4.5ish, rounded up. The Kiss Quotient was no fluke- Helen Hoang has written another sure hit with The Bride Test. There is so much I loved about this. Esme is a memorable main character- she's determined to improve circumstances for both herself and her family, but she's not going to accept less than what she deserves from Khai in order to do so. Khai's belief that he can't feel love after a personal loss is heartwrenching as he works so hard to prove to himself that it's true. There's so much personal growth that happens to each of the main characters in this story- if you don't think character development in romance novels is a real thing, you really must read this. If The Kiss Quotient was a little too steamy for you, I found that The Bride Test was a little more restrained. This is the best of the best in the genre.

THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang releases tomorrow so you’re going to be bombarded with photos and posts about this book, and rightly so because this book is amazing.
If you’ve been following me for any amount of time then you’ll know I’m pretty obsessed with Helen’s writing and her first book THE KISS QUOTIENT. I know second novels can sometimes be more difficult to love when you’ve loved the first one so much but THE BRIDE TEST did not disappoint in any way. It is its own completely unique and lovely story and I loved it.
The characters and story are deep and complex and it’s one that truly pulls you in right from the beginning. Both Mỹ/Esme and Khai are characters you can’t help but fall in love with and root for. I was so encouraged and inspired by their perseverance and growth.
THE BRIDE TEST is touching and emotional and sweet, but also so funny. There’s a particular scene where Khai and his brother Quan are talking to their cousin Michael on the phone and I couldn’t stop laughing. The humor is so natural and real and had me seriously cracking up so much.
I hope you pick this one up. And don’t forget to read Helen’s author note at the end. It added even more depth and emotion to the story, and I think completes it even more.

Hoang has another hit on her hands with The Bride Test. The book was quirky, funny, and adorable. An excellent read!

As a high-functioning autistic adult, Khai Diep thinks he is incapable of emotion and is content in the routine of his life, but his mother feels it is time for him to find a wife. She travels to Viet Nam where she finds My (Esme) working as a maid in a hotel. Believing her to be a good fit for her son, she offers Esme the opportunity to come to America for the summer. Esme’s grandmother and mother encourage her to go so she can find a better life for herself, her daughter Jade, and their family.

The Bride Test is a wonderful story about two people finding an unlikely bond while living outside of and growing beyond their individual comfort zones. My (who Americanizes her name to Esme when coming to the U.S.), has never been away from her family or traveled from home. She is living and working in a foreign country and even takes classes to better herself. Her motivation comes from believing in herself and that she can provide a better life for her family, but she also feels the need to fit in and be smart so Khai will want to marry her. Esme always believed in herself, but the realization she can be a strong, independent, American woman is inspiring. She learns as she goes and realizes she can make it with or without a man.

Meanwhile Khai has preferred to be alone, especially after his cousin and best friend died in a motorcycle accident ten years ago. Khai was unable to shed a tear for his cousin and is convinced he is different in a bad way. Yet he tolerates the whirlwind that is Esme, a change to his living space and how he interacts with others. As he grows accustom to her presence, he realizes he is becoming addicted to her very essence. But Khai does not see it as love, because he is broken and cannot love. Khai is a torment of emotions, even though he doesn’t realize it, and the heartache he experiences is authentic and powerful.

The Bride Test is an unconventional love story. I felt swept up in the story most of the time. The way Khai processes emotion, it was powerful as it built up until I was drowning in it. I love the transformation of Esme. My only hesitation on giving it a perfect review is that I was slightly disappointed with the too-quick ending. There were one too many perfect surprises, and then it was over. I just wish the events had been spread out a bit, and we got to enjoy Esme and Khai as a couple before the book was over.

The Bride Test is another wonderful romance from Helen Hoang. She brings a fresh voice to underrepresented characters, helping them shine with authenticity. I adore Esme and Khai. I felt their frustrations and joys while coming to terms with what it means to be in love. The story is charming: both gritty and sentimental simultaneously. The highs and lows are perfectly placed to connect me to the story and characters and take me on a beautiful ride. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Hoang brings readers next.

