The Kiss Quotient Helen Hoang

Valentine’s Day is soon upon us—at least as I create this article—and that means romance is in the freezing winter air and couples of all shapes and sizes are going all out in order to feel the love on that special night!

For those like me who love a good book with a bunch of heartfelt romance, I decided to help my fellow booklovers out and create a list of some of my more memorable titles over the years and (hopefully) help someone find a new story to get their hands on and swoon over all the passionate confessions, the scorching love scenes, and enjoy it all as much as I have!

As you read the titles below, are there any on here that you agree with? Are there other books/series you recommend? Let me know in the comments, or shoot me a message on one of the many social media platforms I’m on! To find those, simply scroll back up to the top and find the “Contact Info” page on the main menu; I love to hear recommendations and just talk about books with people in general.

Enjoy the list I created below, it is in no particular order!

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What If It’s Us: by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

This was such a sweet, adorable contemporary LGBT+ title that was co-written by two of the most prolific authors in YA fiction. Two young guys meet during summer break in New York City, and of course EVERYTHING that goes wrong actually happens before these guys can possibly have a happily ever after! I’ve been meaning to reread to be able to give a better book review on here, especially with the more recent news that there’s going to be sequel!

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From Blood And Ash series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Also known as the best series of 2020 for me, these books have just taken me in mind, body, and soul! A Fantasy-Romance series that is oh-so bingeable, I can’t recommend these books enough, and with the third book coming out in April, those who’d just be starting these books wouldn’t have to wait as long as other members of the fandom for it to release already!

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Caraval Trilogy by Stephanie Garber

These books have been such a more lighthearted, fun, and enchanting series to read. You’ve got dangerous scavenger hunts, mysterious figures, handsome men with plenty of secrets, great romance, and plenty more where that came from. I’m going to start the third and final book soon and can’t wait to also post my Fancast soon too!

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It Ends With Us: by Colleen Hoover

This book has a more serious tone than most of the others on this list, and has subject matter that may not be suitable for more sensitive readers, but the love story that is interwoven into the darker moments of this story will utterly take your breath away; I can’t recommend this book enough!

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The Off-Campus Series by Elle Kennedy

One of my favorite romance series ever, it’s a hilarious and sexy college romance series that I think anyone who’s a fan of the genre will enjoy. Elle Kennedy certainly knows how to write stories that are equally part sweet and scorching moments with all her couples in these gems; anyone who enjoys snark, smut, and smoking hot hockey players will really enjoy these!

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Him duology by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Another LGBT+ romance title, these books were amazing to find when I enjoyed Elle Kennedy’s other stories like the Off-Campus books. I absolutely had to read these when I learned she wrote about more hockey players, but this time it was M/M. A great second-chance romance when two former best friends return to the summer camp of their younger years and new passions are soon discovered!

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Serpent & Dove series by Shelby Mahurin

A surprisingly great debut, I loved the first book of this YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance series when it was released. It has so many great romance tropes like “Enemies-to-Lovers,” “There’s Only One Bed,” “Marriage by Convenience,” and plenty more! I’m a little hesitant to start the next book because it’s gotten really mixed reviews (seems to have suffered from “second book syndrome”), but the third and final book’s cover was just revealed, so I’ll have to get to it soon by the time “Gods and Monsters” releases in August!

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Red, White, & Royal Blue: by Casey McQuiston

A M/M LGBT+ romance genre MUST READ! It was my favorite book of 2018 and was the kind of book I wish I had growing up back when queer titles weren’t as mainstream as they are now. I adored the love story that developed between the (fictional) first son of the president of the United States with the Prince of Wales! Ugh….PLEASE just read it.

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The Song of Achilles: by Madeline Miller

Totally expect waterworks with this book! It’s a beautifully written take on a classic greek tale that we’ve all heard before, but with a completely new take on it while being told from the perspective of a character who never really got the spotlight in “The Iliad” until now. Even though you know the eventual fate of the hero of this tale, the love that blossoms between Achilles and Patroclus makes you yearn for a possible chance that they’ll overcome all that comes between them!

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The Edge of Never duology by J.A. Redmerski

These books made me believe in soul mates…I’m totally serious! The story of Camryn and Andrew as they meet on a cross country bus ride is a story that I can’t believe isn’t more popular with other readers. They’re literally perfect for each other, and both discover new passions for life and each other along the way; this is such an underrated duology in my opinion!

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Again, But Better: by Christine Riccio

A lighthearted, beachy read about second chances with a shy, introverted girl moving abroad in order to find herself; this was a great book to lift my spirits! It was a little cheesy, not gonna lie, but I say it’s definitely worth a look at if you’re looking for an incredibly sweet romance adventure!

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River’s End: by Nora Roberts

I remember snagging my mom’s copy of this off the shelf back when I was in 7th grade and fell in love with this story. It has literally everything: Hollywood, Murder, Family, Mystery, Suspense, and a magnificent romantic journey over the course of many years for both Noah and Olivia. I was obsessed with this book as I grew up, and the copy was ragged over the many times I reread it, I definitely had to buy a new copy in order to keep it on my shelf!

