From the author of The Bride Test comes a romance novel hailed as one of The Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2018 and one of Amazon’s Top 100 Books of 2018!“This is such a fun read and it’s also quite original and sexy and sensitive.”—Roxane Gay, New York Times bestselling author “Hoang’s writing bursts from the page.”—BuzzfeedA heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves … page.”—Buzzfeed
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…
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The Kissing Quotient is a romantic comedy about Stella who is a 30 year old who has difficulty communicating with people due to her Asperger’s condition. She decides to hire an escort to help with the difficulties she has. Michael is a young man struggling with family and a past. Michael is hired by Stella and finds that there is more behind her being shy. This is a wondeful story. Great read.
First, I bought the audio version of this book, thinking I’d listen to it in the car as I drove here and there, catching snippets when I could. I listened to chapters one and two, and then bought the kindle version as well. I was feeling poorly with a sore throat, and wanted to curl up on the couch and read. I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting.
I adored Stella Lane. When I read the book description, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a female protagonist with autism. It was actually amazing to get into her head and see the world through her eyes. And Michael – oh, my goodness. He wasn’t what I expected either. Who could not fall in love with Michael Larsen?
I’m now craving both Vietnamese food and another book by the amazingly talented Helen Hoang.
Five…No Six, Nope…So Many More Stars
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Spoiler Free
I am not one to say, this is going on my 2018 favorite book list… Mostly because I never do a list. But this time, before I tell you anything about this book, I will say I think this book will go down as one of my favorites of all time…Not one year or another… But of my personal reading experience.
I can comfortably say this because I could not stop reading it. No, really… I had important, time-sensitive things which needed to be accomplished and had to force myself to Step Away From The Book. I was so captured by every single element, there was Nothing that turned me off or distracted me. Every single element worked.
Oh, and the kicker, Helen Hoang is a first-time author!
There are many reviews already singing their delight with the book which will be more detailed than this. Please enjoy them… or you can do what I did… which was to go into this mostly with the blurb only.
What I will share is this gem is one of the most insightful books… Insightful about human interaction and how stressful it can be… Because all of us have over thought situations, second-guessing what to say or how to receive what was just said.
In this book, both Stella and Michael have reasons for their preoccupation and analyzing the communications between them. Both are under misconceptions of what the other is feeling and thinking. But both are feeling and wanting each other passionately.
And oh, the passion… the sensuality… the magnificent kissing and more…Just a single graze of a lip was enough to swoon for…I Loved This Couple.
I also loved every detail about his sibling and parental relationships Michael had with his family. From the first glimpse of grandma with the description so visual…I saw her and understood her. The same was felt for the rest of the family. Stella’s family was not as pronounced but were there and present when on the page.
These two characters were so strong, they occupied my mind when I did have to step away from them. I was astounded by Stella’s emotional strength, her challenging herself and how she maneuvered the endless minefield of social interaction we all take for granted. Michael was a man who one could not love. He sacrificed much to make sure his family was safe. He fought his own inner demons to not hurt others as he had been hurt. Even with the side job he was doing out of necessity, he had ethics and limits he would not cross.
So basically, that is all I have to say about his amazing book.. well sort of…
If you haven’t figured it out by now, my main desire is for you to read this book. I promise you will not be disappointed…Really, pinky swear…
It has taken me a while to read this novel as I was extremely worried about the hype that came with it. All my book buddies were saying it was the best book they had read in its release year. At times, books that are promoted this high fall short for me. I am happy to say, I was wrong and delighted I finally took the time to read it.
I also added the audio as it’s my new favourite thing to do, read and listen along. Carly Robins was brilliant. She made each character come to life and the emotions were so spot on.
In brief, the story is of an intellectual woman in economics field who falls for a sweet “working” class man. They make a deal that he helps her through some social and life issues that she has by being in the autism spectrum. With each thinking the other is out of their league, all sorts of problems arise.
What I loved was the way Stella’s disorder was dealt with. It wasn’t dramatized or a disability for her. She was living her best life but needed a little coaching in some areas. And who best to help out but Michael?!! Ahhhh that man was super swoony. With his own life issues, he soon bent his rules and treasured everything about Stella.
I know this book will be on I will re read in the new future.
I read this novel without having read its description and was pleasantly surprised. While the overall path of the story is relatively predictable, the journey the author takes the reader on is lovely and unique. I especially enjoyed the out of the ordinary characters. It is not often your heroine has autism and your hero is the reluctant patriarch of a Vietnamese family, and also a prostitute. All characters, including Michael’s cousins and gaggle of sisters felt real and three dimensional. This is a HEA, not too much drama story. There were a few of those frustrating moments authors love where the reader is shouting “Just talk to each other!” But other than that I enjoyed this read immensely. I look forward to reading more of Ms Hoang’s work.
I liked the story of The Kiss Quotient well enough, but I wish someone had mentioned to me that this was basically soft porn posing as a romance novel. There was so much sexy time in here, it crowded out the entirely implausible, but fairly cute and formulaic, story about a painfully shy and awkward young woman named Stella, who falls for Michael, the dashing escort she’s hired to teach her how to become a skilled lover.
Disappointingly this story existed for the sex, and the plot line was just there to loosely tie together Stella and Michael’s intimacy training sessions. It got boring, repetitive, and entirely unrealistic.
Speaking of unrealistic, remember how I mentioned Stella is shy? Well, she’s spectrum shy and rigid, which is a level I totally get. So how could someone like Stella who freaks at the idea of eating out of a microwaved plastic container or overlooking any step in her hygiene routine, be okay with having constant sweaty and invasive sex with a man who HAS SEX WITH OTHER WOMEN AS HIS JOB? She spends forever washing out her mouth after one creep kisses her, once, but an escort who’s been with hundreds of women puts his tongue all over and inside her, and this doesn’t even inspire a shower?
Why didn’t Stella insist upon going through every line in a clean bill of sexual health for Michael first? That should have been a chapter unto itself. She’s great with details, and this is one that should have been vital to her very being.
To summarize: too much sex, not enough story, and totally unrealistic in very basic ways. I think this is why I don’t read much romance or chick-lit, because I’m scared it will all be frustrating like this.
Helen Hoang had me at hello. I picked up THE KISS QUOTIENT and couldn’t put it down. Sexy and heartwarming, Hoang presents an original take on “Pretty Woman”. Stella Lane, the beautiful, brilliant, independently wealthy thirty-year-old economist, seems to have it all—until you learn that she has Asperger’s syndrome, which has prevented her from having intimate relationships, unbridled passion, and those things that numbers can’t buy her. A perfectionist, Stella decides to set out on a quest to fix this problem. She believes sex-for-hire is her only option. Enter Michael Phan, a seductive Vietnamese-Swedish stunner with his own secrets, his own intimacy issues. What transpires is a new kind of love story, one that I simply couldn’t put down. Yes, the blush-worthy sex is not simply passionate, but it’s a marathon “tutorial” filled with myriad positions that ultimately lead to a deeper connection between two characters who have lived their lives disconnected. Throw in family dysfunction, and Hoang brilliantly draws the reader into Stella’s world, and you can’t help but cheer her on from beginning to end. First Love + Great Sex + True Intimacy + Obstacles = a fabulous page-turner; the ultimate beach read.
Loved it. Very original, wasn’t sure where it would lead – couldn’t put it down!
Where do I even begin with this? Gender swapped Pretty Woman. A neuroatypical heroine. An INCREDIBLY, IRRATIONALLY hot hero. (I’ve never been the book boyfriend type but he’s my book husband now, we’re very happy together.) Great dynamic. Scenes so sizzling that my Kindle caught fire like an old Samsung Galaxy. It’s been a minute since I chewed through a book in one sitting, but I locked my kids out of the bathroom and blasted through this one and also a bag of Thin Mints. It was the greatest day of my life and my new favorite book.
So many of my book friends have nothing but positive things to say about this book. I’ve seen it listed on several top reads list for 2018. I’ve been wanting to read but I was leery. Based on my history, I haven’t done well with “hype” books but I’m happy to report this book worked out it my favor!
Stella is autistic and I don’t ever recall reading a character with this diagnosis before and it was very refreshing. I used to work in the special needs field and the author portrayed Stella very accurately which was a huge plus!
