Stella Lane's mother is pestering her for grandchildren.

Stella is a successful woman working in economics and, after realising she's not so confident with dating and relationships, does what every academic would do and researches. Only Stella's research is in the form of Korean-American male escort Michael.

She requests that he teach her seduction, sex and how to be in a relationship but Michael never meets with a client twice. Can he bend the rules to help a girl out?

The more time they spend together... yadda, yadda, yadda.

OK yes, it's predictable - but Stella and Michael are great, well written characters. Their chemistry on the page causes sparks (should probably put a WARNING: sex scenes) in this review.

Huong also ticks major diversity boxes with her character Michael's ethnicity and Stella's aspergers (author Helen Huang also has aspergers). I flew through this - loved it - and I'm looking forward to reading the next in the trilogy.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

An absolutely wonderful read.

I am always a bit skeptical about books that seem to have a lot of hype around them, particularly when it's a romance, but this really blew me away. It's most definitely an "adult" romance (there are more than a few fairly explicit sex scenes and a lot of time talking about sex) but it's sweet and funny and I really shipped Stella and Michael.

The story is essentially a gender switched Pretty Woman, with wealthy and attractive Stella hiring escort Michael to pretend to be her boyfriend. Needless to say what starts out as a fake relationship very quickly develops into real feelings but given Stella is paying Michael to be the perfect boyfriend and they come from very different worlds could it ever become something long term?

So far so tropey right? We've all read the fake relationship becomes real story a million times before but what makes this one unique is main character Stella and the reason she needs a fake boyfriend. Stella may be extremely good at her job, be wealthy and beautiful but she's also autistic. She struggles with social interactions and physical intimacy so hires Michael initially to teach her how to get better at sex and later how to be in a relationship.

I absolutely loved the portrayal of Stella in this story. It's an #ownvoices book as the author is autistic so it's very sympathetically and sensitively done and Stella always comes across as completely believable. She's just so socially awkward, honest and unsure of the right thing to say or do. It is funny at times but in quite a sweet/cute way rather than a nasty one. I have to admit that I related a lot to Stella, possibly too much, leading me to look into autism in women further. I suspect I will not be the only one to read this and recognise a lot of the traits in themselves so if nothing else this book will definitely raise awareness of what it turns out is an often missed condition.

I also have to acknowledge just what a wonderful character Michael is and how fantastic he is with Stella. He's incredibly sweet and kind (new book boyfriend material for sure) and never pushes her for more than she can give. That's not to say there's not chemistry between them, there is and it's off the scale, making it clear from the very start that if they can each overcome their issues they are perfect for each other.

If I had one gripe about this book it would be those issues which I felt were dragged out a little too long. They were built up into something they really weren't and could have been resolved fairly easily without all of the drama, although like all good romances I suppose there had to be some roadblock to throw things off course just before the big finale.

The focus is very much on Michael and Stella but I should also mention how wonderful the secondary characters were too. I loved Michael's family and the way the author used them to bring in a little of the Vietnamese culture, it really added something extra to the story. I would have maybe liked a few more nice people in Stella's life but for the most part they do try, and really none of this story would have happened without her mother giving her a push.

This really is a fantastic read and even though I will admit it's not perfect I enjoyed every second of reading it. I'm very excited to see what the author does next.

3.5 stars.

I’m surprised by how much I ended up enjoying what is essentially a gender reversed ‘Pretty Woman’ with an autistic female protagonist. I’m not a romance fan. And I’m certainly not a contemporary romance fan. So I went into this with a lot of trepidation but an open mind following some very favourable reviews. And for the most part it was really fun.

Stella is the main driving force behind why I enjoyed this so much. She comes across as such a genuine individual who’s perhaps not your stereotypical romance character. She’s flawed, seen as a bit ‘odd’, with an obsession for statistics and maths. She struggles with social interactions and hates large social gatherings. Yet she’s also quirky, kind and giving. She’s described as ‘pretty’ by Michael, but more because that’s his type rather than because she’s stunningly beautiful. It’s his growing affection for Stella that drives his lust, rather than it merely being about looks. Their relationship feels open and honest, and very real. Nothing feels forced (rather the opposite, as Michael is very determined to endure Stella never feels pressurised) and is always respectful. Both of them feel so inadequate compared to the other, and I found this incredibly endearing.

