Thursday 8 July 2021

The Kiss Quotient (by Helen Hoang) and Sick Kids In Love (by Hannah Moskowitz)


One adult contemporary romance and one young adult contemporary romance... Two wonderful books I highly recommend!

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 thirty-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...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...



I finally read this book! Yay! I feel like everyone has read it - and loved it - and I was the odd duck in the corner who hadn't but now I have and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long!

This book is so easy to read... You just slide into the story on page one and are promptly swept away on a gentle current of laughter and romantic awesomeness.

The book has a super simple premise that is executed beautifully. Filled with loveable characters, real challenges and understandable conflict, it was a super enjoyable read.

The Asperger's elements really hit home for me (as I imagine they would for anyone who is close to an Aspie) and I adored the care and understanding Michael showed Stella even before he knew anything about it. (If only the majority of people in real life were so kind and understanding of people's differences...)

Michael is such a wonderful character... I mean, Stella is fine - I liked her - but Michael stole the show and my heart. The lengths he went to for his family... Not many would. I totally understood why he did the escorting but I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't struggle with it. It gave me a slightly skeezy feeling whenever I thought about how many women he'd slept with. I honestly don't know how Stella could handle it but the pair of them were so good together that I'm glad she could!

I didn't love The Kiss Quotient as much as I did The Bride Test but, if you haven't read it already, I highly recommend it just the same!


Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's easier-- It's safer-- It's better --for the other person.

She's got issues. She's got secrets. She's got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He's got a chronic illness Isabel's never heard of, something she can't even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who's a doctor.
He's gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.

Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It's complicated-- It's dangerous-- It's never felt better -- to consider breaking that rule for him.


This book caught me completely by surprise! I mean, I thought I'd like it (of course I did or I wouldn't have read it) but I didn't expect to like it, nay love it, as much as I did! Isabel and Sasha just blind-sided me and made me feel so happy... What a pair they were. Two chronically ill (not terminally ill, thank goodness!) teenagers who meet, fall in love, and go about their business... It was that simple and that complicated.

I loved them together, and apart. I loved their friendship, their relationship and how they were just two teenagers in love...

I laughed so much while reading this book. Despite the "sick kids" label, it is not a heavy read. It's pragmatic about the realities of living with a chronic illness but doesn't get weighed down by it. They are still kids, teenagers, and they're just living their lives. It was so easy to read... I didn't really want it to end!

I have no idea why this book resonated so much with me but I adored it even when people - I'm side-eyeing you, Isabel - got on my nerves. It brought joy and happiness. Thus five stars and I think everyone should read it! lol.

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8 comments

  1. Michael was amazing!! I absolutely loved him as a character. Swoony, sweet, and so caring and understanding. Stella was wonderfully written, too. The whole book was great! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! (I still need to read The Bride Test... don't hate me.)

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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  2. I actually liked TKQ more than TBT, though both were great. And YES! Sick Kids is one of my faves, so it brings me great joy to see such a glowing review. Everything you said is true, plus it's nice to read a book about sick kids who won't die from their illnesses. I found the book really wonderful and insightful.

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  3. Excellent reviews! I love it when differences are handled well in a story. I've enjoyed The Kiss Quotient but I'd love to read Sick Kids Love.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  4. I didn't love The Kiss Quotient as much as everyone else did (I blame the hype monster lol) but it was a very sweet story and I enjoyed it.

    I also read Sick Kids in Love but I didn't like it at all but, in that case, I think it was the audio. I'm still really picky with narrators and it can totally ruin a book for me.

    Glad these were both hits for you!

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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  5. I really enjoyed The Kiss Quotient, probably more than The Bride Test. Michael really stole the show for me. He was such a sweetheart and his patience with Stella melted my heart. :)

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  6. I loved The Kiss Quotient, too! Yes, Michael's escorting was a bit disturbing, but I got why he did it. He was a total sweetheart!

    Glad it wasn't a terminal illness! Those stories break my heart and I'll rarely pick up a book like that when I know.

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  7. I haven't read them. I'm glad that you liked them.

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  8. I've heard of them both but read neither yet. I like that they're ill, but not terminal. Sometimes it is okay to not have someone die and make everyone cry.

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