A review by marylinaris
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

emotional medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

If you want a 300-page long mutual pining extravaganza, this book is perfect for you! Mutual pining, if done right, has to be my favorite trope and it was done so well here. Michael and Stella had me on the constant edge between turning into mush and wanting to scream about what idiots they were. 

That said, I loved the romance between Stella and Michael a lot. I loved how they both were basically obsessed with everything the other person is (e.g. Stella generally not getting tattoos but she cannot get enough of the one Michael has; Michael hanging off Stellas lips when she babbles about her work, even though it involves highly specific things and yet he just loves listening to her talk about the things she is passionate about). Going in I was unsure how I would enjoy it with Michael being an escort - sometimes these power imbalances are written in a way that just give me a big ick - but I felt like it was handled in a good way. 

I also enjoyed the third-act break up (the second one in a week, who am I??) because it came quite early and gave both main characters the chance to independently make decisions and grow as people out of their own accord. It also helped that this way the resolution did not feel rushed but rather earned. 

One thing I also particularly liked was the writing style. Overall it was great but it also slightly changed between the two POVs to reflect Stellas more clinically/orderly way of thinking. That was the perfect little touch and did a lot of legwork with understanding her thought processes and actions. 
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