Member Reviews

"The Soulmate Equation" was such a fun romance! I loved the chemistry between Jess and River. DNA-based matchmaking was such a crazy concept. I also loved Fizz as a side character. I can't wait to read the next book in this series to see if she finds her true love! Once again, Christina Lauren created an engaging, sweet and funny romance. I will definitely be back for more! #netgalley

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Sometimes, a Christina Lauren book is a hit-or-miss for me. However, as they are one of my absolute favorite pairs of authors, I always happily seek out anything new that they have written. This book was very science-y and very fun. I enjoyed the character dynamic between the two main characters, especially with a single mom with such a fun daughter!, but found myself very intrigued by her best friend (and with good reason, because her sequel was fantastic as well).

This was a fun read - not my favorite as far as CL novels go, but still an enjoyable read. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Two of my favorite authors did it again. Loved this sweet nerdy approach to romance for the single mom and the scientist.

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Another excellent hit from duo Christina Lauren. I absolutely loved the premise for this book. It shows us that against the idea of a perfect match, real love can still be found. In this instant-gratification world, the things we want to be manufactured ending up fooling us in the end, only to be produced organically. Definitely a re-read for me.

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If you are looking for a romance novel that will make you swoon, laugh, and think, look no further than The Soulmate Equation. This book is a brilliant and original story that explores the possibility of finding your perfect match through a scientific algorithm. The book is not only entertaining and engaging, but also insightful and realistic, with a touch of humor and emotion. The book is crafted with skill and care, with a thrilling plot, lovable characters, and a smooth writing style. The book is a fair and honest review of the book's strengths and weaknesses, and why I think it deserves your attention. I would rate the book 4 out of 5 stars, and I would urge you to read it if you love a clever and cute romance with a twist.

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What if you could know that you were guaranteed to be compatible with your date before you even stepped foot out the door? Would you allow your DNA to be tested for a dating app? Learning about the experimental company GeneticAlly, Jess decides to sign up, setting her profile standards super high. No one could possible match at that level so no concerns about actually having to follow through with this ridiculous idea, right? Wrong. Jess gets called in to GeneticAlly's headquarters and is told she has matched with someone at the highest level the company has ever seen. The only issue is her perfect soulmate match is the company's founder, Dr. River Peña, someone Jess is familiar with through their daily run-ins at their local coffee shop. She couldn't possibly have broken science with this grumpy, impersonable man. On the verge of launching their app, the board makes Jess a proposition. Date River under our terms and we will pay you for your time. Unable to pass up the paycheck, Jess agrees to be dragged to events, photo shoots and interviews but as their forced proximity time together counts down Jess starts to think that there may be something to this soulmate science after all. I'm a big fan of the Christina Lauren writing duo but to say "The Soulmate Equation" was one of my favorites would be a lie. It's a good beach read type of book but these characters just didn't grab me like others have. For fans, I'd obviously recommend reading any CL book but if you have yet to pick one up, I'd suggest starting with another title.

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This isn't my favorite of the Christina Lauren duo team, but if you're a fan of them, you would love it!

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Dr. River Peña is the founder of GeneticAlly, a matchmaking company that uses DNA in its approach. Single mom Jess Davis has an analytical brain and has sworn off men after a series of bad first dates. When Jess gets a proposition that she cannot ignore, will the result change her life in ways she did not calculate?

I had a hard time forging a connection with either of the main characters, which, in turn, made it difficult to care about the ending. Overall, The Soulmate Equation was just a romance book about using science for matchmaking. Not all that entertaining or interesting to me, I would be hesitant to recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this novel was entirely my own.

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Predictable, but fun, romcom. Jess is really likable, River is the perfect romcom man, and the supporting characters were great. I didn’t have a big takeaway from this one, but I enjoyed it. Easy, fun, sexy, and romantic.

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Unique and adorable! Different concept than I have seen in the past. - match making by data base. The relationship is slow going opposite attract. Overall, it was cute, charming, funny, fast paced. Enjoyable and feel good story.

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I was disappointed with this one! Most of it didn’t seem very realistic and it was boring overall. It missed the mark for me based on their other books.

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3.5 stars

I’ve only ever read one Christina Lauren book, and it was one of their earlier works. I definitely enjoyed this perfectly paced, science nerd, haters to lovers romance. Jess and River had incredible chemistry & banter. However, overall I was not as impressed as I thought I’d be? Maybe my hopes were too high after hearing amazing things about this book, but I thought it was good, entertaining, and sweet, but not amazing.

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I read this book so quickly! Christina Lauren is a favorite of mine, and this book did not disappoint. I give this book 4.5 stars.

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As soon as I saw a new Christina Lauren book available, I snatched it up. I just know it will be good. And while I still got giddy excited to be reading their new book, this one contained their usually swoon-worthy banter and humorous scenarios. It took a while for the relationship to get going, but once it did, I couldn’t stop reading.

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4.5 STARS

Spit in a tube. Find your match. 🧬❣️ On her thirtieth birthday, Jess’s phone pings with an alert. She has matched with one of the founders of GeneticAlly, a company that’s designed a DNA test geared towards finding your soulmate. Jess and River have crossed paths before and to be honest, Jess can’t stand the sight of him. With all the science involved, Christina and Lauren could have been in over their heads with this one. Fortunately, that was not the case! I could tell the two did their research before even touching a pen to paper. The reader is quickly transported into GeneticAlly’s headquarters and faced with one question: are Jess and River’s results real?

One thing I love in romance novels is single parent representation. I absolutely adored watching River form a relationship with Jess’s daughter, Juno. I laughed a lot and I am eager to read Fizzy’s story next.

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This was a sweet book. It was different and adorable. I loved the incorporation of science and math. I found myself rooting for Jess and River.

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Absolutely loved this story. I really liked the MC's and how relatable Jess was. It was such a great perspective on the amount of pressure there is on single moms. I think they did a really great job showing Jess' struggle to be a mom, a business owner, a granddaughter, and a woman with needs all at the same time. It can be an overwhelming balance. I adored River, I mean how could you not haha. The sciency aspect was really interesting and explained in a way that my non sciency brain understood!
The secondary characters were amazing and jerks at the same time, a perfect balance to add to the story but not bog it down.
A really really great book that had my laughing out loud and crying by the end. Sexy and sweet all in one!

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The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

This is a story about using DNA to determine how compatible you would be to mate with another. Great concept but for me the story fell flat. The characters never melded for me. The writing was okay but the author didn’t do enough for me to buy into the premise. The fact that we are introduced to the main characters early in the story and they hated each other, well it just didn’t make sense in my mind.

With that said, I would read other works by this author but this story just didn't do it for me.

Rating 3
Linda C

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This was a solid read for me, if a little predictable. The premise is certainly interesting and I can see this technology (or something similar) being developed in the future. I did find the romance to be somewhat lacking for a "contemporary romance" and didn't really feel a ton of chemistry between the two main characters. Despite that, I did enjoy the story. 3.5 stars.

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Thanks to Netgalley, Gallery books and Christina Lauren for this ARC. A great concept for a story, DNA matches …but for me this can’t compare to similar stories by other authors, such as John Marrs.. same concept, his a better story.. there wasn’t enough scientific evidence in this book, and the question of attraction between the 2 main characters was definitely questionable.. also,once the attraction was developing, it seemed their lust took off way faster then their love.. This is just my opinion, I’ve read reviews from others that loved the speed of the relationship.
So 3 1/2 stars at best..

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