Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Kiss Quotient

Let me start off by saying contemporary romance/women's fiction isn't normally my thing so I was honestly dreading reading this. (No shade on either of those genres, we just all have reading preferences). The Kiss Quotient was chosen as the BooKPunK book of the month for April to highlight authors with forms of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), so for that reason I put my judgement aside and jumped in.
I certainly wasn't expecting the steamy, raunchy yet heartwarming read that was bursting with insights into the life of a woman with Asperger's.

There's so many great parts within the book so I'll just get the flaws out of the way first. It was a little bit too nice and easy and insta perfect love story style for me at times, but I guess that's why I generally avoid these genres, I love me a bit of misery! And while the sex scenes were really well written for a change, did we really need so many of them?

Now on to the good bits;
• I loved how the character was written as a woman with Asperger's by a woman who has recently discovered she also has Asperger's. I think it's normally easy to see the external side of ASD's which are often portrayed but I loved how we got to see the inner thoughts and perceptions of a person actually dealing with ASD. I think Hoang made it obvious that there are many different levels of functioning within the spectrum but also highlighted just how different the experience can be for males and females.
• I also really enjoyed the gender swap of the whole Pretty Woman trope and loved how Hoang completely threw those gender norms on their head. It was interesting to see Stella be the person who has the control and the money.
• It was great to see Hoang look at the concept of consent without forcing it in your face, there were many little subtleties throughout that made me rightfully uneasy and aware of violations that would often ordinarily be brushed off.
• Finally I loved how easy Hoang made it for the reader to connect become invested in the characters, even the one or two characters who you're meant to dislike have the ability to evoke a sense of empathy.

Overall this was an unexpectedly great read which looked at so many important topics but at the same time felt easy to read and enjoy.

Content Warnings

criticalbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring 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? Yes

4.75

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blackveilbeccy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book was gorgeous. I really related to the main character and I loved how the love interest was supportive. The cast of characters was diverse and well-rounded. I loved how the romance interacted with the journey of self-discovery. I’d definitely read this again.

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sydnaayy's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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

3.0

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ednam0dewannabe's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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lejam's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

I usually don’t read books that are that scandalous so I was very surprised. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style because I feel like it was written rather roughly, but it was still a fun story to read. It was cute and I loved the bond between the characters, no matter how chaotic they were.

The tie between the Michael and his family warmed my heart. As someone who grew up with my cousins as best friends, I absolutely loved the bond between Michael and Quan. The relationship they have on top of being able to relate to the small moments with his Viet family was what really drew me in compared to the main plot.

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thefatpaperback's review against another edition

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5.0

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