I think The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang is one of the books I’ve enjoyed reading thus far. It’s a light read, easy to finish, and definitely helps with counting toward my goal of reading 52 books this year. But that doesn’t mean I missed its glaring flaws. So, I hate to break it to you—I’m part of the 2% of people in Goodreads who rated this 1 star.
The Kiss Quotient is about Stella, a career woman who’s doing really well in her field, but she doesn’t like dating because she has Asperger’s. Kissing and sex aren’t exactly enticing for her, so she hires an escort to help make these things more comfortable. The plan is to learn how to enjoy intimacy with a professional so she hired an escort named Michael, who just so happens to be hot and smell good. And, well, her plan kind of goes off track.
So, ah—this book is full of smut. Let’s be honest. It’s half romance, half sex, and probably a lot of people read it for that. You can see it coming a mile away just from the plot. What’s concerning, though, is that Stella seems to have a skewed way of seeing her problem—like she thinks she needs sexual contact with a stranger to “fix” her lack of enjoyment. But the book’s whole point isn’t even that Asperger’s is why she’s had bad experiences—it’s just that she was dating the wrong people. Which kind of makes the whole premise flawed.
For a book that seems like it’s trying to raise awareness about Asperger’s, it really misses the mark. It feels like Asperger’s was just used as a hook to make the story stand out, but it doesn’t carry the weight it should for actual representation.
And then, at the end, there’s this bit about buying things to show love. Like, okay—if Stella buys him things, then that means she loves him? Is that the moral of the story? I hope not, but that part definitely leaves you kind of thrown off.
So, my final verdict? I feel like skipping this one wouldn’t make you miss anything.
Have you read this book? If you have, share your thoughts in the comments! If not, let me know if it’s on your list! ❤️
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