The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren Book Review
“‘Jessica Davis. I’m over here telling you about dick tattoos and you don’t even tell me you sent your spit!’
Jess barked out an uncomfortable laugh. ‘I can explain!’
‘You’d better!'”
(pg. 56)
About
Authors: Christina (Hobbs) Lauren (Billings)
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
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Synopsis
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.
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To the soulmates,
I am all for love stories, romances, the whole shebang, so when I heard of The Soulmate Equation and its plot, I was like, “Oh my gosh! I have to read!” I loved the whole idea of taking dating apps and connecting it to science/biology because I think that’s such a unique concept that I’m surprised it hasn’t been done before. To be really honest, the fifteen year old in me who took biology and the eighteen year old who had to take biology in college wasn’t thriving 😂. I mean, any biology or science term went over my head! Not all of them, but a good portion! I laugh at myself because I got A’s in both biology classes I took in my life (not to brag or anything 😅), so I would hope I retained SOMETHING from my two years of biology . . . but no 😂. That’s the American education system for you 🤪. I’m joking! Not really. I mean, I was mad at myself for forgetting what a genome was and all these other things. I know what a mitochondria is. What random biology terms do you remember? List them in the comments 😆.
I digress, but that’s one of the only things I didn’t quite like about The Soulmate Equation—all the scientific jargon. As a non-science major and someone who never particularly loved science (not that I don’t respect or appreciate the sciences, it’s just not for me) my mind went on overload with some scientific sounding terms. Especially at the end when there were all these acronyms and everything, I was like what the what? What were all these capital letters and should they mean something more to me?! 🤪 I would have liked those acronyms at the end to at least be put in a footnote somewhere or something so it would have at least made sense to me. The acronyms probably weren’t the main event of the story so I understand why spelling them out might not have mattered. I don’t know, for me, I like things spelled out so I can understand it. Also, this was more of a me problem than Christina Lauren’s fault, but GOSH the dormant statistician in me had NO CLUE what Jess talked about at some points 🤪. I took stats in high school for that AP credit 🙈 and I liked stats. It was interesting, not my least favorite math. It was good. I learned p-stat, t-stat, bell curve, margin of error, and how to use a graphing calculator even though I pretty much forget all of it now. I learned a lot, but I forgot A LOT too .😂
Honestly, this book just humbled my ego of what I thought I remembered from high school 🤪! YIKES. I am a fail of a high schooler.
Darn it.
But yea, I find that when I read textbooks now for college and they focus on a certain subject, it can be overwhelming to understand because not only do I have to focus on comprehending the text, but understanding the context and vocabulary. So it felt like that at times when reading The Soulmate Equation. Not in a bad way, just a different way. I mean, it wasn’t a hard book to read through with all the jargon because I do feel like Christina Lauren explained concepts as simply as they could that most people would understand. So, it was more of a me thing.
But jokes aside, I fell in love with Jessica and River after a while.
I say after a while because there was the skeptic in me that didn’t quite believe their romance for the majority of the book. The reason I say this was because Jess and Fizzy knew River as Americano because he would always go to the coffee shop at 8:24 am and order an Americano. He would strut out of the shop without talking to anyone or looking around, so he had this mysterious air to him. But the one time Jess and Fizzy did talk to him, he seemed like a jerk 🤪. He was very closed-off, had clipped responses, and he seemed kind of rude. I didn’t like how he called Jess average when Jess overheard her in the lab when they visited for the DNADuo speech. I mean, you don’t call a woman average. You can say someone has an average height, but saying someone looks average is like saying they have the personality of a rock.
It’s insulting.
I loved the whole science pun side where they called their company Genetically because genetic-ally 😉 as in couple, partner, ally, romantic companion. Cute. I also thought the whole history of Genetically was interesting. I am still kind of confused about how the DNADuo app/program works. I know that there’s all these different match names based on the score a person gets and how close a match they are to someone else’s DNA. But when a person sends in their spit, does that person get to choose what range of scores they want/who they match with? Or do they get all ranges, especially the higher matches? Because I know Fizzy sent in her spit and she only asked for base or silver matches, which made me confused because if she matched with someone higher than base or silver matches, wouldn’t she want to know that? I mean, I also know that there was this part that said she didn’t want to go in full swinging to find her Diamond Match, but still, if she did have a higher match, why just give her the low matches? You know? I don’t know. I might have missed something, but I was confused about that. Does that mean In a hypothetical situation, could Jess have had all these base or silver matches, but she only wanted diamond matches so that’s what her results told her? But what happens if she didn’t have a diamond match even if she wanted one? Hmmmm 🧐.
So that made me confused too. I also wondered about if a person had a diamond match, would they be alerted of that one day, you know, once everyone sent in their spit. Would people start to find their diamond matches eventually when the system detected it? I’m pretty sure that was what they wanted to happen, which gosh, will take a long time to do—analyzing people’s spit and matching them. Honestly, DNADuo is like DNA and me combined with Bumble or Hinge 😆.
Jess didn’t quite believe in sending in her spit because she wasn’t the type of person to put herself first.
Honestly, I loved Jess—adored her actually. She is such a kick-butt, hard-working, strong woman who I respect hands down.
What I loved most about Jess was that she was a mom. Most notably, she was a single parent. I’m not a mom yet, but I could understand how so many people could relate and understand Jess because there are many mom’s out there. If you are a mom or grown-up/adult watching over someone, I just want to tell you that you are doing the best you can do and to be gentle with yourself and kind to yourself! You deserve it. Especially if you are a single parent, that’s a thousand times more difficult and I just want to give you the standing ovation you deserve 👏🏼!!
Because Jess was a mom, she never put herself first. Her life was about taking care of Juno and providing for her little girl, which I completely understand. Mothers and parents are selfless in that way. But everyone around Jess could see how much time and effort she put in her daughter and her work, that she barely took the time to be Jess–to go out and have fun, to do other things, to put herself out there to date. I loved how everyone in her life encouraged her to put herself first because they knew how much she put herself last.
“But you act like asking for help is selfish, you see wanting something just for yourself as selfish, you see taking any time away from your kid as selfish, and if you’re selfish, then you must be your mother.'”
(pg. 238)
I absolutely LOVED Fizzy. She was freaking HILARIOUS, wickedly cool, witty, supportive, and blunt. Fizzy was Jess’s honest to gosh number one supporter in wanting Jess to finally put herself first and to know that she deserved it. I liked how Fizzy also emphasized to Jess that it wasn’t selfish of Jess to put herself first for once. In society, for a long time, we have made it almost seem selfish to put ourselves first. But we live in an interesting, and enlightening time where we are recognizing that we need to put ourselves first, and how that is not selfish. Putting ourselves first, means giving ourselves the time and care to rest and heal–whether that means a face mask and a bubble bath. But self-care also means reflecting on our life, going out and trying new things, or putting ourselves out there.
Self-care is not selfish. I heard somewhere that you cannot help others if you do not help yourself first. There’s a metaphor that goes along with this sentiment in how if you’re on a plane and the oxygen masks go down, you have to put on your oxygen mask before you help someone else put on theirs because if you don’t have your oxygen mask on, you can’t help someone else put on theirs. Of course, it is selfless to put others above yourself—to put their mask on before you do–but you also need to take care of yourself so you can actually help others. Also, so you can keep going when you take care of those you love. Jess needed to be there for herself because she had been neglecting what she needed—time to herself.
And she beat herself up about it because she didn’t want to be like her mom.
Jess’s relationship with her mom was complicated. Jess’s mom, Jamie, battled addiction and she wasn’t there for Jess while growing up. Jamie never remembered Jess’s birthday correctly or went to important events in Jess’s life, and if Jamie did, she usually showed up high or drunk. Jess had every right to feel alone and upset as a kid because she probably just wanted her mom to be there for her—to be a mom. However, because Jamie wasn’t the best mom to Jess, Jess grew up knowing she didn’t want to be like her mom—-selfish. Jess didn’t want to be like Jamie as a mom/repeat her faults and mistakes with Juno. I kept thinking how interesting it is how when someone hurts us, most of the time, we always want to be the exact opposite of that person—somewhat like the opposite of a role model. And it’s interesting because I have an anti-role model in my life, if you will. I don’t think this person wants to be the “bad guy,” but they were in my life. This connects back to a sentiment I’ve been hearing a lot lately in how we can be the bad guy in someone else’s life without knowing it, and we have to accept that because we can’t tell a person how they see us. But Jamie just made me think about how complicated family relationships and relationships in general can be.
I knew Jess wasn’t like her mom. Absolutely nothing like Jamie. But Jess would sometimes say to herself that she wasn’t her mom and then she would do something to prove she wasn’t like her mom. Whenever Jess would do things like that, I was like, “Jess, you have nothing to prove to your mom.” Jess just being there for Juno each and every day was already ten times more than what Jamie ever was to Jess. Jess needed to remember she was already doing better by Juno. For example, when her mom needed money in the beginning, Jess gave her mom money because she didn’t want to be selfish like Jamie and she didn’t want to be her mom. I had no idea how giving Jamie money meant she wasn’t her mom because that seemed dumb to me, but she shouldn’t have gave the mom money. Jess knew that money was going to go to waste. I mean, Jess could have saved the money and used it on her family instead of Jamie who was never there for her. To me, that seemed like a better way to use her money. I also didn’t like when Jess acquiesced to giving Jamie $10,000. Like WHAT?! I’m sorry, I get Jess wanting to help her mom out so she wouldn’t go to prison, but her mom needed to own up to her faults and wrongdoing—Jamie needed to take responsibility for her actions and decisions because she would never learn if Jess was always there giving her free money. I mean, if Jess didn’t even have that kind of money, what then? This wasn’t Jess’s fault or problem to deal with and I felt the mom was being unreasonable and unfair to Jess. But I literally applauded Jess when she told her mom she was finally cutting her off 👏🏼!!!
Jess said BOUNDARIES.
But honestly, I don’t know why Jess didn’t cut the mom off sooner. I bet the mom never paid her back for anything she said she promised to Jess. But I also respected that Jess cut Jamie off and cut her out of her life in general. They had to pick Jamie up from some house where she got drunk or high in. Jess brought Juno with her because no one else could watch Juno at the time, and Jess realized she didn’t want Juno to be around Jamie because it wouldn’t be a healthy environment of her, nor would it be a safe one. Jess put her foot down as a mother and I loved it. I also felt kind of struck by how Juno backed up and clutched Jess’s leg when Jamie walked to them when she got out of the house. Juno backing away from Jamie was a huge moment because it sent this message to Jamie that even her granddaughter feared the person she was. Seeing Juno cower in front of Jamie, cemented the idea that Jess needed to cut Jamie out of their lives because it would only hurt Juno.
Because of her difficult situation with her mom, Jess had to grow up quickly. Well, I’m assuming she had to mature quickly because she had to take care of herself when her mom didn’t. It seemed like Jess always had to fend for herself in this world because of how she grew up. Jess’s independence as a kid emphasized her independence as an adult in doing everything by herself. Jess accepted help from Fizzy, Nana Jo, and Pops, but deep down I felt like Jess was the type of person who didn’t like to bother people or ask for help because she grew up knowing that if she asked for help, she wouldn’t receive it. That’s a hard lesson no one should learn because we all are people and we should have each other’s back.
So I was happy Jess had such a strong support system with her best friend and her Nana and Pops, who were the bees knees. Back to Fizzy, though I loved how she was always there for Jess and supported her. She brought out the best in Jess because she knew Jess’s heart better than Jess did because Jess didn’t do things that she wanted to and if it wasn’t for Fizzy pushing her to put herself first or try things, I think Jess would have been comfortable in her own bubble with Juno. This reminds me of a quote I read in The Ex-Talk with how sometimes content is a synonym for complacent or something like that. And there was nothing wrong with the life Jess and Juno had, but I think Fizzy saw how much Jess wanted more of her life and for Juno and how sad or alone Jess felt. She wanted the best for her best friend because she could see a better life for her. We all need people who want the best for us and push us to do our best even if it means taking painfully small steps.
I also felt like as an independent parent, Christian Lauren captured the stresses and doubts well.
“Did every mom feel like this? Jess worked too much or didn’t work enough. She was spoiling Juno or Juno wasn’t getting everything she needed. Jess was a helicopter mom, or she was ignoring her kid. More often than not Jess was convinced that every decision she made was ruining Juno’s childhood in some way.”
(pg. 103)
When I read the quote above, I was like, “Wow.” That’s so true . . . or I could understand how true it must feel as a parent. There is no book about how to be the “perfect” parent. I mean, there might be, but being a parent is about figuring it out as you go and doing what works for you, your family, and your child. I think parents don’t know what they’re doing most of the time because you know, they’re human, and they can have all these doubts about not being good enough or being too extreme and wondering what crosses the line or what goes under it. It’s hard. I give so much credit to parents because no one tells you how to be a parent until you are one. And even then, I think when you are a parent, you’re still trying to figure out how to be a better parent. Honestly, I think no one should impose their parenting practices on anyone or judge anyone for how they parent (within moral and ethical reasons, of course) because people need to figure out what being a parent is for them. Of course, if someone is mistreating a baby, I think someone should tell someone or provide tips to the parent. . . but I’m talking more about how people on the Internet nowadays leave such negative comments on women’s posts about how they’re parenting wrong or this or that. I believe we should let people parent how they want to and people need to stop shaming parents because their way is different. But that’s not what I’m talking about 🙃.
I just feel like being a parent is a journey and parents can be hard on themselves. Don’t be.
“Because I want to be a good mom, she thought. I want to be present for Juno, even if some days I feel like I’m failing.”
(pg. 50)
I also feel like most parents–hopefully, all parents–want to be good parents and do right by their kids. But most of the time, they can feel like they are failing, especially if they do or say something “wrong.” It’s hard to know and navigate. But I wanted to hug Jess because she wasn’t failing, she was doing her best.
There were also the financial worries Jess had that made her feel so real and relatable.
I still kind of don’t know what Jess’s job is. I know she does freelance statistician work, but I’m not entirely sure what that really means. Does she look at numbers for companies? I don’t know. I heard the word freelance, and I could put together that money wasn’t always secure because freelance work means money comes and goes based on business or commissions or deals. So Jess always had to worry about providing for Juno. It made my heart hurt when Jess couldn’t buy things Juno wanted because money was tight, but after she made the deal to date River, she finally felt like she could breathe and splurge on Juno. That made my heart hurt because I have a single parent and I know he worked twice as hard to provide for my three siblings and I when growing up. It wasn’t easy for him, and I remember there were many times we couldn’t buy things because it was too expensive or money was tight. I think it must be painful as a parent to tell your child you can’t buy them something or give them what they want because you want to give them everything—literally the world and over to make them happy. I got the same vibe from Jess that she wanted to make Juno happy but it was difficult because she couldn’t buy her all these things. But my dad and Jess remind me how lucky we are to have parents like them who put our happiness above their own and how much I want to give back to them one day. I also think about parents like my dad and Jess and how much I would have wanted to tell them that they didn’t or don’t need to feel bad for not buying all these things—feeling like a failure—when the most important thing that mattered was that they were there and they cared. That’s what matters. Not what money could buy.
“The last thing she wanted to happen was for someone to get hurt, but it was hard to imagine walking away from thirty thousand dollars. How hard would it be to spend a few hours with this man for an amount that’d truly make her and Juno’s lives easier?”
