Cute and funny. Great characters and a very engaging plot. Would definitely read more by this author.

A tale as old as time: mom takes things into her own hands and arranges a marriage between girl and boy. Things should go poorly in these modern times, right? To complicate things, our FMC is escaping poverty in Vietnam and is determined to make things go well in the United States despite a MMC who doesn't seem to know what he wants. I loved the multicultural representation in this book, the disability diversity, and the slow burn love story between two people who at first don't seem like they have a chance at love.

Helen Hoang hits one out of the park again in her follow-up to The Kiss Quotient. This story follows Khai is autistic and avoids relationships. His mother, trying to help, brings a woman from Vietnam to be his bride. Esme (the bride-to-be) is just trying to make a better life for herself and hopes to accomplish that in the United States. There was so much happening in this book and the characters feel so real that you can't help but keep turning pages and cheering them on.

i really enjoy and appreciate the kiss quotient series and the autistic and asian representation from helen hoang. i feel really seen every time i read a book from hoang in a way i just never am in other romances and they make me feel like i will someday find love and that i deserve to and will find someone one day who will affirm me for who i am and not force me to mask to be tolerated and palatable. the bride test was no different. i’m a huge lover of slow burn romances as well and not a big instalove person the love story between khai and esme really worked for me. helen hoang books are the best books to read in order to get out of a reading slump, too. picking one up during a reading slump is a 100 cure. gave my soul some much needed nourishment.

This was my first book by Helen Hoang. I thought it was clever and interesting but it was a little steamier than I thought it would be. I loved the idea of figuring out who would be the perfect match, but as Khai learns there's a little more than science to finding a love.

A fun rom com about a relationship between an autistic man and the woman his mother finds for him. A great sequel to the Kiss Quotient!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really didn't read any romance before I picked up The Bride Test. I had heard it was good, so I gave it a try. Helen Hoang introduced me to deeper stories in romance novels with complex, lovable characters and an interesting plot.

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The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
A special thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this title all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Khai is autistic, he likes his things just so and isn’t a very social person. His mom is determined to get him a wife from Vietnam. She meets Mi while she’s holding interviews at the hotel she works in. She talks Mi in to coming home with her to California.
Mi is a young mom who works hard to keep her family afloat in there one room apartment. When presented with the opportunity to go the US she jumps at it but will she be able to handle Khai’s corks?
This was such a fun read! The things Khai’s characters says about the things he doesn’t get were laugh out loud funny. This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone.

THIS is how you do contemporary romance. On the heels of the truly great Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang gives of two gorgeously realized characters with all the heart readers desire and deserve.

I’ve put off reading this book for SO long and I’m not even sure why. Perhaps I was nervous that it might not live up to the experience of reading The Kiss Quotient. More likely it was that I was dreading the idea of reading and falling in love with another story and not having the opportunity to read it for the first time ever again. Now that I have another HH book to dive into, it was time.

I am happy to report that I loved Khai and Esme’s story!!

While I can’t attest to the accuracy of the representation of autism or life as an immigrant, I can attest to the idea that we need more of this in romance. Seeing life, and love, through the eyes of both Khai and Esme, as different as their experiences were, was heartbreaking, eye opening and inspiring. Their romance was anything but typical but I loved it all the same.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this book is Khai’s family and how supportive (and meddling) they are of each other. Love, both romantic and familial, comes in all kinds of packages and it’s humbling and interesting to see it in new and varying ways.

ell, that was just all kinds of adorableness wrapped into a ball of cute overload! I loved everything about his story. The characters, the atmosphere, the feels... it had it all! I highly recommend this one!

Hoang is an incredible voice in romance. I always know her books will be a slam-dunk with some of my patrons.

I read this a few years after it was published, so I recognize that this book was a leader in a publishing trend, but I've read it after a bunch of others, so I did feel like it was just another good contemporary romance featuring neurodiverse characters, which isn't really fair to the book.

