Valerie S. (VolunteerVal) -
I love that my book club celebrates Dirty Book Month every February, discussing a spicy romance. This year's pick was The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. I first read it in January 2019 and listened to the audiobook, narrated by Carly Robins, again last month.
Given's this novel's popularity, most readers are likely familiar with the plot. Stella is very successful in her economics career but a failure in love due in part to having high functioning autism. Michael is a talented clothing designer working in the family business and is secretly a male escort to pay off big debts. Stella hires Michael to improve her intimacy skills and receives much more.
The spicy scenes begin very early in this story and they were hot (for this reader). I enjoyed how their connection grew, especially when Stella meets three generations of Michael's family. I appreciated the gender role reversals, feminist themes, and the author's personal connection to autism.
Unfortunately winter weather twice cancelled our group's plans to discuss this novel. Is Mother Nature a prude? LOL I know we would've had lively conversations.
Given's this novel's popularity, most readers are likely familiar with the plot. Stella is very successful in her economics career but a failure in love due in part to having high functioning autism. Michael is a talented clothing designer working in the family business and is secretly a male escort to pay off big debts. Stella hires Michael to improve her intimacy skills and receives much more.
The spicy scenes begin very early in this story and they were hot (for this reader). I enjoyed how their connection grew, especially when Stella meets three generations of Michael's family. I appreciated the gender role reversals, feminist themes, and the author's personal connection to autism.
Unfortunately winter weather twice cancelled our group's plans to discuss this novel. Is Mother Nature a prude? LOL I know we would've had lively conversations.
Stella has Asperger's and longs for physical touch. However, she also loathes it as most people move too fast or approach her in all the wrong ways. She loves her job; she is an econometrician and gets lost in her work, spending 7 days a week at the office. After one too many setups from her mom, she decided to hire an escort to tutor her in sex.
Michael is kind, empathetic, and instinctively knows Stella takes longer to get comfortable with touch. He usually only does one night and that is it, but with Stella that changes to 3 more sessions. That changes again to a pretend boyfriend and he accepts because he needs the money.
Michael has his own thing going on. His mother is sick and he's taken over her medical bills. In addition, his dad is a scam artist and his mom has to mortgage the house to pay off that debt.
Anyway, at first Michael has no idea of Stella's diagnosis and as a result, mistakes and missteps are made. I cringed when Stella met Michael's family for the first time (she made his mother cry). I loved his family; the arguing sisters and the quiet, but strong grandma & mother.
I was so invested in Stella and Michael as a couple and individually. I loved, loved this book and bought the next 2!
Michael is kind, empathetic, and instinctively knows Stella takes longer to get comfortable with touch. He usually only does one night and that is it, but with Stella that changes to 3 more sessions. That changes again to a pretend boyfriend and he accepts because he needs the money.
Michael has his own thing going on. His mother is sick and he's taken over her medical bills. In addition, his dad is a scam artist and his mom has to mortgage the house to pay off that debt.
Anyway, at first Michael has no idea of Stella's diagnosis and as a result, mistakes and missteps are made. I cringed when Stella met Michael's family for the first time (she made his mother cry). I loved his family; the arguing sisters and the quiet, but strong grandma & mother.
I was so invested in Stella and Michael as a couple and individually. I loved, loved this book and bought the next 2!
Easy reading. A little racier than I expected. Main character has Asperger's and has difficulties with personal relationships. Author provides a lot of insight into this Autism Spectrum Disorder which she was diagnosed with. A fun, quick read. 3.5
