3.5 maybe??? Long story short, this was not my fav by a long shot, too much (impressive) science talk that went over my head and made me feel QUITE dumb, and the romance between Jess and River fell a little flat, but I did love the characters and I giggled quite a bit so it balanced out.

I liked Jess and River as individuals, and I like that we had a heroine in STEM, but there was just something ... off about this whole story. I'm not quite sure what it was, and it very well could be that most of the plot hinged on me understanding science when I barely passed my AP physics exams and Stats class put me to sleep in high school, so a lot of what I needed to read I had to go back over a few times because the material just wasn't sinking it. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely impressive, but I also don't want to feel like I'm reading a science textbook when I'm reading my romance novel so it did make me a little twitchy. And frustrated that I had to keep rereading and was getting so caught up in this stuff.

All of this emphasis on the science also made the romance a little lackluster for me and it felt crammed into the end. It felt incredibly rushed, weirdly inauthentic, and just like neither of them really wanted this but assumed they did? Maybe? They were cute, and they definitely had some super sweet scenes together and I loved watching them get to know one another (the photoshoot!! I loved the photoshoot!), but I wish I had gotten more of that, and less of the nitty gritty science. I also absolutely adored River with Jess's daughter, and thought that it added another layer to him, but overall I was just kinda meh about the two of them together.

Would die for Fizzy though. She was a DELIGHT.

And look, I definitely did laugh, and it had the trademark CLo charm, but I found myself thinking of their other books and the characters I've loved more (like Josh and Hazel) and that's not what I want to be doing while I'm reading an author's new release. But as I said, it was definitely sweet, absolutely funny, and had some very tender and heartwarming moments. And Jess did have some solid growth (River too!) and I love those moments, so I guess overall it balanced? I wasn't overwhelmed, I wasn't quite underwhelmed, I was simply ... whelmed.

Ah well. Better luck next time!

Thank you to Gallery and Netgalley for my review copy!

When I started The Soulmate Equation I was pretty quickly convinced it was going to be very cliched. Jess, a single mom, joins a new DNA-based matchmaking company and gets an insanely high match with none other than the company’s founder himself, River Pena. I may have rolled my eyes. BUT, this story was actually very sweet and I was super pleasantly surprised.

I loved Juno, Jess’s daughter, and the depth the story took into their relationship and crafting Juno as a well-rounded character. She added a level of complexity to the story that not all romance books have. Jess’s best friend, Fizzy, was an amazing addition as well. She was hilariously extroverted and over the top and completely unafraid to speak her mind and push Jess to do things she wasn’t totally comfortable with -- in the most supportive way.

There was a twist in this story that caught me off guard, and I couldn’t guess where the narrative was going to end up after that. This kept me fully engaged even through that scenes that did fill a little stereotypically romance-y.

Jess and River’s relationship felt like it blossomed organically and I loved that they bonded over being statisticians. This was a really lovely story and a quick read that made me smile.

I really enjoyed In a Holidaze by the writing duo of Christina (&) Lauren, so I was happy to get an ARC for this one as well. The data science and genetics aspects added a different dimension to the story, which made it interesting and made me realize I need to brush up on those topics! It might still be in the fantasy realm to have genetic testing for matchmaking, but does it really require suspending disbelief more than accepting the typical love interest who is ridiculously good-looking, rich, educated, single, and interested in the protagonist? The cast of supporting characters is also a lot of fun... can we get a Fizzy novel? Please and thank you!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

What if love was in your DNA? That's what the team at GeneticAlly believed. After submitting her sample in a moment of weakness, Jess found herself matched to none other than River, the prickly founder of the company. They not only matched, they matched at a historic 98%. Will Jess be able to see beyond River's gruff exterior and give him a chance to win her heart?

Christina Lauren never disappoints me! As a science geek, I was immediately hooked by this premise, but all those signature CLo elements were there too. Great characters - check. Witty dialog - check. Lots of warmth and charm - check. A heartwarming romance - check. This one checked all the boxes for me.

I have a special affection for single-mom heroines. Being a single mom myself, I find I relate to them in a special way and really understand their concerns when it comes to relationships. But there was a lot more to Jess than just being Juno's mom. She was a single mom by choice, who had a complicated relationship with her own mother. Jess was lucky enough to be blessed with phenomenal grandparents who raised her, but she still built walls around her heart for protection. That was a tough obstacle for River, but he managed to get through.

River was rather wonderful, once you got to know him. He might have seemed like a stereo-typical scientist, but he also had experiences from his past which shaped him in a big way. His love for his sisters and his grandmother showcased his softer side, and seeing him with Juno melted my heart.

Speaking of Juno, she was one of the characters who made this story even more wonderful. Juno was a fun little kid, who injected lots of sweetness and joy into this tale. Jess' grandparents were also a source of smiles and "aww shucks" moments for me. Then there was Fizzy, Jess' best friend. She was a hoot! Her ties to the romance industry added another layer of fun to the story, and she provided lots of humor as well.