I thought the characters were interesting, the story was well-executed, and I always appreciate better representation in all genres, so I'd definitely recommend this title for anyone who missed all of the buzz when it was first published. I don't have any specific complaints, but I'm also not sure I'll really remember the story.

This was really good! I think I actually liked it even more than The Kiss Quotient, which I also loved.

Khai isn't capable of love, or so he thinks. His mother, determined to see her autistic son married, convinces Esme to come to America from Vietnam and marry her son. This is the kind of rom com I love- light and fluffy on the surface, but actually explores issues more deeply. I highly recommend you read the author's note as it really adds to the story. I'll be honest- I liked The Kiss Quotient, but I like The Bride Test more.

The Bride Test was my first buddy read of 2021, with Clo @ Cuppa Clo. I’m very happy she got me to buddy read with her, since I’ve been meaning to read this book for a while now, but I was also just a bit scared of picking it up. I also saw that the author had put it up on Spotify, so I took advantage of that and played it while I was working. I’m happy I got to buddy read this book with Clo, because it allowed me to screech to someone about my feelings and put them in order before writing my review. Which I’m going to do now, so let’s get started!

Esme was a breath of fresh air. I adored her and her story. She is one of those really strong female characters that I adore reading about. She’s trying her best to keep her family going, working as much as she possibly can. When the chance comes for her not only to help her entire family live a better life, but also find her father, she eventually accepts. What I loved the most was seeing how she struggled with the culture shock once she got to the States. I think the author showed perfectly how overwhelming it can be at times to be in a very different culture than your own. I also loved that ultimately Esme knew her worth and wasn’t willing to settle for less. Granted, she didn’t always understand Khai, so I think a few of the misunderstandings between them came from that. But I loved how patient she was with Khai, how much she tried to understand him and help him, and accommodate him.

Khai is my precious baby. I loved seeing things from his perspective, and I think the author did a fantastic job exploring and showing all of the aspects of autism, what it means, how it manifests. I truly loved seeing that. I mostly loved the self discovery journey that Khai went on, I loved how he eventually managed to allow himself to explore what he was feelings for Khai. I truly loved his character development and I am afraid of saying more because of spoilers. But just know I truly loved him and I screeched about it to Clo in our talks.

I loved the slow development of their relationship. I loved how Khai explained what he needed and what he didn’t like, and how Esme never once questioned it. I loved their dynamic a lot, and I truly am very happy that I got to read this book. I now need to go back to the first book, while waiting somewhat patiently for the next one in the series, which based on the blurb, is going to be amazing.

FULL REVIEW ON FRESH FICTION
The follow-up to last year's wonderful THE KISS QUOTIENT by Helen Hoang, THE BRIDE TEST is an interesting contemporary romance. Khai is a forthright and loyal man, and even though he's put off by his mother's meddling, he lets Esme into his life. He learns so much about himself, and begins to experience feelings in a visceral and complete way. Esme takes the far-fetched setup in stride, and fully intends to keep her end of the bargain - she brings light and fun into Khai's life, even though she's dealing with being apart from her daughter in a place she's only dreamed of, and has an opportunity to find her biological father. Esme's story also includes her realization that she is capable of amazing, accomplished things, adding a different storyline of growth and self-worth. At times, the things both of the main characters come to understand about themselves outshine their relationship, but their individual developments were important and lead to their abilities to be vulnerable and honest. Nonetheless, when Khai and Esme finally begin to figure each other out, their chemistry is hot and their feelings are genuine. There's an amazing author's note, where Hoang explains the inspiration behind this novel, and it's a lovely addition to the overall context of the story.

The Bride Test is a touching romance that touches on so many relevant topics today, including immigration, autism awareness, and the fact that we, as people can always change and grow. This swoony romance is a lovely escape in crazy times.

I really loved this book. The plot was cute and well written. All of the characters were well developed. I really love this authors style of writing. I have loved every book she’s written.

Helen Hoang books are quickly becoming a must purchase at my library! I enjoy the character development and storytimes in all of her books. This one in particular was incredibly well done and enjoyable to read.