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Chasing Red duology by Isabelle Ronin

I’m always a little skeptical of anything that gets published off Wattpad, but this New Adult romance duology was actually pretty decent! Caleb was at first a total player, but once it was obvious how smitten he was with Veronica, aka “Red,” he became a total book boyfriend to add to the list!

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From Ashes: by Molly McAdams

An utterly addicting book, I loved this book for the romantic storyline about Gage and Cassidy. The female main character definitely had a “Mary Sue” kind of vibe a couple times and has WAY too many guys that are so obsessed with her, but I had to keep reading every time until they got together! Lots of frustration over all that happens that possibly keeps them apart, but what a great romance title!

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The Hookup: by Kristen Ashley

This was an alright title, there wasn’t as much angst and drama to really keep my eyes glued to the pages, but the relationship that develops between Johnny and Izzy was certainly enjoyable nonetheless! An easy, beach read of a romantic story set in a small town was worth mentioning on here.

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The Hook Up: by Kristen Callihan

I know…it may be confusing to list two books with really similar titles and both authors are named Kristen, but this one is also such an amazing romantic story! It’s another college romance that New Adult fans will enjoy, Anna and Drew are another amazing couple that I discovered and think a lot of other romance fans will also enjoy!

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A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas

Of course I had to recommend something from my favorite author! This Fantasy series is such an immersive and addicting story to get into, and the romance is considered top tier amongst many other fans. As I type this, I cannot wait for the fifth book to be released on February 16th; you know I had a copy pre-ordered way in advance!

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Fangirl: by Rainbow Rowell

For anyone who’s been a part of a fandom of any kind, you will for sure relate to the main character, Cath, in this YA/New Adult romance standalone. She’s starting her freshman year of college, and she must learn to live outside of her dorm room and in the pages of her fanfiction WIP’s of Simon Snow!

The Roommate: by Rosie Danan

An impressive debut novel, this book has hilarious sitcom written all over it with an uptight, east-coast WASP living under one roof with a male porn star! The banter is hilarious and sexy, and both characters are a ton of fun to read as they learn valuable lessons in sex positivity and where they belong in the world.

The Bargainer series by Laura Thalassa

A Fantasy/Paranormal Romance series that’s highly recommended for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Richelle Mead, these books have a love story that is worth checking out! Many years ago, Callie made a deal with a mysterious winged being known as “The Bargainer” and now he’s come to collect! The romantic relationship was the major highlight of these books.

Caroline and West duology by Robin York

This duology was a surprise for me at how much I actually really got into the story! With titles like these, I thought they were going to be pretty trashy smut, but the storyline is actually incredibly solid and both main characters really develop as they get closer and reveal their unrequited feelings for each other! Caroline deals with a vicious act from her ex, who posts explicit photos and videos of her all over the internet, and she finds herself running into West and finding comfort with him at his early morning shifts at a local bakery.

Check, Please! duology by Ngozi Ukazu

A hilarious and absolutely adorable LGBT+ sports graphic novel revolving around Eric Bittle, a figure skater who loves to bake and vlog, gets a scholarship to an Ivy League college, but has to join the Varsity hockey team! Crisp & clean artwork, and an engaging and relatable coming of age storyline, Bittle learns a lot about himself from his new circle of teammates, and tries to ignore the fact that he has a huge crush on his captain!

Crescent City series by Sarah J. Maas

Another addicting book from my favorite author, this first part of her newest series has just about everything: murder, suspense, plenty of twists and turns, heartbreak, and some serious slow burning sexual tension between the two main characters of Bryce Quinlan and Hunt Alathar as they hunt down the demon who murdered her best friends. What they discover is another perfect example of how deep something like this plot can truly go!

The Kiss Quotient: by Helen Hoang

A scorching romance between a product trend forecaster and a male prostitute, what truly is noteworthy is how the female main character is actually Autistic! Having her have Aspergers made this romance title feel fresh within a genre that has a surplus of overly familiar tropes and clichés!

Anna and the French Kiss: by Stephanie Perkins

It’s a coming-of-age story about Anna, who moves to Paris for a year to study abroad, and finds herself falling in love with Etienne St. Clair. Yeah, his name sounds pretentious, but he is actually a total sweetheart who’ll have anyone swooning after him like our main character, but of course he has a girlfriend already!

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy by Jenny Han

A widely popular trilogy in the YA reading age group, the themes of family, first love, and dealing with change are incredibly relatable, and the relationship between Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky is super sweet; Peter is a total sweetheart when it’s obvious he is crazy about her and will do just about anything for her in a moment’s notice. Sure you can just watch the Netflix movies, but seriously…the books are a whole lot better. Definitely give them all a read if you can!

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Another popular book title that has also won quite a few awards, any book lists with notable LGBT+ titles more than likely includes this book because of the story between Dante and Aristotle and the summer they meet that changes both their lives. The prose feel so rhythmic together and makes you think it’s one gigantic poem, the ending will melt your heart and make you believe in happily ever afters for sure!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda: by Becky Albertalli

This was such an adorable book to read! If you’ve seen Love, Simon you’ve got the whole jist of the book, but of course the book is always better, so why not look even further into the storyline of Simon and his secret messages with Blue?