The sex scenes are also really full on, but never felt cringy or smutty (I’m looking at you Maas). There’s clear boundaries with Stella, and lines that cannot be crossed at first, so it was kind of sexy to see Michael work around them in order to show her what love and sex should be rather than what she’s been subjected to in the past. I wouldn’t say it’s a slow burner by any means, but the romance is there, and it was believable. This was also helped by the plethora of supporting characters from Michael’s family, as they added a degree of warmth and understanding to his character and his personal insecurities that without would have made him feel very unattainable and unrealistic.

The writing isn’t amazing. Some plot lines seemed a little too convenient or far fetched (ie everything involving Phillip and Aliza) and the ending was a little too contrived for my tastes but I think that’s my main issues with romance novels anyway. There’s not enough ‘grit’ for my personal preferences. But as far as romance novels go, this is the first I’ve reallt enjoyed for a long time.

Since she turned 30 Stella's mother has started putting on the pressure about her getting married and starting to produce some much longed for grandkids. Stella doesn't want to let her parents down but as someone with Aspergers Syndrome she finds interpersonal relationships extremely difficult and her few attempts at sex have all ended in disaster because she couldn't bear to be touched so intimately by a practical stranger. She's extremely successful at her career but feels like a failure because of her struggles to hold down a relationship so she decides to hire a professional to teach her how to enjoy, or at least tolerate, sex. She's sure that once she's mastered sex she'll have a chance to find a husband and start building a family.

Michael has been an escort for three years, working on the side to earn enough money to cover his mother's medical bills. It wasn't a career path he went looking for and he's become pretty jaded about both women and sex so he finds Stella's openness about her goals incredibly refreshing. Michael is patient, calm and willing to take things very slowly so that Stella is always in control and feeling comfortable with what they're doing. He listens to her fears, goes out of his way to make things easier for her and never makes her feel awkward. In fact, he's the first person who seems to like her for her quirks rather than in spite of them.

I really loved The Kiss Quotient, it's like a gender swapped version of Pretty Woman and the story was both sweet, sexy and incredibly romantic. I loved Stella's personality, she's very intelligent and caring so although she finds it hard to read people she works hard to understand Michael and his family. She's a total novice when it comes to relationships but the way things slowly develop between them was totally believable and I loved how willing they both were to talk things through and discuss their hopes and dreams. Michael has a lot of baggage of his own and doesn't feel worthy of Stella thanks to some things in his past but he was really sweet and protective of her and they just fitted together as a couple so well. I wasn't a big fan of Stella's parents but Michael's mother and sisters more than made up for that and this whole book just left me with a massive smile on my face.

It's not often that I fall so totally in love with a contemporary romance story but The Kiss Quotient was a one sitting read that I absolutely devoured and I'm definitely going to be purchasing everything that Helen Hoang writes in the future.

This book was bigged up by someone who had bigged up another book that I had really enjoyed, so I decided to give this book a chance. It has autistic protagonist by autistic author and I'm autistic. This could be fun. Yeah, turns out that own voices doesn't mean good rep, sometimes it's means internal ableism.

Firstly, before we get into this. This book is written in close third person, changing from following Stella to Michael, firstly by chapter then when ever. This got confusing while listening to audiobook which is how I ended up consuming most of this book, because girl had a deadline and things to do. So now I'm going to share quotes.

I've already said I have some issues with Hoang's choices. Firstly, the good: The autism is claimed straights away in the first chapter; Her traits are shown through behaviour and her choices instead of just being stated which is a usual problem I see with Autistic/disabled characters.This is all done really well and is great representation. Except this a romance book with classic misunderstanding set up. Michael has Daddy Issues and Stella has Autism. *slow blink*

I'm trying not to spoil things, but I might do so with explaining my issue with how Hoang goes about treating this. Being made to feel bad about your Autism is a typical experience for people on the spectrum, but I just don't like the way Hoang goes about it and how Stella's character arc happens.

