the deal is that this is some damn good writing; i was so FRUSTRATED with the situation anna was in that i literally struggled the read the last half of this book. i feel like that’s an amazing feat, though, and not something i should dock points for. still, be prepared y’all, cuz it ain’t pretty. quan’s story is just as good as his cousin’s and brother’s, if not better.

#netgalley

3,5 stars

The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test a couple years ago and immediately fell in love with this author’s writing style. The representation of characters is vast, and I truly appreciated the neuro diversity. So when I received the e-arc of The Heart Principle, I was so excited to get started.
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The book is separated into three parts: before, during and after. Once I started the story, I was immediately sucked in. Anna Sun, a violinist, goes viral after a performance but is struggling to continue her success. Burnout is hitting her hard, and she is struggling to open up and be real in therapy . Add in her boyfriend’s request of “seeing other people before we settle down together”, and it’s no surprise that Anna just wants one night to defy all expectations and be someone she is not. Insert Quan, a tattooed motcorcyclist, who holds his own scars and brokenness. (I am so in love with him - he was perfect)
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As we follow her journey to unlocking her true self, going through the ups and downs of a family tragedy, as well as a gorgeous “one night stand” that turns into more… I truly couldn’t put this book down. If the book ended after part two, I would have given it 5 stars.
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But after finishing part 3, I just couldn’t give the same rating.It just didn’t do it for me. It felt rushed and the build up and depth of the “before” and “during” sections just wasn’t the same in this “after” period.
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This book is explained as being a bit of a biography, with the author providing some personal insights and connections to the plot points. I really appreciated this realness and authenticity.
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If you’ve read her other books and enjoyed, I do recommend this one I just wish the ending had a little bit more.
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RATING:
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Overall: 3.5 ⭐️
Writing : 4 ⭐️✍️
Characters: 4 ⭐️
Romance: 2 🔥

Overall this was another home run for Helen Hoang. I felt like it did drag a bit in the middle/end as the reader navigated Anna's grief with her, but I also think it was a necessary part of the plot. I loved getting to know Quan better and seeing Michael and Stella a bit. Would definitely recommend!

Anna is a musician with a creative block and Quan runs a clothing design company with his best friend Michael. Hoang's romances are refreshing, because they honestly feature characters who are less than perfect, and are struggling with their mental health and sexuality. Anna is dealing with her highly judgmental family, and both Anna and Quan have work challenges. Through the course of the story the both develop self-understanding and the capacity for intimacy. Quan is so kind, what a great masculine role model. Anna is a woman on the autism spectrum; Quan is Vietnamese American and Anna is Chinese American -- great to see this representation in romance. Funny, touching, and sexy..

I have read The Heart Principle and I am so torn for my rating for this book. At first, it was a very solid 3 stars and left me disappointed. But with each page, the rating changed between 3 stars to 4 stars and never quite catching the 5 star rating I imagined. Continue reading for not specific spoilers but thoughts on why I struggled with my rating.

I'll be giving it two ratings based on the romance and the book overall.

Romance: 3/5 - something left to be desired
Book Overall: 4/5 stars
Final rating: 3.5 Stars


To start off, I don't care for characters meeting on dating apps or have any technological influences in their romance. The reason being is that it's too close to home and I rather have a 'fantasy' of an organic relationship but since it's helen hoang, I looked past it and got to settling down with our romance between Anna and Quan.

The second thing that irked me was how extremely fast Anna and Quan 'got to know each other' and felt comfortable with each other. She was immediately drawn to the safety of his arms and hugs which made me roll my eyes a bit because...I think we're all slightly uncomfy when it's a stranger we just met on the internet AND the fact that she doesn't have the most welcoming personality.

The third reason why I struggled getting into this one was Anna herself. She's closed off, meticulous, and she's obsessed with pleasing people. At first, I had no suspicions of her diagnosis because I didn't want to label her with a diagnosis until Helen Hoang told us explicitly but after it was said, I grew to have an understanding/appreciation of Anna.

The fourth reason why this one was hard to rate was because it dealt A LOT with family. It's a book about a character who has to struggle with VERY TOXIC and not understanding family members. The toxicity I saw in the asian household reminded me of what my family can be at times and it grated my nerves a lot. And because of the Asian/Chinese culture Anna had, she had to deal with guilt over caring over a loved one. She gave a lot of herself into her family and tried so hard to be a 'good person' but ended up feeling extremely burnt out from it. It was so hard to stomach at times and brought tears to my eyes. I absolutely could not stand Anna's older sister Priscilla and her cousin, Faith for the entire time and wanted them to get into a car crash.

