The Kiss Quotient Adds Up!

I recently saw a review for The Kiss Quotient and saw a review that made it look good.  The main character is an econometrician who has Asperger’s.  You had me at math, LOL!  It certainly looked like a unique kind of love story.  I had recently read a string of dark fics where the guy and the girl aren’t together at the end of the story, so I wanted something different.  We can’t read Holocaust stories and stories with war all the time!

Our protagonists are Stella, the econometrician with Asperger’s, and Michael, who works part time as an escort to help solve his money problems.  Stella has really bad luck with relationships.  She really doesn’t care for them, but her parents are bugging her about grandchildren.  Stella decides to hire Michael to teach her about relationships and sex.

Michael is getting a little tired of his job, but he needs to keep doing it because he needs the money.  When Stella hires him, he’s expecting an old lady, but he’s happily surprised when he finds a lady that he’s quite attracted to.  He doesn’t think that she needs to hire an escort, and initially doesn’t want to work with her (she wants to hire him for more than one Friday, but he has a rule to not work with someone more than once), but he eventually agrees.

I liked the characters.  Even though I don’t have Asperger’s, I can see a lot of myself in Stella.  Like Stella, boys have never asked me out (there’s a reason why I met my husband on the internet).  I rehearse conversations in my head before I have them, and sometimes I almost have a panic attack when I have to call someone on the phone.  So I found myself identifying with her quite a bit.  She is also a person who has interests and dreams, and is not a stereotype.  Michael is a kind person, which is exactly what Stella needs as she gains confidence with relationships.  He has family and friends that make his life fuller.  As you read the story, you discover why he needs all of this money.

The Kiss Quotient is not a young adult book; it has some scenes that are not appropriate for non-adult teens.

If you’re looking for a light book, The Kiss Quotient might be for you.  It’s a cute little read that will keep you entertained.  I would consider reading Hoang’s next book, The Bride Test (which deals with Michael’s cousin Khai, who also has Asperger’s) next year.