Book Review: The Soulmate Equation
Author: Christina Lauren
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publish Date: May 18, 2021
Format: Paperback
★★★★☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Enemies-to-Lovers, Stoic, Nerd-Hot Geneticists, and Kick-Ass BFFs Who Push With Love.
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Terrible Past Childhoods, Drunken Moms, or A Lot of Science Talk.
Purchase: IndieBound / Barnes & Noble / Amazon
From Goodreads: 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.
By all accounts, this book is everything I love in a romance: enemies-to-lovers, a close-knit, supportive family, giant, stoic love interests, and written by Christina Lauren?? They are one of my "Insta-Buy Authors" and I usually devour their books. The Soulmate Equation was no exception...until the last third of the book.
Y'all, most of this story kept me turning the pages WELL into the night - amazing single mom Jess to an even more amazing and bright seven-year-old, Juno, and their little motley crew of a family, was enough to draw me in. I adored Nana and Pops, the grandparents who raised Jess. And Fizzy? The BFF who was the perfect partner in crime with Jess, loved Juno like she was family, AND knew when to gently push Jess when she needed it? I would legit die for Fizzy. Throw in a nerd-hot scientist named River Pena (!!!) who starts off by calling Jess "perfectly average" and then ends up being the biggest cinnamon roll of them all??? Y'ALL. GIVE THIS TO ME ALL DAYYYY.
So, why didn't it work for me through to the end? It was two things really. For one, there were a few technical scenes that well, gave me Tired Head, to be honest. The in-depth science and math talk took me out of the story more than I would have liked and I found myself skimming over those sections.
And secondly, I wasn't a fan of the Big Misunderstanding and how one of the characters handled it. I understood the logic of it all and in fairness, I probably would have acted the same, but the conflict and resolution just didn't work for me. I was pissed for longer than I care to admit, lol.
Overall though, I would absolutely read this again. Maybe this time the third act won't be as jarring if I know what's coming ahead of time.