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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This woman knows how to write a really good romantic comedy/drama. Very enjoyable read with pretty loveable characters that you want to end up happy. She had others out there that are also worth reading.
I read and listened to this book on a weekend trip. First things first, be aware this book is written in third person. I often struggle with third person books and like to be made aware before diving in.
The audio portion was not it for me. While being on a small loud plane, I had a hard time hearing the story so I had to quit listening right away. The narrator would start really loud at the beginning of EACH sentence then get really quiet. I was either blowing out my eardrums or missing parts of the chapter.
I had a hard time really getting into this book. I just felt there wasn’t a connection and it may have been because I had a hard time with understanding Stella. She always meant well but it’s part of who she is and how she’s learning to adapt. Once Michael figured out that Stella was on the autism spectrum he was able to watch for signs of things that bothered her. Michael was an escort to make extra money, and Stella had all this extra money. It just didn’t fit for me.
In the end, I’m glad Stella and Michael got a happily ever after and there were some feel good parts. But this book just wasn’t for me.
As a Silicon Valley nerd (male), I can relate to the character oddities of the female main character, and the setting. This novel likely contains characters which you have never imagined in a romance novel. Like most of us, they struggle with finding the right balance in life. It is fascinating to a Happily ever after coalesce out of this story.
5 stars for originality, believable (tho unusual) characters, and fun.
Great contemporary romance featuring Asian characters. The premise was unique and the dialogue was fresh. I read it twice!
A cute story with very different quirky characters.
I loved this books . I really like the character development. The fast that they had flaws and were not perfect was great to read . Highly recommend
Excellent! Even though I was pretty sure about the destination of the book, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
This book really grabbed me and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it! I could really identify with the characters. Each and every one of them reminded me of someone in my own life that I knew and Stella was my hero. I felt so much akin to her and cried when she cried and laughed when she laughed. This story is going to stay with me for a long time!
Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient Is By Far the Best Romance I’ve Read All Year.
Are you looking for the kind of steamy romance that sucks you in and makes you want to put your entire life on hold until you’re done reading (at which point you’re going to be very, very sad it’s over)? If so, I cannot recommend The Kiss Quotient enough.
The female main character is an econometrician with Aspergers, who loves numbers more than people. She has difficulty in social settings and can’t stand French kissing. So, she decides she needs help learning how to be good at sex in order to keep a man and have a relationship.
Queue the entrance of gorgeous Vietnamese/Swedish escort Michael Phan. He has a one-time-only rule with clients but can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer. He also quickly finds he doesn’t want to turn down her offer.
I loved the peek into Vietnamese food and culture. And who can’t relate to pushy parents who want you to get married and have children ASAP? Not to mention feeling incredibly awkward in social situations with strangers (especially those you most want to impress), bad at dating, or unworthy of love?
Ms. Wang touches on all of these themes in a way that’s realistic, relatable, and often times funny. The writing is terrific. And the sex is hot, hot, hot. I highly recommend you buy and read this book, and review it, ASAP.
This was a nice, light-hearted rom-com that is essentially a gender-flipped version of Pretty Woman. Stella is a socially awkward econometrician with autism whose family won’t stop hassling her to find a nice man to settle down with. Obviously the solution to this is to hire a male escort to pretend to be her boyfriend and teach her how to be in a relationship. Romance and chaos naturally ensues. This is perfect for if you’re looking for something happy and not too challenging and it was also lovely to see an autistic rom-com heroine!
Absolutely loved this book although I wasn’t expecting it to be so steamy! Stella is adorable and Michael such a sweetheart. Devoured it x
I really enjoyed this story. It was thoroughly I entertaining and enjoyable.
I loved this book! Helen Hoang knows how to create interesting, sympathetic characters and put them in situations where tension builds deliciously. As someone with several neurodiverse folks in the family, I really appreciated this story.
The Kiss Quotient is Helen Hoang’s debut novel which is so hard to believe. It is beautifully written, fresh, sexy, and so sweet. The main character, thirty-year-old Stella Lane, the only child of Asian parents is off-the-charts smart and has high-functioning Autism referred to as Asperger’s. She is a single woman with a hugely successful career as an econometrician but is in general uncomfortable with people and trying to be normal. The story starts off with her having breakfast with her parents and her mother wanting to know when she will be giving them grandchildren. As her previous dates and few sexual encounters have been dreadful, she cannot assure them this will happen. Rushing back to the safety of her office she decides to hire a male escort to teach her how to “do it” and be comfortable with a man.
As luck would have it, she is paired with Michael Phan who is half Vietnamese and half Swedish. Being an escort is not his dream, but he does it to help his family. They meet for dinner and he is instantly fascinated. She offers him the deal. Teach me how to like sex and be comfortable with men. Michael is interested, but he has a rule, he only sees clients on Friday nights and only once. Well, some rules were meant to be broken.
She does not share her condition, but he realizes she is different, so he is so careful and patient with her. I think you can see where this is going. The two become entranced with each other, but it takes time to realize before the happily ever after. There was much fun with Stella meeting and becoming friends with his family and of course, the whole male escort thing to explain.
This was not my typical romance novel, but there was so much to appreciate about it such as the different culture, learning about people on the spectrum and romance. The author has the same condition, so I guess she really knows. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think others will too!
I plan to read this one again. I related to the Asperger’s aspect and love characters that deal with the different way their brains process. This was an entertaining story, and I loved it!
I loved this book so much I’ve re-read it twice, and I rarely do that. Stella is a new favorite. Cannot recommend this enough.
The sexual content may be more than necessary to make the point but the POV of a person that does not relate to others in the same way of others.
I want to applaud Helen Hoang for bringing something new to romance books. Yes I’m a few years late with the review but there are people still out there (hopefully) who haven’t read it. She really brought something new to the table. Stella one of the main Characters has High Functioning Autism or sometimes related to Asperger’s Syndrome. we really get to see some what into the mind of what someone may go through.
I had one part in the story that really bugged me that seemed to come out of left field a little. The medical bills and the foundation that was setup to help pay for people who didn’t have medical insurance. It kind of seemed to come up out of left field, don’t get me wrong I think It was wonderful but I was for sure (characters name) would have just paid for those medical bills not set up a whole foundation to pay for select few others. Along with the character being rich enough to start this foundation.
I don’t want to leave my review on a bad note because its not a bad thing. I really enjoyed this book and I cant wait to read the next two books by Helen Hoang!
The kiss quotient has an agenda- and it isn’t shy about it. It wants to be the Rosy Project but with a woman lead. In my opinion it achieves its goal which is to give us, the uninitiated readers a glimpse into what it is to be an autistic woman. It does so beautifully evoking great sympathy and understanding. The steamy sex scenes, Vietnamese cuisine and a totally hot male lead are what makes this read so engaging and fun.
I loved this book! It was an endearing romance with characters that you are pulling for all the way through the book. Light reading, feel good book that was perfect during this time of staying at home. Will read this author again.