This romance took time to ramp up, but it was pure bliss for me once they got there. The pairing was a bit unexpected, but the chemistry was undeniable. Jess and River shared so many great moments on the road to their HEA, and I treasured them all.

Overall: Another CLo hit for me! It was sciencey, sweet, and packed with lots of feel-good moments, which left me hoping for a sequel.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for an arc of The Soulmate Equation for my honest review. I am a huge Christina Lauren fan and even more a rom com fan. To say this is their best release to date still isn’t doing it justice.

The plot in theory isn’t all that unique but the characters were altogether their own. Jess is a highly relatable protagonist being a 30 year old, broke, single mother. River is less relatable being an extremely attractive scientist.

I literally smiled the entire time I read this book except for the time I cried and the other time I was a little sad. Jess and River’s chemistry actually sizzled off the pages and I could almost touch it. The scenes were delicious and I largely ignored every adult responsibly for a whole day to read this.

Released on May 18th, 2021 and you need it.

I enjoyed Christina Lauren's past books and this one was just ok for me. Single mom trying to balance everything and trying to start dating after putting that aside to raise her daughter. Jess tries out a new dating app that is based off of DNA (I have a hard time believing this one so I think that is what largely started me off only liking the book and not loving the book). Her match is the founder and grumpy grump so she takes a chance.

Do you wonder if your soulmate is out there? Have you met them? Are you with them? Would you take a DNA test to find out? This book is so cute! So many times I found myself smiling while reading as I was following River and Jess. It's predictable as most romcoms are, but a sweet story that I would recommend.

This is going to be incredibly popular! This was a charming, light read, and it will be perfect for summer. Jess is a statistician and a single mom, devoted to her daughter, her grandparents and her best friend. Romance has been on the back burner for a while now. Dr. River Pena is a genetic scientist and the founder of GeneticAlly, a brand new company that hopes to match people up with their soulmate by analyzing markers in their DNA. Jess and River are matched by GeneticAlly, but of course they can't stand each other. They agree to try spending time together to see how it goes, and I think you know what happens.

This was cute, and fun, with snappy dialogue and great characters. Admittedly, there is a vague creepy factor to how Jess and River start going out, but I thought the author was pretty careful with it. I really liked it.

Jess Davis is a single mom, who hasn’t dated much, or really at all, since her daughter was born. That changes when Jess hears about a new dating website called GeneticAlly. GeneticAlly is a website that rates your compatibility based on a number of different things found in your DNA. One night when Jess is feeling a little down she decides to send in her sample. The next day she gets informed that she made a 98% match. (The highest match that has ever been found.) Which can’t be right, can it? Especially because her match is the uptight, stuck up man she sees on the daily at her favorite coffee shop. Oh and he’s also the founder of GeneticAlly. GeneticAlly has a proposition for Jess, get to know River and they’ll pay her. As a struggling single mother, she decides she can’t turn this down. Maybe there’s more to River than meets the eye. Can this man really be her soulmate?

Christina Lauren has done it again. This book was so good. I loved every single one of our characters and the premise of the book was quite unique. I loved how the DNA dating website worked. I’ve only read one other book that’s had anything similar. That book was a thriller and dealt with the DNA matching quite differently though. So I loved Christina Lauren’s take. The Soulmate Equation was ridiculously cute and swoon worthy. I highly recommend checking this book out if you love a rom-com that will also get you thinking. I still can’t decided if I would ever want to sign up for a website like this.

A delightfully cute confection, The Soulmate Equation checks the sweet and charming spots.

Jessica Davis is a hard working single mother who is used to relying on herself and her small and close knit support system to help her raise her seven-year-old daughter Juno. She’s barely keeping afloat and has no time to date.

When her best friend Fizzy gets her a sample kit from a new, up and coming DNA-based matchmaking company she gives in and sends it in not really expecting a good match, much less a 98% soulmate compatible one. Especially not to the moody, antisocial hot guy who’s been coming to her local coffee shop every day for the past two years.

It’s hard to believe the data, but the GeneticaAlly board makes her an offer she can’t refuse: get to know the man behind the science, Dr. River Peña, and they pay her. Will they be able to verify the research?

The Christina Lauren writing duo has once again produces an original and appealing romance that’s brimming with heart and charm.

All the characters, main and secondary, were great. Jessica is smart, and even though she had many doubts it was easy to root for her. River is shy who comes off as cold, is absolutely swoon worthy. Fizzy, Jessica’s BFF is terrific, I would love to be her friend, Jessica’s grandparents and daughter are absolutely lovely.

The attraction and romance between Jess and River is definitely a slow burn. It took a while, for Jess especially, to get on board with the possibility of them but I enjoyed watching them fumble through their forced courtship, getting to know each other and then watch them fall.

The Soulmate Equation is a standalone contemporary romance by Christina Lauren. It is a sweet romantic escape told from the heroine’s point of view, and has a happy ending. No cliffhanger.

