The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang
When autistic Stella knows that she needs to date to get married to give her parents grand children, and she realizes that she needs practice if she’s going to be able to do it. In comes escort Michael, who agrees to help teach her hot to date and to do things without overreacting due to her autistic traits.
The Story
You guys, I completely adored this book! Trust me, all that hype is worth it. In the Kiss Quotient we are given such dynamic characters, romance, and achingly comedic scenarios that has you sympathetic to Stella’s struggle even if it’s not familiar to your own experiences.
Basically we get to follow Stella as she goes through all her thought processes from coming up with the idea to hire an escort, to the dates themselves, to how her feelings evolve. From Michael’s point of view we get to see how he comes about doing his job as well as his understanding of Stella despite his struggle (not that he doesn’t put in the effort) to balance with her autism. It is all incredibly touching, empowering, and romantic.
Reader beware, this is a steamy book. Like, oh my, probably one of the steamiest books I have read, and it was completely unexpected. I mean I anticipated a little, but there was a surprising amount that builds, and builds, and builds. If this isn’t your thing, then proceed with caution. If it is your thing, then you’ll be happy to know that it starts off early, but doesn’t get old.
The Characters
Stella is a high functioning autistic, and she doesn’t let it stop her from doing what she wants. I love that she is the only limit to herself, yet is willing to try to get out of her comfort zone to see if she would ultimately like it. As an outside view there were so many moments where you want to reach in and fix the situation and help her out just a little. But she is such a strong character she somehow keeps bouncing back. Michael is holding himself back emotionally. Like Stella he is the only limit to himself. While he doesn’t let her Autism hold her back, she doesn’t hold his profession against him. In fact she still thinks he’s too good for her, which is entirely so sweet. They both have such low expectations of themselves, and they partner up so well to help each other get out of their shells.
The Soundtrack
HAIM – Little of Your Love
