The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang was my first ever romance novel! I am usually good about reading different genres but I had never ventured into romance. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect since the closest thing to a romance that I had read was Twilight. Edward and Bella’s “romance” was nothing compared to this. Theirs was puppy love. This book is definitely for adults.
Book Stats
- Title: The Kiss Quotient
- Author: Helen Hoang
- Series: The Kiss Quotient #1
- Genre: Romance
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 352
- Audible Narrator: Carly Robins
- Est. Reading Time: 9hrs
- My Rating: 4/5 Stars
- Buy Now: Amazon
Why I Picked The Kiss Quotient
I had no idea where to start with this genre. This was on Goodreads’ Choice Awards list for Best Romance Novels of 2018. The Kiss Quotient also won Amazon’s Best Romance of 2018 and a top choice on Audible. Helen Hoang’s The Bride Test, which is a standalone sequel, is on the 2019 list too. The majority of the people seem to love it, so I thought I would give it a try. I wasn’t let down!
Plot Summary of The Kiss Quotient
Stella is a 30-year-old econometrician. She is great with numbers but not so much with people. Stella’s mom keeps pushing her to find a boyfriend to settle down with and start having babies. Stella is autistic and very particular about her routine, the feeling of clothes on her skin, noise, physical contact and more. She has only been on a few dates with a couple of different men and all of them ended horribly. She believes no one will go on a second date with her because she is bad at kissing and what comes next. So, Stella decides to hire an escort to teach her proper kissing and the rest. Her escort, Michael, needs the money and can’t afford to turn her proposition down. Soon, she begins to enjoy her lessons and they start to develop feelings for each other.
Narration
Carly Robins was the narrator and I really enjoyed her voice. I thought she did a great Stella voice and a good job with Michael’s voice too. I tend to prefer female narrators to voice male characters over male narrators voicing female characters. Something about men using higher pitch voices doesn’t sound right to my ear. I feel they can accidentally make the female character sound weak or whiny without realizing it. That being my main reason for hating the narrator for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (read my review here). Carly Robins also did well with all the other characters. It was easy to follow along and voices were distinguishable.
Quotes
Michael’s sister was studying economics but had a rough first year of college. Later, she picked up her grades but still didn’t have the highest cumulative GPA. This, and some other things Stella thought about herself, led Stella to think:
“When you loved something, you were good at it. If you weren’t good right away, you got good at it.”
– Helen Hoang, The Kiss Quotient
This quote is inspirational! Too many people think they can’t love something to the fullest because they aren’t good at it or the best at it. But if you really love something you’ll keep trying and will never quit.
Another fun quote:
“Michael was mint chocolate chip for her. She could try other flavors, but he’d always be her favorite.”
– Helen Hoang, The Kiss Quotient
Everyone knows my love for ice cream, so I had to include this quote. Ice cream being an analogy for love is perfect for me.
Thoughts About my First Romance Novel
The reason I never tried romance before is that I thought it would be boring. My go-to books are mysteries and thrillers that keep you guessing. Not much mystery or suspense in this book but it still kept me entertained. I also thought all romance novels would be the same. That they would all have the same clichés of “will they, won’t they”, love at first sight, a love triangle, the perfect guy/girl, etc. Or I thought it would have a cringy dialogue. I didn’t notice too many clichés and not much cringing.
What I liked about The Kiss Quotient is that it had good character development. I never expected the main character in a romance novel to be autistic. It’s a unique concept, like Amy Farrah Fowler from Big Bang Theory, in Pretty Woman but with the roles reversed.
I liked the diversity and the awareness this book shows. Here’s a quote about Stella that represents that:
“She had a disorder, but it didn’t define her. She was Stella. She was a unique person.”
– Helen Hoang, The Kiss Quotient
We should not get hung up on labels. Some words are ruined by stigmas that aren’t fully true. Everyone has quirks, you just need to find people with quirks you like.
Final Thoughts on The Kiss Quotient
I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient. I gave it 4 stars. It was a good choice for my first romance novel. I would recommend for adults who are looking for a diverse romance with not too many clichés. I don’t think romance will ever be my favorite genre but I definitely will mix a few more into my reading.
Do you read romance? Have you read The Kiss Quotient? What did you think?
I’m not a huge fan of New Adult romance in general since they tend to be smut, needlessly explicit or too dramatic and unrelatable? But I love Helen Hoangs books because they’re so much more than a simple romance. You should definitely check out her companion novel The Bride Test!!
Those were my thoughts as well! But I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test is on my list!
I havent read The Kiss Quotient but I’ve heard so much about it. It sounds pretty much up my alley, considering that I have been looking to get into NA but needed the right material. Great review!
Thank you! I think it’s a great book to start with!