Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The Kiss Quotient

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

60 reviews

seawarrior's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

4.0

This is the first romance novel I've read featuring an autistic protagonist, but won't be the last, thanks to Helen Hoang. I definitely found Stella to be a relatable portrayal of an anxious autistic person. It was highly rewarding to witness her self esteem blossom, especially since many of her behaviors and insecurities reflected my own.

Truth be told, I've avoided romantic attachments like the plague my entire adult life, worrying that any attempt at one would end as Stella's first three had,

where she was essentially sexually assaulted after becoming too overwhelmed to participate in the act or even to say no to it

. This justifiable anxiety has weighed on me since I was a young teenager, but these things are embarrassing and scary to discuss, so I've never known how to work past it. I've desperately needed a story like this to remind me that there are people out there who will be empathic to my struggling social skills and tendency to lock up and lose some or all ability to speak when nervous. Anyone else is not worth spending time and heartbreak on, but it would never be my fault if someone exploits my trouble saying no. Like Stella, many autistic people are interested in romantic relationships and sex and need to be educated on how to enjoy them safely, which includes understanding our undeniable right to protect ourselves from predators and feel no obligation to please them. Stella's story starts when she hasn't fully grasped this truth, but Michael's genuine respect and love for her eventually emboldens her to feel those emotions towards herself, and to seek out what primarily pleases her.

This book is sweet, sensual, and sparkling with energy, but I think its most shining merit is how it reminds autistic readers that we deserved to be loved wholeheartedly, and should never view our worth through the lens of those who have previously exploited us or leveled unfair expectations against us. Stella's journey with Michael teaches her, and by extension, the reader, that she is perfectly lovely as she is. Autistic romantics, and the world in general, were achingly in need of this story.

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a_libra_library's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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araceli1022's review

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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? Yes

5.0

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mollywill's review against another edition

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emotional 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? No

5.0

I am not exaggerating when I say this book made me SWOON. The characters, the plot, the writing - everything. I tore through it in less than 24 hours and regret nothing. Stella was such a fun, easy-to-root for heroine and Michael is an absolute dream, but they are also both well-rounded and realistic characters with compelling motivations & histories that I couldn't wait to learn more about as the plot unfolded. I have to say, I read "The Bride Test" before this one and didn't love it, but TKQ makes me want to give that one a second chance.

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cindymarieo's review against another edition

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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? Yes

I really enjoyed reading this book! I had seen it on a few lists, and heard about it in my book club. I liked how the author switched perspectives between characters- it gave me perspective on what romance for someone on the autism spectrum could be like.

Edit: I also loved the technical aspects of sewing/clothing construction/etc. that both Stella and Michael talked about!

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alymarsh's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted 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

3.0

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bookishandlegal's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

Really enjoyed this one! The story was super sweet and I loved Michael and Stella. I’m not usually a fan of steam and once this one got going it was really steamy, but it didn’t make me as uncomfy in this one as it has in others. Stella was uncomfortable and I was a little bit but because we were feeling similar things it was as cringey for me. I absolutely loved Stella’s journey throughout this book and she was just such an amazing character. I really enjoyed seeing this snapshot into an autistic character (as the author notes Stella is just one look at a person with autism dating and everyone’s experiences are so different). There were only a few things in this one that bugged me a little bit. It took forever to find out what terrible thing Michael’s dad had done and it was frustrating to always hear him be so worried about this thing and not know what it was. It also struck me as odd that Stella’s parents were in the first chapter and seemed like a big part of her life and then we didn’t see them again until almost the end of the book but we spent a ton of time with Michael’s family. I liked the end of the book (obvi, HEA’s are great) but it felt like things wrapped up too quickly once they made up, but that could just be a me thing. Overall really enjoyed this one and definitely want to read more Helen Hoang in the future!

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womanwill's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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eamily's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.5

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spearly's review against another edition

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informative 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? It's complicated

2.5

Ehhhhhhhh

I feel bad for not really liking this book. It has a lot of great reviews, and I think it's so, <i> so</i> important to be telling more diverse stories. I'll get into my personal grievances with the book, but first, I think it's important to highlight what I felt Hoang did well.

I loved that the book follows Michael, a Vietnamese man, and Stella, who is neuro-divergent. I loved the way Michael followed Stella's cues, never crossed her boundaries, and loved her because of, not in spite of, her peculiar idiosyncrasies. I love that we explored vietnamese culture through Michael's family and home life. I love that, in the end, Stella's parents could take a step back when she asked them to (as so many fictional parents do not).

But.

I think there might have been a total of, like, 5 chapters that our MCs spent apart. I've never read a romance that was so wholly about the romance before. Hardly any plot at all, let alone a b or c-plot. Hardly any build-up. Hardly any conflict.

My reading experience was probably coloured a bit by the inclusion of not 1, but 2 of my least favourite romance tropes.

1) Insta-love (I will concede that obviously it wasn't love right away - though it may as well have been. But within 2 chapters of the book, within 10 minutes of meeting, Michael is already thinking to himself how differently he feels about Stella vs. his other clients, how he wants to spend more time with her, how she's so endearing and cute and her naivety is such a turn on.)

and 2) FAKE DATING. Or pretend dating, whatever you want to call it. I hate this trope. I hate hate hate it.

The big drama was literally a series of misunderstandings. And again, I feel bad even critiquing that, because I think that may have been the point - Stella doesn't pick up on nuance that well, and Michael had such self-esteem issues, and the two never talk about how their feeling because neither feels good enough for the other.

I think I just don't believe that a character like Michael was missing all the signals that Stella actually had feelings for him, especially when his family picked up on it; Stella's an incredibly honest character who always speaks what's on her mind. There was really no reason for any sort of miscommunication, at least on his end. Stella's concerns about their relationship at least felt valid... but Michael's felt fabricated for drama. Why would he think Stella wouldn't want to be with him because of his dad??

Also, the prose was all very literal. I can understand, to a point, the dialogue being very succinct, since Stella speaks her mind and doesn't read social situations well, and Michael, when talking to her, would often match that (and rightly so. His language toward her was all for her benefit, so there were no surprises, no needing to read-between-the-lines). But even the descriptions, the action, and the rest of the story were literal. No metaphors. All tell, barely any show.

I digress. Lesson learned: go into hype books with low expectations, so you're either pleasantly surprised but never disappointed.

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