"I haven't been home in years, but I feel that way with you."

Read this book if......

• If all your friends make fun of you for watching Hallmark Christmas in July.

• If you get giddy when you find out the main characters start off on a bad foot BUT it's ok- because what happens next..... YOU. LIVE. FOR.

• If you believe single mothers are the backbone of this country & deserve all the praise this world has to offer.

Don't read this book if....

• If you read books for the smut- & the smut only. You won't find that here.

• Your favorite troupe is fated mates.

• Your type is all alpha, all the time.

• Anything even semi cheesy, gives you hives.

I stumbled on this baby on my weekly visit to the bookstore after reading many reviews on how cute it was + brought it with me on my vacation last month to find out for myself. I would describe this story as first & foremost the ideal summer read & the perfect choice I could have made when deciding which book from my TBR would be the lucky winner for me to relax on the beach with.

The Soulmate Equation was my first read from these authors who have a HUGE fan base and I would be happy to read another after my experience with this book.

It is the perfect vacation read because it was fast paced and not complicated. Some of the novels I read are filled with war, taboo subjects & over the top drama- which is my jam the majority of the time but not when I am trying to relax + decompress.

Jess and River’s love story was heart warming & sweet to say the least and I enjoyed the uniqueness of the overall plot, however the love that grew between Jess and River felt a little too easy & at times unauthentic. I felt like they went on a couple dates and suddenly they "never felt anything like this before." I believe you can start falling in love with someone with just one encounter however this was not the case for these two main characters and nothing extraordinary, at least in my eyes, happened that could make one- magically see the other in a different light which would have been way more believable than it randomly happening with little cause. I feel like I have already said this a million times but one more time can't hurt... I just honestly wanted more. I truthfully loved Jess and River together but needed more reason and more things to happen between them for it all to feel real.

I love to read smut & am not ashamed… but I do not need it to find value in a story so the fact that this one had little was not an issue. Still, the authors chose to write in an intimate scene that I almost wished they hadn't because it was hard to follow exactly what was happening. Did you read that- it was unclear what exactly was going where... I usually reread a steamy scene because it was THAT GOOD but unfortunately that wasn't the case here. It was a bit rushed and I had to backtrack a couple times to understand totally what went down or more so- who.

I am one of those that cringe when authors use certain words to describe a person’s “unmentionables” but continue anyways because a physical connection is just as important as anything else. So it was majorly off putting to read & get hyped for the chemistry blossoming between the new couple & find their intimacy, from my point of view, was abundantly unsatisfying.

Another area I thought the plot was weak... every single love story has a conflict in which the couple's future suddenly becomes on the line, Jess & River's "battle" immediately felt fixable without much challenge at all.

I would like to note that this is my first contemporary romance in months… MONTHS and I am someone who constantly devours high fantasy books that go into great detail about the worlds they live in & the loves they have been pinning for… for centuries.

Basically forever.

That is what I am used to..... MONUMENTAL declarations of love.

While simultaneously coming to expect some great betrayal to happen that in reality would be a dealbreaker but in fantasy is foreplay.

So is it me?

Am I the problem?

Maybe, but even if I was not obsessed with faeries & mating bonds, I would still always want.... nay, REQUIRE more. Much has to happen for two people to make such a life changing decision + deep commitment.

In my opinion, nothing in life worth having is easy- including & especially love.

What I did surprisingly enjoy about this romance was the detailing of all the statistics behind the matchmaking... which is extremely weird for me because I loathe math, entirely. It was just different and made me appreciate the effort that was put into creating the concept.

I also loved the relationships Jess had with all the supporting characters like her grandparents, her best friend and young daughter- these interactions really allowed me to paint a clear image of the kind of person Jess is- someone you are rooting for from the very beginning.