Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Soulmate Equation

Loved it. It's nerdy and funny and heartwrenching and steamy and just straight up delighful. Loved the portrayal of single parenthood and the fantastic cast of side characters. Perfect summer/beach read.

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100_pages_hr's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was amazing book taking the art of matchmaking and giving an it a scientific spin. I really enjoyed the story line.

I loved all the scenes of the two best friends working from the coffee shop. Their conversations and people watching were very entertaining. I especially loved how they called River "Americano."

I also loved how River and Jess both agree to give each other a chance. It was fun to watch their relationship unfold. He impressed me more than once - but he also made me hate him a few times too.

The romance in this book was perfect. It added to the story but didn't district from it.

I've enjoyed everything I've read by this duo, but this might be my new favorite.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. The opinions I'm sharing are my own.

I couldn’t wait to start this one, and it didn’t let me down. I think Christina Lauren is one of my new favorite authors. I liked the premise of the story, and how it made me think about how I’d react to dating software that could predict a soulmate based on DNA.

The characters were amazing. I loved the supporting characters — Jess’s grandparents, her best friend Fizzy, and especially her daughter, Juno. They were perfect companions and played such a great role in how the story developed. Jess was so relatable. She’s a single mom with a strong support group, a freelance job that allows her to be involved in her daughter’s life, and a tentative hold on everything else. Except she’s not really managing very well, and has completely put romance on the back burner. Until she meets her DNA-determined soulmate. Dr. River Peña is the most infuriating character at first. He wasn’t very likable, but he definitely grew on me as I kept reading, and I genuinely grew to love him. He had some truly redeeming characteristics, but also some incredibly frustrating flaws that helped him avoid the “too perfect” trap.

I enjoyed the way the romance unfolded as well. It wasn’t a fake dating story as much as a forced dating story, where they wound up having to give the relationship a genuine try, regardless of how they felt about it at first. I wasn’t sure how they’d get past the initial obstacles, since they were both pretty resistant to each other’s personalities, although there was a definite physical attraction. But when they started to give each other a chance, things started to heat up. There wasn’t any explicit sex in the story, but I did enjoy how the romance was portrayed.

Overall, this was a great story, and I’d definitely recommend giving it a shot. While it did get a little bit technical when it came to statistics and genes, it wasn’t overwhelmingly so and didn’t fall into too much jargon for a novice (read: non math person) like myself to be able to follow. So give this one a shot!

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sebrittainclark's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is such a wonderfully sweet romance. Jess is not looking for romance and certainly not with the stand-offish man who gets coffee at the same coffee shop she frequents every single morning. But it turns out he's River Peña, the scientist behind a DNA based dating app, and she takes a DNA test on whim, intertwining their future together. I loved how Jess and River's romance slowly built throughout the course of the book.

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