Just sobbed my way through the author's note and I am not okay wow this was absolutely Helen Hoang's best book yet. So very different from her previous work, but in the best way. I can definitely see why this book wouldn't work for everyone; it is extremely different from the previous two books in the series and has a much, much darker tone and subject matter. But if I'm being honest, this was probably my favorite in the series for those exact reasons. This book was such a heartfelt exploration of anxiety and burn out, and how hard it can be to have to watch a loved one not be able to take care of themselves and it was just so raw and so powerful. While I personally loved this, I'll be blunt: if you go into this one expecting a romance like the previous two installments in the series, you will probably be disappointed. This book does have a romance (and a vert sweet one, at that), but it absolutely takes a back seat to Anna's own personal journey working through her severe depression. I have said this before, but with this book more than most, please be mindful of content warnings and proceed with caution if you plan to read. This book was hard to read but if you think you can handle the subject matter it was so, so worth it. Helen Hoang is a gift.

CW: severe anxiety/depression/burnout, ableism, hospice care, cancer, sterility, death of a loved one, toxic familial relationships, suicidal ideation

THE HEART PRINCIPLE is not for the faint hearted. There has been some debate about whether the book has an HEA, but Helen Hoang deftly weaves a romance that seriously looks at neurodivergence, depression, and grief, and what love looks like when it finds someone dealing with all three.

I received a free copy of this book from #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Anna Lam is an aspiring classical violinist. When a video of her playing goes viral, she becomes paralyzed from her pursuit of perfection and can't play. Then, her boyfriend asks her for an open relationship before committing to something long term. Anna decides she wants to pursue a bunch of one night stands to see if she's been missing out on anything and also to try to unblock her stifled creative life. When she meets a tattooed motorcycle riding guy on her first blind date, she doesn't expect to find someone so tender...someone she could fall in love with. I love Helen Hoang but this book was not my favorite of hers. Still a heart warming story. #TheHeartPrinciple #Netgalley

CW/TW: ableism, trauma, death
⭐️ Rep: American-Chinese, autistic MC, Vietnamese SC

Wow. What is it about the holiday season that makes me want to suddenly read all of these romance novels? After having greedily consumed the first two of Helen Hoang‘s novels, The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test, The Heart Principle did not disappoint. Following protagonist Annie, an overnight viral violinist who embarks on a journey of self discovery after her long-term boyfriend asks for an open relationship. With the usual combination of wit, incredible character development, heart racing intimate scenes, and insights into marginalized experiences, Hoang has written another five star read. This one in particular, with its tight net east Asian family who is summarily dismissive of the main characters mental health struggles, hit a little too close to home, which may have resulted in some tears shed during reading. I cannot recommend this, and the previous two books, enough. In addition to an amazing reading experience, being seen in writing, is an experience truly like no other.

Thank you to @penguinrandomhouse and @netgalley for a #gifted eARC in return for an honest review.

I've been struggling with how to review this book ever since I finished reading it last week. I was very excited to read this book, because I truly adored The Bride Test. I decided to buddy read it with Jamsu @ Jamsudreams and I am very happy that I did it, because this is a book that I needed a lot of hand-holding through. You can read Jamsu's review here. As for my review, let's dive right in!

I have to start my review by saying that this book is not a romance book. It should have been marketed as women's fiction, which is not a bad thing at all. But it was marketed as a romance book, and that's what sits at the core of my rating. 

The Heart Principle is the story of Anna accepting herself for who she is, despite her family's expectations. It's the story of Anna demanding respect from her family, her boyfriend, her family's friends. It is the story of Anna. And I adored that story. It's a story that needed to be told and shared with the world. I enjoyed reading about Anna's journey to accept herself, and to accept help to be the best version of herself that she could be. 

You get to see the story of the caregiver, which isn't an easy journey to experience. It's full of sadness, pain, self-doubt, and everything you could possibly imagine, and it's all reflected on the page. It was hard to read at times. There was one scene when Anna was feeding her dad that just about killed me. But it all made for an interesting read, and I appreciated what Hoang did with Anna.

