Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

68 reviews

kelseyfontaine's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! I read the spin-off featuring Fizzy as the main character first, so it was interesting to go back in time and see how Jess and River’s love story unfolded. Their chemistry was undeniable, and I couldn’t set this book down while reading! I loved the concept of finding your soulmate through DNA, but
I’m still wondering what Jess and River’s actual compatibility score was.
Either way, the enemies to lovers trope drew me in like it always does, and I loved the contemporary tie-ins to a realistic life, like making ends meet and having kids involved. I would highly recommend this book!

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annabananadel's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

“I haven’t been home in years, but I feel that way with you.”

This was such a fast paced book that I devoured this in just two days. I honestly love the book and I wasn’t even expecting much from it. From an IE standpoint, it was so fun to find a FMC that is a statistician because after taking multiple Statistics class, I wanted to be one (although IE still uses Statistics a lot). The MMC was such a nerdy boy as well once you’ve gotten to know him eventhough he is somewhat of an asshole the first quarter of the book but can easily be forgiven after all the sweet things he’d done afterwards. I just love them both together so much. Soulmate really is the best term to use on them as a couple. Yes, it was a enemy to lovers but you can’t deny those attractions ever since the first date????

The only reason it’s not an outstanding 5 stars is because the ending seems anti-climactic in a way. But if you want some swoon-worthy scenes and willing to just go with the flow, I definitely recommend this book!

Let’s all swoon together every time he does something with Juno because who doesn’t love a man who is good with kids? I didn’t even want kids but I’m willing to have one with River. 

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jesjurgens's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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tarathompson1228's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book would have received a better star rating if I was a science nerd. It was very good otherwise. 

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clareasday's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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luna_a's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was a weird one. The introduction to the plot seemed so slow but than,
once they "got together" it was a bit too insta-lovey for me.
It just feels like it had so much potential but the execution was a not that great.

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meg_'s review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a cute and easy read. It turns out that I really love romances that include single parents and this little companion duo of books has made me realize that. I absolutely loved how sweet the relationship between River and Juno was in this book. River as a character was such an attentive and caring man and it made it so easy to fall for his character. I also love Jess. I found it refreshing to read a romance where the characters backstories felt so real and Jess' backstory in particular and relationship with her family members was just so well done and made this such a well rounded romance. I also found the ending to be basically the cutest thing ever and I loved it. 

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abbeyroad1410's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book is a fun, light read. If you want something easy to get through that has a happy ending, this is the book for you.
The highlight of this book is Jess. Her characterization makes sense with everything going on in her life. Not only is she a single mother, but her own mother is an alcoholic and a drug addict involved in an MLM. (My favorite part of the entire novel may have been Jess pointing out that an MLM is just a fancy word for a pyramid scheme). Her grandparents are cute and supportive which is also a nice edition.
Someone who doesn't like incomplete plots will not enjoy this book as much. It is driving me crazy that the main conflict was solved in two people. Additionally River and Jess agree they need to have a conversation which never happens within the text of the book. It would be a fairly important conversation as well. Instead, the plot kind of just skips to the happy, happy epilogue.
As I said, this is an easy read book. It was perfect for the first week of school.

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I laughed and cried rom-com about a single mom and a DNA dating app founder. 
With fake dating, plenty of laughs, soulmates trope, grumpy/sunshine pairing, some tearful moments, and enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. This book was a fabulous romantic comedy. My only complaint is not enough on the page spice! 
I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek things that Fizzi said about romance writing. I also loved that there weren't characters who really mattered to the story and who weren't given enough depth. 
Overall, I loved it! 

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syazahaniss's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Came here from The Unhoneymooners and I’m sad to say this one didn’t live up to my expectations.

The buildup was very slow and I was this close to abandoning it altogether.

I suppose the initial portrayal of River was supposed to be that of the strong but silent brooding types (my favourites) but instead he gave off emotionless robot vibes. First impressions are so important to me so the fact that I already deemed him this way meant it was nearly impossible for me to accept that the more open and romantic River later on was the same person.

I know the whole premise of the book was surrounding Jess and River’s 98% compatibility match but it really did make it seem like they liked it each other only for the numbers. Like they knew they were soulmates and so they decided to try it out versus the relationship development happening organically. This difference is especially stark on River’s end, given his initial lack of reaction towards Jess at all. I thought it would be cuter if he had noticed and silently liked Jess throughout their 2-year long daily encounters at Twiggs, but instead it really seemed as though he only liked her for his career.

Don’t get me wrong, the relationship development gave me pangs here and there, but overall, I think there wasn’t enough chemistry. They were just characters in a book who get together in the end just because the authors said so.

Juno was also a disappointment in terms of character. I’m fond of kid fics and I had high expectations because they always turn out super cute, but Juno’s personality gave off the vibes of a person older than seven, so I couldn’t really see her as a kid. It overall made it difficult to be endeared by her.

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