My reviews are always made via my BookTube channel, and my thoughts of this book appear in this weekly wrap up, as well as in my March 2019 wrap up - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_cdsz_WqrAA&feature=youtu.be

“It felt too big. At the same time, it didn’t feel like enough.”

The Bride Test is the most anticipated sophomore novel from Helen Hoang, AKA: the goddess who we do not deserve and who gifted us The Kiss Quotient! And this book is following a couple of characters who we originally met in that debut! I didn’t love this installment as much as I did The Kiss Quotient, but I still think that this book is a treasure and that Helen Hoang is a gift to the world.

And like The Kiss Quotient, this is an ownvoices novel, Helen is Vietnamese and is Autistic. And one of my favorite things about this book is seeing the difference of Stella, from The Kiss Quotient, and the main character of this book’s Autism. I think people just like to group marginalized people together and act like their experiences are all the same, and this author does such a wonderful job at truly showing the Autism spectrum and how vast it truly is. This book has a completely different Autistic main character, because everyone’s experiences are different, and I truly loved it more than I have words to express in this review.

➽ Khai Vietnamese, Autistic, Michael's cousin from The Kiss Quotient, living in California, and completely happy being on his own, especially after losing someone very close to him when he was younger. Even though that loss has made him think that he is incapable of love.

➽ Esme - Biracial (Vietnamese and white), living in Vietnam as a cleaning woman, when Khai’s mom travels there to try to see if she can find a woman who would be compatible with her son. And Esme accepts because she is a single mom, living in poverty with her own mother and grandmother, and she thinks this is an opportunity to give them and herself a better life. Khai’s mother promises her a summer in California, where she can see if she can make Khai fall in love with her and marry her, but if not, she will return back to her family.

But with this set up, the power imbalance always is at the forefront. I always was questioning Esme and her feelings, because she has so much at stake. Also, Esme doesn’t tell Khai about her daughter for far too long, and that also felt extremely bad to me. And it’s always hard for me to root for a romance that is founded on a power imbalance and then also have it harboring such a big secret, especially after the two individuals are choosing to have sex. Now, I will say that the author does such an amazing job at putting consent at the forefront of this story constantly, yet I still could never find my footing on this shaking ground. And because of this, I can’t give this more than four stars.

I will say that, besides always putting consent at the forefront, this story has a lot of other amazing elements. Like, just seeing Esme in a foreign country, doing whatever it takes to make a better life for her loved ones, and seeing her getting the education of her dreams, I am soft and so happy. My favorite part of this book was easily the acknowledgements, where Helen really shares about her personal life and her mother’s personal experience being an immigrant and coming to American in search of a better life. I shed so many tears at how beautiful and powerful these final words were, and it truly was the cherry on an already amazing ice cream sundae.

Also, much like The Kiss Quotient, the family in this book is everything. Quan plays such a major roll in this story, and honestly was the shining light for me. And I am counting the days until we get his book next!

But this is a story about loss and love, yet also healing and becoming the person you want to be, no matter the circumstances. We get to see both Khai and Esme dealing with their own traumas, and healing separately, but we also get to see them building something really beautiful together; a future where they can be accepted and happy. And seeing them realize they were worthy of that love and acceptance all along? So damn beautiful.

“My heart works in a different way, but it’s yours.”

Overall, I just love being in Helen Hoang’s world. From the important elements and themes, to the beautiful diversity and inclusion, to some of the steamiest and most romantic scenes ever, these books are just really easy to fall in love with. I hope she never stops writing, and I hope Berkley signs her for five more books after these five, because she is a gift to the world.

This book did not make me blush the way The Kiss Quotient did. The build up was intense and went on forever, but the story was so sweet. Khai is on the autism spectrum and his mother goes back to Viet Nam to find a wife for him because she wants him to be happy and have someone who will love him (as much as it seems weird for someone to do this; as a mom, I can appreciate wanting someone to love your child and make them happy). She finds My cleaning bathrooms at a fancy hotel and convinces her to come to America. My doesn't want to leave her daughter and other family, but her mother convinces her to go. She does not tell Khai or his mother about her daughter, in fact she lies about a lot of things to try to win Khai over, so she can make a better life for her daughter in America. It is such a sweet, good book and I loved it.

I seldom give romance books five stars, but this book made me think about what life is like in other countries and how lucky we are to live where we do. Plus, a week later I am still thinking about the characters and story.