My Rating: A- Enjoyed A Lot

Since finishing The Kiss Quotient I was dying for Helen Hoang to release a new book. I had loved her writing style so much and I wanted more from her. When I heard about The Bride Test and that it would be Khai’s book I was pretty excited. We only got a small snippet of him in the first book. I was curious about him and wanted to know more, especially after hearing load about his mother from Quan. I was pleasantly surprised not by how much I enjoyed it, but by the humor I found in it and the journey of the characters.

As I mentioned, The Bride Test is the story of Khai, the brother of Quan (from The Kiss Quotient) that has autism. Khai tends to keep to himself believing he can’t feel anything so there is no point in trying. His mother, on the other hand, knows there is a girl out there for him so she takes matters into her own hands and finds Esme in Vietnam and brings her to Khai. Soon Khai and Esme are living together and both completely out of their comfort zones and trying to navigate what is going on between. While one is falling, the other is uncertain. If he feels anything. But with a little push and some guidance they may actually be a perfect match.

Truly this book was a joy to read. I loved the interactions with Khai and Esme. They were so awkward and charming at the same time. They made you want to root for them because they were so uncertain of each other and of their feelings for one another. Every one of their interactions made me either cringe from the awkwardness of the two of them or laugh from their awkwardness. There was never a dull moment with these two seemingly opposites that were really a great fit for one another.

To be honest, I knew going into The Bride Test that there was no way for it to top The Kiss Quotient (there was something magically perfect about that book) and that was okay with me. What I did get though was a fantastic follow-up that left me craving more from the mind of Helen Hoang and all of these fantastic characters I have grown to love. Now bring on Quan’s book!

The Bride Test blew me away! I didn't think it was possible to top, The Kiss Quotient, because I loved it so much. Yet, The Bride Test gave me even more smiles, tears, laughs, and an even bigger book hangover! I love Ms. Hoang's writing. She really brings her stories to life, and the characters feel so real, that they could walk right off of the page!

Esme Tran lives in Ho Chi Minh City in extreme poverty alongside her young daughter, mother, and grandmother. She is a maid in a fancy hotel. Esme is offered the opportunity of a lifetime by Co Nga; come to America for the summer, and get her youngest son, Khai, to fall in love with her, and marry her. While Esme is reluctant at first, her mother convinces her to take advantage of the opportunity, so that she can provide a better life for her young daughter, and try to find her own father, who took off before he found out that Esme's mother was pregnant with her.

What follows is a breathtakingly beautiful love story. Esme's character was endearing, so sweet, strong, courageous, and brought sunshine wherever she went. Everyone that came in to contact with her, couldn't help but love her, including me. She was so giving, and a nurturer. Esme had such a beautiful soul, and it shone bright through every page of this story.

Khai, lost his cousin/best friend, Andy, ten years ago, and has been convinced ever since that he can't love, and has a heart of stone. Khai is different. He has Autism. He likes to be left alone, and prefers his structured life and routine just the way it is. Khai is socially awkward. Oftentimes, he says or does the wrong thing, and hurts people; but it's unintentional, and leaves him puzzled and feeling like something is wrong with him. He has a beautiful heart, and would do anything for those that he loves. He is closest to his big brother Quan and his mom.

Esme turns Khai's life upside down, and I enjoyed every moment of it! He's never seen a woman as beautiful and kind as she is, but she also drives him crazy! I loved the way she inserted herself in to Khai's life and gave everything she had, for a chance at love, marriage, and a life in America. Little by little we see attraction and friendship grow in to love. Esme pushes Khai out of his comfort zone, and makes his life so much fuller and richer for being in it! The character growth made by Khai is astounding and it literally brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion.

