Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

14 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

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

armontheroad's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“I can never please everyone. It’s hard enough just pleasing myself. Instead, I must focus on giving what I have, not what people want, because that is all I can give.”

This was brilliant!! Helen Hoang, once again, knows how to give us a romance worth rooting for whilst simultaneously having discussions on a multitude of important topics. Please do not let the long list of Content/Trigger Warnings stray you from picking this book up. The Heart Principle does talk about a lot of serious and sad topics, but overall, this book is one about hope. If you are going into this wanting a fun romance, with no other plotlines, this is not for you. This is a book about self-discovery, standing up for yourself, and learning to live life after receiving hard news after hard news.

Overall, I rated this a FOUR out of five stars. My heart broke for Anna. I see a lot of myself in her. Learning you are autistic later in life is a difficult experience. You feel lonely, scared. You feel like a fraud; thank you, internalized ableism. Anna deals with a lot in this novel. She starts it in an unhappy relationship, dealing with a toxic family, getting her autism diagnosis, and then immediately gets news that her father has had a stroke. Processing all of those emotions is difficult on its own, but all at once, it takes its toll. Helen Hoang managed to spin these plotlines together so eloquently. We see Anna struggling, but we also see her persevere. She works hard for her happiness. Anna finds a romantic relationship that actually brings her joy, she stops masking around people, she fights. People will read this and not enjoy it because both the protagonist and love interest spend some of their chapters focusing on their own personal issues. I personally think that is what makes this book realistic and brilliant. Our lives do not stop once we get into new relationships, as some romance books will have you think. Yes, both Anna and Quan have their own issues going on, but at the end of the day, they still come home to one another. They still work to make their feelings for each other turn into something more. If that’s not what you want out of a romance, that is fair. But to say this is not a romance novel because Hoang makes her characters real people is unfair.

“When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She's going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.”

CWs/TWs: Autistic burnout, masking, ableism, discussions of sexual discomfort/fear/complacency, anxiety, panic attack, depression, cancer, sterility, toxic family relationship, toxic romantic relationship (old relationship, not the one the book is about), stroke, caretaking, death of a family member, classism, putting oneself in danger, overexertion/suicidal ideation, on-page sex, sexual harassment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Death

Minor: Sexual harassment

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