Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Kiss Quotient

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

23 reviews

teatunesandtales's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

1.5

This book started out so well and was on the way to being a solid four-star read, but alas, did not work for me in the end. I enjoyed the autistic representation (written by an autistic author), Michael’s family and the portrayal of Vietnamese culture, and Stella. I loved her — she’s such a complex and unique character and had a great character arc. Hated the rest, lol. Stella and Michael’s attraction seemed almost purely physical; I wanted to see a stronger emotional connection, more substance. I was uncomfortable with the way that sex work and sex workers were portrayed at several points. I don’t think the topic of sexual assault was handled very well or really unpacked properly by Stella. Michael says his mother dying would ‘free’ him, framing sick/disabled people as burdens on their family (granted I have no experience with the American healthcare system but surely that’s the real issue here).

Mostly, though, it was Michael who ruined the book for me. He’s pushy, domineering, overly possessive, and can’t take no for an answer. He literally stalks Stella and follows her home, repeatedly goes after her and presses his romantic attentions on her after she turns him down and tells him to leave her alone MULTIPLE TIMES. That’s not sexy; it’s creepy and scary. Yet when another man won’t take no for an answer, he’s angry even though it’s a very similar kind of behaviour as his own. One is portrayed as wrong and the other OK purely based on who is perpetrating the behaviour. Make it make sense. Not only that but after being sexually assaulted which is obviously very upsetting for Stella, does he offer her support or comfort? No, he feels the need to ‘mark her as his’ as if she’s his property. She initially tells him no to kissing after such a traumatic event and is clearly uncomfortable with it but does he respect that? Of course not, he forces her into it anyway and then fucks her because HE needs it! Fuck Stella’s needs, I guess.

Of course, he knew she didn’t really want him to leave her alone because he knows better. Same with the sex scenes: he overrides her own wishes (that she states to him clearly) and pushes her into doing things she dislikes and feels uncomfortable with because he apparently knows better than her about her own body. He tells her to dress and do her hair how he likes it rather than how she prefers. She can’t even eat what she wants without him trying to control it. He knows she has a hard time in loud/social situations and she tells him she’d rather go home because she’s tired, but he forces her to go to his large, boisterous family’s house anyway. He’s just forever violating her boundaries even (and especially) when she says she’s uncomfortable with doing something. Yeah, he says all the right things about respecting her consent, but his actions and thoughts don’t line up so it just feels manipulative and patronising. He may be teaching her how to be in a relationship but it’s certainly not a healthy one. The controlling behaviour, questionable consent, and complete disregard for Stella’s agency really put me off and made me feel uneasy.

There were also a few things that bothered me in terms of writing. Michael is described as looking like a specific celebrity, which is not only a lazy way to describe someone but just something I despise, especially in romance. Much of Michael’s inner monologue comes off as immature with dude-bro style casual misogyny (e.g. ‘the only reason a woman should wear a pencil skirt is to show off her ass’). The book is laden with bizarre lines such as ‘a natural talent for fucking’ (LMAO) and ‘she had the kind of nipples men and babies dreamed about’ (what??). The dirty talk was... not good.

I can’t believe this book got recommended to me as having a kind, gentle hero and good consent. I am genuinely baffled. If that is what you want then this book is not it.

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mattiedancer's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Writing: 3.5⭐️/5

The writing shined at certain moments and at others, it felt forced and trope-driven. The dialogue suffered at moments as well, reading more like strained conversations than natural communication. That being said, some moments were very well written and kept me engaged until the end.

Characters: 3.75⭐️/5

I loved the inclusion of a woman with autism as the main love interest. The slow reveal of her autism felt nice as well, as the readers become comfortable with her “quirks” rather than just as a woman with autism. I think, while the main characters were intriguing, they did lack a bit of human quality to make them fully believable.

Plot: 3.5⭐️/5

The plot was fun, as long as you don’t think too hard about certain aspects. I felt the backstory of Michael’s dad was both withheld for far too long and also less significant than all the foreshadowing seemed to imply it would be. I did, however, love the handling of the fake dating trope, even if it started from a slightly ridiculous spot.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of romance novels with a bit of heat
Those looking for a romance novel with a unique narrator

Content Warnings?

Sexual content, ableism, sexual harassment, toxic relationship, toxic friendship,

Post-Reading Rating: 4⭐️/5

Very fun to read.

Final Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

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andreapepsii's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is like a warm (sexy) hug. MCs are so sweet and heartwarming and Stella’s character is nice to see in books as well. I really appreciate it!
I do want to say though that I was disappointed with the third act of the book, compared to the rest of the book the pacing seemed to be completely off and the emotional pay offs were either getting to you too late or they were dragged out for what felt like an eternity, even when the end was predictable. But oh well. Will read it again if I need a cozy read

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serendipity421's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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cnricochet's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I picked this book up from the library on my sister's recommendation. It was enjoyable and a decent romance novel, there just seemed to be so many things solved by Michael being somehow "that much better" than every other man because he was a decent human being? I know that maneuvering around an autistic person's idiosyncrasies can be a mine field, and helping them manage their anxiety and emotional reactions to things is no small feat, for the person themselves and their loved ones. But it felt like so many of Stella's "issues" were solved by sexy magic of some kind.

Michael's "she can't love me because I'm just like my father" complex got a little annoying for me about halfway through the book. Never once did he actually act like his father, it's only that he thought about doing the things his father did. But who doesn't deal with the occasional intrusive thought when they're stressed?

Overall, it was a good book. I appreciate the autism representation, but can't speak to it's authenticity, as I'm sure it's an extremely personal experience for each individual, and it's not something I have close first hand experience with.

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bexi's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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hannalizzy's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Genderbent Pretty Woman??? Autistic representation in the MC??? POC author??? FAKE DATING??? Sign me UPPP!

I never thought a man named Michael could bring me to my knees but I KNEEL CORRECTED!!😩🥵

-5 stars because the SA/Sexual harassment in this book was always brushed under the rug and never acknowledged by the mc. I know her autism made her see the situation differently, but I feel like it was not focused on enough/cleared up enough and maybe didn’t send great messaging. And for the constant mentioning of Michael’s daddy issues with no clear resolution for that either.

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zoiejanelle's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

(another library audiobook rental)

this was NOT The Heart Principle, but that’s okay. it serves its purpose.

truly full of gratuitous smut, this was very much a romance novel. after the half a dozen sex scenes, i understood why it was so popular. i wonder why the author toned it down so much for the next two books? this was spicy in every other chapter!

overall a fun premise—who doesn’t love Pretty Woman? but Michael’s inconsistent character (and his weird, occasionally right occasionally wrong understanding of consent) was wild to me. Stella was fine, though her arc seemed rushed toward the end.

fun read, but certainly not Helen Hoang’s best work.

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