I can't possibly express the extent of my love for this story. All I can say is read this series, and this book. You will not regret it! The substance, romance, multiculturalism, extremely well fleshed out neurodiverse characters, fast-pacing, humor, and abundance of feeling, make it a new edition to my top favorite reads of all time!

I love this series, and I'm so happy there's going to be a third book!

So I didn't like this one quite as much as The Kiss Quotient, which isn't a huge surprise because one of the main reasons the first one was so great to me is that it had a female MC with autism. With that being said, I still thought this book was really sweet and had a cute (and sometimes funny) romance. This book has more than just the romance going for it though. It features Esme who wasn't able to finish her high school education and lives in a one bedroom place with her grandmother, mother, and daughter. When she gets the chance to move to the United States and get a green card, she takes it. Khai and Esme's dynamic was one I really enjoyed. It was funny when one would do something that perplexed the other. Despite being quite different, and not always getting where the other was coming from, they still had a strong connection. I loved watching them push each other out of their comfort zones and seeing them grow as people. I was proud of both of them, Khai for pushing himself to confront his feelings and realize that he can feel emotion, and Esme for taking a risk and going after certification to have the life she wants. My enjoyment of this has basically cemented the fact that I will read and probably love anything Helen Hoang writes.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the eARC! This review will be posted on Goodreads, and to Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's websites on the date of publication.

Helen Hoang's The Bride Test is an entertaining and beautiful follow up to one of my favorite books last year, The Kiss Quotient. The characters draw you in until you need to know what happens next. I hope Hoang continues to write characters with Autism in the future.

4 'Rule Number Six' Stars!
ARC kindly provided by the the publisher.

Absolutely one of my most expected releases of 2019 since I freaking adored The Kiss Quotient last year. Helen Hoang just blew my mind with her debut novel and I 100% had crazy high expectations for The Bride Test. Of course, again, Helen Hoang did a fantastic job. TKQ continues being my absolute favorite but this author just has a beautiful way to develop love stories and Khai and Esme's was no exception.

So, The Bride Test’s release day is just around the corner and if you haven’t lived under a rock you know it is the second installment in Helen’s The Kiss Quotient series. We actually met Khai Diep in TKQ (he is the hero’s cousin) and he is a man who is fine with the life he has. Well, his mother is not having it and she finds him a fiancé while she is visiting Vietnam. Esme Tran cannot turn down the opportunity to have a better life for her and her family. She is nervous but determined to seduce Khai but that is not an easy task when said man does not know much on how to actually feel. Will love win? Read and find out!

He was a puzzle she never would have been able to solve if he hadn't shown her how. Those were the best kinds of puzzles, weren't they? The ones no one else could figure out?

Obviously, I knew that Helen Hoang would not be writing a typical romance. I learnt that while reading The Kiss Quotient. The woman is super talented and has her unique way to develop fresh and original love stories with complex characters. Yes, Khai also is autistic but his personality and everything about him just feels different from Stella (the heroine of TKQ). The Bride Test definitely is a much slow burn romance than TKQ and that I loved. It was delightful to see all the layers of these characters, their burning chemistry, how they learn to care for each other and finally fall in love.

It made him a greedy bastard, but he wanted her love. He wanted to be her "one," the recipient of her smiles, the reason of her smiles, her drug. She was his.

Therefore, my rating for The Bride Test is 4 STARS because it surely had the same feel to it as TKQ but still with a different couple and their unique relationship. Yes, I did have very high expectations for this and I did not love it as much as The Kiss Quotient but still, it was a stunning and original love story that made me fall in love more with Helen Hoang’s writing. I definitely cannot wait to read Quan’s story, he simply sounds yummy! Of course, I will be reading whatever this author releases because I am already addicted. Guys, check her works out, trust me.

Khai Diep has never been like anyone else. He is ruthlessly controlled and seemingly without emotions. His life is organized to avoid entanglements of all kinds and he especially avoids romantic relationships. His family knows he is caring and that being on the Autism Spectrum means he processes emotions differently. Frustrated by Khai’s refusal to date, his meddling mother takes matters into her own hands and brings home a bride from Viet Nam for him.

