Review: The Kiss Quotient

Posted August 17, 2018 / Book Reviews / 6 Comments

Review: The Kiss QuotientThe Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Published by Penguin on June 5, 2018
Also by this author: The Bride Test, The Heart Principle
Format: Audiobook (323 pages) • Source: Hoopla
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four-half-stars

Content warning: because of its genre and/or because it has older characters than you normally see on my blog, it may contain sex, drinking/drugs, and/or violence.

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick.

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases--a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice--with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan--from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

I won’t lie: I was planning on sleeping on this book for a LONG time until the hype died down. This story was all I saw in my feeds (Twitter, Goodreads, RSS, etc.) for quite a while. The hype kept pushing me farther and farther away from it. When I saw the audiobook on Hoopla, though, it was the only one calling my name for some reason. Well, I recommend throwing any reservations out the window and just picking this one up folks, because the hype was well worth it.

The premise was… unique, to say the least. Stella has Asperger’s and (so far) hasn’t enjoyed any of her intimate experiences. She decides to hire a male escort in order to get over these fears or concerns. I absolutely loved their dynamic and haven’t read such great steamy moments in a LONG time. There were a few parts of those scenes that made me cringe because of the dirty talk (like Stella did initially haha), but they were otherwise SO good. Both Michael and Stella felt so REAL to me, which I really appreciated. The characters were fully fleshed out and their personalities went much deeper than any kind of stereotypes that could have been used. Michael’s history with his family (especially his father) was very interesting and I kept wondering when we’d learn exactly what happened there. I think Stella’s parents were okay for most of the book but was surprised they weren’t more present, since the story opened with them being heavily involved in her life.

I kept wondering what could happen next; it felt like this book could have been a lot shorter. I’m glad it wasn’t though because things just got better and better with each scene or turn of the story. I was already planning on hating the inevitable breakup moment because things were going so well for them! Their communication was on point too. That aspect was pretty believable but I obviously just wanted to squish them together and make everyone happy again.

Part of me wishes that I read this as a physical copy or ebook because I probably could have finished this in one sitting (and I prefer not to listen to sex scenes while driving hahaha), but I really loved the audiobook narrator. I don’t think I can complain about anything there; I’ll be looking up more books narrated by her.

Overall, the hype is real and deserved. Between the dynamic characters, unique and interesting premise, steamy scenes, and perfect ending, this book is more than worth your read.

Plot & Premise
five-stars
Characters
five-stars
Writing Style
five-stars
Pacing & Flow
four-stars
Feels or Swoons
four-half-stars
Addiction Level
four-half-stars
Overall: 4.7

6 responses to “Review: The Kiss Quotient

  1. Wonderful review! I’m so happy this book was worth the hype for you – I’ve only been hearing GREAT things about it from everyone around the blogosphere and it sounds like the kind of book I’d really enjoy. I can’t wait to get to it someday 😀

  2. I totally agree. This book lived up to the hype, and I am really eager to see what Hoang has in store for us next. I love that we are getting so many more ASD #OwnVoices authors, because they offer valuable insight on those with ASD.

    Sam@WLABB recently posted: Discussion: Am I Too Early?

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