Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

THE BRIDE TEST 
Helen Hoang
Publication date: May 7, 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Berkley and Edelweiss



GOODREADS  *  AMAZON








S Y N O P S I S

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.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

I was convinced there was no way I would possibly enjoy The Bride Test as much as The Kiss Quotient. Silly me, because Helen Hoang proved she is no one hit wonder.

If you’ve read TKQ you’ll remember Michael’s cousin Khai. His autism means he processes emotions differently and after the loss of his best friend as a teenager, when he felt unable to truly grieve, he decided that also meant he was unable to love. Enter Khai’s mom who has decided if Khai isn’t going to find a wife on his own, she’ll just have to do it for him. She meets Esme while in Viet Nam and arranges for her to come to California. And so it begins.


There are so many differences between Esme and Khai – their education, their culture – but I loved that Esme simply accepted Khai as he was, without being aware of any labels. She was able to look past his social awkwardness, his quirks, and see how truly kind and compassionate he was. And I appreciated that they were both so brave – they took chances, pushed themselves, and made steps toward a possible future neither had envisioned.

She’d come to find him. No one ever looked for him. They all knew he wanted to be alone. Except is wasn’t always that way. Sometimes he was alone out of habit. Sometimes it took effort to distract himself from the growing emptiness inside. - Khai

Esme was so sweet and so determined to make this arrangement work. She had her own insecurities, about her immigrant status and her lack of education, but she was willing to work hard to overcome those challenges. Even though I sometimes felt like I didn’t know enough about her, I was still totally won over by her perseverance and her sense of self-worth.

She wasn’t rich, classy, or smart, but she wasn’t something you could use once and throw away. She had value. You couldn’t see it in the clothes she wore or the abbreviations after her name or hear it in the way she spoke, but she felt it, even if she didn’t entirely understand where it came from. It pounded in her chest, big and strong and bright. She deserved better than this. – Esme.

The moments between Khai and his brother Quan were some of my favorites. And when he was getting a little sex ed from Quan and Michael… oh my goodness, so hilarious and so priceless. Quan was always, always there for Khai and I loved their connection. Quan accepted him but also challenged him.


I don’t want to keep comparing The Bride Test to The Kiss Quotient (I know it’s not fair) but, like it or not, it’s going to happen. And while this one didn’t quite have the same charm as TKQ, it was still a total winner. I may have had a few quibbles (I wish I’d known Esme better, I wish she hadn’t kept her secret until the very end), but I was able to overlook those in the face of so much Helen Hoang goodness. There were moments that made me laugh, moments than were so sweet I thought my heart would burst, plus delicious sexytimes and characters that I was pulling for on every single page. Don’t miss this sweet and swoony romance!

4.5/5 STARS

Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. This does not impact my opinion of the book or the content of this review. I received no compensation and my review is voluntary.




24 comments

  1. I haven't read any of her books yet, I'm curious about both. They both look so good, and it's nice to see own voices when it comes to the characters

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    1. It was obvious that Hoang writes what she knows and that added so much to the story.

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  2. YAY glad this was a hit. I am getting this soon and cannot wait!!

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    1. I hope you’ll love it... can’t wait to read your thoughts on it!

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  3. I'm glad you enjoyed this one a lot! I can't wait to read it.Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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  4. Hoang is definitely not a one hit wonder. I liked Khai in the book, but I loved Esme. It was, as you mentioned, her drive and ambition. I really liked that her quest to improve herself was part of the story. And QUAN! Hoang endeared him to me, and I am so ready for his book.

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    1. Oh my goodness, please please please let there be a book for Quan! :)

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  5. Yaay I'm so happy this was a winner for you Tanya! I know it's hard to not compare it to TKQ, but that was such a surprising and special book. I expected Esme's secret to be drawn out more, so I was surprised that it was a dramatic plot point.

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    1. Yeah, I’m still on the fence with how I feel about the way the secret was handled. She didn’t tell, didn’t tell... then she tells and it’s just like, oh okay that’s cool. LOL

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  6. So jealous you had an ARC of this, I need to get my hands on it!

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    1. I hope you get to read it soon, Deanna... it’s out today! :)

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  7. Right? I was so sure that this couldn't meet my expectations after the brilliance of The Kiss Quotient, but this was just as good, but also very different. I appreciated that. It wasn't the same book recycled with different characters, it was all it's own and I really quite enjoyed it, even if it wasn't what everyone expected.

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    1. Absolutely. After TKQ I was like, uh, do I even want to read this one? It can’t possibly live up, right? Wrong! I just loved it in a different way. :)

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  8. This sounds fun. I've been wanting to read both this and the TKQ so I'm glad to hear you like them both so much!

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    1. I was nervous about The Kiss Quotient because it was sooo hyped but I loved it. So glad I took a chance! And The Bride Test was every bit as good!

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  9. I was nervous going into TBT, because I loved The Kiss Quotient so much but I ended up loving Khai and Esme's story, too. Not quiet as much as TKQ, but still a lot. Their story felt very different to me. Loved Quan's contributions, too! Khai is lucky to have such a great brother. I hear there might be a story with Quan. Not sure, but I'm in if so! Wonderful review, and mood board, Tanya! :)

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    1. We seem to feel so similarly about this one, Rachel! I was nervous about this one but ended up loving it. Even though just a teeny tiny bit less than TKQ. I didn’t feel the same strong connection between Esme and Khai that I did between Stella and Michael. I hope Quan gets his own book because I would be all over that! :)

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  10. I just ordered a copy from Amazon and cannot wait to read it!! It cannot arrive fast enough. My mother has already told me that she wants to borrow it when I'm finished, because she loved TKQ so much. <3

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? đŸ’¬

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    1. Squueeeee! I'm so excited for you to read it! And I can't wait to see what you think. (I love that your mom read TKQ! I didn't even bother mentioning it to my mom... it would exceed her graphic sex limits. LOL)

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  11. OMG, ok you loved it too. I can't wait to dive into this one! It sounds like it will be stellar like TKQ. I am in love with HH. Love this review and I am putting this on my night stand to read neck.

    Mary

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    1. I'm so excited for you to read it, Mary! Hope you get to it soon and I'll be waiting to read your thoughts on it!

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  12. Awesome review!! I'm going to have to check this one out! :)

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