Esme Tran is smart and hard working. But as a mixed-race girl living in Ho Chi Min, it is hard to rise above her circumstances and better her life and that of her family. When an opportunity to travel to America is presented, how can she refuse the chance? Seducing Khai is complicated and she falls for his kind, caring self. But can she convince Khai he does have feelings for her?

This was a sweet, story and made more enjoyable because it was obviously an important story for the author herself. It was interesting to read a romance novel that was told as much from the hero’s point of view as the heroines. I liked Esme – it was hard not to root for her. But Khai was a little bit of a tough nut to crack. I felt his emotional distance. Watching both characters conquer their demons was satisfying but I felt the ending was rushed and some story elements --Esme’s father and introducing her daughter for example-- were wrapped up too quickly. Living with an OCD spouse, I know that people with mental health challenges can overcome and change deeply ingrained behavior patterns. However, I also know that it takes a great deal of time and patience. The pace of storytelling in romance novels is compressed and that compressed pace made the resolution of the story feel a bit too rushed to seem realistic.

At the end of a day, I want a romance novel to leave me feeling happy. Despite some issues at the conclusion, The Bride Test was a fun read and I finished with a smile on my face. A solid read I would recommend. 4 stars.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for your next FIVE STAR READ, you needn't look any further than Helen Hoang's The Bride Test. Seriously, this book BLEW ME AWAY. I didn't anticipate loving this book even more than I did The Kiss Quotient, but I think I just did. I so so so did. I loved it from the very first page to the very last and I screamed and swooned and ached the whole way through. 

I didn't even read the blurb before I went into this book and if you can help it, you shouldn't either. I went in completely blind and let Hoang sweep me away yet again with another wickedly sharp romance full of humor and heartache, lush romance and refreshing authenticity. Our current reading climate finds more and more readers seeking diversity in their romance, and relatable characters facing relevant issues. Well, Helen Hoang just showed up with a book that is guaranteed to check all those boxes while melting and shredding readers' hearts everywhere along the way. 

This storyline is unlike anything I've ever read. It's sexy and angsty and surprisingly funny but it's also thought provoking and NEXT LEVEL smart. (And God knows I do love a smart romance.) I love when a story is BIGGER. More important. Eye opening. I appreciate a story that sweeps me away as much with its sweet romance as it does with the honesty of its message. This is a story about women going after what they want in a world that tells them they're worth less. It's a story where characters step out from behind the labels they've been assigned to greet you with the gift of a supremely profound understanding you didn't have before. It's a story about love, both romantic and familial. It's about healing and acceptance and self discovery. It's about bravery and heroism and strength. It's beautiful and unforgettable and remarkably well written. It's tender and heartfelt with just the right amount of angsty complication. It's perfection and to say I loved it is an understatement.

I devoured this book. Esme and Khai's story, from word one, had me turning these pages like there was no tomorrow. I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH. The chemistry... the tension... the reluctant emotions... the side characters... the superb character development... the raw honesty woven into these pages... I could not have loved this book more if I tried. The Bride Test is a new TOP FAVORITE read I'm happily adding to the list of books I can not recommend enough. You seriously HAVE to read this book.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars. It was good. It's shining part is My Ngoc Tran aka Esme. She is real, strong, full of life, a little strange, in a good way. She kept me reading and reading this unusual love story that starts out of necessity.

My finds a way out of poverty, a better life for her family. Kkai thinks he gets a way out of being set up by his mother but he gets someone to care about in his own way. Someone who learns who he is and loves him. All of him.

Diverse heroes and heroines in many ways. My and Khai find their happiness. It is a fairy tale. Autism and people with autism like syndrome face many, many difficulties in life, love and in their search for happiness.

