The Kiss Quotient

When I picked up this book, it was pretty much well-liked everywhere, and I must say - it lived up to its hype. The book was so good I pretty much read it in one sitting; I think I read the first half non-stop and then came up for some air and water. In a fake dating trope scenario, Stella asks Michael to be her sex and dating coach, but they soon fall in love with each other. The main obstacles are their respective insecurities - hers being that she is autistic, and his about his sex work and the fact that she is rich and successful and he is not. The book develops their relationship so well, from their compatible companionship and understanding to their sizzling hot relationship in bed. Stella is an amazing protagonist - kind, and emotional, logical and pragmatic, but also awkward with people. She tries hard to fit in with allistic people and her character development is to do with acknowledging that she doesn't have to fix herself for that. Michael is also so adorable and sexy - he is gentle and empathetic, and has respect for women; he has problems with possessiveness, though. Michael's character development, however, is more extrinsic in that he finally can breathe when his problems are resolved, and intrinsically, it is more about having the self-confidence to not get intimidated by her success, or feel like he has nothing to offer her. They take so long to acknowledge their feelings for each other, its like a 'just admit it already gawd!' kind of tension. Oh, and there are some super hot sex scenes in this one, so you are warned if you are about to read this book in public *wink* For a person who is not a fan of romance-centered novels, I sure loved this book a lot and that's the best way of me saying - go read it! Also, I can't wait to read the next one, The Bride Test, with Khai (Michael's cousin) as the main character.

This untraditional romance is super cute, sweet, and sensitive toward a variety of issues. The story framework of having a main character on the spectrum trying to navigate traditional expectations puts it in a similar vein to The Rose Project, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr. However, it's important to note that this is a full romance book, i.e. it contains erotic, explicit descriptions of sex, while the others keep the romance elements more subtle. That being said, the romance stays very true to the characters, especially with how gentle and slowly Michael has to move with Stella initially, as he begins to understand her personality and emotional barriers. Toss in elements of economic disparity, family pressures, traditional Vietnamese culture, a single parent family and terminal illness and you've got a delightful romance that brilliantly mixes humor and heart.

It was interesting at first to read about Stella's discovery of intimacy but it becomes boring very quickly when the author circles around Michael's dad and mom issues and Stella's autism. The overt use of the characters' inner thoughts is like a narrative voice-over that never ends.