From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart...
THE BRIDE TEST by HELEN HOANG
Series: The Kiss Quotient #2
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Published by: Berkley
Genre: romance
SYNOPSIS
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
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Praise for The Bride Test:
“With serious moments offset by spot-on humor, this romance has broad appeal, and it will find a special place in the hearts of autistic people and those who love them.”—Publishers Weekly starred review
“The Bride Test is positively delightful....It's smart, honest, and achingly romantic, just as sexy as it is sweet.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six
“Helen Hoang is a master of building characters that feel relatable.”—New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren
“Prepare to fall in love all over again...The Bride Test is a charming love story that is equal parts sexy and sweet.”—PopSugar
“Refreshingly real.”—Marie Claire
“A stunning, superior romance.”—Kirkus Reviews starred review
“A winning love story that gives a voice to underrepresented characters.”—Booklist
"From the author that rocked the lit world with her 2018 novel The Kiss Quotient, comes an equally addicting read that is perfect for summer."—Women's Health
"This new quirky, heartwarming romance will make you believe in love again."—Woman's Day
“With serious moments offset by spot-on humor, this romance has broad appeal, and it will find a special place in the hearts of autistic people and those who love them.”—Publishers Weekly starred review
“The Bride Test is positively delightful....It's smart, honest, and achingly romantic, just as sexy as it is sweet.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six
“Helen Hoang is a master of building characters that feel relatable.”—New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren
“Prepare to fall in love all over again...The Bride Test is a charming love story that is equal parts sexy and sweet.”—PopSugar
“Refreshingly real.”—Marie Claire
“A stunning, superior romance.”—Kirkus Reviews starred review
“A winning love story that gives a voice to underrepresented characters.”—Booklist
"From the author that rocked the lit world with her 2018 novel The Kiss Quotient, comes an equally addicting read that is perfect for summer."—Women's Health
"This new quirky, heartwarming romance will make you believe in love again."—Woman's Day
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen Hoang is that shy person who never talks. Until she does. And the worst things fly out of her mouth. She read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since. In 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Her journey inspired THE KISS QUOTIENT. She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish.
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The Bride Test by Helen HoangMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
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 was one point where they went to a wedding and upon seeing bride's dress she was in complete awe. Then she happens upon the dress unattended in an empty room. What she did was so wildly inappropriate that I couldn't believe what she attempted to do.
She’d heard people whispering that it was a Vera Wang gown and cost ten thousand dollars. But as she stood in the empty room, it occurred to her maybe she could wear a dress like this. And she didn’t need to get married to do it. She could wear this dress. Right now. She could do it quickly, just so she knew what it was like, and then continue searching the hotel for Khải. No one had to know.
This wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but all I could think was, What is she doing?? She didn't even know her, so it felt really off and uncomfortable.
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.
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