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quillwielder's review against another edition
3.0
i guess it was fine??? felt like i was too overwhelmed with “the kiss quotient” that my expectations were so high on this one but nonetheless, i still enjoyed the book :)))
zee_06's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
icedviennalatte's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the Kiss Quotient, and I think I loved this even more. Helen Hoang's characters are smart with depth and substance. Esme is an amazing character- intelligent, sweet, selfless, and strong. I love all of the characters in this book and the love story is adorable! This book shows how love is a different experience for everyone, but always beautiful.
aliarose's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.0
mayzinminthu's review against another edition
3.0
If you need a cute and quick romance to get you out of a reading slump, I would definitely recommend picking up this book. I personally thought the plot got lost amongst the romance and wanted to see more of Khai and Esme growing and developing individually from their own challenges. Overall, a decent read!
micheleamar's review against another edition
2.0
After the way I loved The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, it literally pains me to say that this book did not land for me. Worse than missing the mark—I just straight up did not like it.
The best part of this book was Quan, and I loved Michael's two scenes <3 would die for those two. Wish we could have gotten to actually see Stella instead of just their wedding.
I don't really believe you have to absolutely love and worship the writing in order for a book to be a favorite, but I am someone whose enjoyment is affected by the writing, especially when the story and characters are lacking because what else do I have to turn to? But the writing in The Bride Test was just…so bad, laughably bad. It felt so gimmicky and off-putting. The complete objectification of Esme from literally the second Kai sees her is truly out of this world. To quote a few choice passages:
• "His gaze accidentally dropped below her chest, and his mouth went dry. Holy fuck. She was some kind of walking sex fantasy."
• "But this girl, Esme, looked like a Playboy bunny. She lacked the trademark platinum hair, but the rest of her fit the description. What did you do with a Playboy bunny? Aside from sex."
• "Esme was in his backyard, hair in a ponytail, wearing baggy floral-print pants and a white T-shirt with no goddamned bra underneath. Her breasts swayed gratuitously as she hacked a tree down with one of his Japanese kitchen knives."
• "She was cutting down a tree with a meat cleaver...And he could see her dark nipples through her sheer shirt."
• "Her tits bounced, and sweat glistened on her reddened face before she swiped it away with the back of her arm."
• "He was officially losing his mind, and look at that monster wood. His dick was so hard it was lifting his heavy down comforter all on its own."
Yeah, it’s really eloquent, totally not written in the same narrative voice of a 15yo boy over sexualizing his crush.
The constant hypersexual descriptions of Esme along with the repetitive descriptions of her innocence and naïveté just seemed really offensive and stereotypical and I absolutely could not stand it.
I loved the romance in TKQ and I didn't feel like it was overly sexual or over the top, but in TBT, it really crossed that line. How am I supposed to believe there's any chemistry or connection between Khai and Esme when 1) she's literally a mail-order bride, and 2) they don't even talk to each other and their only thoughts about each other are about how much they want to have sex because they're just so gorgeous?
Then we get into their first sex scene and it was definitely…something. Considering Khai's incredibly limited knowledge on sex, I'm not surprised it went badly but are we really going to have Esme stomping into the bathroom and ignoring him instead of just being a mature adult and saying "hey, I didn't orgasm."
It's a much bigger character issue with Esme where she just immediately jumps to the most dramatic conclusion after one instance of miscommunication and it's so exhausting. When she tells Khai she's not actually an accountant and he doesn't kiss her, she states that it's because she isn't an accountant and acts like it's the end of the world. At the second wedding, she meets Quan and after exactly ten minutes, Khai leaves because he's feeling jealous that they're hitting it off so well and Esme says "If she was smart, she'd switch to the brother who was a better bet. From where she was now, that brother appeared to be Quân, but when it came to matters of the heart, she'd never been good at listening to reason. The real question was: Who did her heart want?"
So disrespectful to both Quan and Khai, first of all?? Like, you're just gonna "switch to the other brother" because the other one isn't kissing you? Second of all, who did her heart want? She barely knows Khai because they never talk, and she had just fucking met Quan. Like, the melodrama of it all is so ridiculous, I couldn't handle it.
The lack of development, the messy story and structure, the unlikable characters—I really couldn't take it. You're gonna tell me that I'm supposed to root for Esme, a girl who tried to manipulate a love confession from Khai with sex, a girl who didn't even bother to understand what autism is, a girl who kept her daughter a secret from the man she was trying to seduce so his mother could stop bothering him about marriage? The daughter who only ever gets mentioned when it's convenient for the story?