For a follow up to The Kiss Quotient, author Helen Hoang shows the POV of a Vietnamese immigrant. Esme is a fantastic character. She's understanding and is true to her principles. No matter how cruel life is to her, she gets up, works hard and finds opportunities.

As much as I enjoyed her I wanted more from this book. I wanted more of her going to classes. I wanted more of her building relationship with Khai. I wanted more of them.

So, is the next book going to be about Quan?

I hadn't read the previous novel, but had heard only good things about it. When the chance came up to read an ARC of The Bride Test I jumped at it.

This novel is a sweet & charming story of Esme and Khai. Esme is brought to the US from Vietnam by Khai's mother as a potential wife for him. Khai is autistic and believes he is unable to feel love. The story alternates between both viewpoints and also includes some other engaging characters.

It was so nice to read a novel with a main character on the spectrum, to learn his thought processes and compare them with Esme's. I look forward to the next Helen Hoang novel and will definitely be picking up the previous one!

The Kiss Quotient was one of my favorite books from last year, and I suppose that kind of expectation is hard to live up to.
The Bride Test was sweet, with a charming opening concept (a man who thinks his autism prevents him from truly feeling love meets the woman his mother brought over from Vietnam for him), but I kept getting stuck on little elements of the story that just didn't work for me. I appreciated the issues the characters had to work through, but in the long run the story just didn't fully gel for me.

After being mildly obsessed with The Kiss Quotient, there was no way I was skipping this story.

I love love loved Esme and Khai. She’s so sweet and hardworking and just genuinely good. He’s just as sweet and amazing, but struggles with interactions. Together they were easy to root for and I quickly found myself captivated.

Plot wise, it was good. They’re figuring a lot of things out and I cheered and cringed and got angry right along with them. Helen’s writing has a way of making me feel like I know these characters and that made it easy to get invested.

Overall, it was a quick and fun read with low angst. I loved every single page and I’m pretty sure Helen is an auto-buy author for me.

**Huge thanks to Berkley Romance for providing the arc free of charge**

The Bride Test was a delight! I went in to this novel with high expectations, having been a huge fan of Hoang's previous book, The Kiss Quotient. She absolutely delivered again!

This story is told in alternating POV between Khai and My/Esme. Khai is a man who is convinced that, due to having an ASD diagnosis, he does not have the capacity to love. He buries himself in work and physical fitness, and tells himself that this makes for a wholly satisfactory life. My is working in hotel housekeeping in a hotel across the globe in Vietnam. She has a daughter out of wedlock and struggles to support her little family, along with her mother and grandmother. A chance encounter with Khai's mother provides a way out: she can fly to America, seduce Khai and become the wife his mother knows he needs. What could possibly go wrong?

Hoang writes incredible characters. Khai and My/Esme come vividly to life with all of their flaws and strengths. This book is absolutely female positive, despite the proposition/premise. I was particularly taken with My/Esme and her incredible drive and determination.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the complimentary eGalley. All opinions are my own.

More serious, less smutty, equally sweet, compared to The Kiss Quotient.

So, mail-order bride scenario in romance is not exactly my idea of a good time. (And neither was a male escort one in The Kiss Quotient). But what Helen Hoang undoubtedly has a talent for is creating characters that are kind and empathetic.

Esme is recruited by Khai’s mom to seduce and marry him, so that he finally can have someone to be with. He is on the spectrum, and isn’t good at relationships, for obvious reasons. Now, this can go wrong in many ways, but Khai’s mom is super nice and truly believes Esme is the best match for her son. Esme isn’t exactly a seductress, but a goofy girl with a big heart (and some mistakes in her past). And Khai believes himself incapable of feeling emotions.

I feel like The Bride Test is a weightier, more serious work. Hoang draws on her parents’ immigrant past, adding a big dose of realism to this romance, but not exactly going all the way there, it is a smutty romance after all. Esme and Khai’s personal journeys are more real too, and so are their problems.

I liked The Bride Test a lot, and inhaled it in a matter of hours. I didn’t like it quite as much as The Kiss Quotient, because apparently I like fantasy scenarios more than real ones. And I clearly prefer a lot of smut too. Esme and Khai’s relationship is a steamy one , but I would have preferred it... even more so. The book has the sexiest haircut scene though. It’s amazing how arousing a conversation about boundaries and sensory sensitivity can be! @.@ And when Khai and Quan and Michael are in a different scene together, it’s a total riot! You are in for a treat.

