The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Book Blurb:

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases–a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.
It doesn’t help that Stella has Asperger’s and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice–with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can’t afford to turn down Stella’s offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan–from foreplay to more-than-missionary position…
Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he’s making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic.

My Review: 4.5 stars

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The Kiss Quotient was a humorous and frank look at romance when you fall under the autism spectrum. In fiction this means you fit into an undiagnosed or diagnosed part of the overall autism umbrella. I say undiagnosed because often the character just shows the symptoms, yet why he or she acts that way is never mentioned. There are many books out now with mainstream autistic characters and I think it’s fantastic. I’ve coined these books spectrum fiction as a way to categorize them in a search.

I listened to the audio version of this novel and enjoyed every moment driving in my car so I could follow the story. Carly Robbins wonderfully performed the narration. But it was the author that gave her the script to do that. Hoang created such vivid characterizations of people, from their smell to their looks. Michael’s entire family was brought to life. She also did a bang up (no pun) of adding humor to this delightful romance. There was a perfect mix of sexual tension and bafflement within the two main characters.

This women’s fiction book will allow you to remember that everyone wants to feel loved. Properly. Being different should be celebrated not condemned. Note: There are some explicit sexual encounters, so do not read this if that will cause you to dislike this gem of a book.