Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Heart Principle

I read this book about two months ago so I quite frankly don't remember much. I do recall liking this slightly better than "The Bride Test" so I rated it a 3.75 (but part of me wanted to rate it a 3.5/5). I honestly wasn't going to pick this up, but I really enjoyed Quan in the last book so I was excited to read his love story. Now, I just want to warn people that if you're going into this thinking that it will be a rom-com, DON'T! I feel like this should've been marketed as "women's fiction" with a romance subplot rather than a romance. If it was, I probably would've rated it higher. The romance was going for the first part of the book, but after the second part, the romance takes a major backseat. This would've been a nice women's fiction book that tackles depression, people pleasing, cultural expectations, autism, and sibling relations

Her mom and sister were awful!

, coming into your sexual desires, and the struggles of being of a caregiver (especially for family). I really enjoyed Anna as a character, but I think she kinda sucked when it came to being a love interest.

I applaud Quan's patience because it couldn't be me. I forgot the scene specifically but there was a time in the book when her people-pleasing went too far. I think her ex announces to their entire family that they're engaged and she just goes along with it. And doesn't correct them. Then Quan finds out and honestly, if I were him, I wouldn't get back with her. Honestly, there were times when Anna frustrated me so much! Her inability to have any agency just annoyed me so much. Like I know that was the point, but still. It was too much!

Anna was in no place to give him the love that he needed and I ended up feeling so bad for Quan and wasn't really rooting for them to get together. Quan was a sweetheart and although I liked Anna. I definitely feel like he deserved much better!

Spice Rating:🌶️🌶️.5/5

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jimins's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

absolutely loved anna and quan together. but a lot of what anna went thru definitely hit home and i struggled reading thru that part. but im glad it’s something helen hoang chose to highlight in this book along with autism.

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ceedy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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literary_laur's review against another edition

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emotional 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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nin3423's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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myweirdnormal's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

It’s a great story And I loved how the romance took preference over the smut. I’m a lot of books these days I feel like you only ever get the smut. I love Anna’s character development and how she worked on o overcome her challenges, I only wish the same was done for Quan. I feel like his story was very lacking in comparison.

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emlefe's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I heard this book covered harder topics but I was not prepared. It was so raw and intense and I could 100% feel the pain and struggle of the characters but especially Anna. The author really poured everything in this book.
The rom-com aspect was not as present as in the first two books but it didn’t botter me because you could feel Anna and Quan’s love, their passion and their connection.
I wish I had read the trigger warning before but that is 100% my fault. I still really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to everyone - but please read the TW before.

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