(pg. 102)
Suffice to say, financial struggles are real. The majority of parents struggle financially and it can be hard not to beat yourself up about how much you can or cannot provide for your children. But I just want to say, again, money isn’t everything and what you can buy is not as valuable as the time and care you give 💛.
In the beginning Jess was single as a stale Pringle.
But then she had the worst day in her life that made her want more for herself. I can’t help but think of the sentiment of how sometimes we can be so tired of our own habits and life that we just want to change. I felt like that’s what Jess felt when she sent in her spit. First there was the whole running late thing and then River stole her parking and didn’t even keep the elevator open for her. I mean what a PRICK. I don’t know if he has a lack of self-awareness or something, but even if he was a bit shy in the beginning to Jess, didn’t mean he couldn’t be, I don’t know, A DECENT HUmAN BEING?????????????? 🤪 I’m sorry, you don’t just swerve into someone else’s parking stall like that and you sure as heck hold open an elevator for someone when they call to you!!!! I don’t care how shy you are, you can be FREAKING RESPECTFUL, gosh darn it. I mean, I’m the epitome of shy and I would have had the HUMAN DECENCY to not take her parking and hold open the door for her. Oh, don’t even get me STARTED on that! Then her presentation went to shiz because she had a shiz morning, and a shizzy man pulled to shizzy acts because he was a pretentious mothersucker 🤪. Then there was the whole parent meeting. GOSH, did I just feel Jess’s mood at that meeting. It’s sucky when you’re the only single person in a room of couples because you can’t help but notice how alone you feel. It’s like you can be totally okay with being single, but when your single in a room of people together, you just feel you’re loneliness pronounced. It’s hard not to feel a bit sucky. I felt sucky for Jess because she felt like the third wheel to all these happy couples in the room.
That one mom who went up to Jess was also very condescending towards her. I mean, Jess was already busy doing everything, and having that one parent tell her she could make the website was like a slap across the face because it felt like that one mom was saying Jess couldn’t do it and was a failure. That’s the message I would have got from that one mom. Also, they should have been kinder to Jess, knowing she was a single parent and had to handle more than those who were in a relationship.
Given her shizzy day, Jess decided to send in her spit and put herself first. Then came her results, which I wasn’t shocked by at all. I mean, authors don’t spend an ungoshly amount of time describing a male character unless he’s the love interest, especially in a contemporary romance. So OF COURSE River was her match. I knew when she got the weird message on her DNADuo app that they wanted to see her because they were shocked by the results. When River wasn’t in the conference room with them, I was like, “He doesn’t know.” And then he walked into the room and read the files, and I was like, DUHHHHHH! 😆 I was shocked that he was shocked 🤪. I saw that coming from a mile away!
Soooooooooooooo here’s the thing . . . after they found out they were Diamond Matched with a score of 98 . . . I wasn’t here for their relationship—-at first!
There was just something in the back of my mind that felt that their relationship would feel inorganic because they knew they were “matched” or “made” for each other. Knowing they were legit perfect for each other, I kind of thought it would put this pressure on both of them to make their relationship work because they were a 98. Having taken some psychology classes, I’m not sure what this is technically called, but their relationship felt like a placebo?????? Just a bit in the beginning because if they both were aware of having a near perfect match with each other, they could have easily just believed that they were meant to be and that they told themselves they should be together, so it made them both convinced to try. To me, that seemed inorganic and a bit weird. Because personally I know if someone told me I was a near perfect match for someone, I would feel mentally pressured to like this person because some test said we were perfect for each other, and that can manifest as my thoughts convincing me to like that person rather than actually liking that person, if that makes sense.
“Did people given a score of ninety-eight just assume that person would be their happily ever after?”
(pg. 114)
In a nutshell, this was what I meant by the ramble above. But yea, did they feel like they had to like each other because of some sort of test?
So, I wasn’t sure if I truly liked their relationship at first. After the test, it just felt forced to me how River all of a sudden turned into a SOMEWHAT decent human being who SUDDENLY cared for her because he knew she was his near perfect match. If River didn’t know Jess was his 98 Diamond Match, would he ever have made that first step to remotely being kind to her? 🧐I don’t know.
It felt like he tried to placate her after the results because he was suddenly like, “Oh, this is my soulmate, let me play nice now.” It felt off. I don’t know. I was skeptical for her!
Then David and Brandon were like we’ll literally pay you to date River 🤪!!! How SAD. I’m sorry, you’re going to PAY her $10,000 to date him and try to see if their relationship works out?! I’m sorry, sign ME up 🙈. Ten-thousand dollars? I can pay off some of my student debt with that 😂. Ah, gosh, joking, don’t let anyone pay you to date someone. But, gosh the money was good and Jess needed it to support her family since her last deal backed out. Of course, Jess knew she should take the deal because it seemed harmless enough since River wasn’t a complete douche and she would just smile for pictures and see if they actually worked out. I think Jess didn’t want to take the deal at first not because of the money, but because of River. She was probably scared of putting herself out there again and to this guy she didn’t really like, let alone know. I think part of her was also scared that he might be her soulmate and what that would mean for her family and their life.
” . . . But the idea of putting myself out there is honestly more exhausting than anything.’