There's is this one line and I hate it "She wasn't a robot or a disabled autistic girl." Oh, Hoang why did you write this? This is an ableist statement. The implication here being that being disabled is a bad thing, which I get from everywhere. I know where you are and the character is meant to be coming from. If Stella had true fuck society moment then I could let this go as Stella denying herself in a moment of weakness, but all we do get a line about not changing for men. It's just so small after paragraphs of all this terrible, self hate shit.

Autism being disability gets debated a lot, but we definitely face the same problems as other Disabled people. We face constant ableism through weird notions and inspiration porn, the world is not set up for us. I know that scene could also be read as her being defiant but I don't think that's better. Disabled being treated as dirty word is such a problem, leads to a lot people denying themself the help they need and could get.

I don't need that from an own voices book or anywhere. I wonder if Hoang did have this book sensitive read for Autism or not, which I know might seem like a weird thing for an own voices writer to do, but with Autism being such a varied Disorder, I think it something that all authors should do and I know that I will do that if I ever finish anything instead of just dabbling.

Hoang started writing this book before she had discovered she was autistic, so perhaps her previous notions about what Autism have slipped into this book. This book was always going to be how someone's autism made them hire an escort. I do think it could have worked, if more Stella wanted to get more experience for her own sake and not for her mother. I don't think this novel is trash or anything, my feeling after finishing this book was wanting to have a conversation with Helen Hoang about internal ableism. I think things could have been done better. I just really hated spark of the plot, like if Stella had recognized she had no idea what she was doing when it came to sex herself instead of an obvious arsehole giving her the idea. The thing I want is bad arse Autistic Female Protagonist, mainly because all we get is the self-haters that fall to society pressure. I know we all fall to Society Pressure sometimes, I'm just saying what I want. I just wish Hoang attitude in her Author Note made into this book: "When I wrote The Kiss Quotient, I became myself, and I’ve been unapologetically myself ever since. Sometimes instead of confining you, a label can set you free." That's great message, but it not in the book so few people read author notes or acknowledgements and they straight up don't appear in the audiobook versions (including this one, a few ones have them).

I also really hated that the Autism was a big secret to Michael, when they relationship was meant to be professional. Maybe with being newly diagnosed Hoang hasn't experienced that in hiring a professional service it's better to tell them, things go smoothly or you have that moment of telling someone you're autistic and get that the dumb response they give.

Now that I've wrote a novel about Autism Rep, let's
move on.


This book was never for me. It just has too much sex for my liking. The UK cover really highlights what this book is actually like compare to the Rom-Com cover the US one has (I just request it when I saw it, without realising it listed as Exotica on UK NetGalley, the person told me about it, did so in a way that specify that it wasn't exotica. I probably would have still requested it but I would have know what I was walking into). I got real bored of all the sex scenes. I like to read this stuff sometimes, but just scene after scene doesn't do it for me. I know escort but I thought it would be emotions mostly. Not sex mostly. Like role reversed Pretty Woman. There's big chunks where that's all that happens. I didn't like some of the scenes anyway. Like this beautiful quote: "She had the kind of nipples men and babies dream about." Michael would say/think stuff that just took me right out what's happening to think gross. I guess it depends on what you're into and what words turn you right off. For me, it's mentioning children and demanding that animal names are the right names for genitalia. For me, it's on the same level as "Flower".

The audiobook narrator was fine. Sometimes she was slip into a impression of Sheldon Cooper, which I think is honestly my hang up because Autistic people can be quite monotone sometimes and it could just be her natural accent with it. It's a decent way to experience the book if you like audiobooks.

So characters, this book is terrible people. Stella is very autistic. That is all she is. Shit, we're back to Autism rep. Okay, she has some interests outside of being good at seeing patterns and maths stuff. Her and Michael both like martial art films. She likes Korean dramas as well, apparently Michael looks like an actor who was disappointingly not that hot. Maybe he's really a good actor so is hot in film, attactiveness is subjected so that the chance you take when you mention a look-a-like by name. This is a romance so not a much is done with characters outside of relationships. Yeah, that's kinda sad as a trait of romances. Anyway, the relationship is fine. Fine.

I like Michael's family. They're not really characters, there's so many of them and we don't spend time with them a lot but I like them.

So the actual real unfun part of this book for me. Yeah, it wasn't fully the autistic rep being wack at times.