Because it dealt with family for majority of the book, Helen Hoang tried to weave in the romance plot in between which was nice but it felt forced. It didn't flow as well as expected and left me annoyed that there were two tones to the story. A happy fluffy one and a depressingly sad one. I thought about this point many times. In real life, when sad things happen, the good things don't stop. But in this book, it felt segmented because our characters weren't together when she was suffering in her own personal hell which made it hard for me to accept.

The fifth reason why I struggled with this rating is the ending. There is a time lapse and things 'get resolved' but some things can never be fixed like in real life. What I wished for is a longer ending instead of time lapses and glimpses into Anna's life and Quan too as well.

Overall, this book made me cry a lot because unfortunately, as we grow older, we go through tough events that leave our families in a lot of pain. I saw so many events in this book in real life. It's raw. It's depressing. It's heavy and sad. It's real. I applaud Helen for writing her story down on paper and finishing this book. The book served its purpose of highlighting the enormous pressure a caregiver experiences. But it just didn't hit the mark for me for the romance.

Ever since reading The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test, I have been looking forward to Helen Hoang's third title, The Heart Principle. By the time I read the second sentence, I knew I was going to love the book! It has everything I enjoy about romance - loveable yet flawed characters, intimate moments, sweet dates - and something more. Hoang's writing feels deeply personal and poignant, as she reveals the experience of being on the spectrum and how navigating the world, and one's own family, is complex and at times, painful. I also appreciated seeing how Quan's character evolved and developed in this book, with fun glimpses of Michael, Khai, and Stella. And being introduced to Anna was a delight. This is a must read, it will leave you wanting more!

Don’t mind me, just sitting here, MIND BLOWN by this book. Seriously, someone go find some goddamn paper towels because there are chunks of brain matter all over the floor. My relationship with this trilogy has been a little rocky in the past but The Heart Principle said “fuck ur expectations” and then proceeded to ruin my life.

The story follows Anna, a professional violinist who is experiencing creative burnout after a video of her performing goes viral on YouTube. At the same time, her serious boyfriend suggests they see other people before making the commitment to marry each other. Heartbroken, Anna uses her new open relationship to try and shake things up in her life, inviting change in the form of the tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan (who we all know and love from previous installments in the series). Their relationship begins slowly, but it won me over RIDICULOUSLY fast.

Let’s discuss-- I am a cold-hearted bitch, as we know. It takes a lot to make me feel, but this book really yanked me through the wringer. The sheer amount of trust and support in Anna and Quan’s romance was sweet and swoon-worthy, and their individual fights for self-acceptance basically had me leveled from page one (I am 127% sure I would’ve cried if my pesky tear ducts actually functioned).

I mean it, Anna’s coming to terms with her new diagnosis of ASD and struggling to connect with family members, all while providing care for a terminally ill parent, alongside Quan’s own journey to regain confidence after surviving cancer, had the emotional intensity reaching peak levels. It is a truly heart wrenching read at times. As a result of what both deal with over the course of the story, The Heart Principle has a more serious tone in comparison to the rest of the series, but I personally didn’t mind the focus being shifted off of the main couple from time to time. Their separate journeys were so authentically human. It was what made the book stand out to me, and why I believe that it is Helen Hoang’s strongest release to date.

The only thing I would have changed was the length of time that was spent concluding all the open plotlines. Things definitely got a bit hectic at the end, and there was room for a little more attention to be placed on wrapping things up satisfactorily in a way that didn’t seem rushed. That said, even with that tiny criticism, I'm still very impressed with the overall story and can’t imagine giving it anything less than five stars.

As Hoang reveals in the author’s note, this book is particularly personal to her, which is apparent. Not only because of the technical aspects, like being written in the first person as opposed to third, but also in the level of care that was given to the characters’ arcs. I admire her for being able to unpack such intimate difficulties in a novel, and I do think that it’s going to impact many of the people who read it in a beneficial way.

The Heart Principle comes out on August 31st and I implore you: buy it, borrow it, find a copy on the side of the road, JUST READ IT (if u wanna lol) (no pressure) (but also PRESSURE).

Absolutely loved this book. I fell in love with the characters right away- they're both so genuine and vulnerable and sweet.

I feel the romance genre is at its best when both main characters are working through their own issues and discover strength in each other, and this book absolutely nails that quality. Both Anna and Quan have a personal journey to face. Their struggles are well developed, and their HEA is so deserved in the end.

With authentic depictions of neurodivergence, Asian-American family dynamics, and a steamy/sweet romance, this book is exactly what Helen Hoang's fans are craving. She delivers, and then some. Loved this so much.

This book has everything you could look for in a sweet, romantic storyline.

It's been a long wait for Quan's book, but it was worth it. I already love all of Hoang's characters, however this book felt so incredibly personal and so heart-filled, it go to be my favorite of hers.

