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A review by elsaschuster
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
(Some minor spoilers)
What a ride. I hated this book at the start, where Stella’s Mum is using outdated terminology and on purpose ignoring Stella’s preferences. Then I loved it and got really sucked into the romance. Then I sat with it for a while and started to feel annoyed about bits and pieces.
The good: This was a great representation of someone on the spectrum. I like that she’s hot, desirable, that she’s not infantilised. That she is successful and likes her work but also the things she struggles with are represented, and the way they’re represented is closer to my lived experience than other media. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and I really enjoyed it.
The bad: For almost all of this book, Michael is big on consent, that’s good but consent should be an all the time thing. An example of this is that Stella prefers to get up and brush her teeth first thing, she hates morning breath. In one instance he ‘lets’ her go do that, and then they get down to business. But in another, he’s like ‘not yet’ and they do it without. But Stella is autistic and her not liking morning breath doesn’t go away. She should be allowed to get up and brush her teeth beforehand every time if she wants to. There’s also a time where she’s not 100% enthusiastic ‘yes’ing and he kisses her to prove how much he wants her. It’s not *that* bad, and she does turn out to want it, but it’s uncomfortable given how much emphasis was put on consent in the lead up.
Ultimately, it’s a romance between a neurotypical and a neurodivergent and it is mostly done really well. I am being particularly critical in this review because it’s so close to hitting the nail on the head; there’s just a couple of pesky romance tropes (she can change some of those habits because she likes him so much!) that are great for a story but kind of shitty if it was real life. Having said that, it’s up there with some of the best representation I’ve come across and I would recommend it for sure.
What a ride. I hated this book at the start, where Stella’s Mum is using outdated terminology and on purpose ignoring Stella’s preferences. Then I loved it and got really sucked into the romance. Then I sat with it for a while and started to feel annoyed about bits and pieces.
The good: This was a great representation of someone on the spectrum. I like that she’s hot, desirable, that she’s not infantilised. That she is successful and likes her work but also the things she struggles with are represented, and the way they’re represented is closer to my lived experience than other media. I read it cover to cover in one sitting and I really enjoyed it.
The bad: For almost all of this book, Michael is big on consent, that’s good but consent should be an all the time thing. An example of this is that Stella prefers to get up and brush her teeth first thing, she hates morning breath. In one instance he ‘lets’ her go do that, and then they get down to business. But in another, he’s like ‘not yet’ and they do it without. But Stella is autistic and her not liking morning breath doesn’t go away. She should be allowed to get up and brush her teeth beforehand every time if she wants to. There’s also a time where she’s not 100% enthusiastic ‘yes’ing and he kisses her to prove how much he wants her. It’s not *that* bad, and she does turn out to want it, but it’s uncomfortable given how much emphasis was put on consent in the lead up.
Ultimately, it’s a romance between a neurotypical and a neurodivergent and it is mostly done really well. I am being particularly critical in this review because it’s so close to hitting the nail on the head; there’s just a couple of pesky romance tropes (she can change some of those habits because she likes him so much!) that are great for a story but kind of shitty if it was real life. Having said that, it’s up there with some of the best representation I’ve come across and I would recommend it for sure.