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Perfect Chemistry trilogy by Simone Elkeles

These were a total guilty pleasure when I was younger, and they are also kind of a more modern take on the Grease-like setup of the blond popular girl falling for the bad boy from the wrong side of town. I know it sounds super cheesy, but the banter that usually goes with each of these storylines was well worth it! Those Fuentes boys have quite the colorful vocabulary!

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Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Publish Date: June 5th, 2018
Number of Pages: 336 Pages
Publisher: Berkley
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

A revitalizing title that can bring back some fresh, much needed rekindling in the Romance genre! It’s a hard genre to stay into, I must admit, because by now it feels like everyone can agree on one thing: it’s so full of clichés. Some are more forgivable than others, but there is certainly a surplus that really either need to be switched up by the creativity of the authors, or just be forgotten about entirely…and yes, I do mean the brooding, charismatic CEO’s with a fucked up past that turn to BDSM to hide their issues with…Thanks for that Twilight…

Anyways, this novel luckily swerves away from that, and were left with something that just feels fresh and somewhat new of a concept, where someone with a mental disability–or condition?–is the protagonist.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book for what it was; some people who criticized this book took it too seriously in my opinion. It’s not meant to be some deep, lyrical look into the psyche of someone or whatever it is they’re dealing with in terms of their mental condition, but a romance novel…like jeez people, go read some J.D. Salinger or Nathaniel Hawthorne if you’re looking for deeper depictions of the human condition in literature.

This book was fun, a perfect mix of sweet and steamy, and a unique look into the mind of a young women who has a condition that affects millions of others in the world, odds are someone who you–yes you, the reader–has too.

What It’s About:

This story revolves around Stella Lane, an average 30-year-old in the Los Angeles area, and is someone who’s always been great with numbers–like, she’s actually obsessed with numbers, math, and algorithms and uses that to determine customer purchasing patterns. She’s a star in the office, but her personal life has some major room for improvement.

It turns out, she actually has Aspergers and is either not at all interested in something, or absolutely obsessed; there’s almost no in-between. At the ridicule of a coworker, Stella decides that in order for her to be considered “dateable,” she needs to work on her craft and gain some experience. What does she do then?…She hires a male escort to show her some killer bedroom techniques.

Michael Phan, the escort, meets her at a hotel bar and they both hit it off. With money woes of his own, he’s not in the position to turn down many offers that are thrown his way, and he has to admit that he’s not exactly being tortured when a cute little brunette comes to him and asks for some help.

Both of them absolutely did not expect much to happen after the night they met, but soon realize they’re feeling more than just lust, and there may or may not be more brewing underneath the surface. There might not be a whole lot of logic when it comes to love, but Stella and Michael both may be willing to try and figure it out together.

What I Liked:

Using Mental Health to Drive the Plot! What’s truly unique about this title compared to others is how the author used a mental condition like Aspergers as a way to draw the plot and show conflict within the romance as something that comes between the two main characters. Mental illnesses and conditions have become such a big part of a lot of people’s lives nowadays, and it’s refreshing to see it start to carve its mark in literature. It can help people feel understood, that they’re not alone, and can also be inspiring to those that also have the condition. Also, it can enlighten non-affected readers and maybe teach them a thing or two about those that do have it, and help our overall understanding of it.
The Perfect Mix of Sweet & Sexy! I’d said it earlier, but there is a great balance between two sides of the romance in this title. The main guy is an escort, so did you really not expect some sexy times to be had? C’mon….beside those heated moments, there are also the softer, warmer moments between Michael and Stella that were heartwarming and just make you go aww…
The Player Falls Hard! There’s something about this trope that always just gets me, sometimes even more than the “fake-dating” one in other stories. For this one, it’s when the confident, smooth, charming, alpha-male suddenly loses his edge because he’s met the girl of his dreams, and she’s thrown him off his game. For some reason, there’s nothing quite like it because of how it humbles him and makes him see the world around him differently–for starters, that it doesn’t revolve around them.

What I Didn’t Like:

First Love Interest is “Meh”…The plot is presented to you when a guy Stella works with gives her a hard time about her dating life, and is an absolute scum sucking d-bag in general. First of all, what prick makes a girl feel so bad about not having much experience in that regard? I mean, I feel like I don’t need to go into this big whole rampage about #Metoo and feminism, but this guy was also someone who Stella maybe saw right off the bat as a possibly romantic interest…what exactly does she see in him?
Someone Call HR!…Continuing off #1, also pay attention to the conversation between Stella and this guy–I forget his name, not that it matters–and tell me the guy shouldn’t be having some sort of sexual harassment lawsuit shoved in his egotistical face?? I don’t know if it’s unrealistic or he’s really that sure of himself; all I know is the author made it glaringly obvious that you’re not supposed to like him in any way.

Conclusion:

A refreshing and heartwarming title that ads something new to the Romance genre: using Aspergers as a way to add conflict to the overall plot. The author herself has the condition, so you know the occurrences and information recorded is all authentic. A great title to read for anyone who loves the genre and is looking for stories with more original ideas included.