After 5 years together, Anna's boyfriend suggests that they open up their relationship, so that they know they are not missing out on anything before they decide on the marriage. As he proceeds to immediately hook up with other people, Anna decides that she should have a one-night stand of her own too.

On the other hand, after 2 years filled with health issues, Quan is considering getting back in the game and wants to start with an easy hookup.

Anna and Quan are matched on the same dating app, and voila. However, their attempts at a casual hookup don't work. Both of them have their own struggles. They try once, twice, three times. Smutty things happen, but there are complications.

Anna has spent her entire life putting other's needs first. This is particularly difficult for her as she has just been diagnosed as being on the spectrum. To make matters worse, her long term boyfriend wants to explore an open relationship to see if there is something better out there before settling down. And the icing on the cake--Anna's father has a stroke, and now Anna must care for him together with her mother and older sister who have always put pressure on her. On a whim, Anna decides to put herself on a dating app so she too can explore what's out there. Enter Quan, the most perfect book boyfriend of all time.

This book was so heartfelt. At the beginning, you think you are getting a romance but it is so much more. In the author's note, Hoang says that this is a partial memoir, and the reader truly feels it. We are inside Anna's head (it is written in first person, not third like her other books) and we truly get a heartrending depiction of her struggles to fit in and to please everyone, while just trying to survive.

This book's publication was pushed off by a year and I was so disappointed. After finally getting my hands on it (thanks, Netgalley!), I can strongly say that it was worth the wait!

Helen Hoang's books are a gut punch in the best possible way. She'd mentioned on social media that this one was different and more personal. And wow did I feel it. I fell in love with Anna and Quan from the start and was rooting for them the entire way. And learned quite a bit in the process!

No mistaking it, this a deeply emotional and personal 5-star read.

But this doesn’t read like a contemporary romance, this reads like a Women’s Fiction or a Romantic Fiction title. I am not sure that most readers will pick up on the differences (as a librarian, nuance is important because you need to know where to place items so that readers can ambiently find items on shelves). They will simply know that something is different in comparison to other labeled contemporary romances.

Told in duel prospective, we get a narrative voice from Quan and from Anna. Had the narrative voice solely been from Quan - this story is a romance. Having Anna’s this is a story of so much more - self discovery, transition, fracture, sadness, struggle, overcoming, and ultimately victory. But the romance storyline was secondary during her narration. And that’s what made this feel overwhelmingly different.

His book was a lot more intense than previous Helen Hoang books I’ve read, but that’s not a bad thing. I really loved Anna and Quran and their relationship. They were so good for each other and I loved seeing them navigate both their issues. The storyline with her father was very intense and at times hard to read, but I know it was supposed to be and I appreciate why she included that storyline.

Wow. I really enjoyed this author's previous books, but this one was a step above. This book is so much more than a romance. I feel it's unfair and condescending to say books can be "just a romance," but, TBH, I have read some romances that really WERE "just romances." Girl meets boy, (or, yes, boy meets boy or girl meets girl), they hit it off, things get hot, there is a misunderstanding, then they make up in time for a happy ending. Some romances I have read have been dreadful, some have been light and undemanding and exactly what I needed at the time, and some have been wonderful. This book, however, is another animal entirely. The author investigates very intense and serious ideas and themes. When the book opens, Anna, one of the lead characters, is a violinist dealing with burnout and psychological issues. It broke my heart sometimes, seeing what she faces with her family, her worries about her career, and her asshole boyfriend who wants to try an "open relationship." She meets Quan, who we all remember as a character from Hoang's prior books and thank GOD she does. Anna totally deserves a guy as great as Quan. Thank God also for Anna’s therapist, who is clearly on the ball and starts to help Anna recognize her neurodiversity. Things are starting to get beautiful for these characters (and yes, hot), when a family emergency puts Anna is a very difficult position. Unfortunately, she is not strong enough emotionally to stand up for herself, and the stress of the situation and of the way her family deals with it is heartbreaking to watch. So, yeah. Definitely not “just a romance.” I loved this book—it is my favorite form this author to date.

I just finished reading this and immediately went to message Helen on IG but honestly didn't even know what to say. She's just put her heart right out there for all of us to read, and I almost feel unworthy. This book was so intense, so REAL. It's now my favorite book of 2021.

