The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1)

by Helen Hoang

[Jyc]

★☆ // i was initially into this thinking that it would be a quirky, new adult book and it did start as something pretty interesting. but then it got a bit muddled in the middle then ultimately sputtered out with typical romcom-y resolutions. there were so many things that could have been discussed regarding Stella—a woman with Asperger’s and how she navigates an emotion-filled and oftentimes irrational field of love when her brain and life follows rules and logic down to a tee. there was Michael who is an escort—a considered taboo profession that is frowned upon by the society, which could have been used to discuss filial piety in Asian households. somehow these huge chunks of what make them interesting characters and what should complete the story are relegated to the the background as some sort of minor obstacles in love that could apparently be solved by... courting? what. there’s just so much potential but obviously this writer was not interested in the economics of these circumstances. the end result is a letdown, and frankly i want my hours back.

”This crusade to fix herself was ending right now. She wasn't broken. She saw and interacted with the world in a different way, but that was her. She could change her actions, change her words, change her appearance, but she couldn't change the root of herself. At her core, she would always be autistic. People called it a disorder, but it didn't feel like one. To her, it was simply the way she was.”