• A Smart, Single Mom, Contemporary Romance
5
The Soulmate Equation Book Cover The Soulmate Equation
Christina Lauren
Contemporary Romantic Comedy
Gallery Books
May 18, 2021
ebook, hardcover, audiobook
368

The New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners returns with a witty and effervescent novel about what happens when two people with everything on the line are thrown together by science—or is it fate? Perfect for fans of The Rosie Project and One Plus One.

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 Peña. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Peña. 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.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

“Have you ever wondered what a soulmate truly is?” she asked. “Is love a quality you can quantify?” — The Soulmate Equation

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren is without a doubt my version of book crack. By the first page, I was intrigued. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.  By the time Dr. River Peña entered the picture, I was already mentally inserting myself as the heroine into every single interaction he and Jessica Davis had together.

The Soulmate Equation is a story that has it all: a badass single mother, a best friend that is on the slightly-crazed side of quirky,  and a scientist that if he were translatable to another fictional character he would be the 2005 version of Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice with all the swoon-worthy awkwardness that comes from a hand flex (if you know, you know).  Add in a big helping of a meet cute gone wrong, all within a situation that is rife with not only scientific implications to the lives of both Jessica and River, but also social and most obviously romantic ones too, it translates to one amazing book. Through it all, The Soulmate Equation serves up a hefty helping of everything I adore about the romance genre.

For me, The Soulmate Equation is the book that I cannot stop talking about, and has easily become my favorite Christina Lauren (CLo) book…ever.  If you’re a fan of Penny Reid or any of the Smartypants Romance books, or are a reader who adores stories with meaningfully written characters who are put into situations that are equal parts absurd yet totally believable…you and I are of the same mind, and trust me when I say that you will enjoy this book. CLo, the duo with the word magic, does not do anyone dirty here with this story. The sweet moments made me melt into a pile of gushy goo, and the emotional ones had me clutching at my chest with all the beautiful feelings that are so easily translated from the page. It’s smart, and at times scientific, but not overly so. Jess is a career woman, an independent woman with a brain, intelligent and yet not the overly-stereotyped kind. She is a kind mother, granddaughter, daughter, and friend. Watching how seamlessly River falls within her world is equally romantic and enchanting.

The Soulmate Equation is a story that you read, finish, and then read again immediately. If you couldn’t tell, if I had more than 5 stars to give it, I would. I loved The Soulmate Equation so much I sent a DM to CLo and gushed my happy little heart out. I even used the phrase “Chef’s kiss, gold medal, rose petals falling softly as you accept all the stars higher than the 5 that you’ve emphatically earned…” I may have also used an innuendo because Jess’s BFF, Fizzy, is a romance author with the mind of a teenage boy. I’ve adored Christina Lauren since I got to meet them with my own bestie at a book signing (remember those?), and after this book, my love has grown exponentially. In fact, Jessica Davis is a character who could calculate just how much it’s grown and I would buy her a flat white while she told me the results.

Preorder The Soulmate Equation immediately. Once it releases on May 18th, read it and then tell me what you thought, because I need someone else to talk to about this amazing book! Congrats CLo!