‘Dating in our thirties is different. It requires us to get our [shiz] together, and most days just being a mom and hustling my [butt] off to keep my head above water takes everything I’ve got.'”
(pg. 52)
But I loved how she had that talk with Juno about if doing the deal would hurt anyone or lie to anyone. I loved how sweet Juno was because she said everything her mom needed to hear without knowing it 🥺! And Nana Jo and Pops also convinced her to do the deal.
So Jess took up the deal because it was good money and she wanted to know if River was her soulmate. I mean, she sure did lust him 😂. Seriously, Jess ogled him every time and I was LAUGHING. If she didn’t like like him by the end of the three months, at least I hoped, she would get a good time out of it 🙈! Let’s go Jess!! I cringe at myself. But they had that steamy doctor moment where he drew her blood just to make sure they were a 98.
“‘Because ninety-eight,’ she said, grinning.
He leaned in, kissing her neck. ‘Because ninety-eight.'”
(pg. 249)
I WAS CACKLING 🤣.
Ummmmm, I guess the 98 is the new 69, am I right? 🤪
I’m joking, but there’s just something funny about how much they repeated the numbers like it was a romantic innuendo.
When he drew her blood, and touched her shoulder and sensual, I was like, “This reminded me of the bathroom scene in Crooked Kingdom.” Not exactly like that sconce, but the same tension 😉. That tension was honestly why I was also kind of skeptical of their relationship because I wasn’t sure still if River was being nice because he now felt like he had to. Then they had their first date, and my gosh, I loved how Jess literally planned the date to be a few houses down from her 😆. She said you were in my territory. They had a nice, humble date—humble beginnings. I found it weird how they wanted to order the same thing. I don’t think because they were a 98, they had to match every component of their life like they were twins. But I’m guessing they had similar tastes as 98, so that’s why, but it felt very twin-like to me. River was also cute when he didn’t have a syringe up his butt 😂. He was being flirty and nice like he should have been. I also liked when Juno showed up and River was unfazed by that. He earned points in my book for being kind to Juno and not weird about Jess having a kid. I feel like some people would have been turned off or weirded out by Jess having a daughter, but I really liked how River didn’t mind and he actually wanted to get to know Juno because Juno was part of Jess’s life/world. He was really out here trying and honestly I’m not going to discount a man who tries. But gosh, their whole circumstance with the score kept throwing me off because did they really like each other? Or was it in their heads?
The part that I had a love-hate relationship with was their first photoshoot interview thing. They were still getting to know each other and I was still on guard about their relationship because I wasn’t sure of its authenticity. BUT GOSH, they made it sooooo hard not to think they were cute together! I mean, the whole jacket and engulfing her in his arms 🥺. CUTE. But I mean, where was this chivalry when he swerved into your parking stall and left you hanging with the elevator? HUH? Why was he only trying to look nice now that he knew you were his soulmate? HUH????????? Here’s the thing, I find it REALLLLY hard to believe that River started Genetically out of a random idea with his ex-girlfriend. I think it would have been more romantic and cool if River started Genetically if he wanted to also find love or maybe if he lost someone he loved and he wanted to find love again. I think that would have added depth to his character and purpose to what he was doing. I mean, I don’t think anyone spends their life’s work creating a scientific based dating app for the FREAK of it. He probably wanted to find love, right? I mean, why else would he suddenly try so hard to make things work with Jess now that he knew. I don’t know. I tell you not, I felt like River’s backstory and reason for the app needed to be steeped in love.
I digress.
River also tried to make her laugh during the pictures, which I knew what he was up to! Trying to get them to look like the happy, loving, laughing couple—live, laugh, love 🤪. But seriously, Jess was laughing at each snap of the camera, and I was like Jess tone it down 😆.
But what really had me convinced about their relationship—because how could I not—was when he was there for her when Nana Jo was in the hospital 🥺. The way he picked up her call and was so genuinely concerned for her was so sweet. But I LOVED that he offered to pick Juno up from school because Fizzy was away and Pops was with Nana and Jess was with them. I loved how River stepped up for Jess and he even took Juno to her ballet class! My heart! And the fact that he took Juno to get flowers and food for them when they went to the hospital afterwards?!!!! I WAS SOLD 🥺💛. How SWEET. I loved the detail that Christina Lauren put where River and Juno held hands and walked into the hospital and Juno whisper shouted because River probably had a talk with Juno about being quiet in a hospital because Juno had never been in a hospital before. I loved that little detail because River went through the care and time to look out for Juno! I also loved how Juno and River had this cute thing where they called each other by their first and middle name. SO CUTE. And I loved how River was looking out for Jess by bringing her food and everything like A NICE MAN!!! Get you someone who makes the effort 👏🏼🥺!!!!
The fact that he also stayed in the waiting room the entire time, even after Jess told him to leave??????? MY HEART. What a nice man. Gosh, I need a man like that 😫😂.
What made my heart really go crazy was when he said:
“‘She’s amazing, Jess. You’re doing a great job.'”
(pg. 217)
HOW CUTE!!!! Like what a wonderful man to say that to her!!! I think Jess needed to hear that because she had lots of doubts as an independent mother, but she truly was raising such a beautiful, intelligent, caring girl.
