Nearing her 30th birthday, Stella Lane is being pressured by her parents to get married and start a family. Since she has always had a problem with relationships and people touching her, Stella decides to hire a male escort to teach her the basics of sex. Michael Phan is in debt trying to pay his mother's hospital bills. He has a new "date" every Friday and never allows himself to accept repeat customers. But when he meets Stella, he finds her fascinating. She is very different from his other clients. Michael finds himself getting to know her and agreeing to continue seeing her and help her with her problems. Little does he know that Stella will be a hard habit to break.
A lot of people were talking about this book since it came out in 2018. After reading it, I can see what all the fuss was about. Stella was a smart, unpredictable heroine who is on the autism spectrum. She doesn't like to be touched unexpectedly. She rarely makes eye contact. And sometimes she says inappropriate things. Stella feels she needs to make some major changes in order to have a relationship. Michael is a wonderful hero. He is patient with Stella and her quirks. He is family oriented. But he is very insecure about some of the things his father has done in the past. He is sure that he is going down the same road and doesn't want anyone to find out about it.
Stella and Michael were great together. Yes, there was a lot of sex in this story, but each scene showed Stella gaining confidence and Michael's endless patience. I loved the scenes with Michael's family. Their conversations felt believable. I didn't know when I picked it up that it was the first book in a series. Now I'm looking forward to reading about Michael's cousin Khai in the next book. My rating: 5 Stars.
A lot of people were talking about this book since it came out in 2018. After reading it, I can see what all the fuss was about. Stella was a smart, unpredictable heroine who is on the autism spectrum. She doesn't like to be touched unexpectedly. She rarely makes eye contact. And sometimes she says inappropriate things. Stella feels she needs to make some major changes in order to have a relationship. Michael is a wonderful hero. He is patient with Stella and her quirks. He is family oriented. But he is very insecure about some of the things his father has done in the past. He is sure that he is going down the same road and doesn't want anyone to find out about it.
Stella and Michael were great together. Yes, there was a lot of sex in this story, but each scene showed Stella gaining confidence and Michael's endless patience. I loved the scenes with Michael's family. Their conversations felt believable. I didn't know when I picked it up that it was the first book in a series. Now I'm looking forward to reading about Michael's cousin Khai in the next book. My rating: 5 Stars.
Elizabeth R. (esjro) -
I don't usually read romances, but this one got good reviews and the premise of an autistic heroine is unique. The Kiss Quotient tells a sweet and enjoyable story. It was more racy than the cover implies!
Too wonderful to put down! A lovingly tender, Pretty-Woman-with-a-twist romance with plenty of hot and sexy bits along the way--just the way I like 'em. Stella and Michael's chemistry made this one an entertaining read and easily one of my absolute faves of the year. 4.5 stars.
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
This is a great romance novel, I couldn't put it down. When I started reading it I had no idea the lead character had a disability. It turns out this book doubles as an educational book that teaches the reader a lot about Aspergers and what types of things can bother people with Aspergers. Great book all around!
Wow! After seeing how many reviews this book had I almost didn't bother.
First, as a courtesy to those that don't enjoy reading about graphic sex acts, while this is not erotica, it's close enough that it may make you uncomfortable. You can just skip these sections and you really won't lose much of the storyline.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and though it wasn't bust out loud laughingly funny, it did have me smiling through a great deal of it. I don't think I've read a story where the main character has Aspergers and it was pretty fascinating seeing how the mind of someone who has Aspergers works. (Author was diagnosed with this disorder.) I also loved how the author wove Michael's Vietnamese heritage into the story. A definite plus to the storyline.
Most of all though, I loved the meshing of Michael and Stella. I loved how brave Stella was with putting herself out there and trying to understand how a relationship "should" work. I loved how gentle Michael was with her and understanding of her syndrome, though she did not know that he knew.
It feels kind of weird to use the term "sweet" when speaking of the romance in this book after the graphic sex scenes but this really was a sweet romantic read.
If there was one flaw, it was (I felt) that Michael acted out of character by not being outraged that Stella had basically paid his mother's medical bills. I thought it would have been more in character for there to have been at least a mini spat over this. One other minor flaw, this book so deserved a better cover. Generally, I pay little attention to covers as I read mostly on my Kindle but this sweet story deserved more. This was a great read that had me up most of the night and I didn't miss those couple of extra hours of sleep at all.
First, as a courtesy to those that don't enjoy reading about graphic sex acts, while this is not erotica, it's close enough that it may make you uncomfortable. You can just skip these sections and you really won't lose much of the storyline.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and though it wasn't bust out loud laughingly funny, it did have me smiling through a great deal of it. I don't think I've read a story where the main character has Aspergers and it was pretty fascinating seeing how the mind of someone who has Aspergers works. (Author was diagnosed with this disorder.) I also loved how the author wove Michael's Vietnamese heritage into the story. A definite plus to the storyline.
Most of all though, I loved the meshing of Michael and Stella. I loved how brave Stella was with putting herself out there and trying to understand how a relationship "should" work. I loved how gentle Michael was with her and understanding of her syndrome, though she did not know that he knew.
It feels kind of weird to use the term "sweet" when speaking of the romance in this book after the graphic sex scenes but this really was a sweet romantic read.
If there was one flaw, it was (I felt) that Michael acted out of character by not being outraged that Stella had basically paid his mother's medical bills. I thought it would have been more in character for there to have been at least a mini spat over this. One other minor flaw, this book so deserved a better cover. Generally, I pay little attention to covers as I read mostly on my Kindle but this sweet story deserved more. This was a great read that had me up most of the night and I didn't miss those couple of extra hours of sleep at all.
More explicit than I expected, but also my favorite fun book of the summer! Stella is a charming & lovable heroine precisely because she thinks she isn't and Micheal is fantastic hero. Believable secondary characters and family dynamics round out the book.
I enjoyed Stella and Michael's story on so many levels! First, what a delightful, romantic, heartwarming tale. The depth of each character, main and supporting, was a breath of fresh air! Secondly, and most importantly, I learned about the challenges that a person living with Asperger's encounters. The strength of this book is that it has indelibly changed my understanding of autism and Asperger's, and that is a gift from Helen Hoang to all of us.
I didn't think I would like this book at all. I struggled through the first chapter. I wasn't enjoying Stella, her dynamics with her parents and while I enjoyed the premise of the book I couldn't see myself getting into it. Well, I was dead wrong. I am so grateful to myself, lol, for continuing on with the book, because by chapter 3 I was hooked. I fell in love with Michael. I wanted to get to know his sisters (please continue with their stories!), I am curious about Quan, and I just wanted to see Michael and Stella get rid of their baggage and fall in love. It did get a bit steamy, which was fine with me, but other readers might not enjoy reading the graphic sex scenes. Thank you for the perfect beach read and for keeping the old saying "there is someone for everyone" alive!
Thank you first2read for the galley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you first2read for the galley in exchange for an honest review.
Quick easy rom com read. A little racier than I expected. Lots of sex! Stella has aspergers and is a successful econometrician but bad at personal relationships. So she hires a male escort to help her get better at the intimate side of things and then better at relationships in general. Michael is working as an escort to make extra money to help his mom with cancer. But he has a chip on his shoulder about having to put his career on hold and work in the family dry cleaning business and work as an escort to help out. By escort, I mean male prostitute. Yes, lots of sex. You know how it ends - they fall for each other and end up together. Was good and entertaining.
