A review by abooknomad
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

emotional funny lighthearted
  • 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

 “Your body wages biological warfare on me.”

THIS FREAKING BOOK. It is happiness contained in 300 pages, or in my case, 9 hours and 36 minutes of pure joy.

I cannot believe that 3 months ago, after a bad experience with a book, I thought that contemporary romance wasn't for me. Clearly, as the last few weeks have shown me, I just hadn’t come across the ones that spoke to me.

Sometimes I forget the multitude of effects books can have on us. I like to be emotionally destroyed, I love to feel seen, and I appreciate when a book coaxes a giggle or laugh out of me. But this book filled me with so much happiness that I was walking around yesterday with the most foolish smile on my face, to the point where I thought rays of sunshine and unicorns were coming out of me.

This was such a cute, sweet, and funny story with such loveable and complex characters. Stella is in the autism spectrum, Michael is an escort, and both are dealing with a lot of insecurities. I loved the way Helen Hoang showed Stella's small and big daily struggles with autism both in and out of the dating scene, but also that those things are, at the core, just another beautiful and charming piece of Stella and not an affliction. She’s a girl boss, obsessed with statistics and math, and a successful econometrician.

And I adored each layer of Michael that was slowly revealed. His patience, devotion, and kindness melted my heart. And when these two get together… these were some good quality steamy scenes.

I finished the book with as big of a crush on Stella as on Michael.

The audiobook narrator was incredible, one of the best I've listened to this year.

And now I’m just sitting here asking myself the same question as Stella:
"How did one not obsess over something wonderful? How did one like something a reasonable amount?"

… because I’m sure I’ll be thinking about this story for a while. Definitely a new favourite contemporary romance.