To be really honest, I adored Juno and she was the star of the book 😁. I just LOVE kids in books because it adds a whole other layer of love that I LOVE.
Juno was the star. I love her!
I loved the moment when Fizzy and Jess ransacked the library because they didn’t want Juno to find Jess and River on any magazine covers.
“‘A friendly librarian,” Fizzy said sarcastically, narrowing her eyes. ‘The worst kind.’
(pg. 174)
That was funny 👌🏼.
But it was hilarious how she tried to hide her relationship with River from Juno, but I felt like Juno could pick up a vibe even at her age. I LAUGHED when Juno said she found River’s pants in the kitchen, but they were River’s boxer briefs. Yikes, scarring much? I’m joking! 🤪 I just felt it was cute how much River was around the more Jess and him fell for each other and how much they let each other into their lives. I loved how he would sleep over, sneak out, then come back with coffee even though they had a coffee maker. I thought it felt very homely.
However, I did understand how hesitant and scared Jess was of her feelings.
“Juno’s heart was built to expand. He picked me up at school sort of like a daddy would.”
(pg. 230)
It was completely natural given how she never had a serious relationship in years and River was her first in a while. She also had Juno to think about because she didn’t want Juno to form an attachment to River and then he left and broke her heart. Breaking Jess’s heart was one thing, but breaking her daughter’s heart would be something else entirely. So I respected how Jess always thought of the implications of their relationship and how it could affect Juno. I also respected how she held River at a distance at first because she had those very real hesitations. But what I appreciated was how River understood where she was coming from and how mature they were about the situation. He knew that if he got close to Juno and their relationship didn’t work out, he would understandably hurt Juno and he didn’t seem to want that. But he also wanted to try with Jess. I think they had this conversation in the parking garage at the hospital where they macked out by her car like a bunch of high schoolers, while Juno was knocked out in the back. GOSH, imagine if Juno woke up and saw them kissing! I would CACKLE. Or I would be like, “Yes, mom! Let’s go!” 😂 I laughed when Jess described that kiss at the car, and all I could think about was electrons because they had a very charged kiss 😉. I could be wrong with my science humor, but let’s imagine I’m not!
But I loved how casual Jess was in telling Juno that River and her were dating. I liked how Jess reiterated how much she loved Juno and how it would always be her and Juno against the world even if River was entering their life. I think it was important to establish the strong foundation of love they had so Juno knew that if River did happen to leave their life, that Juno had her mom and that it was always them—they would have each other. I love how much they loved each other 🥺. But I also loved how much you could feel River loved Juno as well! Like, I just love a person with kids 💛.
I also loved when they went to that dinner party and they met all these investors or scientist people and they had a science pun-off. We love a pun! I legit laughed at the Gregor Mendel one.
What did Gregor Mendel say when he discovered genetics?
Whoopea!
I also liked how funny it was that they got all dolled up for each other in their finest dress and suit. They even put on perfume or cologne to smell good. I could just imagine them sniffing each other like the lustful adults they were 🤪. I heard once that when you’re in love with someone you know their scent. They were in love, or mostly in lust at this point. With their first kiss, they really put on a show for everyone at that party. I mean, get a room! 😂 GOSH. And don’t even get me started with how they had that mature conversation about Jess being scared of her mounting feelings with River and River was like:
“I want to be here to bring you coffee. I want to take you out to dinner and order the same food and hear you recite the odds that we would have met. I want to hate-attend fancy social events together. . . I want you to call me for help–without an apology already on the tip of your tongue. I want to feel like I can kiss you again by your car at the end of the night.’ He swallowed. ‘I want you in my bed.'”
(pg. 322)
How did we go from AVERAGE to I WANT yoU IN MY BeD??!?!?!??! Wow, he really said I am bold.
I could not with how Jess went to River’s house that one night after declaring that she wanted him to Fizzy. I mean, sis really didn’t even bother to look around the house before they got it on! I’m so sorry, WHAT?! 🙈 I was laughing in my head because how did we get to the door to the floor to a coffee table where he reached for protection. How close was this coffee table? Young love.
But once River and Jess were on the same page with their emotions and they finally allowed themselves to truly give into their feelings, I could feel how happy Jess was and how happy River made her. Honestly, what stood out most to me was when Jess and River were becoming closer was how much Jess allowed herself to rely on him and how much she admitted that she needed him. I loved that 💛. That’s not to say that any person needs to be reliant or dependent on someone or that it’s wrong to be so because everyone’s situation differs, but a healthy balance of being independent and recognizing it’s okay to need someone and ask for help is what I’m trying to say. Because Jess didn’t rely on anyone before River—-she was as independent as a cactus in the wild. But when River came into her life, she let her guard down to acknowledge that she could have someone to ask for help and that she didn’t have to worry about everything on her own or do things on her own. After doing everything independently her whole life, I loved that she had someone because no one should do things by themselves all the time—we need people in our life.
I loved how as she and River got serious, he met River’s sisters, Naomi and Pilar. They were sooooo funny! I love sisters or siblings in general in books because they have such a light-hearted, good-natured tease to them and it’s so funny. I loved how they embarrassed River and how welcoming they were to Jess. They made her feel part of the family–not awkward and interrogative at all, which I loved. But part of me also felt like loving River’s sisters was difficult for Jess because she didn’t want to think about things going bad for River and her and her having to give up these new relationships she was forming. I think that’s one of the difficult things about being in a relationship that no one talks about—how when you break-up with someone, you don’t only lose that person from your life, but the extended relationships, whether that’s family or friends, as well.
