I love science and I love romance novels. So when I heard that Christina Lauren’s new book blended the two I was SO excited. I knew that this book wasn’t going to change my life but I was ready for the feel good effect of it!
It was very refreshing to see some diversity in romance novels in terms of the background of the characters. Too often are the characters a pair of privileged adults in their 20’s, roaming around NYC, working in publishing or finance or something. Not only were the occupations of these characters different by but also their backgrounds, stories, and circumstances! The side characters were also dynamic and captivating.
There is a lot of hype around genetics and genetic compatibility. Other shows and books have touched upon that but always in a very dark and sinister light. It was really great to see it in a more light hearted way. The message at the end about genetic compatibility was also a good one

This was overall a great book, a perfect summer read!

Thank you NetGalley, Christina Lauren, and Simon and Schuster Canada for the advanced copy of "The Soulmate Equation." What else can I say other than Christina Lauren does it again!!

Jess Davis is a single mom who hasn't had the best luck dating. One day, Jess hears about this new dating app "GeneticAlly" that is a DNA based matchmaking company! Jess ends up getting a 98% compatibility score with Dr. River Pena, who works at GeneticAlly. Jess can't imagine these results being accurate, because she knows River and he is a stuck-up and stubborn man. Genetically approaches Jess and offers to pay her to get to know River and attend a few events as their "Diamond Couple." Jess Begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist and the science behind a soulmate.

I loved the premise of this book, it was so unique, fun, and like nothing I have ever read before! There are even a few twists I didn't see coming! I absolutely love the mother-daughter relationship highlighted in this book between Jess and Juno. The theme of family is very strong in this novel and it warmed my heart reading. The dynamic between Jess and River was also amazing! With Jess being a data and statistics wizard and River being one of the scientists at GeneticAlly it made for such a fun, nerdy, flirty and charming relationship. Lastly, the friendship between Jess and Fizzy is one of the best I've ever read! The jokes they have, how they talk to one another and the love they show for each other just reminds me of my friends and I!

After reading Holidaze last Christmas, I’ve been dying to read more from the dynamic duo of Christina Lauren and this one did NOT disappoint!

I devoured this super charming and fun RomCom and I never wanted it to end! It was a perfect balance of sexy and sweet and I totally fell in love with River & Jess! I also relished in their combustible tension! Juno and Fizzy made for super entertaining and witty supporting cast as well! Everyone just felt so relatable and realistic and I couldn’t help but feel so engaged and invested in their lives!

Ultimately, this book was everything I ever needed in a Romantic comedy and I cannot wait to continuing reading more Christina Lauren!! *new auto-buy author alert*

4.5 ⭐️ rounded to 5 for goodreads!

They have done it again! Christina Lauren have written another fantastic book. I don’t think I have read a romance about a single mother before but I loved the concept of this book. It left my heart feeling warm and fuzzy. Also, I have such a soft spot for grandparents and I LOVED the grandparents in this book. I have yet to read a Christina Lauren book that has steered me wrong. I feel confidently anyone who reads this book will love it!

4.5/5**

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for sending me this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Lauren has done is again with their newest book about a dating app that uses DNA to find people’s perfect match. Well I may not totally understand some of the scientific or mathematical conversations that happen, I absolutely loved the relationships in this book and the romance of it all. Who knew DNA could be so cute?

Love Jess & Family
I like that Christina Lauren decided to have a parent looking for love in this book. Although Jess wasn’t necessarily looking for love, I mean that we had to see her juggle her love for her daughter with a growing relationship. Jess’s family in general is so lovely and I’m so happy they were included in this book. Her grandparents, her best friend, and her daughter are such great characters and they really help Jess’s character feel more real and more realistic. A lot of her hesitation in starting this romance with River is around how will it affect her daughter, and this felt so true to what any parent would worry about. It was also nice that this was a realistic barrier to the physical side of their relationship, and felt very true for what I’m sure many parents have to deal with when starting a new relationship.

Dating With Genes
This was such a fun take on online dating, playing with the idea of online dating we know today combines with our genetics! Honestly, I have no idea if the scientific and mathematical jargon was accurate (I’ve failed way too many math classes to know if the stats Jess figured out were true) but Lauren has done a great job of not making this seem like some fantastical idea, but making it very believable and something that we actually might see a company do in the future. I also liked that we had a taste of the potential negative side effects of using a statistical DNA standard to figure out who people should date. It made sense to me that Jess and River would be hesitant to start a relationship, because the pressure of scoring so high can taint the potential of their relationship if they’re always thinking that they have to be together because of that number. As much as I hate numbers, they can definitely play havoc with our lives and we see how that happens in this book.

Such a Fun Read!
I flew through this book! Like any good Christina Lauren novel, it was really easy to fall into the story and get excited about what was going to happen to these characters. I liked that the characters felt very genuine, that while the idea of DNA dating is seems very futuristic they make it very contemporary, and everything about this book was just very easy to enjoy. Christina Lauren have done a great job at creating characters that feel very realistic, and I love that they included a child this time, because she really added such a fun element to all the different relationships in the book. From giving Jess more depth as a mom and main character, to River and Fizzy‘s relationships with her, Juno is just the sweetest little girl and I love that she was such a big part of the story as well.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed any other Christina Lauren books in the past or two people looking for a fun romance to dive into. This is a light book, it feels very realistic while also romantic, and in general was just a really enjoyable book to read.

Just finished reading SOULMATE EQUATION by Christina Lauren. Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada via Netgalley for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is May 18th, 2021.

I love 💘 Christina Lauren, if you are looking for a fast paced romance read I highly recommend them. They always get me hooked.

Jess Davis is a single mom, a statistics data nerd, and a skeptic when it comes to dating. Especially when she meets Dr. River Pena the gorgeous founder of GeneticAlly a new DNA-based matchmaking company. Finding a soulmate through DNA, science and numbers is something that Jess understands.

However when she matches a 98% unheard of score with River, will she still believe in the numners? Because River is the opposite of a soulmate, he's a stuck up, stubborn a******...but there is no denying her attraction. Will River & Jess be able to put aside their pasts, to see if they can make a relationship work for science?

This one had serious moments, humour and the chemistry between the two main characters was on point 🔥. I also really enjoyed all the side characters, they really pulled the whole story together for me. I highly recommend this one and look forward to future works from these two!

This is classic Christina Lauren, in the best possible way! I totally devoured The Soulmate Equation and enjoyed every minute.

Jess is a statistician and single mom who has life perfectly figured out with her grandparents, best friend, and absolutely no room for love. River is a scientist and founder of DNA matchmaking service GeneticAlly with little time or attention for anything outside of work. Their paths cross often, but neither think very highly of the other. When Jess impulsively takes a GeneticAlly test, she and River match and the two are suddenly thrown into uncharted territory.

First of all, I love reading about strong women in science. Combine that with a swoon-worthy romance, and I'm sold. I also really liked the dynamic between Jess and her best friend, and found myself frequently laughing out loud. This was a quick, super fun read with likeable characters and some steamy scenes. There was also a twist that I wasn't expecting, and I appreciate the diversion from what could have been a formulaic rom-com. It definitely exceeded my expectations!

I found this book to be rather disappointing. Especially because I've really enjoyed past books from Christina Lauren.

This felt inauthentic and the dialogue contrived. The characters were flat with zero to minimal depth or growth. The "banter" between the MC and best friend was very awkwardly written.

Approximately the first third of the book is spent showing us what a mean guy the love interest is through his actions. ex he steals parking spot, closes the elevator door when someone is trying to get in, he's snobby and insulting etc. Then quite suddenly the MC starts telling us that he's the most emotionally deep, thoughtful, caring man.....um....no. There were no changes in his behaviour or attitude to warrant these statements. You cannot SHOW me something and then try and TELL me the opposite. It is confusing and pulled me right out of the story.

I also think that Jess as a single mum felt really disingenuous and was just a poor attempt at providing some sort depth to this character. Actually, everything about the MC is SUPER mellow dramatic and hard to swallow. She makes terrible and poor decisions yet we are told she is some sort of statistical genius? Another case of SHOWING me vs TELLING me. Very frustrating to read about characters like this and makes it difficult to root or connect with them.

I was also confused about the relationship between River and Jess. They explicitly stated that they will be genuine and only real with eachother......but then randomly Jess will be all "ooooh but wHat if it's FaKe because we are just pReTeNdinG to date".......what???

And what happened to her grand parents?! They were pretty consistently part of the story until suddenly they weren't. Just another mellow dramatic plot device/point that was dropped as soon as it wasn't needed any more?

Love Christina Lauren and this was no exception. One of their best standalone romances.

This is such a cool concept and the research that would have gone into this, astounding! I loved how funny and real Jess was. Her quippy lines were awesome and the animosity at the beginning between Her and River were my favourite. I experienced a full range of emotions from soaring swooniness to the heart dropped in my stomach dread.

As a mother I typically like to escape the tribulations that come with parenthood when I read but Jess and Juno had such a great relationship that I made the story, and my enjoyment of it, stronger.

10/10 would recommend. Loved it.

This is the newest book by Christina Lauren - author of In a Holidaze, The Honey-Don't List, The Unhoneymooners and so many more.

This one centres around Jess who is a single mother who 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."

Don't let the scientific talk fool you - this book is so so fun! The characters have intense chemistry, there's a quirky best friend to bring the laughs and it has the perfect amount of steaminess. There's also two adorable happily married older couples who make you believe in true love and marriages that last forever.. Grab this book -it's the perfect contemporary romance to read this summer. I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own as always.

#netgalley #thesoulmateequation

This was definitely on the list of my most anticipated releases this year. I was also a little nervous too because CLo can be a little hit and miss for me.

But oh boy, I absolutely loved this one. I can’t find anything I didn’t like. The plot was unique and so captivating. The science and math nerd in me loved all the science and statistics references.

I could not put this down. I read into the night until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer and quickly picked it up to finish in the morning.

It has the perfect balance of humour, romance, emotional moments and there was even some steam in this one. Jess was so likeable and relatable, Fizzy is the ultimate best friend, Juno was so incredibly sweet. And then there is River. Who is everything you want in a book boyfriend.

This is a big statement, but I believe this one has passed Love & Other Words for me. as my favourite CLo book.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review. HIGHLY recommend this one.

Well Christina Lauren is now an auto-buy author for me🤩 (authors I suppose, as this is co-authored by two friends)

Jessica is a statistician who is happily and selflessly raising her daughter by herself, loving both where she is in life and who she has surrounded herself with when suddenly her life is upended. She vaguely knows Dr. River Peña and is decidedly not his biggest fan when she becomes matched with him in a new genetic matchmaking data base that he has created, GeneticAlly. The company wants to use them as its ambassadors. Does she need the money? Does she believe that science/numbers can predict love and happiness? Will her opinion on Dr. Peña change? You’ll have to read to find out! 🧬 💗

Starting into this read, I was worried it would just be the same as The One, another genetic matchmaking plot line, with romance instead of murder but I needn’t have, it quickly made its own path, scientifically and plot wise.

And, my friends will be shocked to note, this one was fairly spicy!😳 but the language wasn’t offensive and I loved the plot line! Maybe I’ve found my spicy plot comfort zone 🤷🏼‍♀️ It was steamy, funny and sweet!

I loved Jess and all of the supporting characters, her Grandparents, her daughter Juno, as well as her best friend Fizzy. This is the kind of friendship I love to read about.

It’s a fun, well written romance but I also noticed and enjoyed the important details of a smart female main character, an equally intelligent, yet still bright and fun young daughter, some honest self evaluation and lack of sex shaming. This was a great read that I couldn’t put down🥂

CLo does it again!! Another fun, light, exciting read and probably one of my favourite Christina Lauren books I've read. The story was predictable, but in my opinion that's exactly what you want for an easy read!

I thought the genetic testing/dating was a great spin on the classic romcom, and made the story line feel a lot different than other CLo books! All of the characters are funny and loveable, and you'll grow connections to them very quickly!

I definitely recommend this to anyone, especially if you're already a Christina Lauren fan!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

New CLo? Sign me UP! This book - like all of Christina Lauren's works - was an absolute delight to read. I'm a huge fan of the writing duo, and their latest swoon-worthy novel did not disappoint.

Single mom, (and certified nerd) Jess Davis, is a statistical analyst with a load of trust issues. She has an adorable seven-year-old, the bubbly Juno, and was raised by her grandparents, who are equally adorable. If you've ever felt anxious, left behind, or like you're doing everything wrong as a mom, Jess is a character you'll relate too. When she meets our gorgeous but kind of stuck-up love interest, Dr. River Pena, it seems like they could never get along.

However, River runs GeneticAlly, a new DNA-based matchmaking company that's predicted to change dating forever. In this universe, you can literally find you soulmate through DNA. When River and Jess are matched - with the highest score in GeneticAlly history, things change for both of them when they're forced to get to know each other better. If you said forced dating, nerdiness, and some steamy moments, this novel's for you!

Back to the question thought: is it possible that DNA can predict your soulmate? Part of the reason I had so much fun reading this was because it's such a fresh concept, and one that Lauren explores with their trademark humour and romance. The details on statistical analysis spread throughout the story just go to show the absolute power of Lauren's writing; they go all out in making sure they know what they're writing about. But what I liked the most, besides the charm and each bright, lively character (Fizzy fans, where you at?) is that it didn't shy away from a question I had the whole time I was reading - can numbers really change the way you feel about a person? If the science says you're not a match, will you believe it? Or do you trust what you feel?

Ok as I ranted about yesterday, the enemies to lovers trope was STRONG in this one.. too strong from the beginning. The love interest and the MC didn’t know each other, and she was already despising him for minuscule gestures. For that reason, the first 100 pages of this book were a one way ticket to cringe city for me. Did it wrap up to be a cute and simple romcom? Yes. Would I recommend it to people who like these books? Yes. Would I buy it myself? No

I had first heard of Christina Lauren through a really good book friend of mine. Started with In a Holidaze and read the snippet of The Soulmate Equation at the end. I was hooked. I wanted to read more and was so excited to see it releasing this year!! I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an eArc of The Soulmate Equation ☺️

I loved this book. It was light hearted, funny, wholesome, cute and just all in all a great read 🤗 It pulled me right out of my reading slump. I started it last night and devoured it today from afternoon until evening. I could not put it down!!

The characters were wonderful. Fizzy, Jess’s best friend, was absolutely hilarious. Just overall, a great, fun read if you’re looking for a romance with a fun storyline and great characters ☺️

5/5

It’s been a while for me where a romance book held my attention for the whole book! I really liked this one! My husband and I met online so the premise of genetic matchmaking intrigued me. I found this one unputdownable, original, fun and magical. I laughed, stressed and enjoyed the whole dang thing!

I loved this story so much! It was a little slow to start, but once it got going, I could not put it down!! I loved Jess and River and her kiddo Juno! It was awesome to see their relationship grow and how much River changed throughout the book. Would definitely recommend!

If you could date someone you knew was genetically and statistically the one, would you? What if you were a near perfect match? No pressure, right? What if you didn’t like the person you matched with? It’s a new take on the enemies-to-lovers trope.

And this folks, is The Soulmate Equation by book duo Christina Lauren.

This is what happens to Jess Davis, a single-mom to 7-yr-old Juno, who has no time to be dating. She’s got Juno, her BFF Fizzy, her grandparents to take care of, and her freelance statistics business. But then she gets matched with GeneticAlly DNA-matching co-founder - the surly Dr. River Peña. And the company makes her an offer she can’t refuse.

Although this is a novel about soulmates, the friendship between Jess and Fizzy was 👌. I've never laughed so much at banter between friends. Usually authors spend their time crafting hilarious comebacks between romantic interests - but for me the funniest parts were between Jess and Fizzy. There is one instance where Fizzy tells Jess something that only a romance writer would say and I could.not.stop.laughing (IYKYK)

I really enjoyed every relationship in this book. Nana Jo and Pops were grandparents you want in your life, and even River – who was written closed off and quiet at times – is a comforting presence in the novel. There’s more to him than what is on the surface, and I loved getting to know him as the novel unfolded.

This isn’t a closed-door romance, but this book is not as descriptive with the romance as past Christina Lauren books, and there are numerous occasions where consent is displayed – I liked that there was a conscious effort to pay that respect.

I really enjoyed this book, just ask my husband who asked me to read my book somewhere else because I was laughing too loud for his movie 🙄 Another hit from CLo.
Thank you to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Soulmate Equation comes out May 18, 2021 – will you be reading it?

Jess Davis is a single mom and statistics genius. She’s been out of the dating world since her ex decided he wasn’t interested in having children and has no interest in jumping back in. While working in her favourite coffee shop with her friend Fizzy, she hears about GeneticAlly, a new matchmaking company that matches based on DNA compatibility. When Jess is pressured to give it a try, her results are astounding – a 98% match with the company’s founder, Dr. River Peña. When Jess expresses her disinterest in pursuing a relationship with this man that she’s met before and believes to be stuck-up, the company offers to pay her to get to know him, a proposition she can’t turn down. As River and Jess go through the motions, making appearances and going on dates, Jess begins to realize that the numbers really don’t lie.
UPDATE: I have a new favourite Christina Lauren book! Every scene with River and Jess made me MELT, I loved how their relationship developed and their chemistry was EVERYTHING. The characters in this book were phenomenal. Jess was so dynamic, it was so sweet how much she cared for her family and what she was willing to sacrifice for her daughter. River was a bit unlikeable in the beginning but I loved how quickly he embraced Jess as his soulmate, inserting himself into all of the facets of her life. I also loved the comedic edge that Fizzy added, her friendship with Jess was so solid, everyone needs a friend like her in their lives! We also need to talk about the scientific accuracies of this book. I loved how, while a DNA matchmaking service seems a little far-fetched, the explanations on how the technology would work made so much sense. I personally loved geeking-out over the science and data of their GeneticAlly match, the combination with a traditional rom-com was right up my alley!

Special thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for sending me an ARC of this book!