This being autism book, society being fucked is on show sometimes. But then there's Philip James, a Sexual Harassment case waiting to happening, is introduced by dating an intern and asking Stella if she is a virgin. bliuahtgruie;ojgduityl4w5kghrjbn. He's in the whole book, he's an arsehole the whole book, there's this moment where I think Stella is going to finally call him out on it, but she doesn't. He even gets a hint at happy ending which is just baffling. The way his character is treated is just baffling. I just don't know why he wasn't a secret arsehole or arsehole with a heart of gold (okay, I actually like those characters trope) if that was the way Stella was going to treat him. Spoilers and trigger warnings he kisses Stella when she pressed up against a car, her having just say no to a date with him and that she has a boyfriends all indicates of not having consent. So yay, sexual assault, which makes me think of a terrible book where the autistic protagonist is also repeatedly sexually assaulted. It's treated worst in that book, but this is a definitely terrible. I know straight smuty romance books do tend to have these terrible tropes where consent is blurred, but she washes her mouth out and Michael hits the guy. Now, for the worst part is that Stella never treats him like a guy who just sexually assaulted her. She goes on a date with him after that and then he forces himself on her again. You can have characters that are shitty person, but not when the heroine ignores all this terrible shit he does. It is treat as though, he a fine fellow who just not right for Stella, instead of you know a sexual predator. Anyway, I don't like that in books and just brafiawqqqqqqqqqqqqwweeeeng.

Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for Internal Ableism. The self-hate just was not fun to read through. It just has all these terrible implications, even with this being very much adult book, it's just not fun or healthy.I want to support Autistic writers out there giving own voice characters out into the world, but I just didn't enjoy this. Even with not being a big exotica fan, and acknowledging tropes, it just doesn't work for me. I guess if you read this book, maybe just think about the internal Ablelism that's displayed. I would pick up Hoang's work again. I know her next book has an Autistic protagonist as well, and maybe writing it being more aware that stereotypes about Autism ain't true. Autism was too much of the plot to ever be fun.

'The Kiss Quotient' is a sweet romance which, refreshingly, stars an academically brilliant 30 year old woman who happens to be on the ASD spectrum and hires a male escort to help her feel more comfortable and confident with sex.

The main characters are likeable and easy to relate to/empathise with. Some of the secondary characters are a real bonus (members of Michael's family mainly). The story is nicely written and constructed. This is an enjoyable read.

Yet, despite the difficulties of ASD and the family difficulties woven through the tale.....somehow something irked me about the way both Stella and Michael are depicted as so perfect. Not perfect for each other, or perfect personalities as such, but the way they have their difficulties and issues but how Stella in particular is described in a physical sense. Yes, as stated above, it is refreshing to find a romance about someone like Stella - incredibly intelligent and successful yet socially and sexually awkward and uncomfortable - but, give her a less than 'perfect' body too? Apparently that's a step too far - unless her having small breasts is her 'imperfection' (though not to Michael)? Perhaps this is something that most will find acceptable, but it niggled at the back of my brain enough to mention in review.

In conclusion though, this novel is a warm and fuzzy romantic comedy that is bound to be well loved. I can certainly see why it's been picked up for a film.

One of the amazing things about this book is that it's not a story about how to change yourself to be in a relationship nor does it claim “love” heals all, but rather, it's a story about finding a relationship that works for who you are and what you need without judgement and embarrassment.

It never made Stella just her disorder and I think that for anyone who suffers with a disability or something different about them is extremely important.
I devoured it in one sitting, well in one day, and whenever I could I’d be reading it.


One of my biggest struggles in my own life has always been self-acceptance and self love for who I am, because I am ultimately different than everyone else around me and even though the disorder and disability is different I still felt a keen connection with our main character, more so than I ever have with anything else.
ultimately, I loved and connected to the story much more than I thought I would, it was my perfect book that I read at the right time. I’m looking forward to reading what Helen puts out next! ( full review will be posted to blog soon!)

