Christina Lauren, the author duo behind In a Holidaze and The Unhoneymooners, have created a novel with a fascinating blend of modern science and old-fashioned attraction in The Soulmate Equation. Jess Davis is a struggling single mom, raising her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Juno, with the help of her grandparents. When Jess's best friend whimsically signs up for a new matchmaking service, GeneticAlly, that promises to scientifically match you with your soulmate based on your DNA, Jess is unconvinced. But, on a dare, she submits a sample--only to discover that she's a 98% match with Dr. River Peña, the founder of GeneticAlly. GeneticAlly's claims must be nonsense, because Jess already knows Dr. Peña--he's the grumpy man at the coffee shop where she does her freelance accounting work. But after one of those accounting jobs dries up, and GeneticAlly offers to pay Jess to date River, to see if they truly are a match, Jess can't turn down the offer. And slowly, as she gets to know him, Jess discovers that maybe she and River are a match after all.
Sweet and thoughtful, The Soulmate Equation explores what makes people click, and whether there is indeed a genetic component to attraction. Jess and River's cautious relationship, and the funny wrench in things that Juno creates, are completely believable, despite the initially farfetched premise. Fans of Beach Read or The Rosie Project are sure to love The Soulmate Equation. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.