Weaved into the plot is Quan, Anna's love interest. I say weaved, because he never felt like a main character to me. Even though I liked Quan, I felt like he was there to give Anna a reason for wanting to change her life, and I hated that for him. Quan had the potential of being such an interesting and complex character, and a lot of times he even shows that. He is such a good character, but again, he never felt like the other main character. 

I will be honest with you: I loved 94% of this book. And then the last 6% happened. Or rather it didn't. There are a lot of very heavy stuff hinted at in those last few 20 or 30 pages of the book, things that are eventually explained away with "a few weeks after that passed" passages that just didn't sit well with me. I understand that maybe there was a need to keep this book under a certain number of pages, but I didn't enjoy having so many dark, heavy topics approached, only to be glossed over. I have a feeling that had this book been marketed from the very start as a women's fiction, rather than romance, the ending would have been better. 

I wish I could have enjoyed this book more, and I wish it had been marketed with the right genre. Had I known in advance what this book was about, I am certain my rating would be higher, because I would have been better prepared to deal emotionally with the themes of the book. I am curious to see if the author will continue writing in this series, and I'll definitely check out her future books, because I did enjoy the writing style.

Not my favorite book -- the story lines dragged but I was happy to see a new perspective to love. I had a tough time reading through. Stopped in between and then went back a few weeks later!

Absolutely loved this one and found a new author whose backlist I want to read. Five stars for this emotional read.

The Heart Principle is the third book in the The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang, and was also one of my most anticipated reads for this summer! I loved the first two books in this series, and I couldn’t wait to read this book … especially since it’s Quan’s story!

Let me start this by saying that if you’re looking for a lighthearted, fluffy read, that is not exactly what you’re going to get with this book. Yes, there are lots of cute moments and romance in the book, but it also deals with some heavy topics as well. I was warned of this before starting the book, so I was able to prepare, but it didn’t dissuade me from reading the story at all. This is still an enjoyable read, but it’s not all light and fluffy like some may suspect. Regardless, I was hooked, and flew through this book in just a day, which rarely happens lately!

I have been really excited to read Quan’s story since we met him earlier on in the series. He really was great for Anna, as she was for him, and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow as the book went along. Both had their issues, but they figured them out together, after a few rough patches, and it was nice to see that. They are both just really great characters, and I love them both so much!

The storyline for this book, as I mentioned above, was both cute and fluffy, but also dealt with some heavier topics as well, including the sickness and death of a family member, and how that affected the people caring for him. As a person that has helped with multiple sick family members, I could definitely relate to Anna and her family. It’s definitely hard, and I’m glad that she had Quan to lean on.

Overall; The Heart Principle was a great addition to this fantastic series! I really enjoyed reading the story, and finally getting to read Quan’s story as well! I don’t know if this is the final book in the series or if we will be seeing more, but if Helen wants to write more books in this series, I would totally read them! (And I think a re-read of the series is definitely due soon!)

Happy Reading!

I have loved all of Helen Hoang’s books, but I think this is my favorite!! A perfect, heartwarming romance with a top tier book boyfriend, and a beautiful story about family and grief as well. I just loved it!

4.5 Stars / 4 Steam Fans

The Heart Principle is the story we all waited for, and the wait was worth it! Quan and Anna have individual journeys as well as a beautifully fought journey together. I appreciated the time Helen Hoang spent laying out the struggles both characters were going through and related to the journeys so much more.

CW: Mental Heath Discussions, Autism Spectrum Discussion, Grief, Cancer, Advanced Directives, Death

Video review available in Week 41: Oct 10 – Oct 16, 2021, full weekly book reviews available on Steph's Romance Book Talk Patreon.

For other bookish content, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

This was a great addition to the series and I read it in one sitting. It was so good that I didn't want to stop reading!

Helen Hoang is an auto-read author for me and for good reason. Her latest and much-anticipated book, The Heart Principle, did not disappoint and I loved learning more about Quan Diep, who was a background character in her previous novels, and new heroine Anna Sun. As with all her characters, they're multi-faceted, honest, and real. And that is in large part thanks to how the author infuses so much of herself into her stories. She said this is the most personal book yet and it shows.