Thank you to netgalley and Corvus for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
content warnings: sex, situations that could be uncomfortable for someone with autism, sex work
Stella understands maths more than anything else, and she believes that maths can be used in every situation. She has more money than she knows what to do with from using algorithms in her work. But she feels lonely. So she enlists an escort to help her figure out how to become good at sex.
This is an own voices book for autism which I am so happy about as we don't get enough mentally diverse characters in books, let alone in romance novels. And then we also have a love interest who is Vietnamese and the author is also Vietnamese so it was just great all around to read in those respects.
Michael is a sex worker, and I feel like there aren't that many male sex workers in fiction and it was kind of refreshing to read about one as opposed to a female sex worker, especially when Stella was a super high earner. I loved the pair of them honestly, but I just especially loved Stella. She's a mathematician who earns so much in her field. And we all know by now how much I love women in STEM in books but I especially love when women are shown to be at the top of their field, which Stella was.
There is one thing that put me off with this book a lot whilst reading was that the MC referred to her vagina as her sex and for some reason that's one specific euphemism for it that really makes me cringe. I really don't know why it's that one but it is. Most others I'm fine with, I do wish Romancelandia writers would just stop with the euphemisms altogether though, but that's a discussion for a different time.
This book is super hyped on twitter within the circles I follow and I know a lot of people on booktube have been talking about it. And I did enjoy it, it was definitely one of the better romance books I've read, but I just felt like there was something missing to push it to that "omg I absolutely loved this" level.

I liked The Kiss Quotient, the characters were adorable and Stella's autism was presented in a way that made her sympathetic without ever getting irritating. But there wasn't really much of a plot.

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!
firstly, it has own voices representation which instantly is a win for me!
This novel follows Stella a thirty year old women with Aspergers who wants to find love. so, she finds an escort so she can become better at sex, because she believes sex will help her find a boyfriend! in return she falls in love with Michael, the escort she hires.
I LOVED the characters in this both Stella and Michael were wonder and were a perfect example of a healthy relationship even with quite an odd start!
i gave this book four out of five stars! i enjoyed it alot and it was the first romance novel i have ever read! I cannot wait for the film adaptation and more work from Helen Hoang :)

The love story like many others but unique at the same time. The Kiss Quotient stands out thanks to its main characters - Stella, a brilliant econometrician who doesn't have experience with relationships and Michael with night job to feed his money problems that he's not proud of.

I found it so easy to relate to Stella's experience with relationships. Like her, I don't have much experience, and I feel awkward about it all. But unlike Stella, I'm not keen on changing this. She, on the other hand, decided to work on the issue that was bothering her. Unable to find a partner with whom she'll feel comfortable, and because of her work colleague comment that she should practice her sex skills, Stella decided to hire an escort for help. This gives us a set-up for the reverse Pretty Women story. What makes it somehow charming, is Stella's nerdy attitude to the whole 'sex lessons' plan. At this point, it's fair to point out that Stella has autism, which has an impact on her love of rituals, stats and numbers, and makes her sensitive to smells and noises, and what is most important in the story - intimate relationships are tough for her.

The romance between Stella and Michael is just so, so perfect. I couldn't stop reading this book, I needed more of the awkward and nerdy Stella and confident, sexy Michael. And extremely smart Stella and vulnerable, caring Michael. They both had so many different faces, we got to meet them in various aspects of their lives, and thanks to that I knew them and I cared for them. Their relationship is hot and steamy. Be prepared for great sex scenes!

I finished this book I a day. I couldn't just put down the book and do other things when there were more pages of Stella and Michael's story to read. The author created loveable characters and gave them a story of a lovely romance.

Wow, what can I say about this amazing book. This novel blew me away and has left me wanting more. In the book, we follow Stella a young gifted economics mathematician, who is feeling pressured by her mother to find love. Stella struggles to find this and struggles with certain situations due to having Asperger’s. One night a colleague on his way out to date gives her the idea to find a man to practice her social and sexual skills with. She finds an escort agency and finds an advert for a young man named Michael. Stella meets Michael and what starts off a one-night experience turn into a situation that neither of them had planned for. Michael is so swoon-worthy it's unreal. He is a family man that has been forced into escorting to help his family and he does this without complaint. I just adored Stella and Michael blooming relationship. Yes, this book is steamy, but I do my romance on the steamier side. The authors writing is beautiful and engaging. I did not want to put this book down and did not want to finish this either.