When River and Jess had that office press day and she was going to be put in David’s office, I KNEW something TERRIBLE would happen. I was like, we’re probably at that point in the book where something has to go wrong 🙃. Wrong it went!
But can I just mention how freaking casual River was when he said I love you for the first time to Jess. I mean, he was just walking down the hall when he leaned down and kissed her forehead and was like, “I love you” like they did that every day. It was sooooooo natural and old-married-couple vibes. I literally had to double back and read because I was like WHAT?! Did he just say I love you? That’s the first I love you???????? 😆 Not that it was a bad I love you, just unexpected! I thought it would be this grand thing, but based on who River was, it was so River-like for it to be casual. It was cute.
But the office?! Darn.
This was the part where I was in a mind-boggle confusion because of all the stats, acronyms, and science jargon. I could understand something awful was going down and there was deceit; I got the gist of the scene to understand that their 98 score was fudged/faked because they were really supposed to be a 93, but someone upped their numbers. For what reason, I didn’t know. But my first reaction was how disappointing that must feel or how shook she must have felt to know they were nearly soulmates and to figure out that was a lie. I would feel shaken because that’s the whole reason they built their relationship—on the belief they were soulmates/perfect for each other. Then my next thought was like River probably doesn’t know. River just didn’t seem like the type to lie or deceive her because if he knew the scores were tampered with, I think he wouldn’t have put his full effort into trying to make their relationship work. But then that went back to my original question at the start of their relationship: If they didn’t have a 98 or a Diamond Match score, would River even have bothered to talk to her or form a relationship with her? I still don’t know because I feel like honestly he wouldn’t have tried this hard to get to know her or like her. But once he did, he truly did fall for her and that’s why I liked all the cute scenes they had in the middle, so much I disregarded my original hesitation with their relationship. I don’t know. It’s hard to know because this is a work of fiction, but it just made me wonder though how much of River and her relationship was based out of pure love or love they should have had because of a score they wanted to believe. I think that’s what fudged my thinking a lot. But I also knew River didn’t know because he didn’t seem like a liar and he ran two tests himself and I don’t think he would fake that.
But when River found out, he up and left her without anything. . . . I was like River said I have left the chat—I am checked out. Like he really done gone ghosted her butt after telling her he would call her! I mean, I understood he was shaken too, and now he had to deal with the fact that two people in his company whom he trusted, betrayed him, but still. He could have been there for Jess. I will say, I would have liked to hear the conversation River had with Brandon and David just to see what they said and how River felt about them. I know the board kicked Brandon, David, and Tiff out of the company, which gosh, that must have sucked! The company started with David and River and now River had to do all these re-tests and figure out how to build back the company before they launched soon. That had to be overwhelming, but still he should have reached the FREAK out!
But no.
It also hurt how Fizzy was going through a break-up with Rob who was married. Darn Rob, giving Fizzy false hope that she could find love. You know what I really want?
I want a Fizzy spin-off where she finds love because I thought it was interesting how she went from someone who just wanted casual hook-ups and relationships to wanting something more after seeing River and Jess. I wanted that for Fizzy too because she was such a catch! Good for Fizzy for dumping cold water on him! Should have shoved ice down his pants! No, poured hot, steaming coffee down his pants! I’m joking 😆. I don’t feel sorry for the man because he was cheating on his wife and second he used and hurt Fizzy. He gets 0.2 points in my book for at least telling Fizzy he was married. I mean, he could have kept the lie up, so that’s something, but not a lot. Honestly, don’t be with someone who does the bare minimum for you 🙈!
It made me sad too when Jess snapped/yelled at Juno because of how angry she was that River had ghosted her and Juno wasn’t listening to her. It made my heart hurt even more when Juno got angry at Jess and didn’t talk to her on their walk to school and Juno was like, “Can River pick me up after school?” Because Juno didn’t want her mom to pick her up. But mentioning River was a completely different kind of hurt that Jess didn’t need. I felt they were both on edge because Jess didn’t have River and she didn’t know where she stood in his life and Juno probably also felt like something was up. But I liked how they made up because it went back to how it would always be the both of them first.
I absolutely LOVED and CACKLED with how Christina Lauren put the infamous Zoom in their novel because you know . . . pandemic 🤪. It’s funny because we all went through it within the past year and are still going through it. I bet they wrote the last part of the book—or at least edited the last part of the book—to include the Zoom scene. I loved how Fizzy and Jess Zoomed from home because they were avoiding the coffee shop and seeing River. I laughed with how they both made terrible coffee 😂. It was super funny how Jess didn’t have pants on because you know, it’s the required Zoom uniform at this point! It was also funny when the UPS driver came and she had no pants on and she was like, “Let’s forget this happened.” When River showed up at her door and Jess answered without pants and River looked at her, I was like bro, keep your eyes up! It was comical.