At the beginning before start reading The Bride Test I wasn't sure if it could be as good as The Kisss Quotient so I'm so happy to say this was absolutely fantastic!The Brite Test is a heartwarming and sweet story.

I adored Esme and Khai, their story was unique and full of emotions.The romance was sweet and so cute , my heart *sigh* I was swooning with these two!They are two characters from different worlds but somehow they were perfect for each other! Esme is a strong heroine and I liked her a lot!I liked the build up between Esme and Khai through the story.

"It made him a greedy bastard, but he wanted her love. He wanted to be her one, the recipient of her smiles, the reason for her smiles, her drug. She was his.”

I need more books from Helen Hoang, her writing is flawless and her stories captivating and addictive!

Loved this! Smart, fun, and sexy! I really enjoy books about characters with ASD, and seeing them in romantic roles is so empowering. The characters were fresh and likeable, and the Vietnamese language and culture throughout was well written and interesting.

It truly breaks my heart that I didn't love this book. The Kiss Quotient was a smash hit and made my yearly top favorites list last year. To say that I was impatiently waiting to get my hands on the follow up book would be an understatement. I really struggled with my rating, debating with myself over the pros and cons of the story throughout the morning yesterday. But when I sat down and starting writing out the things that bothered me, I realized that the story was sadly just okay for me and there were several things that bothered me quite a bit. I adore Hoang's style of writing. Its ability to instantly engage you and leave you feeling thoroughly swept away by the romance she crafts so carefully. But even with your absolute favorite authors, there will always be some stories that miss the mark and unfortunately this is one of them for me.

The core themes of the book were poverty vs privilige, immigration and the hardships of having to reinvent your life in a foreign country, and Khai's journey to understanding that he's not broken emotionally. He simply processes things differently than most people and his belief that he is incapable of deep feelings like grief and love prevented him from seeking out a romantic relationship. All of these things were thought provoking topics, especially Khai's personal journey which was probably my favorite thing out of the book. It was Mỹ that caused me to struggle the most and caused a disconnect to the romance.

The entire basis of their relationship was based in deception on her part. When Khai's mother meets her in Vietnam and offers her the opportunity for a possible arranged marriage to her son, she agrees. However, having not discussed this manipulation of his life beforehand, she warns her that she will have to "convince him" to agree. Her son has avoided relationships for too long and she wants him to settle down with a good girl and make grandbabies. I didn't particularly care for her meddling, but her heart was genuinely in the right place. She wanted her son to find happiness and fulfillment and she didn't think he'd ever initiate finding a wife himself. Though his mother's reason for her coming there was transparent to Khai, Mỹ did not have a pure intent with him. Her mother urged her to seduce him in order to gain a marriage proposal and hide the existence of her daughter which really upset me.

Even though everything her mother advised bothered her, she willingly lies by omission about her child's existence the entire time. When I say that, I mean she didn't tell him until the last 3% of the book. Not only did she not tell him, she kept it from his mother and everyone else in the family who welcomed her with open arms. This is not okay at all. This is a HUGE thing to hide. It's not a little white lie, it's a child. She had struggles with her conscience about it, but her fear of his reaction overpowered thoughts of admitting the truth. She also lied about being an accountant to impress him, and then hid going to night school from him. I understood that she had low self-confidence, but she was painting a false image of herself to him which got frustrating. I had a very hard time rooting for her when she was acting this way.

There were issues that cropped up in relation to Mỹ's ignorance of his autism. All of these could have easily been avoided had his mother simply talked to her about it when she was proposing she marry the man! As his mother, wouldn't it make sense that she was sensitive to his differences so that there would be no unnecessary hurt feelings or misunderstandings? And yet she never mentions it once. Another thing that didn't make sense to me was the fact that Mỹ had left her mother, grandmother, and daughter in Vietnam and I wondered how they were supporting themselves. She was the one bringing in the income, and if they are so poor how are they getting by? She was waitressing while she was there, but after a few weeks of work she supposedly had enough money saved to pay the cost of getting her own apartment. Granted, it's not in the best neighborhood and the rent wouldn't be steep, but it still takes a good chunk of money to move in somewhere.

