Diversity in All Forms! discussion

In September we read The Kiss Quotient (the first book in The Kiss Quotient Series). A lot of the members read the first book and said the second book is fantastic. Not only does it educate about Autism but also Korean culture.

I started this today! Who else is reading it?

Mariah Roze wrote: "I started this today! Who else is reading it?"

What did you think of it Mariah? Did you read The Kiss Quotient?

I had mixed thoughts. I enjoyed the character of Khai. It was easy to feel empathy for him and understand his actions. I had a hard time connecting to Esme. She kept chopping and changing personality wise. Her thoughts and morals seemed to change with her situation.

I liked the Bride Test, but I didn't like it quite as much as The Kiss Quotient. I was surprised at Khai's extended family's reactions to him. They've had years to adjust to the fact that he's autistic, but they still seems surprised and say awful things, like accusing him of having no feelings because he's not crying at his best friend's funeral when plenty of people, not just autistic people, are uncomfortable crying in public.(sorry if this is spoilery) I guess that could be realistic though, plenty of family don't really understand family members with differences, even after years. I just expected better from them because Michael was so understanding in the first book.

I really liked Khai. Esme had to grow on me. I think she illustrated a lot of issues immigrants have moving here. I read the afterward midway through the book, where the author says Esme ended up being inspired by her mother, and I connected more with her as a character after that. As a single mom myself, I have some fellow feeling for Esme. I got frustrated with her though, the plot had a lot of moments where I wanted the characters to sit down and have a good, honest talk, because they were both making a lot of assumptions that got in their way.

I finally finished this book. I was surprised when I started reading it because I thought it would be a second book to the first one. However, it was a completely different story and plot. That caught me off guard and definitely disappointing me in the beginning.

However, I actually really enjoyed it. I probably enjoyed it more than the first. I liked the story outline and the characters. There were a couple parts that I thought were unrealistic. Like the mother never told Esme that her son had autism. I feel like that was really unfair and unlikely. She used the word "shy" instead. Also, did the mom ever pay her the $20,000 or am I forgetting something. Wasn't that part of the agreement of her coming over?

Also, when Esme found out that Khai had Autism, I found it super unbelievable that she never googled what that was. She was a straight A student that googled words she didn't know. Yet, when she is told that her boyfriend has a disorder she never googled it. I found that unrealistic.

And lastly, the ending almost ruined the book for me. I could totally see this being a Hallmark movie. That is how cheesy I thought it was.

Spoilers......

She was going to marry the brother within a week... Khai just happened to get a hold and find her dad last minute and he showed up to the wedding... Then he fell in love with her mother.. Khai wasn't mad that Esme never told her about her kid... Khai just happened to realize on the day of the wedding that he actually has feelings....

I don't know how you ladies felt, but that was all super unrealistic to me. I felt like the author had too much going on at the end. She had a lot of loose strings and then waited for the wedding scene to actually tie them up.

This one had some good moments, but I confess that I enjoyed "The Kiss Quotient" more because the characters felt more likable.