounter with “Americano” River results in finding her perfect, DNA match... or does it? This book is a fluffier version of “The One,” which I greatly enjoyed a few years ago! Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the ARC! This book is great for romance fans... and really just anyone who needs a mental break!

The premise of this fun romantic romp is whether your soulmate can be found through a dating service which looks at genetics to determine compatibility. At the heart of the story is the main character Jess, a self-employed statistician, who is also the mom of a precocious daughter named Juno. On a whim Jess sends in her DNA sample to the dating service which is getting ready to launch. Of course, her she has a "diamond" match with the owner of the company, River, whom she had taken a distinct dislike to upon earlier meetings. Her and River enter an arrangement where they date and get to know each other while also doing media interviews before his company's launch. This quick reading book has endearing characters, a fun plot and will make you laugh.

Christina Lauren paints a funny, loveable portrait of a working single mother. As usual, their cast of secondary characters shine nearly as bright as the primary.

Read it in about 1 sitting.
I enjoyed it.

But

[ did i read too fast?!?!?!? did I miss what the actual fucking # is? Is it just me that was left fucking hanging? i know it was high but I actually want to actual freaking #

A fun, sweet read - probably my favorite Christina Lauren novel, but still suffering from a couple classic "Christina Lauren" things that keep me from giving it more than three stars.

I really loved the concept of a dating app based on DNA - I have NO idea if any of that would be scientifically possible, but it was explained very well and felt very believable. Made me wish it was true!

I also really loved Jess and her close-knit family and friend group. That was so fun and felt authentic, if a little "too good to be true." That's probably just the cynicism in me, though.

My biggest issue was with the romance itself. I loved the concept, and I even liked River, but it all felt very surface level. While I understood Jess and her prickliness and wariness, I didn't really get River at all. So when the romance started grooving, I couldn't bring myself to care very much.

It was still an enjoyable read, though! I will be recommending it.

Loved The Soulmate Equation. A great, fun read about unexpected love. If you've liked Christina Lauren books in the past you'll love this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy.

DNA testing sites are surging in popularity and are now showing up in all sorts of books - thrillers, nonfiction and memoir. Christina Lauren brings it to the romance genre with "The Soulmate Equation" and the end result is a highly readable book that's perfect for summertime. Although it's a touch predictable, "The Soulmate Equation" features likable characters and a compelling plot. Buy it for your beach bag.

This was my first Christina Lauren book. I had heard these authors speak on a romance podcast I follow and decided to read one of their books. I enjoyed this book. I liked the plot and characters. I will read the backlist to Christina Lauren and look forward to new books.

Review will be posted on my blog on 5/3/21.

Likes:
*Jess is a single parent of a 7 year old girl, Juno. I totally related to Jess as a mom being frazzled and just trying to get through the day. I’m not a single mom, but there are times when I feel like one haha, so I admired how Jess did what she had to do to keep them afloat with the help of her grandparents and best friend.

*Jess’s best friend Fizzy is the BEST ever. 😍 I love how she’s a romance author. Fizzy is funny, adventurous, says what she wants to say, does what she wants to do and she and Jess have the best relationship. The two of them together made me laugh so much! Their dialogue was perfect.

*The importance of family comes through in this one, not only because Jess is a mom, but her own mother gave her up, and was out of her life for a very long time. Jess was raised by her grandparents and they are the sweetest. I love their little family.

*What is it about the geeky guy turning handsome/hot/successful that I love? Revenge of the nerds much? I love how River is this gorgeous guy, very much into his work…but he used to be the unpopular geeky kid in high school. Awww!

*The romance is so good! The chemistry is palpable. I love how they meet, how they get together, how they grow as a couple and try to figure out their feelings. This story made me feel good and happy. 😍

*I found the matchmaking app using DNA very interesting. Some of the science and statistics went over my head but it was still very fascinating.

Random Notes:
Jess’s mom is a recovering addict or she’s supposed to be. She shows up in Jess’s life to ask for money and I feel for Jess but like River says, she definitely takes charge when she has to and is decisive.

Final Thoughts:
I thoroughly and happily love The Soulmate Equation. I was invested with Jess and River’s love story and their chemistry is off the charts. I love how they could talk science and statistics and understand one another even when I didn’t understand them. I laughed a lot because Jess’s best friend is fantastic and for me that was the other love story in this book, the love in friendship. This is that kind of book where I wanted to find out what happens after the ending because I fell in love with this little family. This story is heartfelt, fun, smart, and I wish it never had to end.

Did I finish an ARC of
@ChristinaLauren
’s The Soulmate Equation in 1 day?

Yes, yes I did. Open book

Once again CL gives us characters to root for, chemistry for days, memorable secondary characters, & a very clever plot involving dating thru DNA matchups. I adored this book! Smiling face with 3 hearts

I dove deep and swam freely thru the NERDYNESS this book contained. And as a consumate book (and other types of) nerd I am, I must say that the story of Jess and River is one of those equations that, in the beginning don't make quite the sense -that enemies to lovers trope- but after an array of math problems and DNA testing and simple solutions, it all seems to match. Trust me, Im the ones who took math 101 FOUR TIMES in college, so I was absolutely curious to see what Christina Lauren would bring to us with this fantastic couple. Juno and bff Fizzy are the absolute queens of stealing the show, and I think the heartwarming and truth telling about insecurities and comfort zone and going out of your way to learn what real love means, is the ultimate HEA. It's not logic, it's love.

Christina Lauren once again does not disappoint! This was such a feel good romance that was also a little different than what your usual rom com book is. I enjoyed the relationship and it’s build up immensely, amazing amazing read. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC!