Synopsis
Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents–who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno–Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.
But then Jess 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.
– Goodreads
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Review
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!
