NPR

Sweet And Hot, 'The Kiss Quotient' Really Adds Up

Author Helen Hoang used her own experience on the autism spectrum to build the character of Stella, a straight-laced numbers whiz who falls for the escort she hires to help her work on relationships.
"The Kiss Quotient" by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient is out this week after months of fanfare, and I'm happy to report it absolutely lives up to the buzz. It's a heartening, fun, and all-consuming story in which we fall in love with both an endearing on-the-spectrum econometrician and the sexy biracial male escort she hires to teach her everything about modern dating and sex.

Stella Lane might be a whiz with numbers, but after numerous sexual encounters go lookalike and fashion designer in the making — wants to keep things purely professional; he can't afford to complicate his side hustle when his entire family is depending on him. But even non-romance readers know what happens when you mix business with pleasure — literally, in this case. Hoang's vivid and descriptive style gives readers the opportunity to live vicariously through Stella and feel all the tingling excitement as Michael very professionally seduces her.

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