I received this book from Jo Fletcher Books/Quercus in exchange for an honest review.

In Mexico, 1927, Casiopea gets the chance to escape her humdrum life in a small town when she accidentally frees a Mayan god and ends up on a quest to bring him back to full immortality. As Casiopea begins to experience real life for the first time with Hun-Kame, she gets a glimpse of the person she could be and the magic the world has to offer.

This is a wonderful, vibrant adventure that really brings to life what the roaring 20s was like in South America from Casiopea's small village with deep Catholic roots and virtues to Mexico City and flappers, alcohol and women with short hair.

I loved Casiopea's character growth in this world and the type of courageous, strong and plucky young woman she was from the get go - even when she was being treated as small by her entire family. I loved her belief in herself in always striving for more and the wish to see and do everything. The relationship that slowly blossoms between herself and Hun-Kame is really gorgeous and I could have read their small, tender exchanges forever. There is nothing steamy or even sexual about their dialogue or scenes together but the characters gelled so well, I just loved it.

The world of Mayan mythology was also fascinating, and one i have never really read or known about before. I loved that the gods in this book received their power from the true power of human imagination who first created them and believed in them and how in some ways, their power was directly linked to humans (and in the case of Casiopea and Hun-Kame, physically as well). This was a great adventure story with some truly beautiful writing, and one that made me slow down and relish every single word.

3.5 stars

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from by the publishers via NetGalley.

Esmerelda Tran travels from Vietnam to California after being recruited by Khai's mother to woo him into marriage. Khai, who is autistic,has trouble accepting his feelings for Esme as she begins to charm her way into his heart, and he into hers. But Esme is keeping a big secret from Khai, that could ruin everything if he's not able to deal with it.

This is the second book in The Kiss Quotient series and focuses on Khai, who is Michael's cousin and who we briefly met in the first book and knew as autistic. This book explores Khai's feelings about himself and his inability to 'feel' for others really well and I really appreciated having another book with a wide array of diverse characters with their own personal battles. Khai is autistic, just like Stella, but that doesn't mean that he sees the world the same way and battles the same thing as Stella did which I loved as that could have been an easy trap to fall into. I really felt for Khai at times when he battled inwardly with his belief that he couldn't love people because outward emotions are hard for him, and I wanted to reach out to him (a hard touch, not a light one!)

Esme was an extrmemely sweet character and i really loved that she showed a backbone with the way she didn't let Khai away with some things. I really lol'd at the conversation Khai had to have with Quan and Michael about the female orgasm, and honestly if all guys could show such dedication as Khai, the female population would be ecstatic.

I also love how Esme accepted and understood Khai's needs as an autistic man. Even though she didn't fully know what autism meant, the way she was able to change her interactions towards him to be a way that were comfortable for him was truly beautiful (for example, running her hand down his sleeve before touching his hand so he would know she was about to lightly touch him).

I was a bit confused about how 'easy' in a way Esme's journey in the US seemed to be as an immigrant. She was on a tourist visa but I expected her to face a bit more trouble with some things like her studies, and college which could have also lent a good narrative to the story about hard it can be for people from countries such as Vietnam coming to the US trying to build up a life. I also found it a bit irritating that Esme kept her child a secret for so long, and it was treated so casually by the time she did admit to it. Bringing a child into your life, particularly when it's not your child by blood, is a HUGE decision and it definitely didn't feel realistic that Khai was just like 'cool cool.'

I did really enjoy the consensual sex scenes in this and that Khai was willing to really explore the realms of female pleasure as well because it's so important. And I love that Helen Hoang definitely pus an emphasis on female pleasure in her books. Yes Queen. The romance was really sweet and just like we saw Michael and Stella cameos in The Bride Test, I will look forward to seeing Esme and Khai cameos in the next book.

3.5 stars

2.5 stars.

I think I will reread this at some point and hopefully understand it better and get into the story more. Maybe.