SO CUTE. Christina Lauren's novels are often hit or miss with me, but this one really resonated. All of their characters, both the two protagonists and all of the side characters are so dynamic and interesting. I would be delighted to read further books about any of them. The plot is a little suspension-of-disbelief-requiring just in terms of the science, and it definitely has hits of that new Netflix show (but with significantly less murder). If you're willing to roll with it, the science honestly isn't that important and the chemistry in this book is phenom. Definitely going to be a great beach read this summer!

Loved this romance! It was slower to start than I thought it would, but that didn't make it one iota less enjoyable. Jess was engaging as our heroine, and the story was perfectly charming and heartwarming.

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 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.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I love these authors a ton and they always publish books that I enjoy so much. And this was another great book of theirs! I thought this book was a great strangers/dislike to falling in love and it was really well done. The way that the relationship developed between River and Jess was immensely heart warming and I really loved both their interactions with Juno. It was enchanting to see their love story unfolding. Even more, it was so interesting to see Jess's journey to accepting help from her loved ones and also to accepting herself. River was so painfully shy and earnest, I loved his character. Honestly all the characters were quirky and hilarious - Fizzy especially and I loved that she was a romance author. I also loved that the story featured Jess cutting off a toxic relationship with a relative. I think too often books manage to turn things around and things magically work out somehow. But sometimes a toxic relationship is just that and needs to end. I thought it was a really brave thing to do. Overall I thought it was a great love story and I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I liked the concept of the matchmaking science that was made in this book. It was so interesting to read about. I also really liked the romance between River and Jess. I feel like we should have seen more of their romance, though, and I really would have liked to have had a dual POV, I feel like that could of made this book better because it would allow readers to understand River more. I flew through this book and it was such a fun read.

I have read many Christina Lauren books, and I have to say, The Soulmate Equation is now one of my favorites! It’s laugh-out-loud funny, and of course super cute!
I loved Jesse. She is probably one of my all-time favorite Christina Lauren characters, she’s smart and capable and funny as hell! The things she says to River, so hilarious. I loved that she always stood up for herself and called people out. River is the perfect straight man to Jesse’s antics, he’s stoic and serious and so when Jesse gets him to crack a smile it feels like we’ve all won! These two together are fantastic. I loved every scene they were in together and loved seeing them fall in love!
I don’t love a single-parent trope, I don’t hate it, but generally, they are not my favorite. What I loved about this one, is while Juno was a presence, she wasn’t as in your face as kids are in other single-parent books I’ve read. I think they did a great job of finding a balance of when to use her and when it made sense. Fizzy is an amazing side character! I loved her and would love for her to get her own book!
This was also a very original plot. The genetics dating app could have easily been a hard-to-understand and convoluted plot device. There was just enough “science talk” to make this believable and also bearable. I liked that both River and Jess were extremely intelligent people and I like where they took the plot. The conflict was well thought out and made sense for the story and the characters.
The Soulmate Equation was a wonderful read. I highly recommend this one!

Christina Lauren has done it again! I would buy anything they write without even reading a description of the book! I haven't found a book of theirs that isn't 5 STARS. If I am ever browsing a book store and some poor soul looks lost and needs a book recommendation THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS CHRISTINA LAUREN. If this is the first time you have heard of Christina Lauren (these two amazing female best friends who write together), you will not be disappointed. I'm actually jealous of you because you then get to fall down the wonderful rabbit hole of all of their past books (and don't forget the Beautiful series). They write some of my favorite tropes: one bed, second-chance romance, haters-to-lovers, and more. They offer something for every romance reader out there. But beware - after you are done with each one of their books you will fall into a slight book-depression because you don't think you will ever find another book as good as the one you just read. They stay with you forever and give you ALL THE FEELS. It's hard to find authors as good as these two women! And no, I was not paid for this review. I am just a *tiny bit* obsessed. :)

Christina Lauren is my favorite duo, and I love their books. I really enjoyed The Soulmate Equation, but it didn't enjoy it quite as much as their older books. I really liked the idea of the book, and I did not see the twist coming at the end.

3.5 stars/5 stars

Let me start by saying this quite possibly could be my favorite Christina Lauren book to date! I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will recommend it to everyone.

This book had me laughing out loud throughout and I think Fizzy is my favorite side character on the planet!

The romance in this book was also realistic and I really enjoyed the story of Jess and River.

If you love a book with romance, family and friendship, do yourself a favor and pick this book up when it releases on May 18th!

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Duo Christina Lauren never fails to deliver a delightful rom com.

The Soulmate Equation may just be one of my top favorites by them. The characters are so unapologetic themselves. You can't help, but fall in love with them and their quirky personalities. I would not be opposed to seeing a book about Fizzy in the near future!

Because of how I am, I over-focused on the plot and analyzed a bit too much into it, so that left me with one too many questions; however, for the sake of it being a rom com, it completely did it's job and has won my heart over.

There's so much to love about this book that I cannot recommend it enough: lovable and relatable characters, charming, SO MANY LAUGH OUT LOUD moments, and overall just a heartwarming and adorable novel. It is addictive and I could not read it fast enough!

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!