I genuinely adored this from start to finish – it was excellent. With combustible chemistry and some surprisingly SPICY scenes, the intense connection between this couple was apparent right away. I loved the bubbly, vivacious personality of the heroine paired with the steady, quiet dependability of the hero. I also loved how she ruffled his feathers and allowed him to reveal a completely different side of him self. The tension snaps and crackles as they try to resist the bond, and the forbidden element ratcheted things up another notch. Add in the compelling reality TV show setting and the connection to The Soulmate Equation, and this was quite simply a win for me the whole way through. I loved it!
The story follows Felicity “Fizzy,” a romance author who has been floundering recently. While she was once a bit of a vixen and serial dater, a bad experience has left her without any inspiration or desire to date for the last year. When she’s approached to star in a brand new reality dating show, Fizzy isn’t sure what to think. The buttoned up executive producer may have a sexy British accent, but he’s just another suit – and one who doesn’t think much of romance or dating shows. But when Fizzy makes a list of outlandish demands and Connor fulfills every one, she finds herself filling the role. Growing closer to Connor as they prep for the show adds another layer of complication, because the serious, contemplative single dad loosens up and shows that he may just be the one man who knows how to handle all of the Fizzy’s chaos with ease. Unfortunately, he’s also the man who is carefully crafting a show that is supposed to make Fizzy fall in love with someone else.
I really enjoyed The Soulmate Equation when it released a few years ago, so I jumped at the chance to read the sequel – especially once I read that blurb. I loved the forbidden element and the complication of the TV show, but it’s Fizzy and Connor’s chemistry that makes this such a great read. They are two very different people who probably wouldn’t have connected if they’d met at another stage in their lives, but they understand and uplift each other in a way that only someone truly special can do. It’s instant chemistry and instant tension, and the push/pull was fun to watch. I also loved it when things SNAPPED between them, and the spicy, intimate moments were intensely addictive. I was also shocked by the conflict, and I am thrilled that I didn’t see it coming. Additionally, I loved that this was in 1st person POV; I looked back, and The Soulmate Equation was in 3rd. That just shows how much things have been trending towards 1st lately, and I found it really easy get immersed in the pages with that POV. I smiled at how this embraced romance novels, tropes, and dating shows. There are some great little surprises for fans of the genre, and the whole thing was vibrant, lighthearted, and tension-filled. An engaging read the whole way through, this was a book that I devoured, and I’m still left wanting more.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3onk7gM
Audio Note:
The audio is a definite win too! I loved the bubbliness of Cindy Kay’s voice, and she infuses so much humor and personality into the performance. It made me love Fizzy even more. Jonathan Cole also does a great job as Connor. He’s got a sexy British accent that embodied the character perfectly, and his voice was very easy to listen to. I did find it a little difficult to distinguish between his voice for Connor and his voice for Fizzy, but that would be the only drawback. The format worked well for the story, and I had such a good time listening. I think I would’ve binged this no matter the length, but the runtime made it so that I wasn’t up TOO late listening, lol. Not sure about this as a workday listen – the chemistry is palpable from the start, but the upbeat vibes made it feel fresh and fun. It’s spicier than this duo’s recent works, that’s for sure. All in all, highly recommended on audio, and I’m glad I chose to experience the story in that format.
Audiobook: https://amzn.to/3MroorK
Blurb:
Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script—from the New York Times bestselling authors of The Soulmate Equation and The Unhoneymooners.
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.
Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in the New York Times bestselling The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3onk7gM
Start the series today!
I loved The Soulmate Equation and it was our introduction to these characters. Definitely not required reading, but it makes the experience better.
The New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners returns with a witty and effervescent novel about what happens when two people with everything on the line are thrown together by science—or is it fate? Perfect for fans of The Rosie Project and One Plus One.
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 nother 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.
“Laugh-out-loud, sweet, charming, and humorous” (Library Journal, starred review), The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.
Read the audiobook review here
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iSxDDK
About the Author:
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You / Hating You, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, The Unhoneymooners, Twice in a Blue Moon, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, and The True Love Experiment. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com and @ChristinaLauren on Instagram or Twitter.
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