The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

In The Kiss Quotient, Stella, a data scientist with Asperger’s, is under pressure from her family to get married. So she hires Michael, an escort, to be her fake boyfriend in order to help her learn about dating and relationships. As they spend more time together, they find they’re falling in love for real.

The sequel, The Bride Test, follows Michael’s cousin Khai, who also has Asperger’s and has avoided relationships his entire life… until his mother comes back from Vietnam with Esme, who she intends for him to marry. Khai is drawn to Esme but believes he can’t experience love. Esme, while attracted to Khai, sees marrying him as a way to get a better life for herself and her young daughter, but worries that he won’t be interested if he finds out she has a child.

These books by Helen Hoang, which can be read as standalones, are both sweet and steamy. They feature couples facing class and cultural differences as well as complicated family dynamics. The author, who is on the autism spectrum herself, treats the topic of autism in a sensitive and realistic way.