Now, more wait for the next Helen Hoang romance. I don't know what it is yet, but I hope it’s Quan’s turn.

The Kiss Quotient was one of the breakout books of 2018 for me, and I was really looking forward to The Bride Test.

However, unfortunately for me it didn't have the oomph that The Kiss Quotient had.

Esme and Khai just didn't have that extra something that Stella and Michael had, I just didn't fell the connection with them. At All. It wasn't until the very end that I felt much more than meh for Khai.

I did love the diversity of the story, I love that this series has characters on ASD spectrum and the way their quirks are dealt with was great.

You can read this as a stand alone, however there are appearances by characters from The Kiss Quotient that those who have read will enjoy seeing.

Another thing that got to me that might not bother anyone else was the plot device of the green card to get Esme to the USA. I just felt that this did a disservice to Esme in particular, as as the story progressed we can see she is so much more than there "for his money and a green card". Again, the is probably just me.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy The Bride Test, however I think I had lofty expectations after my enjoyment of The Kiss Quotient.

I did enjoy this enough that I will dive into the 3rd book whenever it arrives.

Let me just start off by saying that I adored the hell out of this one!

After having recently read The Kiss Quotient and feeling as if it weren't for me, I was a little hesitant going into this one, but knew that I wanted to know more of Khai. Boy, did I get that, and *then* some! I was definitely more attached to this one and loved it so hard and I think it has to do with Esme and her background. Later, in the author's note, we know the story comes from Helen's mother's story as an immigrant coming to the States and it's a story I've seen and know too well. I appreciated Esme's efforts to make a life for herself and her daughter and I liked that Khai and his marriage proposal wasn't the end-all be-all. What really did it for me with this story was our ability to like these characters not only together, but individually. Khai and Esme were their own person and we got to know both of them so well and see how they came to their own, and so when they came together, my heart just couldn't take it! I hurt with them, I swooned with them, and really just rooted for them all the way through!

THE BRIDE TEST was a realistic and beautiful romance with a whole lot of heart and a few tears. Now I absolutely need Quan's book!!

Esme is a single mother barely getting by scrubbing toilets. One day, a wealthy woman strolls into her restroom and, liking Esme's determination, moral fiber, and the striking green eyes she inherited from her American father, flies Esme from Vietnam to California to marry her son Khai. Khai is smart, kind, and a total hunk, but he's convinced his autism renders him incapable of love, hence his mother's marital intervention. Esme upends his orderly existence, making odoriferous soup and doing yardwork in terribly distracting pants. Her painstaking courtship and self-improvement drive are charming. On the other hand, too many major plot points are left to simmer until the last second.

I was very impressed by the Bride Test, I think it was a wonderfully well written book that drew me in and kept me emotionally involved throughout. I'd been looking forward to reading this since being blown away by the Kiss Quotient, the previous book in the series. As a librarian and POC lover of romantic fiction, I'm always on the lookout for new diverse and inclusive romance, and Helen Hoang definitely delivered. The story revolves around Khai, a Vietnamese American with Asperger's and Esme, a young Vietnamese single mother. Esme is brought to America by Khai's mother for a trial run as his fiance. I immediately fell in love with Esme' and Khai. Esme's humor really resonated with me and I loved her determination and strength. I felt deeply for her and really found myself pulling for her throughout the book. Hoang created characters that the reader could really relate to and I think you can she that her own life experiences and that of her family greatly influences her writing and gives it a real personal feeling. The book brought out a wide range of emotions me. There were laugh out load moments, and also moments where I found myself crying with the characters. Overall I think this was an amazing book, and I can't wait to read the next installment.

Expectations were high for this follow-up to Helen Hoang's brilliant debt, "The Kiss Quotient." While on the surface, Hoang has characters of similar conditions, it is by no means a regurgitation of her first novel. Khan, who is Vietnamese-American and with autism, is his own person and his form of autism affects him on a completely different level than it did Stella from "The Kiss Quotient." His love interest Esme, a mixed race women who immigrates to the US, not only has to find ways to navigate her relationship with Khan, but her own life in this foreign country. The daily challenges they both face together and as individuals are unique, educational, and relatable.