I think this is what we writers mean when we say "it's okay to write flawed characters" - we aren't saying, "Make your heroine a picky eater," or "Give your hero a couple of facial scars." We mean let them be broken, let them get it all wrong, let them be MESSY, let them mess everything up. Let them take chapters to figure something out. Or even better, let them maybe take the entire book to figure something out. Because if you do that, and you do it authentically in this genre, then the romance just springs from the pages like it does here. Even amidst the hard, raw, real vulnerability, the romance is front and center. You'll finish this book and the only thing you'll know for certain is that Quan is the man for Anna, and Anna is the woman for Quan. Where Anna's vulnerability and frustration and confusion and anger broke me, Quan's sweetness and patience melted me. I feel like it's so rare these days to FEEL that two characters need to be together; we are often told how a heroine feels near her love interest, or we are given descriptions of internal reactions a hero has near his love interest, but when I was reading this, I could actually feel Anna's relief when she was with Quan, and in turn I could feel his own sense of being both grounded by and protective of her.

There's so much more to be said about this book - the crushing weight of familial expectations, the complex and sometimes unhealthy habits and patterns we establish with our nuclear family that are genuinely terrible for our own long-term happiness, and (truly, this one hit home) the pain and exhaustion of caring for a terminally ill loved one. There is so much in this book that is just pitch perfect, I can't gush enough. It's hard, but it's deeply sexy; it's beautifully written and also frustrating sometimes because Helen has written her characters so full that you truly understand them and see how they set on every reaction even if what they get wrong in the moment makes you want to punch the wall. If you think the tone sounds too serious, don't be scared off. It's a deeply beautiful romance, and I am in awe. What a masterful book. I love, love, loved it.
xo
Lauren

This book is a great addition to the Kiss Quotient series. Quann was a favorite character of mine in the two previous books, and I enjoyed reading his story. It was worth the wait!

The romance in this 3rd book of The Kiss Quotient series takes a back seat to the mental and physical health issues both Quan and Anna face, especially Anna’s autism. Whereas The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test both have a humorous element, this one is much more somber and, at times, heart-wrenching. It’s also very anxiety-inducing. I was really looking forward to Quan’s story given his powerful and colorful presence in the first two books, so it was disappointing to see him subdued and somewhat emotionally side-lined by his cancer surgery and his feeling that his manhood has been diminished despite his efforts to hide these details from his family. However, his patience with and empathy and love for Anna show his emotional maturation and his understanding of autism gleaned from having a brother and cousin-in-law who are also on the spectrum.

If you need a crash course in autism, this story provides it. You’ll learn about masking, stimming, sensory overload, autism burnout, poor spatial awareness and more as you read about Anna’s struggles to adopt heteronormative behavior in order to fit into society and keep her family happy. However, readers are also witness to Anna’s devastation that results from trying too hard to be what others expect. Families are supposed to love unconditionally, but as we often see in novels, these same people can hurt their children and siblings by their greater concern for social standing than for their relatives. In this case, there are also the cultural expectations of being Chinese and the pecking order that puts a young female in last place. The respect that Anna’s much older sister demands is repaid with utter disdain, dismissiveness and casual cruelty masking as “tough love”, especially when she refuses to accept Anna’s diagnosis and need for compassion and understanding.

The beauty and purity of Anna and Quan’s relationship is manifested in their unconditional acceptance of each other, which allows them to be themselves, warts and all. So, even though this romance doesn’t fit any of the typical tropes, it shows that learning to love yourself and put your happiness first isn’t selfish; it’s the only way to truly be open to giving and accepting love from a partner. Highly recommended, but be sure to read books 1 and 2 to fully appreciate this final entry of the series.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Helen Hoang does an amazing job of writing about the frustration of dealing with a newly discovered medical diagnoses while also trying to please your family and friends. How much of your personality is really you and how much of it is your diagnoses? Anna finds herself always giving up parts of herself in order to make others happy but how much longer can she take being untrue to herself to make others happy. This book made me cry, because anyone who has ever had to put their personal feelings away in order to become a full time caretaker knows exactly how much energy it takes to try to stay positive in the face of an illness when there is no clean end in sight. Amazing book that keeps you wondering if Anna will be true to herself and fight for her relationship with Quan.

OMG I have been waiting SO LONG for Quan's book!!!! I have so loved this series and this one did not disappoint even with the very long bout of anticipation. I love Hoang's stories/writing!! LOVED Anna and she was perfect for Quan. So, so good! Will be a devoted Hoang fan for life!

I love, love, love this book. Hoang has done it again and written another touching, beautiful romance. This book is so compelling, I could not put it down. I love how Hoang writes such relatable, realistic characters that jump off the page. The attention paid to mental illness/health is so good. Hoang writes in an author's note that this book is the most autobiographical of all her books and it shows, because you can really tell from her writing, from Anna's character, that she has done justice to portraying autism authentically, it's one of the most moving things about this book. I am definitely going to buy myself a copy of this and I will definitely recommend it to anyone I know who loves reading romance, but even anyone who wants to read a book with a main character who is neurodivergent.