Mỹ spent the whole book believing that Khai was an employee in his own company. He is actually very wealthy, but she mistakenly believes that he's just an accountant who lives in an average sized house. In actuality, he's not the type of person that focuses on money or flashes it around so it never occured to him to discuss it. I kept waiting for her to discover the misconception, but it never happened which I found kind of strange.

I did start warming up to them as a couple in the last 30% or so, but there were so many things that didn't work for me that it overshadowed the moments that I enjoyed. I loved Quon and his devotion to his brother. My heart went out to Khai as he sifted through his confusing emotions over love and his capacity to feel things in his own unique way. I'm still extremely excited about Helen Hoang's next book despite having bad luck this time around. Many will find more to enjoy, so don't just take my word for it. I urge you to give this one a go and judge for yourself.

Charming new romance from Helen Hoang about Michael 's (from Kiss Quotient) cousin Khai finding love and opening his heart to those around him. After a family tragedy occurs Khai thinks he has no feelings and does not think himself capable of love. His mother has other ideas and chooses a bride from Vietnam to bring back to the U.S. in hopes of a organic courtship. Esme Tran is strong willed and hard working spitfire who can't pass this opportunity up for herself and her family. As Esme tries to seduce Khai all her ideas and lessons in love start to work...but on her instead of Khai. Esme falls in love with Khai while Khai is determined to shield Esme from disappointment of his inability to love. Wires get crossed and the two find out that there is more than one way to communicate and love.

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc! I loved this one. It was a quick read, fun and refreshing, and lots and lots of steam. I loved the wedding scenes, and I absolutely loved Esme. I would read more of this series!

Did I realize this was a series?
Absolutely not. It's not the first time it has taken me 3/4 of a book to place why the cursory characters seem familiar.

Do you need to read The Kiss Quotient first?
Nope.

It is as lovely an sweet as Kiss Quotient?
Yes.

Is it as steamy?
No. But it is still hot, hot hot,but it felt right to not be so detailed in the sexytime.

I loved, loved The Kiss Quotient and had high expectations for The Bride Test, so I am thrilled to say that Helen Hoang beyond delivered! A fast-paced, engrossing read with well-developed, diverse characters and a steamy romance.

Equal parts sexy, funny and insightful, Helen Hoang gives us another romantic masterpiece in The Bride Test. You can really get lost in this novel. It is so unputdownable! All the characters are likable—even the supporting characters like Quan and Cô Nga. Just like in The Kiss Quotient, I loved the family dynamics. It’s so wonderful to see adult males being sweet and obedient to their moms and the elder in the family. The friendship between the cousins Khai, Quan and Michael is also adorable.

The plot itself—a controlling mother arranging a bride for her socially-awkward son— could have gone the wrong way and turned out trite, but with Hoang’s skilled writing, I immediately warmed up to the story. Esme is simply lovable. I really admired her kindness, determination and her devotion to her daughter, mother and grandmother. As a person who also grew up in poverty, I totally understand how she feels about being born without enough opportunities. Sometimes we are dealt with a bad hand in life, but our fate is ours to control.

Ultimately the romance in this novel is just a bonus to its exploration of normalizing autism, promotion of consent and its inspiring story of an immigrant’s journey to better her life. Esme is a truly admirable heroine—a strong female character who does not need a man to get ahead in life. She is not afraid to fight for love, but she valued education and hard work over romance. She knows and upholds her worth as a woman. It turns out at the end that she was loosely based on Hoang’s mother’s story and it made much more sense to me how she was able to create such a believable character. (Do not miss the author’s note at the end!)

I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from Helen Hoang. Hopefully the next book will be about Quan! ❤️ Big thanks to Berkley Publishing for providing a copy of this wonderful book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.