Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

52 reviews

rini's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Vomit

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

chloeeereads's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I’m not even sure I can adequately express just how much I loved this book or how validated and seen it made me feel. 

It is definitely not a light and fluffy romance, but an incredibly powerful story covering themes of physical and mental illness, depression, anxiety, suicidality, family conflict, sacrifice, unconditional love, and learning to speak up for what you want and who you love. 

Anna is on the autism spectrum (which she learns during the course of the story) and is constantly analysing others and the situation in order to determine how to respond. She can’t say no, she doesn’t want to let people down, and she doesn’t know how to stick up for herself. While I’m not on the spectrum, I related to Anna’s experiences so much - her constant anxiety and need to be perfect, her unbearable need to please, and the constant worry about what others think. 

Then there’s Quan, still recovering from a physical surgery and dealing with feeling like he is less of a man, he is kind and understanding and wants what is best for others. The relationship between Anna and Quan was literally incredible. I loved how patient and tender they were with each other, and you could really tell how much they meant to the other. There are other characters that you HATE, but I also found them quite realistic. I also loved seeing more of Michael in this book, as well as some nods to Stella and Khai.

The thing that really got me about this story was the caring aspect, when Anna and her family are required to care for their ill father. If you have ever been a carer of someone with a mental or physical illness, you will relate to Anna’s experience - the burnout, the guilt, the lack of boundaries, and the mental and physical consequences for caring for someone else to your own detriment. The authors note also brought this home for me. 

I honestly could not recommend this book enough. You’ll laugh, blush, cheer and cry. It’s wonderful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

jenniferlynn43's review against another edition

3.0

Something was just missing for me with this book. I'm not sure if the romance was the focal point and I felt that the ending was very rushed. I loved this series and I was so excited for Quan's book but I felt a little let down after reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Bullying

nesa_'s review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This was my favorite in the series! It was so raw and emotional. I loved the characters, and I can tell the author's skill is growing. Beautiful

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexual content, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Excrement, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Alcohol

self-loathing, romantic rejection

scribblesbysammy's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

An emotive novel that touches far deeper emotions than the previous books in the series.
Made me cry three times in one sitting, but still enjoyed reading (though given the topics in the story, maybe enjoyed isn’t the right word here).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Excrement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Car accident

jerusha's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Infertility, Death of parent, and Body shaming

shieldingeffect's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Liked the book but disappointed we didnt get more development from Quan all he seemed to do is give and give and be the patien bf 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Abandonment

solinel7's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative sad 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

3.75

I started this at 9pm and finished at like 5am. I couldn't stop reading it.
3.75⭐ I liked it but not as much as the first 2 books and that's saying something because I don't remember much.
This is supposed to be a romance but the romance aspect of the story is in the back burner. The Heart Principle is about Anna; her acceptance and discovery of who she is after getting a diagnosis that makes her understand herself. The writing is entertaining and pretty, it's easy to read and the main characters, Anna & Quan, are adorable but this is heartbreaking. I cried. And after reading the Author's Note at the end, I cried some more. So... look up the *Trigger Warnings*. It is highly important that you do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Infertility and Cancer

mariahlindz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? No

2.5

Trigger Warnings for familial abuse, verbal abuse, terminal illness, autistic burnout, caregiver burnout, suicidal ideation,

The Heart Principle isn't a romance. Let's clear that up for anyone going into this novel expecting The Kiss Quotient. Normally, I wouldn't be upset about the darker subject matter, especially since it has such deep meaning for the author. However, because the storyline is so chaotic, rushed, and unfinished the pain and the loss a caregiver goes through came off insincere.

The worst part of the book, technically speaking, comes in the form of single-page chapters we get towards the end when Anna is grieving the loss of her father and suffering autistic burnout. It's a shallow dive into someone going through suicidal ideation. One or two-page chapters can be a way to show depression physically as the loss of time and voice. This might have been compelling if it hadn't all been wrapped up in the laziest way possible - basically a fade to black and a two-year gap in the story where Anna gets better. However, we don’t get any details surrounding her recovery, other than a short conversation with her mother and a surprise rendition of "Happy Birthday" on her violin. We don't see whether she has developed any relationship with her sister or how her mother and her get along. We don't learn how she was able to start playing music again. We don't hear her talk to her therapist about what she went through. We don't hear from her friends. We don't hear about her relationship at all (which is the book's main point?) She doesn’t meet Quan’s family or his friends? The plot is lost at this point if it ever existed.

And poor Quan. He was set up through the entire Kiss Quotient series and ended up an afterthought in a novel where he was supposed to be one of the main characters. Sheesh, he was going through just as much as Anna, and yet we barely hear about him - except for a couple of obligatory sex scenes and a random business merger subplot that is boring oh and he runs the Grand Canyon because I think Hoang forgot she made him a runner at the beginning and had to circle back to that detail somehow. Justice for Quan. He had a bigger role in The Bride Test.

I would also recommend to the author and publishers that some trigger warnings be applied? Maybe an author’s note at the FRONT of the book instead of at the end? It's a bait and switch to have a cute cover and market this as a rom-com like the rest of the KQ series; the story is far from a romance; it's a sad, mediocre read. And I know Hoang can write better than this, so I don't understand what happened.

What a disappointing end to one of my favorite series, honestly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

caregiver burnout, autistic burnout, suicidal ideation, mentions of medical procedures and care, familial abuse