Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Kiss Quotient

I feel like I'm not 100% satisfied, but still satisfied enough that even rating this 4.75 stars doesn't feel right, so I'm still giving it five full stars.

I didn't fully like Michael, he felt a bit off at times, but I did enjoy the autism representation and I always adore seeing autistic characters handle relationships in different ways, so that part kind of overshadowed my uncertainty about the mmc.

I wish there had been more discussion about both Stella and Micheal's insecurities and misunderstandings towards the end. We saw them tell those things to themselves and kind of figure them out on their own, but I wanted more of actual conversations about them with each other.

Content Warnings: fatphobia, ableism, sexual assault, cancer (side character/family member), abandonment, infidelity, mention of stalking, panic attack.

Content Warnings

jerbarger's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

My expectations were really high because of the hype around this book… let me be the first to say that it’s FINE, it’s not AMAZING like I have been led to believe. First of all, there was not enough tension. Most of the problems stemmed from lack of communication- which I suppose is a trait of autism BUT that can’t be the biggest problem for a story to work! They just needed to talk for 97% of the book and everything would work itself out. Secondly, if you made Stella neurotypical, this would be just like any other bad 90s romcom where the nerdy girl is just absolutely perfect at everything and there are no issues. Which btw, is actually so unrealistic and honestly a bit harmful toward women, ESPECIALLY neurodivergent women, who ~most of the time~ will not have an easy go at it like Stella does. The biggest problem at the end of the day is that there just aren’t enough romcoms or even fiction about women with autism, so when your limited options are not all perfect, then it becomes a bummer and it’s easier to see the flaws. Sure, autistic women deserve to see themselves represented in a romcom- but at what cost when it’s one of the only ones available?

Content Warnings

bertrandlm's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

m4rtt4's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the first half of the book would have been closer to 5 stars for me, but the rest of the book was closer to 3 stars as it started to annoy me and the ending was unnecessarily stretched — so an average of 4 stars.

The spicy scenes were well written, considerate over both consent and contraception, and also surprisingly non-awkward to listen to on an audiobook — I mean, who wouldn't like Michael? I didn't appreciate some of his word choices though; who on earth finds terms like "pornstar nipples" sexy?? The characters' insecurities felt raw and relatable in the beginning, but over time it felt like their insecurities became their only personality trait as they both were so stuck in their ways and bathing in self-loath.

side note: I also saw (too) much of myself in Stella especially regarding to her relationships — should I finally go get a proper diagnosis?

Content Warnings