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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Wonderful first novel by the author! The characters were so likable that it was hard not to fall in love with them both. Can’t wait to read Ms Hoang’s next book!
Thank you to BookishFirst and BerkleyPub/Penguin Random House for the advance copy of The Kiss Quotient.
I enjoyed reading this book about Stella and Michael. Stella is autistic, but is high functioning. She is an econometrician. However, she is awkward in social situations and clams up when she has sex. She decides to hire an escort to help her.
Michael is an escort, who is working to pay off his mother’s hospital bills because his father ran off with their money. Michael has rules, he only sees a client once, and doesn’t let them get attached.
However, when Michael meets Stella, he falls hard. She falls for him, too, but neither one will admit it.
This story is full of hot, steamy sex between Michael and Stella, but it isn’t cheap or dirty. You can tell that Michael worships Stella and wants to honor her body, and give her pleasure. Stella is as enthralled with Michael as he is with her.
I liked how the author wove in Stella’s autism and the things that bothered her. I liked how she showed compassion in Michael as he cared for his mother. I liked the family dynamics of Michael’s family and how much they looked out for each other. His mother is very wise.
I enjoyed this love story.
#TheKissQuotient #HelenHoang #BerkleyPub #PenguinRandomHouse #BookishFirst.
Helen Hoang hooked me in with her first paragraph and never let me go–I loved this book! The deftly created and multi-faceted character of Stella, written with the insight an Own Voices author can authentically give, kept me riveted through this sweet, sexy, and sincere story. You won’t be able to put it down–I promise!
I read the book over a weekend. Different twist on usual romances. The author’s comments at the end were a surprise. I have told numerous friends and co-workers about the book. I didn’t give it five stars due to some inconsistencies – father’s name.
The Kiss Quotient was a breath of fresh air!
I’m just going to come out and say it. I freaking loved Stella! Everything about her character was so honest, raw and well written. This read had me captivated from the first few pages and I could not put it down!
Michael was so smooth, experienced and completely unlike Stella, but his empathy and compassion couldn’t be denied. These two unlikely lovers had me cheering for them the entire read!
I cannot wait to check out more work from Helen Hoang!
The Kiss Quotient quickly jumped to being one of my favorite books of all time. Stella is interesting, lovely, and incredible. Michael is flawed, earnest, and kind. The greatness of their couple is that they fall in love with each other because of their differences, not in spite of them. I couldn’t put it down, and I’ve made numerous friends read it and love it. It’s such a great, feel-food, wonderful romance. It should be read over and over.
4.5 Stars
I had so much fun reading The Kiss Qoutient. Not only did I love and adore Stella and Michael I also learned a few things about autism. The author pulls from her own experiences and I could easily tell and feel how important this story is to her. Stella and Michael are very likable and their chemistry is on point. How their relationship evolves from business to Love was a fun and swoon worthy ride. Michael’s easiness around Stella and how comfortable he made her was some of my favorite moments. The things Stella didn’t like about herself he saw beauty in it. Also Stella’s evolution is noteworthy. She’s the coolest and quirkiest heroine.
The Kiss Qoutient truly is a special gem. I can’t believe this is a debut book. I’ve got my eyes on this author now.
4.5 BadAssDirtyEconomicsStars
Loved this book–Ms. Hoang has created a truly original character in Stella Lane, an econometrist of Asian descent who is determined to find a mate and please her parents, despite the fact that she’s on the autism spectrum and has a LOT of trouble relating to other people, It’s steamy and fun and feel good.
Did not live up to the hype. Not my cuppa.
This was such a sweet and steamy story. Michael is a great hero, the escort you’d never expect with a big heart and family. But Stella, she steals the show. I read this in a day two weeks ago and still think of it with a happy sigh almost daily.
An excellent, original debut novel. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and their journey. The subject matter was refreshing and applauded. One of my favorite reads of 2018.
This is a lovely story about two people who are broken in two different ways. Each feels their brokenness is a hurdle too great to overcome. In the end, they both see and recognize that we are all broken and unique. It isn’t our brokenness that needs to be overcome but our own image of ourselves. Nice read but be for-warned there is much graphic sexual content.
