Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

17 reviews

viireads's review

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emotional inspiring reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0


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amissabellator's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5


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zoiejanelle's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

(listened to audio book from library)

REVIEW TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS BOOK! 

i devoured this book. i was up until 3am reading this and good LORD was it worth it. 

i would definitely classify this as contemporary fiction and not a romance because the main focal point was Anna’s struggle to accept and honor herself, not the love story. though i liked the love story—which added fantastic levity to the serious topics presented here despite also being pretty rocky—i was completely sold by Anna’s arc: her diagnosis, accepting a caretaker role, the epiphany about her needs, her growth. 

once again, Helen Hoang perfectly captures the neurodivergent experience. Anna’s relationship with her family, her friends, herself, and her art were so relatable and heart-wrenching. i can only describe my feelings/reactions towards the ongoing conflicts related to her autism as VISCERAL. chapter 41 literally caused me to sob into a pillow. i am not kidding. i had to try very hard to stifle my weeping. 

the ending, though extremely fast-paced was satisfying and realistic. i appreciated that, unlike The Bride Test, not every plot point received a sparkly, happy conclusion. grief and healing are not linear, and it makes sense that Anna‘s experiences with them were not either. 

i will admit, criticisms of Quan’s story are valid. though i liked that his chapters were brief, i would happily read an entire novel about his journey surviving cancer. i did not feel like his POV was needed at times, which led me to want his storyline to be fleshed out more, to be more on par with the tone and severity of Anna’s. i think each arc could have better paralleled the other and his story could have had a stronger impact. maybe Anna’s story was heavy enough and Helen Hoang felt the need to write something lighter to help the reader escape that darkness, but i think it still could have worked. 

wrt the sex scenes: this book was much steamier and more satisfying (wink wonk) than The Bride Test. it also showed realistic sexual dysfunction and healthy communication of boundaries/needs. i liked the pining as much as i liked the sex scenes themselves, and i never turned the page and felt let down or disappointed by how the scenes ended. they all tended to make sense and feel complete. 

overall this was a fantastic, quick read that i recommend to nd romance readers looking to see and authentic story in a new genre. 

CW (not included below): autism meltdown, autism burnout, career burnout/career issues

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inthemoonforcheese's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad fast-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

4.0


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embla_v's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful

3.5

Tredje delen i serien av Helen Hoang. 

Anna blev känd över en natt när ett youtube klipp av henne som spelar violin blev viralt. Men efter det så har hon kämpat med att hitta glädjen i musiken igen och nu vill hennes pojkvän öppna upp deras förhållande. Anna är förkrossad och vill få hämd men vad kan hon göra? Jo, hon kan också ligga med andra. 

Quan (bikaraktär i tidigare böcker i serien) har varit sjuk och ska nu ut i dejting livet igen och då träffar han Anna. Men när Annas familj drabbas av en tragedi ställs allt på ända och de måste kämpa för sin kärlek men också för sig själva. 

En berättelse i stil med tidigare böcker i serien. Jag rekommenderar att läsa de två andra böckerna först och sedan denna. 

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peachani's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

4.25


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0701mango's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a really touching book about family, love, and life. Both Anna and Quan are unique and lovable in their own ways. They are so different and Helen Hoang makes their chemistry work. I also appreciate Hoang writing main characters on the autism spectrum.
Though it saddened me, I appreciate that Hoang left Anna and Priscilla's relationship at the end unresolved. Sometimes this kind of thing never resolves, or if it does, it happens over a decade or more. A bit sad, but realistic all the same, and something to appreciate.

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kdailyreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75


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jessgreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.0

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⬜
Title: The Heart Principle
Author: Helen Hoang
Genre: Romance / Contemporary
Setting: California, USA
Month Read: February 2022
Book Type: Hardcover
Publication: 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 339
*February 2022 Book of the Month Pick



TRIGGER WARNING- 
Sex / Death / Burnout / Cancer 




"No one should need a diagnosis in order to be compassionate to themself."







No Spoiler Summary:
The Heart Principle is the third book in The Kiss Quotient series, and we finally get a book about Quan! The story centers on Anna, a violinist, who has semi-recently reached viral fame with a video of her playing violin, and seems to be buckling under the pressure and high standards she sets for herself. As this is happening, her boyfriend announces he'd like to have an open relationship before they settle down, and Anna decides that she's going to use this time to have a one night stand for revenge.


Enter Quan, who is not looking for anything serious, and decides to have some fun with Anna. Except, the one night stand plan keeps failing, and he finds himself enjoying spending time with Anna even with no sex involved. Anna and Quan have a hard time figuring out what they are with each other, but hopefully they can let down their walls and let love find them.









Review (partial spoilers):
I'm such a fan of this book, and I would definitely go so far as to say it was my favorite in the entire series. I empathized with Anna SO much, and being a musician in my own right, I wanted her to beat her burnout, or artistic block so badly and it pained me every time she couldn't get through the piece. I think she was such a lovely character, and found myself rooting for her to find herself, her courage, her artistry, and love the entire novel right from the first page. 


Can I also mention how much I adore Quan? I was in love with him with the snippets we got in the other books, but to finally get a first person POV from this man just gave me everything I could have ever wanted. I loved seeing how absolutely soft he was under his bad boy persona, and I loved how good he was in every way for Anna. I have been honestly getting a bit tired of the third act breakup, but Helen Hoang makes them so perfectly set, that they haven't really bothered me, and they feel so absolutely natural.


If you like romance novels, and want to dive into some that feature neuro-divergent or autistic characters, run to these books. They are so beautiful, and so different, and the characters are so incredibly lovable that I can't say enough good things about them. I'm so happy a discounted E-Book + Book of the Month led me to these novels because I've so enjoyed them the past few months, and cannot wait to see what Helen Hoang writes next! 







"Tough love is brutally honest and hurts you to help you. Tough love cuts you when you're already bruised and berates you when you don't heal faster."



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kalin_grace's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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