I really liked Michael because he stopped at nothing when it came to taking care of his family. He had such a heart of gold and I loved the way he loved and protected Stella and saw past her diagnosis, even when she couldn’t. *Swoon*
I listened to the audio book and the narrator, Carly Robins did such an AMAZING job with the story. Robins nailed all the side characters as well. I felt all the emotions the characters felt and I highly recommend this audio book!
Loved this book. Sweet and steamy. A fun, fast accessible read that shines a new light on women Aspys. Highly recommend.
Audiobook review: Part of my 2019 resolution was to try stories by authors I’ve never read before. As a result, I choose to take on some of the 2018 Goodreads reader choice award winners. I’m glad I did. A Kiss Quotient is a reverse prostitute story where the male is an escort due to a desperate need and a unique, rich, smart female. The story is enthralling, entertaining, and very on point with high functioning autistic adults (Reminds me of a physician I know). The steamy scenes are hot and sensual! Love these complex characters! The narrator did a fantastic job with providing unique voices for each character and appropriate tone inflections for each scene!
It’s simply not complicated!
OMG. I’m in awe—just pure, straight-up awe of this book and its utter magnificence. Just… WOW. Now I know what the fuss is all about, and I gotta say, there’s a damn good reason why everyone’s been raving and talking about Helen Hoang’s debut novel. Because this one was written and meant to make you fall in love HARD. I just wanted to plop face down and squeal like a crazy school girl when I reached that last page. It filled up my heart and soul to the point that I needed to let out some of the feels and giddiness it left me with. Or I’m pretty sure I would’ve exploded.
“You don’t like French kissing?”
“It makes me feel like a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish.”
Stella Lane is an incredibly smart and driven woman, but having Asperger’s has made socializing and connecting with other people extremely difficult for her. She’s soft-spoken and awkward, kind and gentle, and found comfort in order and her routines. But you’d be surprised with how much love and goodness this woman has to give. She’s got so much tenderness and passion to share with that one person who got her. The one who fit her like the missing puzzle piece in her life. And don’t even get me started with her obsession with Michael and his scent. It’s just too adorably heart-melting for words.
“Michael was mint chocolate chip for her. She could try other flavors, but he’d always be her favorite.”
Michael Phan may be working his ass off as a paid escort, but he’s so much more than meets the eye. He’s a remarkably talented tailor who loved to make clothes and a devoted son who always put his loved ones above him. When you finally get the entirety of his back story, when you find out why he ended up in the situation that led sweet Stella to him, your heart will just shatter, ache and weep. I actually ended up wanting to save him myself and give him hugs for days. Needless to say, loving this man was quite inevitable and I honestly wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“Thank you for giving me that choice so I could pick you.”
The Kiss Quotient is an extraordinary and very endearing fake relationship kind of romance that will sweep you off your feet. It’s as sweet as it’s sensual. Funny as it’s moving. An unexpectedly breathtaking tale that ultimately gave life to the hopeless romantic in me. Stella and Michael just stole my heart and completely obliterated it. I didn’t expect to love their story this much. Hell, I’m still reeling over it. And truthfully, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading this book. Of listening to it and reliving every single moment. There’s just something so special, so intoxicating and gripping about The Kiss Quotient and the way Helen Hoang penned this that will make you want to experience it over and over. Now I can’t wait to devour Khai’s book!
“The sight of their intertwined hands pleased her. So different, but still five fingers and five knuckles, the same general blueprint.”
There’s was a lot more sex than I expected for some reason (I don’t know why I was surprised, but it wasn’t a bad thing), and the very end felt rushed, but it was still a good read.
Lovely, charming romance. Not what I expected with one of the characters being a paid escort, but don’t let that keep you from giving this book a chance. You won’t regret it!
An amazingly beautiful book. This is a must read. I loved it. What a great book and what a wonderful love story.
I definitely recommend this book and this author.
Gorgeous. I adored this book.
Loved, loved, loved this book! One of my favorites of 2018. I loved & related to Stella’s awkwardness. Loved that Michael was attracted to her because of her differences. Loved the way he made sacrifices for his family. And I especially loved the way Stella & Michael both became better versions of themselves from their time together, while not depending on the other person to make them whole. Highly recommend the audio narrated by Carly Robins who did an marvelous job bringing all the characters to life.