REVIEW: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Huong

The Kiss Quotient
by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient is a book I had never heard about, until suddenly it was everywhere across all my social media platforms. This book was being highly praised and well received from a bunch of people I follow, and after days of seeing it everywhere I decided it was finally time to read it. I’m so glad I did because I absolutely adored this book!

I started The Kiss Quotient on a Friday evening after work, and by 10am the next morning I had devoured it. I could not put it down. It had my complete and undivided attention and if it wasn’t for the need to sleep, I would easily have read it in one session. This book is heartwarming, refreshing, endearing, funny, steamy, and the kind of book I wanted to instantly reread upon finishing.

The Kiss Quotient follows Stella, a thirty year old econometrician who is smart and successful in her professional life, but lacking experience in her dating life. It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s which has made her previous romantic experiences unenjoyable. Deciding that the only way to overcome this is with a lot of practice, Stella hires Michael, an escort, to teach her the ways of dating. Only soon their no-nonsense partnership seems to make a lot of sense …

The best part about this book is its characters. In my eyes, you can’t have a great romance without first having excellent characters, and this book does not disappoint on either count. Stella and Michael are both the kind of charming and endearing characters that you can’t help but wish the best for. I’ve not read many books where a main character has Asperger’s, and I felt that Hoang approached this sensitively, creating an incredibly relatable and lovable character. Even the supporting characters are well developed and a joy to read, allowing for our main characters to shine even more.

I don’t read a lot of strictly romance-only books, but my gosh this novel would make me consider changing that. I fell hard for the relationship between Stella and Michael, and spent the entire book desperately waiting for them to get together. Michael is the definition of swoon-worthy!

I really enjoyed Hoang’s addictive and fun writing. It was a perfect blend of endearing and sexy, a combination that is difficult to get right. There was also a wonderful balance of plot and romance which made this novel all the more enjoyable. Hoang’s writing was also entertaining, managing to make me laugh throughout the entirety of the novel. It’s been a long time since I literally laughed out loud whilst reading a book, but The Kiss Quotient managed to make me do this quite a lot.

The Kiss Quotient is a refreshing and strong debut novel, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future books by Helen Hoang. If you love a good romance, this book is for you, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. In fact, I loved The Kiss Quotient so much, that I’ve already begun pushing it into the hands of my friends begging them to read it!

The Kiss Quotient

by Helen Hoang

A heartwarming and refreshing debut novel that proves one thing: there's not enough data in the world to predict what will make your heart tick

Stella Lane thinks mathematics 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 far 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. Gorgeous and conflicted, Michael 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.

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses but to crave all of the other things he's making her feel. Their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic . . .

Order NowRead More

1 Comment Share:

About the Contributor

Tanaya Lowden

Tanaya has been a lover of books for as long as she can remember. Now, her book collection is a little out of control, mostly consisting of YA fiction and pretty hardcovers. When she’s not reading, she spends a lot of her time taking photos of books for her bookstagram account, @prettypagesblog. She also has a love of Disneyland, bullet journaling and cats.

Follow Tanaya: Twitter