Unputdownable like her first novel The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang is doing some of the best, most diverse, intersectional work in romance that I’ve seen. The Bride Test features Khai Diep, the autistic cousin of Michael from The Kiss Quotient. Ever since he was young, Khai has known that his feelings work differently from others. He’s stone hearted, emotionless, and doesn’t feel like he can love. This is exacerbated by the fact that his best friend died when he was a kid and he didn’t have an external reaction like people normally do. People wondered why he was so cold, and he’s convinced himself that he doesn’t know how to love because of it. As a result, he’s never had any female companionship in his life….until now.

Khai’s mother is worried about him, so she devises a plan: go to Vietnam, find a girl who will suit Khai, and bring her back to live with Khai. She meets My, a janitor/cleaner in the hotel where she’s interviewing potential wives. She can’t find one suitable, but she quickly comes to like My’s spunk. My, for her part, is a mixed (American-Vietnamese) girl who has never known her father. She has a baby daughter, a mom, and a grandmother that she takes care of with her very small salary – and the potential of making a better life for them in America has her agreeing to try with Khai.

While the arrangement seems totally outdated and wacky to Khai, he can’t say no to his mother, so he agrees to meet My, to live with her for a few months and to treat her like a fiancée. If he doesn’t fall in love, My goes home and no harm is done. But if he does, his mother expects a wedding.

What follows is a love story that is uplifting and hopeful. Khai and My’s first impressions are promising, but there’s a lot to overcome. Cultural barriers, class and poverty issues, and Khai’s autism are all challenges, but My (or Esme, as she’s renamed herself) is up to the challenge, fueled by her desire for more for her daughter and her gut feeling that Khai is good and safe.

Esme believes that she’s in a lower class than Khai, with his great education. Khai doesn’t really get a lot of Esme’s interests in food or taking care of his house, and he’s used to living alone with a routine. But Esme is such a strong, fierce character, someone who keeps getting up after every failure. She tackles learning English, being a newcomer, working in Khai’s mother’s restaurant, and taking care of Khai and his house with so much bravery and grace. It’s not hard to see why Khai takes to her, and why he’s willing to try to let her into his world.

For his part, Khai is in deep almost before he even realizes it. Not only is he deeply attracted to Esme, but her consideration for him has him opening up more than he ever has. Even through their initial physical issues (Khai has problems with soft touch, and his lack of experience and misunderstanding of social cues make for some awkward encounters), the two of them have so much respect for each other that it actually makes for a very honest love story.

This is a book that is about so much more than just the romance. It’s less sexy than The Kiss Quotient, and for good reason. While it is a romance, The Bride Test is really about Esme’s struggle to find her way in America, to work through culture shock and immigration issues, to make a better life for herself and her family. Even though Khai and Esme get equal weight in the story, with alternating POVs, I was so struck by Esme’s journey that Khai’s story almost seemed secondary. And it was right for this story.

THE FINAL WORD:
If I’m being honest, I loved the sexiness of The Kiss Quotient, and the concept of that book more than I did The Bride Test. But I also recognize that these are two different books with different goals. The Bride Test is a book about rising above your station, doing the work, and making the hard choices for love and family. It’s an extraordinary narrative of courage that is diverse and intersectional and fearless. Highly enjoyable and recommended for people who like tamer romances about characters overcoming adversity.

I really wanted to like this book a little more than I did. There was a lot to like about it, but overall it ended up just being ok for me.

What I Liked

-Learning a little bit about Vietnamese culture. I would’ve liked to have seen a lot more, honestly, but I thought it added a different dimension to the story than a lot of other “arranged marriage” type books I’ve read and I liked that.

-I LOVED the relationship between Khai and his brother Quan. It made the whole book for me. Quan was so understanding and protective and patient with Khai, but he also didn’t treat him with kid gloves, either. I just loved pretty much every scene that had the two of them together and I could’ve used a lot more Quan.

-Khai is on the autism spectrum and I thought it came across as a pretty accurate portrayal. I liked watching his journey as he learned things about himself throughout the book. I enjoyed the chapters from his POV the most.

What didn’t work for Me

-This is my fault more than the book’s, but I thought this was a Women’s Fiction book, but it’s straight up Romance. I was expecting something with a little more substance and a little less description of body parts and sex. It left me a little disappointed in the overall plot.

-I had to continually remind myself that Esme was only 23. I know that she was coming to a new country and all and was naive in some things, but she wasn’t a wide-eyed innocent type of character, either. She just seemed so immature so much of the time and I found myself frustrated a lot by her interactions with Khai.

-Speaking of her interactions with Khai, I wish that someone would have more fully explained Khai’s autism to Esme earlier in their relationship. So often she’s left frustrated and hurt after their interactions and had she understood him a little more, I felt she would have been able to respond in a more positive way and they could work out their issues together. There are a few times throughout the book that he’s able to explain something about himself and she adjusts how she approaches him and had she understood his autism earlier, they would have had way less issues. I’m not saying that there wouldn’t have been times she wasn’t frustrated or hurt, but I think it would have forced her to communicate her feelings and thoughts to him.

-I felt like the pace was pretty slow and nothing really happened for long stretches of time. It took me quite awhile to really get into the story and to start caring about the romance between Esme and Khai. There were a few cute moments, but I never really fell in love with them.

Overall

Overall, The Bride Test was just ok for me. I liked the inclusion of Autism and Vietnamese culture, and loved the brotherly relationship between Khai and Quan, but Esme’s immaturity and the heavy Romance content left me a little underwhelmed. It’s not a book I would plan on reading again, but I think there will be a lot of people out there who will really enjoy it.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars

I enjoyed this story just as much as I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient. I enjoyed the dual POV since it gave me a inside view to Khai's thoughts. At times I was frustrated for him since he really couldn't figure out he was actually in love with Esme and that his heart wasn't made of stone. I look forward to reading more of Helen Hoang's books!

I read and absolutely loved The Kiss Quotient, so I was thrilled to get an early chance to read this sequel. Hoang delivered another sweet and cute romance novel! It has a different vibe from KQ, but it was equally as good!

Helan Hoang’s The Bride Test is one of my most-anticipated new releases in 2019, and I am thrilled to say that it lived up to all of my expectations. This utterly unique romance with its engaging, unforgettable characters, lush narrative and thought-provoking, beautiful storyline stole my heart.

Mỹ/Esme is a single, hardworking mom in Vietnam and has a chance meeting with Khai’s mom, who convinces her to come to the United States for the summer in order to make a love connection with Khai and marry him – hopefully, fingers crossed, please. Khai is not happy about his mother’s outrageous matchmaking, but he’ll do about anything for her and reluctantly goes along with the plan, at least to host Esme. He doesn’t believe he will every marry, because he’s convinced that he’s not able to sustain a relationship because he doesn’t have the ability to truly love someone. He’s on the autism spectrum and has struggled to accept that although he may experience his feelings differently, his are just as intense and genuine as everyone else’s.

He and Esme’s awkward meet-cute at the airport ignited my ear-to-ear grin that never wavered until long after I was finished reading The Bride Test. They find compassion and understanding with one another – virtual strangers – and their meeting and developing connection is brimming with kismet. I feel like I was with them on every step of their difficult, transformative and beautiful journey. Hoang writes with tremendous insight and intelligence, and she has a brilliantly deft touch when it comes to on-the-page humor, and The Bride Test is a contemporary romance that truly stands out.

At twenty-three, Esmeralda Tran isn’t afraid of hard work. It didn’t matter if she was sweeping a floor, she did everything with pride. And the one thing that inspired her to shine so bright was a chance at a better life – for her, her family and her young daughter.

So when an elegant stranger approaches her with an opportunity to go to America, she’s both skeptical and yet full of hope. In exchange for one summer, she must try to get the stranger’s son to marry her – and from just the pictures of him – it would be far from a hardship.

But when she steps off the plane in San Francisco, she knows immediately that not only is her future on the line, but so is her heart.

"With each step through the airport, words pounded in Khai’s head. What. Had. His. Mom. Been. Thinking.
His mail-order bride was nothing like he’d expected—which was a younger replica of his mom, complete with the matching sweat suits and the sriracha and hoisin sauce she always kept in her purse. That, he could have handled. But this girl, Esme, looked like a Playboy bunny. She lacked the trademark platinum hair, but the rest of her fit the description. What did you do with a Playboy bunny? Aside from sex. Not that he was thinking about sex."