I honestly loved how Jess interrogated River. It wasn’t defensive questions or a defensive attitude, but I genuinely agreed that Jess had every right to be angry and hurt with how River didn’t reach out to her. Again, I understood he was processing a lot, and he said that he got lost in his work that he forgot to reach out; that losing himself in his work was natural for him. He had the audacity to act SHOCKED that Jess thought that they were over. I mean, what the freak was she supposed to think after he ghosted her???? If I was Jess, my thoughts would have strayed to “He doesn’t love me anymore because we’re not soulmates and he doesn’t believe in us anymore and that’s why he never called.” It’s hard not to think that. In their conversation, I loved how Jess spoke her side and how she felt because he needed to hear it. I loved how instead of being defensive or raising his voice at Jess, he acknowledged her feelings and validated them, but he also said his reasons for why he didn’t speak to her. I thought that was a very mature and respectful way to communicate with Jess, so I give him credit on that. I also liked the part where he said he didn’t want to defend himself first, but ask for her forgiveness. I loved that. I think we should lead complicated conversations by saying how we feel and understanding where the other person is coming from so both can forgive each other if possible, because when someone defends themself, it comes off as defensive. Where there’s a defense, there’s an offense.
In their conversation, they also broached the subject of if they were soulmates or if they should be together even if they weren’t a 98.
“You said, ‘Statistics can’t tell us what will happen, they can only tell us what might happen.’ And you were right. A Diamond Match is so rare that two random people are ten thousand times more likely to find their soulmate with a Base Match than they are to ever score above a ninety with someone else.'”
(pg. 338)
River still chose her because the numbers didn’t mean anything in the end—numbers could tell what could happen, but what doesn’t need to happen. This made me think about how even if their relationship felt like a placebo psychological thing at first, they ultimately did love each other because they chose to, not because of a score. I think knowing the score and having that assurity made them less hesitant to start something because they knew it could work–a Diamond Match score. But it also might have not worked. However, it did because they did find something with each other and that’s the part I thought was sweet.
River ran their test again in the end and he knew the score, but Jess didn’t want to know.
“‘If you thought you and Jess might not be soulmates, would you want to know?'”
(pg. 312)
Which was a good question. Jess didn’t want to know because if she did, I think it would have made her second guess their relationship because if a score told them they weren’t perfect for each other, then what was the point. But was the score the point, was the question? It wasn’t. We never find out their real score, but River said not to worry about it and he didn’t try to hide the score like their score was a lie. So I’m thinking they might have not been a 98, but they were a Diamond Match because I don’t think River would release false information with his launch given everything. So there’s that. But the reader in me begged to know. their new score!
I freaking LAUGHED when River and Jess made up and said they loved each other and Fizzy was basically like, “I’M HERE REMEMBER?!” 🤪 I freaking love her! She truly got the content baby content from their love story. I loved how in the future, she wrote Base Pairs based on their love story. Love that for her! A book about a writer who writes this book 😂.
“‘If that’s okay. I’ve got to fix things with both of my girls today.”
(pg. 348)
MY GIRL!!!!!!! 😫
He called Jess his girl and JUNO his girl!!!!
That’s a man! My heart. SOOOO CUTE 💛.
I loved the two months later chapter where Juno and River built the roller coaster project Juno wanted. They truly went all out, splurging on all these cool parts to make her the coolest freaking rollercoaster there ever was! Was Juno in first grade? I think somewhere in the book, it said she was in first grade or second grade or something, I could be wrong. Having worked with first graders, how the heck was she building a roller coaster in first grade?! Not that it’s not possible, it can just be a bit hard for first graders. But I loved loved loved how Juno and River bonded over something and how excited and supportive River was of Juno the entire time! I loved how Jess felt like River was even more excited for the project than Juno was! So cute. I also loved the contrast to how downcast Jess was when going to the school event in the beginning to now. Now she had River by her side, Nana Jo, Pops, and Fizzy–she wasn’t alone 🥺. Take that Dawn!
I also loved how River and Jess discussed building a life together–taking the next steps. CUTE! He wanted to buy a bigger house for their family and maybe get a dog–not a snake 😆—and do all these things together. I want that for them.
The entire book was such a sweet, endearing time and I loved all the couple-y moments and the moments with Juno. I still question their relationship origins and if it felt organic or authentic because of the things I mentioned before, but I ultimately know that they became a couple because they chose to love each other and not because of a score. Personally, that kind of defeats the purpose of Genetically if a score doesn’t matter. But I guess a score does help in finding someone quicker and hoping it will work, so I guess, the purpose isn’t all defeated, more like a choice. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed The Soulmate Equation. My favorite part probably had to be any moment with Fizzy and the hospital scene where River and Juno walked through the doors 💛.
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? Would you take the Genetically test? Anything I mentioned that you want to discuss more about? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.
And as always, with love,
Review
4.89 Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: Christina Lauren has created a loving and fun cast of characters! I loved Fizzy and Juno the most though, to be honest 🙈.
Plot: What a unique “fission” (ignore my poor attempt at a science pun 😆) that makes you wonder if Genetically could be a potential way of dating in the future. I loved not only the scientific aspect of their love, but the other family and friendship plots too.
Writing: Ab-cell-lutlely, positively a book that defies science and encapsulates love
Romance: Lot’s of chemistry 😉