Beyond the romantic storyline, "The Bride Test" is also a story of acceptance and struggles of an immigrant woman. Hoang loosely based Esme on her own mother's experiences and the strength as a woman to rise above all obstacles to rise from nothing to achieve one's dreams. As always, Hoang does a spectacular job of beautifully fleshing out her characters, intricately weaving various plot points, and maintaining the integrity of these characters and their struggles without being offensive. More authors should follow suit in spotlighting diverse characters who come from unique circumstances and making them the protagonists, not the sidekick. I am excited to once again recommend Helen Hoang's books to patrons and offer such diversity to our library collection.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

Helen Hoang's first book, The Kiss Quotient, was one of my favourites of 2018. Again, this book has an autistic protagonist. I didn't love this one as much (can anyone top Stella & Michael?!), but I would still definitely recommend it.

Khai is Viatnamese and autistic (and is Michael from The Kiss Quotient's cousin! A fun little cross over). He lost his best friend when he was young, and his lack of feeling at that loss made him think he was incapable of love.

Esme is living in Vietnam when Khai's mother travels there to find a woman who would be compatible with her son. Esme is a single mother, living in poverty, so she accepts her offer thinking this is an opportunity that won't come again for her family.

There are so many lovable characters in Hoang's books, and notably in this one, Quan - Khai's brother. (WHO IS GETTING HIS OWN BOOK!!!!)

Overall, I love Helen Hoang, and the issues she tackles in her books - from autism, to diversity, representation and inclusion - and of course the romantic scenes that we all know she knows how to write.

Esme does good work as a hotel maid in Vietnam but wishes for better for her young daughter. Khai, a brilliant Vietnamese-American on the spectrum has closed himself off from romantic love. Enter Khai’s mother who convinces Esme to come to the US and convince Khai to marry her. Romance with personal growth for each main character creates a smart, fun, sexy, fulfilling read.

I actually enjoyed this even more than The Kiss Quotient!

For me, it was written better, the plot was more engaging, and the characters were more compelling. Plus I found myself laughing more. All of which is surprising, because I adored The Kiss Quotient.

Esme and Khai were both stand-out characters, but I think my heart belongs to Esme. She’s so brave for fighting so hard for a new life and she has such a kind soul.

This was a complete win for me.

Helen Hoang's biggest challenge with this book was having it stand up to The Kiss Quotient. The Bride Test starts out so differently that I was a little bit thrown and worried about our heroine. The hero is a right jerk at first but the shift really made this book come alive. Overall I enjoyed this and once things got moving I really rooted for this couple.

I have to say—Ms. Hoang has fast become one of my favorite authors since The Kiss Quotient came out. Just like it’s predecessor, The Bride Test is genuine, romantic, and perfectly awkward. We have Khai and Esme as our front runner and lovely main characters.

Khai not only has autism but he’s also the cousin to the hero in the first book, Michael. He has no feelings and knows for sure that he will never fall in love. He can’t. Then we have Esme, a woman from Vietnam, who’s given a proposition to come to America and convince Khai to wife her.

What I loved and adored so much about the book was watching these two adorkable characters figure out love for the first time in their lives. There were so many memorable moments that had me laughing and crying; sometimes at the same time! Khai was unintentionally funny at times and Esme was insanely strong and independent. Her sheer will and determination to make a better life for herself was admirable.

We see glimpses and cameos of characters from TKQ and Michael is STILL swoony. Now for the next book I’m hoping it’s Quan’s book because HOT DAMN...he’s something else. So please, please, please be his book! I’ll forever be grateful. Overall, this was a great second book from Helen. I can’t wait to see what more she comes up with.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Can a modern mail order bride/arranged marriage lead to love?

When Khai's mom meets My/Esme in Vietnam, she thinks My would be perfect for her son. My/Esme agrees to spend the summer hoping it will lead to marriage and a better life for her and her daughter. But Khai believes he can't love, so what is the point? My/Esme isn't willing to settle for anything less.

The writing draws you in, and flows so smoothly; it's easy to get lost in the story. I'm not big on secrets in my romances and hated that poor Jade was such an unknown. I do want more of Linh and Gleaves romance, now! (My's parents.) The author's note at the end was so interesting to me. I loved that Hoang was able to learn so much about her own mother and incorporate the background into My's character. Three and a half flames for sexy times.