Khai Diep was happy. Or at least he thought so. He went to work, hung out with family and came home. He had no plans to settle down and get married – regardless of how much his mother pressured him to.

In her unrelenting quest to pair him off, she managed to convince an unsuspecting young girl to come to America to live with him. He’s just going to get through the summer and then send her right back home.

All of that changes the very minute that he sees her.

Esme is far from what he pictured in his head and there is just something about this tiny girl and her steely determination that upends his life in the very best of ways.

But now that he’s discovered how special truly she is, he’s certain that she deserves more than a man who is incapable of love.

“How did you change your life when you were trapped like this? Her history didn’t define her. Her origins didn’t define her. At least, they shouldn’t. She could be more, if she had a chance.
But people didn’t see who she was inside. They didn’t know. And she had no way to show them without an opportunity.”

After reading this, it's now clear to me that the reason I adore Helen’s books so much is that her characters are so ALIVE!

Not only are they emotionally complex, but they’re also hysterically funny and positively soul-inspiring. This unexpected combination was especially true for Esme. She sparked such a rare combination of courage and compassion that I couldn’t help but fall under her spell.

The Bride Test is another instant classic that far exceeds all of the hype. And I’m a firm believer…

I delayed reading this book because I loved The Kiss Quotient so much and I was worried that this book wouldn't hold up to it. I am very happy to say that I was wrong The Bride Test is a wonderfully heartwarming story with engaging and diverse characters.

I really loved Esme and Khai, Helen Hoang took the typical trope of mail-order bride and flipped it on it's head. Khai, with all his hidden vulnerabilities and the belief that he can't love. And Esme, strong and courageous willing to leave her family behind and try and find love and a better future for them. While these two might not seem ideal for each other they were perfect for each other, both willing to deal with and overcome the challenges thrown at them. Also have I mentioned that I love Khai? He's seriously so perfect. From carrying Esme when she's hurt, to helping her pursue her goals, he's there for her throughout the novel even when he's fighting his feelings.

The Bride Test was a great story cute and heartwrenching and everything in between. I can't wait to read more books by Helen Hoang because her first two have been smashes I can't wait for the next. (Which will hopefully be Quan's story!)
Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this for an honest review! :)

The Kiss Quotient topped my favourite reads of 2018, but when it comes to managing expectations, sophomore novels can be very tricky things. It’s tempting as a reader to want the author to reproduce the same story we loved so much the first time, and I imagine for authors the temptation may be to replicate the formers success without rocking the boat too much by bringing anything new to the table.

The Bride Test has the charm and humour much loved from Hoang’s debut, and with it a heartwarming and emotionally complex layer. It deals with “well intentions” and ignorance of autism, as well as the struggles of immigration and discovering ones true self.

Along with a romance story, it’s a story of self love and particularly in My’s case, her ability to find pride in herself, her heritage and her accomplishments.

There is absolutely no doubt Helen Hoang is an extremely talented and special writer. She is able to give a voice and experience to people who in everyday life may feel unheard and/or misunderstood. Along with the enjoyment I get from her novels I have yet again come away with compassion and understanding those with unseen struggles.

The Bride Test is the BEST contemporary romance I have read in while and I seriously couldn't stop smiling throughout the book, you know when my heart wasn't hurting for both Khai and Esme!

Seriously, you know when your heart physically aches because of unrequited love? That's what was happening to me!

I'll admit that I was a tad nervous going into The Bride test because I loved the Kiss Quotient so much, I was afraid it wouldn't reach that level of awesomeness, but it did!! GAH! I loved it!!

The way that Hoang has shed light onto the autism spectrum is so well balanced within The Bride Test that you often forgot that Khai was even on the spectrum, but at other times it was fairly oblivious.

Esme, knew that she had her work cut out for her because Khai was so quiet and the way she went about getting his attention and getting under his skin was not only brilliant but adorable! She was a smart woman who took advantage of her time in The States to not just seduce a man into becoming her husband but to better herself.

She could have easily attempted to trick Khai or just married him without worrying about love, but she wanted more for herself and for her daughter. She was strong and stood her ground and didn't settle for anything less than the best.

The Bride Test was the first arranged marriage novel I read and I couldn't get enough of these two in what ended up being more of a charming friends to lovers romance.

4.5 Top Pick

Ever since I had read The Kiss Quotient, I have been anticipating The Bride Test. We touched briefly on Khai from that book. Khai did not disappoint.

Khai has always believed himself not capable of human emotions especially love. The story starts off with a young Khai experiencing something that should have shaken him to the core. Instead, he is left questioning why he doesn’t show any feelings of hurt and sadness. He knows he is different but still he should feel something.

Fast forward to the present, Khai’s mother goes to Vietnam to test different women as potential brides for Khai. She meets Esme who is cleaning the bathroom of a hotel that his mother is staying at. Esme is not what she first intended but she is captivated that she is different and passes her test. She offers a proposal: the summer in America on a Visa to get to know her son. If they hit it off, they marry, if not, Esme gets money and the experience of America for the summer.

Esme is not convinced. She is a bit jaded as she is a poor young mixed race Vietnamese woman from the country side trying to make ends meet for her family which includes a daughter she has from a failed relationship. Her mother convinces her to get to America to try to better herself and look for her father.

I loved every moment with Esme and Khai. Esme immediately tries so hard to flirt and win over Khai. She is not aware that he is autistic. The author does such a great job with Khai’s character. She shows how different their relationship was from Michael and Stella’s (The Kiss Quotient). Each person with autism is different and should be treated accordingly. It opened my eyes to the issue.

Khai’s family especially his brother Quan tries to help them navigate this new trajectory together. The scene after Khai and Esme’s first time had me smiling. Quan and Michael were a trip. Khai’s new experiences almost mirrored Esme’s as she had just a hard time understanding what he was going through and trying to learn her way around a foreign place.

The relationship blossoms into so much more than they both expected. The time is coming to an end and Khai has to make a decision. Once Khai realizes he is truly capable of love and has been the entire time, can he finally let go?

This was almost a five star read for me because Khai brought out so much of the feels. However, the whole cookie cutter ending just took away from the feels and made it a bit cheesy. I’m still a huge fan of the series. I am ready for Quan’s story. He had me at hello!

~ Samantha

Will it sound weird if I say I’m also happy that the eventual amazing sex they have doesn’t fix everything in their lives? Oh, no there’s still conflicts and issues. Since sensitivity readers have read the book and you know what you’re speaking about in terms of autism I will probably sound like a female dick when I say that the process and time spent getting Khai to the point where he was ready and able to express to Esme what she needed to hear took a long amount of time. On the other hand, something that is obviously supposed to be a key part of Khai’s makeup isn’t just zipped over in a few minutes, either. Yes, I realize I’m being contrary here.

But I’ll also say that the finale scenes of Khai racing to make it to the “church” on time had a movie version running through my head and me cheering him on. The resolution of another plot point and epilogue were a little bit sugary sweet plus I am a bit leery about the fact that a daughter’s existence is dropped on Khai this late in the book but I was delighted that Esme discovers her own potential and proves it to herself, her daughter, and to Khai. I enjoyed watching Esme reach for her dream and both she and Khai finding their perfect “One.”

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang is the second story in The Kiss Quotient series, a touching and sexy romance that shows an inside view of the immigrant experience and the challenges of an autistic man who learns that his way of showing love is just as valid as any other.

Khai Diep doesn't feel emotions the way others do. Even when his best friend died, he couldn't show his grief the way people expected. He believes this means that he's not cut out for dating relationships and certainly not for love. Worried that he'll end up alone, his mother decides to take matters into her own hands and find a potential bride for him in Vietnam.

When Khai's mother approaches My in a hotel bathroom where she works with the offer of a summer in America to be a possible bride to her son, My can't turn down the opportunity. She's a single mother supporting her daughter and life in America would be a dream come true. Plus, her own father is an American whom she's never met and she hopes that this will give her the opportunity to find him. With the blessing of her mother and daughter, she picks an English name, Esmeralda (Esme for short), and travels from Vietnam to California to live with Khai for the summer, and work for Khai's mother at her restaurant. She hopes to seduce Khai and get him to fall in love with her, but things don't go exactly as planned.

Khai doesn't know what to make of this intruder in his ordered life. As an autistic man, he likes things in their proper place, routines that make sense, and he has specific sensory needs. Sharing all these things with a stranger is going to be challenging. But Esme is beautiful and cheerful and she says she wants to get to know him, just as he is. He's definitely attracted to her, and it's not long before they figure out an intimate arrangement that works for them. But with Esme's tourist visa soon expiring, will Khai find the words to convince Esme to stay?

What a wonderful reading experience! The author doesn't shy away from the challenges Esme faces in her current working life in Vietnam, her poverty and how it affects the decisions she makes. Though leaving her daughter behind is a very tough decision, she makes it with a look to the future and being able to improve her family's situation. Adjusting to life in America takes courage and a willingness to step out of her comfort zone, plus she's rooming with a man who clearly wasn't ready for company. There are several scenes with Khai and Esme having communication issues because of their relevant personal experiences. Yet they still connect on a deeper level as Esme works to understand Khai's autism and be a partner to him. While she may hope for a marriage proposal at the start, she soon realizes that she wants love and she's not willing to settle for less.

Khai is a virgin, having figured that there was no point to dating a woman and having sex if he didn't plan to fall in love. Their first sexual encounter is enthusiastic but not without its flaws and they have to open the lines of communication to make things better. However Esme doesn't plan to rely on Khai to be her support, as she doesn't know whether things will work out for them in the end. She takes night classes and starts to look at other ways that would enable her to stay in the US when her tourist visa expires. I admired her resilience and her courage.

Khai has a supportive family, people who understand him and how he processes emotions differently even if he doesn't always understand himself. His brother Quan is someone he can turn to for advice, and Quan helps Khai see that his experience is just as true as anyone else's, even if it happens on a different time table and in his own way. It's these conversations that help him to process his grief over his friend's death, and his real feelings for Esme.

The Vietnamese culture is well described from several perspectives, including the American-Vietnamese experience. I'm glad the author stayed true to the proper names, titles, and cultural expressions to make for a more authentic reading experience. There are a lot of emotions to process in this story, from grief to laughter, frustration to joy. Esme and Khai's romance is unconventional but honest. There's a bit of a fairy tale ending and their happy ever after is well deserved. The epilogue is sweet too. I look forward to reading more stories in this series!

This review has been posted at Harlequin Junkie and feedback updated with the link.

After setting the bar insanely high with The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang brings a sophomore effort that proves she's no one-hit wonder. The Kiss Quotient was a gender-reversed Pretty Woman tale, with an autistic woman hiring an escort to teach her about love. The escort's cousin was also autistic, and the cousin, Khai, is the male lead in this title.

Khai's vehemently against romantic entanglement, believing he's incapable of love. His mother decides differently, though, and goes to Vietnam to find Khai a wife. My, a single mother and a janitor, agrees to try a summer with Khai in America. Her struggle to find her footing in a new country--and her immediate and mutual attraction to Khai--form the bulk of this narrative.

It's a romance novel. You're not reading this to find out if Khai and My end up together. It's the How that's important. As in her previous title, Hoang fleshes out her characters and their world, and creates a mesmerizing reading experience. I can't wait for her next title.

Helen Hoang does it again with her second novel. I was in a bit of a romance reading slump when I picked up 'The Bride Test' but it turned out to be an absolutely enchanting novel! While this book is funny and VERY steamy, it also touches on some very sensitive issues with depth and great care. Helen Hoang has a very deft touch with the outsiders of our society and this story was a joy to read.

The hero Khai is a brilliant, successful Vietnamese-American with autism. Nothing quite touches him the way others might be touched. He seems stone-hearted and cold but in reality, he just sees and feels things in a different way than most people. The author paints a very vivid picture of a high-functioning autistic adult.

"Nothing gets to you. It’s like your heart is made of stone."

Kahi's mother is desperate for him to marry and she thinks the only way is for her to bring a young woman to America from Vietnam. And that woman is Esme. She is uneducated, poor but smart and hard-working. She only wants a better life for the young child she left behind in Vietnam. While this might sound a little heavy-handed, the plot is actually sexy and light-hearted where it needs to be. I fell in love with Khai and Esme and all of the supporting characters!

"He was strange and tactless and very possibly an assassin, but when she looked at his actions, all she saw was kindness. Cô Nga had been right. Khải was good stuff. Very, very good stuff."

This story tackles some very timely and important subjects such as immigration, education and poverty. Helen Hoang has a knack for writing brave, lovable characters who are intelligent and caring. Although the main protagonists certainly "meet cute", their story is warm, sexy and very emotional. And a Vietnamese heroine! I love it. I highly recommend this very quirky and sweet romance. And the Author's Note is a must-read!

The Bride Test was one of my most anticipated 2019 books and I knew Helen Hoang would deliver. She has such a beautiful way with words. Khai is on the spectrum and Hoang writes these characters dynamically. Even if you don’t know anyone on the spectrum, you can understand Khai because Hoang ensures it.

My (Esme) won my heart as quickly as Khai! She is a poor single mother cleaning hotels in Vietnam. Khai’s mother is in town interviewing potential wives for her son and quickly realizes Esme is a gem. She is keeping secrets from Khai, but as a reader, you get why and it isn’t a bad or selfish decision. She really does develop feelings for Khai and she has the patience of a saint!

I loved seeing Khai develop an understanding of himself. He had one version of himself that he thought was who he was, and throughout the story, he begins to rewrite his own ideas on Khai. Their romance is slow burn and perfect for their story. The best thing about The Bride Test is it isn’t “The Kiss Quotient” with a different couple. Autism is a spectrum, and no two people have the same behaviors or quirks. While Khai and Stella might have had the same medical diagnosis, they certainly are not the same and neither are their experiences. Hoang not only brings the diversity with characters on the spectrum, but having an entire story about an Asian family and with Esme being from Vietnam (and of mixed heritage) and in America for the first time , the level of diversity is high and on point!

The Bride Test is about Khai, Michael's cousin in The Kiss Quotient. He is Vietnamese-American, autistic, and believes himself to be incapable of the emotions that matter. Similar to the The Kiss Quotient Hoang has returned once again to sexual and romantic relationships where one character is autistic. I love how Hoang represents this type of relationship. I love the cultural aspects of this story that make it a cute, sweet, sexy romance.

The Bride Test was one of my most anticipated reads this year ever since falling head over heels in love with Stella and Michael's story told in The Kiss Quotient. Different and refreshing, Helen Hoang's debut novel was an instant hit. Chock full of quirky characters and a captivating story-line, I could hardly wait to dive inside Khai Diep and Esme Tran's romance. Even though I liked this second installment, for the most part, I felt it was missing some of the magic the first possessed. All in all, The Bride Test was a fun and flirty lighthearted read.

Both main characters were likable. Khai had my sympathies throughout most of this read as I saw the difficulties he faced due to his aloof and reserved demeanor. Having Autism, Khai believed he was void of emotions and unable to love. Not realizing he processed feelings differently than others, several challenges affected his relationships with family, friends and especially with Esme Tran, a foreign girl his overbearing matching-making mother introduced into his life. His journey to understanding his heart was both touching and frustrating at times. Nevertheless, I grew to adore him as well as sweet Esme.

A bi-racial single mom who was struggling financially in Vietnam, Esme had a sad and complicated life. When offered an opportunity to come to the U.S. and meet Khai, she willingly accepted. It was comical seeing the intrusive way she inserted herself into Khai's meticulous routine. Her blunders and his reactions had me giggling. But all laughs aside, I admired how hard she worked to gain Khai's affections, earn his trust, and become part of his world while pursuing an education and career. Her courage and determination were commendable.

Although their relationship was passionate, I felt it lacked a certain amount of sincerity and chemistry, resulting in my difficulty to fully connect with either Khai or Esme. Both endearing characters, but it took me quite some time to warm up to them as a couple. Regardless, I enjoyed their journey to self-discovery and love.



I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of the publication received from the publisher via NetGalley

Another fantastic read by Ms. Hoang, that filled with a unique story about family, love and learning to find oneself.

Khai Diep is a character that I loved. Because of his autism, he thinks differently, but in his own unique way - he's capable of doing whatever he wants, but seeing it in his view - is eye-opening.

Esme Tran is living in Vietnam - working hard to provide for herself and family. And when an opportunity of a lifetime to come to America is offered to her - she can't say no. It's an opportunity to better her life and care for her family back home. But there comes a catch - she needs to marry Khai Diep. And Khai likes his life as in. He does not need his meddling mother trying to set him up, let alone marrying him off to a total stranger.

Very early on in “The Bride Test” (TBT), it established what is holding back Khai for the most part of the book: he thinks he is not capable of love. The events that led him to this mindset happened in his teens, tens years ago. Now at twenty-six years old, Khai is still decidedly single. All his mother’s efforts of matching him with American girls failed, so what’s a mother to do but fly to her home country and find her son a Vietnamese bride-to-be. Enter Esme, a young single mom working as a cleaning lady in the hotel where Khai's mom is screening bride-to-be candidates. All candidates didn’t pass the mom’s “bride test”. As luck would have it, the mom took notice of Esme cleaning the toilets in the hotel’s posh washroom and asked her the same “bride test” question and she passed! Esme is not immediately on board with the idea but with some pushing from her own mom (1. an opportunity to have a better life for herself and her five-year-old daughter 2. find her American dad), she eventually agreed. Arrangements were made for Esme’s stay in America. Khai's mom pulled a “make your mom happy” card on him, so he agreed on Esme staying at his house over the summer and attending family functions as an engaged couple.

Some fairy tale elements did not escape me. Like Khai’s mom and the character Miss Q, seemed to serve up nothing more but the roles of Esme’s fairy godmothers. I must admit that the premise is also pretty hokey. The initial circumstances hardly sound like a possibility in real life. BUT (take note, that’s a “but” in all caps), once the reader gets past the setup and gets to know more about Khai and Esme, the trepidation becomes temporary and the fairy tale becomes believable.

Khai is a soft cinnamon roll who is consumed by this wrong mindset about his inability to love. He is so pure, I want to protect him. Then he gets to spend time with this foreign girl, Esme, and suddenly his rules and routines are invaded by her strangeness. In no time, Khai is consumed by his attraction to Esme. He tried to brush off being attracted to her as a mere distraction. He tried to avoid her by making her sleep on a couch in another room or by going to work even on a Sunday. Of course, all those efforts failed and he starts falling for her. But he justified these feelings as just some sort of addiction. On her part, Esme finds Khai strange, too. But she does not judge him for his autism tendencies. She accepts him for who he is even though at first, she is not aware of what autism really is.

So they find each other strange and are attracted to each other’s strangeness. That and the bits of arranged marriage and fake dating tropes and you have a recipe for Fun Sexual Tension Scenes™. I was amused by their clumsy encounters and how they awkwardly deal with their attraction. Khai and his blue balls. Esme trying her best to “seduce” Khai. The couple’s chemistry is so palpable that whenever they are in a room together, it immediately becomes a sexually charged scene. Although “The Kiss Quotient” (TKQ), the author’s debut, is more generous in terms of smut, I still find TBT ample enough to satiate my thirsty adult woman needs.

I should also mention this fun bit that totally cracked me up: when Khai called his older brother Quan for advice on sex (pure Khai is still lacking in experience) but Quan can’t fully explain it that they have to ask help from cousin Michael (from TKQ!). I love how this scene delivers a message that women’s pleasure in sex is as important as men’s. And honestly, these three sexy men in one scene is more than what my heart (and ovaries) can handle. Speaking of Quan, my original request for a book about him still stands. Can someone please point me the sign-up petition to make this happen soon?

I am ending this to comment on the author’s note at the back of the book. The author related how in the first drafts, Esme is not really Khai’s original love interest but the “other woman” in a love triangle. But Esme’s character kept outshining the original LI that she decided to reconceptualize her book. I think that decision really paid off here and it also goes to show that she knows how to listen to her characters and that she is really passionate about them. I said that at first, the premise comes off to me as too fairytale-like. But eventually, the author did not forget to inject the book with the harsh realities of the immigrants or even the mail order brides. She made Esme experience and feel them in the book. It was also touched through Esme’s conversation with her friend, Angelika. Of course, the author herself is diagnosed with autism, making her take on Khai’s character credible and convincing. The author’s passion to tell these people’s stories translated to both Khai and Esme as layered characters with real-life problems, insecurities, and motivations. Both of them jumped off the page and made me, the reader, care for their happiness.

Diversity Watch:
Khai is an American with Vietnamese descent. He is diagnosed with autism. #ownvoices on autism

Esme is born and raised in Vietnam. Her mom is Vietnamese, her dad is American. She is described with seafoam green eyes. In the author’s note, it is mentioned that the author’s mother is an immigrant from Vietnam and she inspired Esme’s character.

Since his cousin died unexpectedly (a cousin he was really close with) Khai Diep has realized he is incapable of feeling, especially the big feelings like grief or love. Khai has put this down to some defectiveness on his part. Although this is the furthest thing from the truth. His family knows the way Khai reacts (or doesn't react) to certain situations is down to his autism. Regardless, it's caused Khai to avoid any kind of romantic relationship. Plus, he's started to slowly push his family further and further away. Khai's mother takes matters into her own hands when she returns to Vietnam to pick out the perfect bride for her son.

Esme is the daughter of an American father - the she doesn't know - and a Vietnamese mother. She, herself, is a young mother and works hard cleaning hotels. When Khai's mother gives Esme the opportunity to go to America, Esme sees it as her chance to turn the tables on her family's fortune. Not only that, but she dreams of this being the moment she'll finally find and meet her father. She has an entire summer to convince Khai to marry her and she'll be set.

They don't exactly get off on the right foot, but they don't get off on the wrong foot either. Khai finds himself inexplicably drawn to Esme, but knows his feelings (or lack thereof) can lead nowhere. Esme starts in a kind of culture shock as she acclimates herself to American life. She is truly attracted to Khai and feels like they could build a solid relationship, but as her time in America gets close to expiring Esme will realize her ability to take her future in her own hands and Khai will have to give voice to feelings he thought beyond his reach.

I loved Helen Hoang's The Kiss Quotient, and I was equally excited when I learned she would be continuing the story, of sorts, with Khai whom we met in the aforementioned book previously.

Right off the bat, I liked the differences between Khai and Stella's circumstances of having autism. I liked that it wasn't the same story superimposed over a male lead. Instead we see Khai living on a different part of the spectrum than Stella.

For all that, however, I felt like Esme and her starting out as this fish-out-of-water scenario took center stage moreso than Khai's autism. Whereas in The Kiss Quotient, I felt like Stella's autism was more front and center. Yes, Khai's autism is a reason for the way he understands and reacts to certain situations, but, in the end, I felt like some of his coping (as in the death of his cousin) wasn't so far removed from how a person not on the spectrum may also process and/or react. It may have been taken more to the extreme, but I could understand they way Khai felt.

I did enjoy the way that Khai and Esme interact and how their own journeys intersect. I liked the way Helen Hoang puts an emphasis on language. Khai and Esme start out speaking a different language. Both literally and figuratively. Khai in that he feels unable to express and say those three little words and Esme who starts out somewhat struggling with English and chooses to mainly speak Vietnamese. Slowly, Esme and Khai learn how to understand each other. What the other needs, what is being said without words.

What I loved the most was seeing Esme really come into her own. It's understood that Esme is resourceful. We see at the beginning how hard she's worked for her family. We know it's a difficult decision to leave her family, especially her young daughter, but she does it so she can, hopefully, provide a better life for them. When she's first in America I feel like it's a step back for her. She's overwhelmed by everything and unsure how to make it. Things with Khai are not going along as planned. She likes him, but doesn't know if she will be able to convince him to marry her so she can stay after the summer. This is where Esme starts taking matters into her own hands. She starts to build her own life for herself regardless of Khai. She starts taking classes and gets more of an education. I loved seeing her branch out on her own without the help of Khai. Not having to rely on him, or his family, really makes the relationship they develop sweeter because it's not hinging on one person's power over another. I could read about Esme all day long. The determination she shows and working so hard even with an end date quickly approaching, never giving up hope. She was a wonderful character and, for me, completely unexpected when I started reading The Bride Test. I really loved the direction the story took.

Like with The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang wrote a story with deeply personal roots and you can definitely feel that personal connection resonating throughout the story. She did a wonderful job not only continuing to bring autism to the foreground, but in this case, showing the challenges an emigrant faces, but also giving us a wonderful story of hope and new beginnings.