The Soulmate Equation

Jess Davis has a full plate between her freelance statistician jobs and single parenting her 7-year-old daughter, Juno, along with the help of her grandparents and her best friend, Fizzy. Jess does not have time for the trash fire that is online dating. But when Fizzy convinces Jess to try a new service that creates your matches based on DNA, Jess ends up with an unprecedentedly high match with one of the company's founders, Dr. River Pea. While there's no denying the attraction, neither of them are sure they actually like each other but as they explore a relationship they'll find a bond that not even science can explain.

Another really charming and occasionally steamy contemporary romance from Christina Lauren. I love the world they show more create for Jess and how well they explore the challenges of single parenting, even when she does have a supportive "village" behind her. While the idea of DNA-based matchmaking services is undeniably farfetched, they make it seem realistic and the real draw here is the undeniable chemistry between Jess and River. Jess's best friend, Fizzy, is also a highlight and many of her lines had me cracking up. Recommended for fans of the genre. show less

Sometimes you just need a happy book that will put a smile on your face. Christina Lauren is one of my go-to destinations for a happy read. Plus, this story involved science, so how could I go wrong? It’s a story with a sweet centre, combined with great dialogue and a bit of spice.

The author duo always have great careers for their characters, and Jess in The Soulmate Equation is no exception. She’s a statistician and lives for things like regression analysis and probability. Jess hasn’t had the easiest of times outside of numbers though. She was brought up by her grandparents and is a single mum to cutie Juno. Her mum isn’t on the scene and she hasn’t had a serious boyfriend for some time. But that’s all about to change when show more the grumpy, surly, hot guy she sees daily with author friend Fizzy turns out to have a matchmaking business. The point of difference for GeneticAlly is that is compares your DNA to others and ranks you on compatibility. For a laugh, Fizzy buys Jess a kit. Alone on of her thirtieth, Jess does it for a laugh. And then her life changes – she’s 98% compatible with hot guy River. Who she detests. But if the company is willing to invest in them having a potential relationship …why not give it a go?

This enemies to friends to lovers tale is excellent fun. I found it a little slow initially as the characters were being introduced and Jess’s backstory was being revealed, but it certainly picked up and took me away after that. It’s a fun, witty story combined with the dramas of family baggage and the warmth of good friendships. While Jess is cautious, she isn’t to the point of being boring. She also says some wild things at the wrong time, which made me laugh. River combines brooding good looks with a scientific background, plus a backstory of his life growing up which will have everyone saying ‘awww’ in unison. He too is cautious, but quietly so, which allows for a few feisty misunderstandings with Jess. I do think that Fizzy, Jess’s best friend and romance writer, deserves her own book. She’s wild and forthright with a vulnerable side, and also up for pretty much anything. She too deserves a happy ending, whether it’s a DNA match or not.

I loved the combination of romance, family and friendship amongst the setting of San Diego which sounded beautiful (with excellent food). I also loved that the authors clearly did their research when it came to River and Jess’s professions. I’m no expert on either statistics or genetics but it all made sense to me (complete with nerd jokes). It was just a delightful book to read, full of sunshine.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

I absolutely loved this book and I may have stayed up late to binge-read most of it...whoops!

I really enjoyed the plot of this book. The concept that you can have a soul mate based on genetic compatibility is a really interesting concept. Also, the twist was great and while I was expecting something to go wrong, that was not it!

The characters were very well developed and the pace of the relationship between Jess and River, while a bit fast, was not completely out of the realm of possibility based on the book's premise. I also liked that Jess was a smart, strong and independent character because I absolutely cannot stand the ditzy damsels that sometimes are the leads in romances. I think my only complaint was that River seemed to do show more somewhat of a personality shift from being a bit of a bastard to being affectionate and attentive pretty quickly after being matched, but overall still really well done and the relationship between the two was pretty cute (all the butterfly feels!). Would definitely recommend, especially as a beach read this summer!

The pace of the book was relatively fast and the story was told from Jess's POV. The mood was romantic, emotional, light and upbeat. show less

What do you expect from a romance novel? It must have moments of comedy and tragedy, romance and lust, heartbreaks and reunions, goody-goody main characters, a couple of morally gray secondary characters, and a Happily Ever After. The most important factor on which this genre relies is predictability. And yet, it must have some novelty to succeed in readers' minds. If you are looking for a book that checks each and every one of these boxes, The Soulmate Equation is for you.

Jessica Davis, an almost-broke, single mom who freelances as a statistician, has sworn off dating to care for her old grandparents and seven year old daughter. To satisfy her best friend Fizzy, Jess ends up joining GeneticAlly, a new dating site that matches profiles show more based on the person's genes. Imagine her shock when the company reveals a potential soulmate with an unprecedented 98% compatibility. The problem? This "soulmate" is none other than River Peña, the chief scientist and head honcho of GeneticAlly, who himself is stunned at this revelation of an almost perfect match. After all, he was into this research for the science, not for romance. Neither Jess nor River have a good opinion of each other. What do they do? Can they allow statistics to decide their relationship? Should they listen to their heads or their hearts? You know what happens next.