Would highly recommend this book and cannot wait to read book two.

The Kiss Quotient is an easy read with some fun characters, and a fairly unique story. It's had a LOT of coverage and praise, and though I did enjoy this read, I wasn't blown away.

I really liked Stella as a character, particularly the fact that, as she has autism, she portrays someone who isn't often featured in books: a female with autism. Now I think about it, I've read a lot of books featuring boys or men with autism (and hugely enjoyed them, don't get me wrong) but not so many of the other gender. In that aspect I found this book really refreshing, and Stella was such an interesting character to read about.

I also really warmed to Michael Phan, though he felt a little more of a cliche to me. Perhaps he was just a little too perfect to feel realistic? Despite this, I can see why so many people feel he is such a great love interest - and he filled this role really well.

I think the plot itself just fell a little flat for me. I loved the different concept - that Stella, having not had any good sexual experiences, turns to a male escort to try and 'coach' her. However the rest just fell a bit flat for me and some parts felt a bit cheesy - I don't know how else to explain it really. This is definitely a fun read, with some great characters, but it wasn't quite as good as I expected.

Book: The Kiss Quotient (provided by NetGalley)
Author: Helena Hoang
Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit
Publication Date: June 5th, 2018
My Rating: 4 stars

I am not going to lie, it took me a couple of chapters to really get in the story, but after the first 4 I came to adore both Stella and Michael. For Stella I loved her concentration and her earnestness. She always wants to please the people around her without wanting anything in return. Unfortunately she mostly finds herself trapped in situtiations opposite of the ideal ones, without doing it on purpose. Stella's Aspenger is something she's not comfortable sharing with everyone since she doesn't want to be treated differently. She doesn't want people and especially Michael to pity her and watch their every move around her. She doesn't want the 'autistic' label above her head. She wants people to like her because she is who she is without them knowing. Definitely acceptable.

Another thing I love about Stella is her passion. Her love for her work, which is definitely not something easy, is extrordinary. She's passionate about something and she shows it without caring, even though she gets shy about it.

Stella also cracks me up. I LOVE the way she handles situations by making plans and list and by organising everything beforehand. Her reactions are priceless and made me laugh throughout the book since there are quite a lot of them.

The thing I loved the most about Stella, though, is her transition from a shy woman to a very confident. At the end of the book we see this amazing, dedicated, confident, brave and non self concious woman making her own decisions and taking chances. And this is beautiful.

Michael on the other hand, is very different. I love the fact that I can read his thoughts in the book (since a man's POV is always interesting). His night job might be an escort but that doesn't mean he loves it since he's only doing for a specific reason. He loves how Stella treats him like a normal human and not an escort. Also the fact that Stella notices the little things about him like the fabric on his suit or the French seams endears her to him even more.

I enjoyed Michael's multicultural backround. I loved meeting his family and his loud sisters and you can understand from the first chapters that he has a soft spot for is mum, which is so sweet.

I came to love both chacters, together and seperately.

When it comes to the rest of the characters, Stella's mum is definitely my favorite! Her sense of humor cracks me up. Another character worth mentioning is Philip who I don't like since he's the one who put the false ideas on Stella's head and close to the end of the book he really gets on my nerves.

Yes it is a fairly erotic book but those scenes don't disappoint the reader. Overall the book provivded a nice reading experience. In the end I did find some gaps like the meaning of 'Has she met Janie?" because it's mentioned a couple of time during the book. I have always loved romance books and particularly the ones with something to rememberl. Personally in this one what I am getting with me is that change can be necessary and good and that with the right people beside you it can be even better.

_________________________________
FAVORITE QUOTES

“I like you better than calculus, and math is the only thing that unites the universe.”
“You couldn't have a regular six-pack? You had to make it eight?”
“I want fireworks for you.”
“You can't hurt someone when they don't have a heart.”
_________________________________

If you are looking for a fresh, quirky, romantic, erotic story to dive in and definitely enjoy, I would totally recommend this one.

With Regard, Georgia (aka @justreadtham)

Romance was one of my favourite genre years ago,until I got bored with the repetitive scenarios and lettucy heroines. There are few authors I genuinely like,but I think I may have discovered a new one. I simply loved "Kiss Quotient"! So much that I actually read almost through the night to finish it (This also didn't happen in a long long time...) So if you're looking for a bit steamy romance with an unusual heroine, look no further. Helen Hoang's exciting debut is all this and more.

