‘The Kiss Quotient’: Why Everyone Needs a ‘Practice Relationship’

• Title: The Kiss Quotient
• Author: Helen Hoang
• Publisher: Berkley
• Pub. date: 5 June 2018
• Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
• Pages: 323
• Genres: adult fiction, romance, contemporary

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…

As Michael and Stella’s no-nonsense partnership takes them out of the bedroom and into a fulltime practice relationship, being together starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic…

Content warning: anxiety, sexual harassment, sexually explicit content, slut-shaming, stalking (mentioned)

I felt like this year there was a lot of hype around Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient series. Everyone on Bookstagram and BookTube was talking about how good this book was and I. Could not. Resist! I have been in need of an adorable romance in a contemporary setting for a while and this seemed perfect! I was also drawn to Hoang’s neurodiverse characters, so here we are, guys: a whole post on how much I loved this book!

The story follows Stella Lane, an econometrician, as she struggles to date guys without letting her Asperger’s set her apart as ‘different’. Stella’s solution? To rope in an escort, Michael, to teach her how a relationship normally works. Though reluctant at first, Michael slowly starts seeing a side of Stella that draws him in and Stella starts to wonder if this partnership is something more.

I loved Stella as soon as I started reading the book. In my opinion, she’s a cinnamon roll that needs to be protected at all costs! I loved reading her POV because Hoang really portrayed how Stella thinks and reasons her actions very well. Also, I wish there had been more scenes with Stella and her family.

Then we have Michael. I took a few chapters to warm up to him and that might have been because of how protective I got of Stella within seconds of reading the book. Michael is a pretty interesting character since he has quite a bit of back story. It takes time to understand all his motivations and intentions with Stella since he is a very closed-off person, which is reflected in the author’s writing of the character’s POV too.

So the two of them together? I loved it! I love that their relationship was actually about working on getting to know each other, picking up cues and noticing the small stuff. It was just too adorable and I’m so spoilt after all their romance and steam! Oh, the steaminess! I can see why people were surprised by the steam level in this story. It’s just right, in my opinion, so I just loved the story even more!

Other than the two main characters, I was totally drawn into Michael’s family. They are such a fun bunch to read about and I really wanted more of Stella interacting with them. They’re genuinely nice people and I just wanna visit their house for dinners all the time. I’ll even gladly gawk at Stella and Michael because that’s how adorable the two of them are together.

Story-wise, I was worried initially that the plot might get a bit bland since it’s all about them getting to know each other, but holy moly it was so good! For such a simple plotline, the content is solid and entertaining.

One big plus point was the dual POVs. Alternating between Stella and Michael helped me understand the situation from two angles, so it was interesting to see how it plays out. Also, reading The Kiss Quotient helped me realise how much I like character-heavy content when it’s done right!

I like how Hoang dealt with Stella’s neurodiverse character too. She really got into Stella’s mindset and that really helped me understand and relate to the character better. So much so that Stella is my favourite character here!

I think it’s fair to say this is a diverse read, because a) it has a female main character with Asperger’s syndrome, and b) Michael’s Asian heritage plays an active role throughout the story.

I’ve already rambled about how much I love Stella, so all I’m going to say is that I would love to see more stories starring neurodiverse characters. I come from a medical background and I hate having to understand a person from a medical perspective. Granted I have got limited experience, but stories like these really open my mind better.

Michael’s family dinners really made me crave Asian cuisine! I have always been a fan of dim sum, Korean BBQ and many more Asian delicacies, so I was happy to read about them. Michael’s family is just adorable too, so I just loved those scenes.

The Kiss Quotient is an adorable romance that doesn’t shy away from any steaminess. I loved the characters and the diverse themes this book opened up to me. I would re-read this book on a rainy day because it has quite effectively cemented itself as a comfort read for me!

Have you read The Kiss Quotient or will you be picking it up?