A review by fiwwa
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

funny lighthearted tense 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

3.75

I am not the type of person that pay much attention to the book's synopsis before reading them, if another bookworm that I trust says the book is good, then it is good. So I was kind of surprised when I found out what this book is really about, not disappointed, though. There are many things I like about this books but also some things that just not really my thing.

Start with the likes: the heroine. Stella Lane is a successful econometrician with high salary and obsessed with her job she doesn't even care about the money, and the diagnosed autism spectrum disorder author put the autism representation in Stella, something I've never seen before in a romcom books. The hero, Michael Phan... or Larsen, the Vietnamese guy is as sweet as Stella, or more actually: respectful, kind, and very patience which I highly appreciate. Let me slide in one dislike about him, too insecure about his job and salary compared to Stella and made it a reason to not chase after her. I mean... hey, man, if you do love her, then those stupid things won't be a problem to you or even to her. She just happens to has a job with more salary than you do, that doesn't mean you can't have her. But well, he (eventually) becomes a designer which is usually a women's job, so good thing is there's a gender job reverse here!

Ok move on to the dislikes or things I don't really like: the perverts who can't take no. I know that the author is trying to say "Don't be like them, be like Michael Phan who respects Stella's decision." I just hate the character, and the untold characters that had it with Stella when she's completely uncomfortable. And secondly, I don't know anything about Michael's initial job nor that I'm planning to find out more about it, but if he's a fashion school graduate and has the amazing ability to design beautiful clothes, why the hell did he choose to be an escort at first? I'm pretty sure that finding a business partner, being a designer, having his own clothing line and company will gain more than being an escort... no?
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