I've read The Unhoneymooners by this pair of authors together known as Christina Lauren and remember thinking that it was overrated. The first half was excellent, the second half went over the top with crazy plot twists and unrealistic situations. So when I started reading and enjoying this particular book, I kept awaiting the downswing in my experience. To my great surprise, it didn't happen at all.

The book maintains a steady balance of fun and seriousness throughout. Most of the characters are really nicely sketched and appear human rather than perfect, something that is usually not the case with most women's romance books. One thing I especially enjoyed was that Jessica wasn't the typical ditzy klutz who is so common in such books nowadays. As an educated woman, a practical mother, and a caring friend, she won my heart.

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book of this genre so much. More importantly, I can't remember the last time I read such a book without rolling my eyes even once. We don't read these kinds of books for their writing accomplishments, we read them to go 'Oooohhh!' and 'Awwww!' And there are plenty of Oooohhh and Awwww moments in The Soulmate Equation. So it is a very satisfying book for when you want something you can read with your brain turned off.

But me being me, there has to be a critique too. (My brain only goes on standby, never off. show less

i loved the voice and tone in this. it's snarky and funny and loving and full of female friendship. the voice is so good it immediately made me want to try another of her books.

the rest was good, too, but it's the voice that carries this one for me. the relationships were all really well done. between jess and her daughter, between jess and her grandparents, between jess and fizzy, between river and juno, even between jess and her mother; they are all perfect. i also really love the concept of using science (both dna and data) to find a romantic match. the parts where she went into a little more detail about this were fun for me. i kind of wanted even a little more of jess (and river) geeking out on the data. and i especially show more appreciated that the conflict, when it came, wasn't just an issue of communication or a misunderstanding. it was an actual obstacle.

all of these things made me swoon while reading this book.

the only things that didn't work perfectly for me were that the romance between jess and river blossomed too quickly. or i should say that it got deep too quickly. and that juno was supposed to be precocious, but there's just no way she was 7. she did some little kid things, but the way she spoke and worked and researched, she was much more like a 15 year old. and the resolution was a little quick for me as well. i do think the conflict really works and i even can buy his explanation; i just think there needed to be a little more discussion before it was resolved.

still, i really, really liked this and i am excited to see if the author's voice is as strong and clear and just so damn good in other books. show less

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is no secret that I love the Christina Lauren Duo. However, this book blew me out of the water. The other book's that I have read by them have been enjoyable, but a little more heavy on the cliche tropes (this is not in anyway a bad thing). I really loved that this book evoked deeper questions into soulmates, and genetics. The way this book made me question my own relationships in terms of if they would change knowing we received a certain "score" was uncomfortable in the best way possible. I really appreciated that this book was lighthearted and funny, but that it had deeper meaning and purpose.

I really loved Jess. I think she is such a show more good mom. I loved that she had her life pretty much figured out, and that she was so independent. I love that her personal life as a child shaped her life as an adult, and that we got to see those more intimate moments in her life. The way Jess kept a level head on her shoulders when she was faced with frustrating and heartbreaking situations was really nice to see. She obviously showed emotions, and seeing her open up during the story was amazing. Jess is a superwoman plain and simple.

The romance aspect of this book was above par. Overall, this is a great romance. If you haven't read anything by Christina Lauren this is the book to start with. show less

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Contemporary romance stand-alone. Enemies to lovers troupe.

River Pena Owens an innovative dating company. Compatibility is determined by DNA pairings. Jess has no interest in dating until her daughter is much older but a bad day has her impulsively submitting a sample for a potential match. Surprise! A match is made.

I loved the feel of the chemistry between all the players. The friends were amusing playing off each other. The mother daughter relationship was warm and endearing. The mother and grandparents together were sweet and heartfelt. The hero and heroine were initially antagonist and turned cautiously friendly, then more. In full, a charming family romance.

Excerpts I thought were fun and show more indicative of the story feel:
“Let me guess,” Jess said, “you’re the meetings guy.”
He smiled, nodding. “Endless investor meetings.”
“Send the hot scientist in, right?” she said, and immediately wanted to swallow her fist.
He laughed down at his tray of supplies, motioned for her to sit, and holy crap, it was suddenly seven hundred degrees in the lab.”

Excerpt:
IT WAS NORMALLY a ten-minute walk from Twiggs to the University Heights library. They made it in six.
Fizzy stopped on the sidewalk just outside, hands on her knees. “Holy s***. Why did I pick such a sedentary job? When the zombies come, I am screwed.”

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I also purchased a copy to share. show less