The Soulmate Equation

Christina Lauren

May 2021 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“Writing duo and reigning romance queens Christina Lauren are back with The Soulmate Equation, their most ambitious book to date.” —PopSugar

​“A sexy, science-filled, and surprising romance full of warmth and wit.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chosen as a best pick by Bustle, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, E! Online, PopSugar, BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Country Living, The Pioneer Woman, Woman’s World, Bookish, Bookreporter, Frolic, and more!

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. After all, her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before her daughter 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 percent 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 launch GeneticAlly’s valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

“Laugh-out-loud, sweet, charming, and humorous” (Library Journal, starred review), The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.

Ratings and reviews

Statistician and single mom Jess can't help it if her eyes wander to the handsome but grumpy businessman she sees every morning at 8:24 a.m. at the coffee shop where she meets her best friend before work. Aside from his looks, there's nothing about him she finds attractive. When she learns his company is building a matchmaking service based on genetics, she's not interested. But her BFF convinces her to give it a try. After all, Jess hasn't had a serious boyfriend since her daughter's father informed her he had no desire to be a dad and signed away his parental rights. To Jess's shock, after she does the cheek swab thing, it turns out she's a match with coffee shop guy. (River. His name is River. How could such a buttoned-down guy have such a cool name?) In fact. not only are they a match—they've got the highest compatibility score of any couple in the company's history. Reluctant at first, she finally agrees to date him when the company offers to compensate her for her time. If the relationship works out, after all, it will be a huge publicity boost for the company before their stock goes public. Could this man she seems to have nothing in common with really be her soulmate? I LOVED this book. It started off slow for me—I'm not a big fan of bad date stories or best friends talking about how the other's reproductive organs are going to dry up if they don't let loose and have fun once in a while. But when Jess and River actually started talking to each other, the story picked up quickly. Their chemistry is off the charts, and River's interactions with Jess's daughter will hit you right in the ovaries. So freakin' cute. The tone of this book falls about halfway between THE UNHONEYMOONERS and TWICE IN A BLUE MOON. It's not laugh-out-loud funny, but it won't make you bawl your eyes out, either. It's light and fun, witty and charming, yet still deeply emotional. So, so good. I can't recommend it highly enough. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I had fun reading The Soulmate Equation. I loved Jess and River with a little bit of push and pull. This story line is different to what I am use to reading and I could not get over it. I was engrossed in this story that I may have stayed in PJs all weekend to finish this book. Jess and River have an interesting start. I love the whole DNA match concept. This story had me laugh, made me wonder if Jess will find love, and then at the end I was a smiling book nerd. The Soulmate Equation is a new read that I definitely recommend!

Loved this book, my favorite book so far written by these two authors. Fell hard for these characters Fizzy, Juno, Jess and River and their quirks, love, friendship and romance make this one of my top reads this year. Grab this for your TBR list.

About the author

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, The Unhoneymooners, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, The True Love Experiment, and The Paradise Problem. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com or @ChristinaLauren on Instagram.