Basic Summary: Stella is a woman on a mission. She wants to learn how to kiss and have sexy times. She searches for a male escort and finds Michael.
Warnings: It’s a romance book. So, you know, there is mentions of genitalia.
Review
Setting
This story takes place in modern times in Silicon Valley. I was really happy that the author included things like google search and smart phones. It made it FEEL modern. Also, the author does a great job with descriptive setting in showcasing the difference between what the main character, Stella, is used to and how Michael (and Michael’s family) lives. I held no doubt this was a story taking place in today’s age.
Characters
I really feel in love with the characters: Stella and Michael. The author did a great job with fleshing them out. Stella isn’t always polite or know what to do in social situations but she cares deeply about other people. Stella is a great representation of someone who has high functioning autism. It was nice to see that in this book. Michael is, at times, oblivious and tends to not think he’s in control of certain factors of his life when he could be. However, he cares so much whether Stella is comfortable and secure. While, of course, I wish there was more emphasis on some of the side characters, I get this is a romance and will predominately feature the two main characters.
Plot
The plot is fairly simplistic. Stella wants to learn how to have sex and therefore hires Michael to teach her. Michael, used to having older clients, is surprised at how pretty Stella is. He also learns she’s a nice and thoughtful person. I think that’s the part of their love story I like the most: While they are instantly attracted to one another, they love each other because of one another’s patience and kindness. There are so many scenes where Stella thinks about how nice Michael is and how he is calm in the face of her nervousness. And vice versa. Michael constantly thinks about how Stella’s thoughts are to his comfort and preferences, too.
Also, there’s a lot of humor in this book. There are lesson plans Stella comes up with. Lesson plans! It made me laugh and think about how Stella is sweet.
Overall
A great romance read. The sex, to me, was believable. There wasn’t cringey euphemisms for sex organs. Also, the love story was just wonderful. I enjoyed it a lot. I can’t wait for Helen Hoang’s next book: The Bride Test.
May you get lost in a book,
Chrissy