The Soulmate Equation
Series: DNA Duo #1
Main Leads: Jess Davis, River Pena
Setting: United States, California, San Diego
Tags: Single Mom, Fake Relationship, STEM Characters
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Published On: May 18, 2021
Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Audio
Source: Purchased
Pages: 360
Purchase It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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.
The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.
This was a book club read from last year and it’s one of the books that I actually really liked so I knew that I wanted to review it here. I am in the process of rediscovering my love of reading and this book did a lot to remind me how much I love a good book. Right from the jump, I was interested in both of the main leads and the female leads best friend.
This story follows single Mom Jess Davis as she fake dates Dr. River Pena into true love. Jess hasn’t had the best of luck in relationships and after a while, she kind of just stops dealing with them and does the single Mom thing on her own. It’s lonely though, doing things on her own and when she gets roped into participating in DNA-based matchmaking app, she finds herself agreeing to it. She’s definitely interested in the data side of things and intrigued enough with the whole operation that it didn’t take that much convincing to get her on board. River is snooty and Jess is not a fan of his at first but the more time that they pretend to be together, the easier it gets to like him.
Watching as River and Jess fall in love with each other was a lot fun and it was interesting as well. The science behind the app, the other characters, especially Juno and Fizzy, were all wonderful additions that made falling into this story worthwhile. I was charmed, I had the biggest crush on River, and I laughed a lot more than I thought I would. Christina Lauren delivered another winner with this book and I’m so glad that I read it. I picked it for book club and I picked right because I really enjoyed the story, the characters, and the romance was top notch. There’s much to recommend this book and there’s much to look forward to if you haven’t read this one yet. It’s good, I promise!
DNA Duo Series
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