This one has been recommended to me so many times I was anxious to finally jump into it and see what all the hype was about!
Stella is autistic but never wants anyone to know. She feels like it will always change how they are with her and in the past she has not been wrong. Michael is an escort who only wants to help his family and keep them out of debt. When the escort service brings these two together, because Stella wants to learn how to make it in her future relationships, the two begin to have a budding romance, which neither of them will admit to having. Will their love prevail?
I listened to this book on audio. I enjoyed it this way as I think the narrator did a good job in capturing Stella and Michael's personalities.
I was happy to see representation not only of the autistic community in this book but also of the Vietnamese culture. I do not know anything about this culture and this book brought much into perspective with that.
I loved Stella's character development. I think the author did a great job showing how her autism effected her daily life. She kept is very close to the cuff because she was fearful she would not be accepted due to her differences. For sure this is something I'm sure this community deals with on a daily basis. Her need for structure and consistency was very well done. Even in the relationship she begins to build with Michael, she needs this, as it helps her feel in control. Also, I love her braininess. She reminded me of the Ali Hazelwood STEM characters and they are some of my favorite FMC in romance.
Michael was an interesting enough character. I didn't love him. And I didn't really love him for Stella. They didn't seem to really have that organic click I was looking for. The author's choice to make him an escort was an interesting one. He notes several times how good he is at sex and how many women he's had sex with. I didn't love this. I know it was part of what made him who he was, that all he was goo for was this one thing. But overall I felt it was over the top for me. On the other hand, I loved his ability with tailoring. I did not find him all that relatable for a MMC. I truly wish that had been more central to the story, though I know the escort part was essential to how he and Stella meet.
My favorite part of this book was how the author approached intimacy. It is not your typical romance in that way. Stella's autism often times makes it hard for her to understand how intimacy works. I loved that Hoang made Michael very understanding in this way. I love how he did not judge Stella and tried to learn and understand her needs, rather than write her off as someone who could not truly feel things during the sexual process.
Despite what I've heard from others, I did not cry during this book. Not one tissue was needed. Did I get a little choked up here and there, sure. But there were no tears.  There were, however, lots of laughs. And quite a bit of family drama. This aspects rounded out the story well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one, though not as much as I wish I would have.
Looking forward to Khai's story and seeing how the author treats his particular set of skills!