I had higher hopes for this. I enjoy romance novels, but felt as if the Many pages spent on sex scenes could have been better utilized for further character development and plot. The idea of a heroine on the spectrum intrigued me, but unfortunately the book devolved into a run of the mill book. That said, I would try the author again.
A gender-flipped “Pretty Woman” premise with wonderful, unique characters (including a heroine on the autism spectrum)? What’s not to love? 🙂
This is a delicious romance to read this summer (or whenever). Smart, sexy, and original. It was one of my favorite reads this year.
The Kiss Quotient is such a refreshing read. Quite honestly, I adored every single thing about this book. If you are looking for a light, quirky, fun, and endearing romance then this is the book for you.
Stella, our main character, is 30 years old, very successful, and single. Nothing is particularly wrong with that…unless you talk to her mother. Stella’s mom is determined to find Stella a boyfriend which forces Stella to take matters into her own hands.
You see, Stella believes she is undateable–and unable to enjoy and be good at sex– due to her Asperger’s. Naturally, she hires an escort to teach her everything she needs to know—I mean isn’t that what everyone does? However, Michael, her escort, has a strict one session policy for his clients. Yet, after his first session with Stella, he finds that he might be willing to make an exception. I won’t say any more than that because it would spoil the story!
Please read this book. It’s such an entertaining, heart-warming, humorous read. The romance is nothing short of spectacular, the characters are extremely likable, and the beautiful messages of the book are so very important. I enjoyed every single second of this book and I definitely think you will too.
The main character was one that I didn’t think I needed to read about, but I’m so glad I read this book as it gave insight about relationships for people who are on the autism spectrum and what they have to deal with and how they handle relationships. It definitely was a great read.
Great read! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The Kiss Quotient is Helen Hoang’s debut novel, and she slays the heck out of it. I was hoping for a nice feel-good romantic comedy, but I feel like I won the lottery. This book is complete perfection—every single sentence.
I adored everything about Stella: the analytical way her mind works and all her little idiosyncrasies; her determination; her openness; and kind, gentle heart. I know virtually nothing about Asperger’s, so it amazed me to discover just how exhausting it is for Stella to try to appear normal in day-to-day social situations.
It would have been easy and cliché to portray Michael as a sleazy professional escort. I’m so glad the author didn’t go down that path. Instead, he is rather vulnerable and somewhat jaded, but completely devoted to his family. He is genuinely thoughtful and charming.
Being with Michael is surprisingly effortless for Stella. In spite of Stella’s awkwardness, Michael is completely taken with her quirky personality and candidness. Their student-teacher sessions are funny, warm, and wickedly sexy. The pacing of the plot is just right to make their growing attraction believable and allow time to explore how Stella copes with Asperger’s.
A wonderful cast of intriguing supporting characters adds even more dimension to this tender, multi-faceted story. I especially enjoyed Michael’s colorful large family.
Prepare yourself to swoon, laugh, and cheer over this spectacular romance. Be sure to read the author’s note at the end. It’s lovely.
Let me begin by saying that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this story!! I must confess that I was a bit nervous when I started this book because so many people loved it. My friends were telling me how much they loved it, so I was a bit afraid that my expectations were too high for this story and that I would be disappointed by it. But just like so many others I fell in love with Stella and Michael’s story.
‘The kiss quotient’ is a light, fun and steamy story but it also gives you an inside of how difficult life can be for an autistic person. Someone who doesn’t always understand the social ‘rules’ and who isn’t great with emotions. ‘The kiss quotient’ had the perfect balance (I thought) between romance and reality. I adored both characters very much! Stella tries so hard to fit in and Michael is a really good guy who’s just perfect for her. The interaction with Michael’s family was interesting and fun to watch. The story is told from both POV’s, which I really liked and I loved the fact that we got an epilogue too!
The only thing that I’m sad about is the fact that I have to wait so long for the next book in this series. I want more from this writer!