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The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)

Helen Hoang

Start date: June 11, 2019

Finish date: June 16, 2019

Discussion: 2019 Goals and Challenge

Discussion leader: Jonetta

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What Members Thought

Dec 19, 2018 Petra rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: d-kindle, audible, contemporary-romance, popsugar-2019-challenge

Cute and (at times) steamy, gender-reversed version of Pretty Woman with a female protagonist who has Asperger's. Was expecting something akin to The Rosie Project. It wasn't. Good audio narration. Don't understand the hype. ...more

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Apr 27, 2019 Denaiir rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-audiobooks

ok so I think romance isn't my thing. I didn't like the sex scenes, just had no interest in them but they were not badly written.
the actual plot though was a good romance, even though it was a bit fast and also not original (very typical "I have a secret and it would all be ok if I talked about it but I think it would have horrible consequences so I won't". I liked the characters even though Michael being so perfect was lacking, I thought he was just no realistic. I guess that's what happens in ...more

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Mar 05, 2022 Etta (Chonky Books Review) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Kiss Quotient and the following two sequels have been on my radar for a while. All three novels seem to have great buzz surrounding them, so I was eager to begin the series. While I read the synopsis of this novel back when the final novel, The Heart Principle, was released, I did not relook it up before beginning. I remembered bits about the blurb, but the story was still a surprise. The story lived up to the buzz as it was heart-warming and romantic while not going too far into the over-th The Kiss Quotient and the following two sequels have been on my radar for a while. All three novels seem to have great buzz surrounding them, so I was eager to begin the series. While I read the synopsis of this novel back when the final novel, The Heart Principle, was released, I did not relook it up before beginning. I remembered bits about the blurb, but the story was still a surprise. The story lived up to the buzz as it was heart-warming and romantic while not going too far into the over-the-top sugar-sweet romance (although I still enjoy those stories, too). It was not a perfect read for me, but I greatly enjoyed this lovely introduction to the series.

Stella Lane is an econometrician, who also has Asperger’s, a type of disorder on the Autistic Spectrum. While I am not autistic, so I cannot commentate on this element, I can say that I loved how it was incorporated into the story. While it does affect both characters in some way, either through Stella’s comfort levels or communication, it was not her defining characteristic. She was a complex character that was just enjoyable and realistic. As past lovers and boyfriends have told Stella that she was not great, especially in bed, she has it ingrained in her mind that she needs to improve before she can attempt to find love again. She decides to hire an escort, Michael Phan, to teach her how to be better in bed. Michael works as an escort to help his family financially, even though it is not his dream.

There is an insta-love factor in this story that I am still on the fence about as it is not among my favorite tropes. When Michael first interacts with Stella he falls for her because she’s not like his usual clients and Stella instantly falls for him at the same time. It did initially come across as either would have fallen for anyone else who was slightly different than their norm instead of the two of them being meant to be together. For me, I would have preferred it to be an insta-attraction with a slower burn to the connection stage. Since the reader gets to be in the minds of both characters in this dual perspective story, both internally want to be with the other, but neither believe that the other wants the same. As my personality is a lot more forward with my inner thoughts, the story would not have been believable; however, it worked well with the personalities of both Stella and Michael.

Overall, I loved how Michael interacted with Stella to find out her comfort levels for certain things. She became genuinely interested in his life and it was nice to both open up to each other. Michael has a lot of secrets that drive him to do everything he can for his family. There was a lot of telling throughout the story about everything he is going through, but I do wish there was more exploration. While I enjoyed his parts of the story and his development, the focus tended to skew towards Stella’s journey. Both stories were told, but it seems Stella’s had a bit more. This novel was still an excellent read that I would easily re-read in the future, and I greatly look forward to trying more from the author soon! ...more

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Jan 17, 2019 Kendra rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobooks

I'm glad this is over.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad this exists. Representation is so important across genres. I just really, really hate romance. This was so predictable and honestly a little boring. The sex scenes were graphic and I honestly skipped through most of them. ...more

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