Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Heart Principle

The voice of the male audiobook reader was one of the most grating voices I've ever heard. This totally might just be my problem, but his voice killed me. I literally read the chapters told from Quan's POV rather than having to listen to the male voice. That is absolutely insane behavior, but I just could not get over how much his voice did me in.

The book is fantastic. I just had problems with the reader. It actually made me very glad that so many more of the chapters are told from Anna's POV, just so I didn't have to listen to Quan's reader.

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zabeishumanish's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I think this book exists in the wrong genre. If this was marketed as women's fiction it would make much more sense. I think the story does technically meet the definition of a romance, but the story places much more priority on Anna and her struggles than anything about her relationship with Quan. Also, while this is technically dual POV, it feels like significantly more than half the story is Anna's POV. Everything about this story is well done, it was a deep meaningful read, it just feels like less of a romance than I was promised.

"I don't mask anymore if I can help it." (Anna's POV, 330)

"A slow me is much better than a sick me." (Anna's POV, 331)

This book is a rough read. It is hard and emotional, and at times downright painful. The book is also satisfying in a deep and lasting way, that would not exist if the pain was merely written as shock value. I have never had to endure the harder experiences in Anna's life, but this book healed a part of me I didn't know was in pain, even without having shared in Anna's life experiences.

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slavic_bookworm's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

Once again Hoang doesn’t disappoint! And there she goes, onto my too favorite authors list. I am just sad that there is no more books of hers I can read. She is a brilliant romance author.

Now onto this book. There were moments where Anna made me a little frustrated, but I do not struggle with the same mental issues as she did and I think that frustration that I felt made me a little closer to the main character since clearly that is what she felt a lot of the time. This book deals with a lot of triggers so be sure to be in a good mind set when reading this book. Now onto Quan. Quan,Quan,Quan. Life would be so much better if everyone had a Quan in their life. Hell, I wish my husband could take a couple lessons from him in dealing with people with compassion and understanding like he does. Wow! This is definitely a make me feel good book, especially for someone that does deal with mental health issues.

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baileyt2424's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

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deedeeroo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

3.0

The main romantic relationship here is very heartwarming (…ans spicy. Wink!).

However, the family dynamics for the FMC are heavy …which wasn’t really what I was hoping for. Very touching but something that hit a little close to home, so I should’ve done a little more research — if I had I might have skipped this one. So I recommend a little caution.

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