Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - The Heart Principle

This was what I needed in my current reading mood, with the book being fast paced! I had read other reviews that it was a bit different than the first 2 books and it is definitely more serious. For the second half of the book, the romance takes a major back seat. But I did still enjoy it! Mostly because I love Quan's character.

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annie_tonk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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kirareadssometimes's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

While I really enjoyed this book I feel a bit disappointed that sweet, happy, kind Quan got such a sad book. I know the book was more focused on Anna but I just want the best for that perfect man. As someone who struggles with their mental health I hope that one day I can find someone who is as gentle and steadfast a partner as Quan.

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jesseeeka's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

5.0

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dorhastings's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I quickly and recently read both The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test. It's fair to say that I came to this book with some expectations. And while it's possibly unfair to rate this book based on it not meeting my expectations, I also think it deviated so significantly and in ways that I think I may not have read it if I'd known more about it. (Well, I might have read it, but I'd set myself up different. This was not a book to read before bedtime, for me.)

Before going more into this book, I want to emphasize that Helen Hoang is an amazing writer. As much as I did not enjoy this book, I enjoy her writing immensely. I am grateful that she is calling attention to some really hard-hitting, crucial issues, and I applaud her attention to detail and integration of often unseen fictional characters. The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test did have their light moments, but they had some darker ones as well (particularly The Bride Test and grief). I would heartily recommend Helen Hoang as an author and will read pretty much anything she writes.

That said, this book just did not do it for me, perhaps due to my earlier expectations. It was just so deeply dark that I did not enjoy it. The author's note doesn't particularly help here, which is funny, because her author notes have made me appreciate her other books more. I think the danger of writing a book (even a fictional book) that has so much of you and your experience in it is that it's a bit less about the enjoyment of the reader. And maybe that's not important to Hoang, and it sure doesn't have to be. (Or the enjoyment is truly her goal, and she's succeeded, because a ton of people love this book.) But it felt like she was loading so, so much into this book, and while it was all no doubt authentic, it was exhausting for me to read. I was ready for a medium-light read, and this was not it.

Again, this is not to say that she did a poor job writing it. But if you're trying to convince me that the relationship between Quan and Anna is a good one, good luck to you. The instant Quan and Anna got together after everything happened, I was out. I finished the book, but I didn't find Quan and Anna to be a compelling couple. For one thing, Quan was really shafted in this book. I was pretty happy to read a book about him; I've enjoyed reading about him in the previous two books. There wasn't a lot of depth here, or exploration into his own story. He was in every way secondary to Anna. (Granted, she's never been first in her life, and she deserves to be, but there's a better way to do it.) Arguably, Hoang has primarily focused on her female characters in the previous two books, but it really did feel that Quan got pushed back in a book where he's a main character. I appreciate that he's a positive force in Anna's life, the best one she has, but it just felt forced.

This book was not about them. And they said the right things to each other. This book was about Anna.

There are a few aspects of this book that I really liked. First, I liked that Anna needed a lot of time to get healthy. And she took that time. So that felt very realistic. It's awful that her family's reaction to her seeking help was to push her aside, and it was really nice to see her mom grow and try to establish a relationship with her. As nearly everyone has mentioned, I thought Hoang's portrayal of caregiver depression was spot-on. And I like that Hoang has focused on different aspects of autism with every book. In The Kiss Quotient, Stella is very familiar with her personality and behavior, and her parents support her. In The Bride Test, Khai's autism is different, and not everyone in his family understands or accepts who he is, but his immediately family does. In this book, Anna's therapist tells her that she might be on the autism spectrum, so she is stunned with that diagnosis, and her immediate family (really, her sister, Priscilla) rejects the diagnosis as being an excuse for laziness and stupidity. I think this is excellent range, and I like that it shares different perspectives.

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realmsofmymind's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emmagossage's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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doubletherazzle's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Initial review immediately after finishing:

I’m not quite sure what to say beyond I found this book beautiful. The raw depiction of the characters’ struggles resonates with me. There are heavy themes, but they are treated both with honesty and with hope. Enjoyable, sweet, romantic.

Additional review thoughts:

The last couple of chapters did feel rushed and was lacking Quan’s perspective, which I would’ve appreciated. I’m also realizing, after coming out my emotions for Anna’s arch, that I don’t feel like Quan really got the resolution to his insecurities and challenges in the way his character really deserves. Maybe I just needed the book to be a bit longer so it could bring both of them to a healthy resolution of their character development and get the “happily ever after” vibe. That being said, I still stand by my initial feels.

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