Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession… or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.

Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.

Any kind of outdoorsy, survival sort of story immediately piques my interest. I don’t know what it is about stories like these. I’m not the least bit outdoorsy. I don’t hike or camp or even go outside if I don’t have to. LOL. I’m much more a fan of being inside and out of the sun and the bugs. Maybe that’s the reason I like these stories! Who knows? But when I saw that a new Christina Lauren book was coming out that sounded a little different than we usually get from them, I was pretty excited! Treasure hunting, second chance romance, and a little suspense? I am in. I ended up loving it, and it’s one of my favorite CLo books now! I read this over a year ago and am just now finding time to review it, so I’m keeping things nice and simple with just a list of my thoughts this time.

1. This book starts off with a bang. Shortly after Leo’s bro trip with his buddies begins, something happens. What started out as a fun little fake treasure hunt turns into a full-blown race through treacherous terrain to find a real treasure. And danger could be lurking within every shadow.
2. I loved the local lore surrounding Lily’s father’s hidden treasure in the red rock canyons of Utah. It added a level of mystery and excitement I wasn’t expecting.
3. Lily and Leo end up breaking off from the other members of the group, so the bulk of the book is their adventure together. There’s more suspense, heavy discussions about their pasts both individually and the one they shared, survival aspects, and romance. I loved the blend of all of these things.
4. There’s a lot of action in this book, which was a fun change from what I’ve come to expect from CLo.
5. Leo and Lily are such a great couple. She’s strong and independent and seriously guarded. He’s sweet and caring. They made such a great team, deciphering clues and navigating this dangerous hunt together. There’s only one tent, guys… and only one sleeping bag. I will say no more. These two ooze chemistry.
6. I had so much fun. There’s banter and shenanigans and the danger was there, but written in a way that felt fun and exciting. It’s not something that will keep you up at night for any reason other than being hooked on the story and needing to know how it all ends.
7. In the interest of full disclosure, my initial attempt at reading Something Wilder was in audio format and I do not recommend it one bit. I live in Utah, where this book takes place. We do not speak with a twang here. I thought maybe this was the narrator’s choice, but then I read where Nicole’s (one of the secondary characters) twang is mentioned. We don’t have twangs. I later learned that Nicole is originally from Montana (I missed how old she was when she left), which some might argue makes this more accurate. But no, they don’t have twangs there either. People from Montana can sound a little Canadian, if anything, but not twangy except for maybe a very subtle one here and there in the more rural areas. The cowboy-wannabe twang the narrator chose for Nicole was so, so wrong for someone from either of these locations. Anyway. I returned the audiobook very early on and switched to my eARC, which was a very good choice for me.

All in all, I loved this! It was fun and fresh and different from the typical rom-com. I had so much fun on this adventure, and would love for Christina Lauren to write more out of the box rom-coms in the future!

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.

I absolutely love author duo Christina Lauren, so I was eagerly anticipating The Soulmate Equation‘s release before I even knew what it was about. Well, before it eve had a title. But then when I learned that it centers around a DNA test that tells you who your soulmate is, I was sold! What a fun idea for a romance book. And it was so much fun! As always, my main points are bolded.

1. Jess, our heroine, is a single mom, has the most amazing support system in her family, and loves statistics and numbers. She and her best friend, Fizzy, learn about this DNA test that matches you up with the one you’re meant to be with and she’s definitely intrigued. Numbers make sense to her, so they can totally find her her dream man. I really liked Jess. I don’t normally love single parent characters in romance because I don’t love kids in romance, but Jess is a really great mom and I enjoyed reading about her relationship with her daughter, Juno (who is very sweet and spunky and I’m definitely a fan of hers). 

2. I love the entire cast of supporting characters in Jess’s family (and found family). Her dad wasn’t a part of her life growing up and her mom has been a partier for nearly all of Jess’s life, so her grandparents are her anchor. And, boy, those two are adorable and perfect and exactly what you’d dream to have in your own life. They live in the same apartment complex as Jess and do everything to help her and Juno. I love how close these four are. Fizzy is so supportive and wonderful, and the very best best friend. She needs her own book, in my opinion. Juno is so sweet and sounds like she’s so much older than she, but not because her voice is wrong or she was written wrong. She seems older and more mature in that way that young kids do, when they’ve been brought up by adults they look up to and want to be like.

3. River is so swoooooony. He’s reserved and professional, yet there’s cracks in that facade and I loved seeing his tender, sweet side. He’s also completely adorable with Juno. I love a man who is good with kids, plus he’s successful and ambitious and sexy so I love River.

4. The romance is exactly the kind of romance I love, although this one was quite a slow burn. When Jess and River get the highest compatibility percentile the company has ever seen, they agree to a business arrangement. They will pretend to date one another to publicize River’s company, and Jess will be paid (generously) for her time. The fact that Juno has been thrown into the mix means Jess needs to be careful to protect her daughter’s heart and privacy as well as her own. It definitely added a bit more complication to the arrangement, and I do love complicated romance. Jess and River has the best chemistry!

5. The drama surrounding the conflict in this story was great. I didn’t see it coming, and I love how it was handled. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll leave it at that.

All in all, The Soulmate Equation is such a unique, heartwarming story that I really fell in love with. The two authors that make up Christina Lauren are talented and never cease to make me smile with their stories. I can’t wait for their next one!