The Kiss Quotient

In the past, I have been that reader who thinks herself “above” the romance genre. I had this misconception that cool kids don’t read romance. But recently, books like The Kiss Quotient are showing me what I've been missing. Not only is this book well-written and free of cliches, but bonus: It’s an own-voices perspective—in other words, it’s a story with a diverse cast of characters written by a diverse author. The author drew on her own experiences with autism to write a heartfelt book about a woman with autism, and the result was so winning I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

Stella is an autistic, phenomenally successful econometrician (a.k.a. math genius) who doesn’t have a lot of sexual experience. After being teased at work about this, she decides to hire an escort to teach her a few bedroom tricks. Enter Michael, a consummate professional (and total cutie). The relationship isn’t meant to be anything other than transactional. But, as you might have guessed, that plan quickly goes off the rails …

This is one of those books where the characters are the main selling point—Stella and Michael’s relationship is steamy, yes, but supportive too. They’re regular humans who have a lot to discover about each other and themselves, and their story shows that it’s always worth it to bet on romance. I’m just glad I bet on this book!

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 30 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 …

As Michael and Stella’s no-nonsense partnership takes them out of the bedroom and into a full-time practice relationship, being together starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic ...