3.5 Stars

This was one of my most anticipated books for 2019. I absolutely ADORE The Kiss Quotient, and the premise for this sounded like something I would just eat up.

I liked this book. At some moments, I loved this book. But I have to admit that, for me, it’s missing a bit of the magic I felt when reading the predecessor.

There is a secret that we know about early on that Esme is keeping from Khai that she keeps until the next-to-last chapter in the book, and it really rubbed me the wrong way.

I would’ve liked more of their actual relationship. The build up to them becoming intimate was good, and I appreciated that everything that happens between them is entirely consensual, but once they had sex everything became rushed.

This book is short, clocking in at only 296 pages. I could’ve done with another 50 pages or so to provide a little more development for the relationship.

There were things mentioned or alluded to in the book that didn’t get paid off. The ending felt very ‘Hallmark Movie’ to me, where everything works out perfectly at the last possible moment. I just wanted more.

The sex scenes were well-written. Anyone who doesn’t like steamy scenes in books should probably steer clear of this one.

I do love the characters and their dynamic with one another. I feel like I’m really dragging this when the reality is that I really liked it and would recommend and even re-read before the next book in the series. But there were just a few things that kept me from enjoying it as much as TKQ.

One last thing I wanted to say was that I really appreciate this author. She, like Khai and Stella from TKQ, is on the autism spectrum and her mother was a war refugee after the Viet Nam war, so this story is obviously very close to her heart. Her notes at the end are really touching.