The main character, Stella, is a talented econometrician who also happens to have Asperger's and is looking for some practice with a professional before she's able to start dating. Enter Muchael, an escort hired to teach Stella all she needs to know about sex. Soon both of them find out that love is not always predictable and easy to explain.

The book was both hot and cute at the same time. Think reversed Pretty Woman but with more feeling, consent and fun. I've since learnt that the author also has Asperger's which possibly explains why Stella was such a believable heroine - I genuinely felt for her and wanted to know her better. It's also great to see person with Asperger's portraited in such a positive way.
I'm waiting for a second book by Hoang coming out next year and in a meantime I'll be rereading it,I think.

Turns out the book I needed to read this heatwave was a gender-flipped Pretty Woman story with an autistic heroine. There’s been a lot of hype about this, and it totally lived up for it for me - I absolutely raced through it and loved it. It’s probably going to get a fair few comparisons to the Rosie Project, but this is definitely a romance not a comedy and I really enjoyed Stella’s point of view and actually learnt a few things too. I’m really looking forward to seeking what Helen Hoang does next.

I liked it so much I fact that it’s my featured book of the week on my blog this week.

I managed to end up with two copies of this because I was so desperate to read it - it popped up for free on Kindle as well as on NetGalley!

5 - "You're a ten for me." Stars!

You can tell from the number of reviews that The Kiss Quotient is a book beloved by many, that is the main reason for my interest in reading it, and also for my scepticism in regards to how good it actually is. So when offered the opportunity to read it for myself I grabbed it with both hands with the high hopes that a book would finally live up to it’s hype.

She couldn’t keep a man for the life of her…

And it absolutely did, with two quirky and extremely likeable characters, it had a bit of a Pretty Woman in reverse vibe about it, in that Stella was the well-to-do business person, socially awkward, with intimacy issues, issues that are mainly attributed to her Asperger's. Michael the freer spirited, and on the surface, more confident, comfortable with his body, and extremely relaxed about intimacy, so much so he has made a career out of offering it to women… for a fee.

"I only do Friday nights…"

And so begins a fake relationship/romance between two completely different people, put the variables down on paper, and you would say not a chance, in fiction, it was a whole different story (pun intended).

"This goes two ways… You like the feel of me. I like the feel of you."

I have pages of notes, and highlights, and quotes from this one, and the ratings on this occasion absolutely speak for themselves in regards to how good this book is. I can’t say that it’s a 100% accurate portrayal of a woman with Asperger’s, unless you live with something like that yourself how can you ever be sure, but it was frank in its reality and respectful in the way the author shone a light on the way life is lived when your normal is different to a large number if not all of those around you.

People called it a disorder, but it didn’t feel like one. To her it was simply the way she was…

If you are looking for a romance that is a little different, a lot of sweet, and a whole heap of enjoyable, then I recommend that you give The Kiss Quotient a go. I will definitely be looking to read more from Helen Hoang in the future, and with this being the first book in the series, and Michael's Autistic cousin being the H in The Bride Test due for release in 2019, there is more too look forward to reading from this author.

I loved this book from page one to the last. Stella`s and Michael`s story is beautifully written.

Helen Hoang found an interesting way to explain the difficulties someone has to overcome when suffering under the Asperger`s Syndrome. Stella`s need to be seen as a unique person, not as a person with a disorder, was tangible between the pages. And Michael... He melted my heart.

A must read in 2018!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore this book!

It’s everything I want in a romance book and more.
The fact that the main character was on the Autism spectrum made it even better, it’s about time there were more autistic characters in books, and it was represented here brilliantly. (I believe the author is on the autism spectrum)
I’m no expert or anything like that, but the character in this book aligned with a lot of stuff I’ve heard / read / watched about how women with autism tend to try and hide their traits that may identify them as autistic in order to try and ‘fit in’
It was such a wonderful heartwarming, cute, and sexy book haha

If you like romance novels/ chick-lit / rom-coms then I would 100% recommend this