Reviews

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

magnoliapigeonbookblurbs's review against another edition

2.0

I’m so disappointed but The Heart Principle was not for me. I absolutely loved The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test - but this installment felt very out of place and honestly just depressing.

littlelilacsdownthesea's review against another edition

I could have sworn this book was about Quan being in love with Anne's sister: Camile. Either way, I was expecting a light-but meaningful romance not unlike the first novel of The Kiss Quotient. Upon reading the he author's note, I understood that this novel was changed to a be semi-autobiographical novel in response to Helen losing her mother. I take it that the mental block that Anne experiences is based on Helen's writers block. This story is important. Helen talks about the fatigue of being a caregiver and the impending mental breakdowns that it caused. Very few individuals ever talk about how difficult it is to be a caregiver. As someone who has experienced the pain of being a caregiver my entire life, I felt seen. I felt my family seen. Helen Hoang is a Vietnamese author, who wrote a story through a Chinese protagonist, which resonated with me: a random girl in a part of the world few have ever heard of. This novel is more like Colleen Hoover's It Ends With us. This story is something more. It is something wonderful.

mckellstar's review against another edition

4.0

4.5/5

I really enjoyed this book! I think ‘The Kiss Quotient’ is still my favourite of the three, but wow if this book wasn’t relatable. I fell in love with Quan (how could you NOT?!), I was rooting for Anna, and I loved the slow burn romance. However, because this book is not a traditional romance book, the ending gave me a different feeling than I expected it to. I still really, really loved this story, but that’s why I gave it the rating I did.

I’m sad to say goodbye to Helen’s characters!! I need more Michael and Quan!!

averyasato's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Went into this installment expecting a fun, sweet romantic comedy but was swept up into an emotional, honest story of one courageous woman at her breaking point.  Anna is such a charming character with a truly relatable voice.  I wish I had skipped the second book of the series and went straught from the Kiss Quotient to the Heart Principle ❤️ (Also, I think Priscilla may be the best written romcom villain I've ever read.)

esem's review

emotional inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

deedeegib's review against another edition

5.0

I was shocked by how sexually explicit this book was. I thought I picked your average love story. Nope, this was a good old fashioned romance novel with sex scenes and the love story! I found myself equally frustrated at Anna’s inaction and pain. Great book!

jessicadnguyen's review against another edition

5.0

QUAN DIEP IS THE STANDARD I WOULD RISK IT ALL FOR HIM

that being said i liked this one the BEST out of her three books because the two main characters actually felt much more fleshed out and their struggles felt much more genuine. I cried i laughed i squealed

I LOVED IT

tnguyenn's review against another edition

3.0

God I fucking hate Priscilla - she’s so condescending and rude.The way she talks to anna is so belittling. The way she reacted to Anna telling her about her autism diagnosis actually shocked me. How can someone be so ignorant?

I hate Anna’s family. They treat her like she’s worth nothing. They’re so judgemental, rude, patronising, condescending, belittling, small minded, snobby. I hate them and the way they make Anna feel. I hate how they discredit everything she does at every chance they get. Fuck the “tough love” bullshit - there is no love behind their actions and hurtful words. It’s not tough love - it’s plain gaslighting. I hate how they immediately dismiss Quan because of how he looks. Fuck them all.

Quan is the greenest of green flags, love how patient and understanding he was with Anna and that he never tried to push her and always made sure she was comfortable

claire_n's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rrickman33's review against another edition

3.0

3.5/5

This was not a rom com. Do not expect to laugh, it's not really even a romance in the second half of the book. It's a really deep novel about finding your own voice, trauma, family, and caregiving for a parent.

While I enjoyed all those things about it I went in with other expectations that made it hard for me to love this. Like 70% of this book was sad, her family was straight up mean to her and gaslit her constantly. Quan gave and gave and gave and Anna was not in a place to really give anything in return so I'm honestly confused how they stayed together with this dynamic? But again, we barely saw him so I have no idea what was going through his head.

I wanted more of Quan and more of them together, towards the end almost everything happens off page and we just read about how it already passed. The autism representation was wonderful in this book but Quan was coming off of cancer and that was barely explored but should have been more.

Overall, this is a heartfelt, sad, semi-romance novel that I definitely recommend if you're looking for something more serious!