Anna is a violinist and an accidental viral YouTube star who's burning herself out trying to recapture the magic of that moment. At the same time, her (douche-y) boyfriend has decided that they should have an open relationship so he can sleep around to make sure she's the one (he made me so mad!). Anna decides she's going to have a one-night stand too and meets Quan, who is definitely more boyfriend material than hook-up. (I dare you not to fall in love with him while reading -- seriously.) Quan, with his tattoos and motorcycles, may not seem like the perfect fit for Anna but he's the one person who accepts Anna unconditionally and helps her to find that confidence within herself. After multiple failed one night stands together, they naturally move towards dating instead and I was 100% here for it. All the little and big ways they connected, whether it was over Netflix or their interests, made me smile and swoon, and provided a good counterpart to the more serious plot line that came later on.

Of Hoang's books, this one was admittedly the heaviest (but not overly so) and it hit rather close to home for me in ways I didn't expect.

Do I recommend? Absolutely! If you're been a fan of Helen Hoang since her debut novel, you'll enjoy this one too.

Helen Hoang had my heart from the beginning with "The Kiss Quotient" so I knew I had to read her newest.

This was the absolute sweetest book. I love that she incorporates a main character with autism.

Her writing make you want to hug the book and never let go. This one is much different than her other two but in the best way possible.

The characters truly feel so relatable.

I must thank NetGalley for this ARC copy. I truly enjoy this author and this is part of the Kissing Quotient series, book #3.

Sometimes it's hard for people to say "no," especially when you are being bulldozed all your life by your own family and boyfriend. Add being autistic (no matter where you are in the spectrum), which makes it even more arduous.

Anna is a violinist. She was discovered when the first chair couldn't make it and the second chair happened to have gotten into the accident with the first chair. Suddenly, Anna is an overnight sensation, thanks to YouTube and that faithful night. However, she is compounded with self-deprecation and her constant sister's comments on putting Anna down and then there's the anxiety to keep up with how to be, how to act, and oh, did I mention the crappy a$$ boyfriend who cares only about himself and suddenly wants an open relationship "to see what he's missing?"

In comes Quan and Anna discover, don’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover. She learns she can be herself and voice her truest thoughts with him.

This is a very good read for anyone who wants to see a person’s journey to learning to have a voice and growth.

“People like me better when I make them feel good about themselves.”

3.5 out of 5 stars so I'll round it up to 4

I loved Helen Hoang's previous book, but this one felt a lot more women's fic than genre romance to me. It sort of felt like Helen Hoang was trying to appeal to both audiences, and landed in a place that's not quite right for either.

I was REALLY excited to finally get Quan's book, so I was pretty disappointed when he - and the romance storyline with Anna - was put on the back-burner for a lot of the story. And then the back half of the book is just a lot of heavy things piled one after the other and the way the book wraps up there's just not a satisfactory resolution. Not a fan of this one.

What took me so long to read this book?? I adored the whole freaking thing. Anna, she has some screwed up people in her life. You fall in love with her right away and you know she will blossom. Quan, who doesn't want a tattooed, motorcycle driving stud to save the day??

This book is funny yet serious. I loved how it touched on Autism and Cancer. How two people who feel broken can be whole together.

Now I have to back track and read the first two books!! Helen Hoang is my new favorite author!!

Mixed feelings. Parts I liked and parts that weren't what I expected. The title and blurb are misleading, I went in expecting a romance but it was entirely different. I enjoyed the overall story but since I expected something else, it didn't work for me.

This book broke my heart and mended it all in one. So refreshing to see a romance that's not afraid to delve into painful topics.

I'm not a romance reader, but I like Helen Hoang's stories. It follows the genre conventions but I enjoy her sweet characters, even when I'm yelling at her to stand up for herself, to speak up! ;-)

I've been a fan of Quan since The Kiss Quotient and was very excited for his story. I loved the inclusion and representation of mental health. While it isn't a favorite for me, I did enjoy it and the author's note is great and makes you appreciate this story so much more.