The "love story" was pretty much just all lust. Esme at least had moments where she felt like she was falling for Khai, but all the time Khai spends "falling in love" with Esme is in that three week jump between them having sex and her leaving because he said he didn't love her. We never got to see him actually fall for her.
And the ending, oh my god. Esme's dad bursting into the room out of nowhere—is this a soap opera? So many things about this book just tipped it over from lovably fun and enjoyable if slightly unrealistic to just absolutely absurd.
It was such a letdown after TKQ, I honestly feel so upset about how much I wanted to love this book and I didn’t like it at all.
The best part of this book was Quan, and I loved Michael's two scenes <3 would die for those two. Wish we could have gotten to actually see Stella instead of just their wedding.
I don't really believe you have to absolutely love and worship the writing in order for a book to be a favorite, but I am someone whose enjoyment is affected by the writing, especially when the story and characters are lacking because what else do I have to turn to? But the writing in The Bride Test was just…so bad, laughably bad. It felt so gimmicky and off-putting. The complete objectification of Esme from literally the second Kai sees her is truly out of this world. To quote a few choice passages:
• "His gaze accidentally dropped below her chest, and his mouth went dry. Holy fuck. She was some kind of walking sex fantasy."
• "But this girl, Esme, looked like a Playboy bunny. She lacked the trademark platinum hair, but the rest of her fit the description. What did you do with a Playboy bunny? Aside from sex."
• "Esme was in his backyard, hair in a ponytail, wearing baggy floral-print pants and a white T-shirt with no goddamned bra underneath. Her breasts swayed gratuitously as she hacked a tree down with one of his Japanese kitchen knives."
• "She was cutting down a tree with a meat cleaver...And he could see her dark nipples through her sheer shirt."
• "Her tits bounced, and sweat glistened on her reddened face before she swiped it away with the back of her arm."
• "He was officially losing his mind, and look at that monster wood. His dick was so hard it was lifting his heavy down comforter all on its own."
Yeah, it’s really eloquent, totally not written in the same narrative voice of a 15yo boy over sexualizing his crush.
The constant hypersexual descriptions of Esme along with the repetitive descriptions of her innocence and naïveté just seemed really offensive and stereotypical and I absolutely could not stand it.
I loved the romance in TKQ and I didn't feel like it was overly sexual or over the top, but in TBT, it really crossed that line. How am I supposed to believe there's any chemistry or connection between Khai and Esme when 1) she's literally a mail-order bride, and 2) they don't even talk to each other and their only thoughts about each other are about how much they want to have sex because they're just so gorgeous?
Then we get into their first sex scene and it was definitely…something. Considering Khai's incredibly limited knowledge on sex, I'm not surprised it went badly but are we really going to have Esme stomping into the bathroom and ignoring him instead of just being a mature adult and saying "hey, I didn't orgasm."
It's a much bigger character issue with Esme where she just immediately jumps to the most dramatic conclusion after one instance of miscommunication and it's so exhausting. When she tells Khai she's not actually an accountant and he doesn't kiss her, she states that it's because she isn't an accountant and acts like it's the end of the world. At the second wedding, she meets Quan and after exactly ten minutes, Khai leaves because he's feeling jealous that they're hitting it off so well and Esme says "If she was smart, she'd switch to the brother who was a better bet. From where she was now, that brother appeared to be Quân, but when it came to matters of the heart, she'd never been good at listening to reason. The real question was: Who did her heart want?"
So disrespectful to both Quan and Khai, first of all?? Like, you're just gonna "switch to the other brother" because the other one isn't kissing you? Second of all, who did her heart want? She barely knows Khai because they never talk, and she had just fucking met Quan. Like, the melodrama of it all is so ridiculous, I couldn't handle it.
The lack of development, the messy story and structure, the unlikable characters—I really couldn't take it. You're gonna tell me that I'm supposed to root for Esme, a girl who tried to manipulate a love confession from Khai with sex, a girl who didn't even bother to understand what autism is, a girl who kept her daughter a secret from the man she was trying to seduce so his mother could stop bothering him about marriage? The daughter who only ever gets mentioned when it's convenient for the story?
The "love story" was pretty much just all lust. Esme at least had moments where she felt like she was falling for Khai, but all the time Khai spends "falling in love" with Esme is in that three week jump between them having sex and her leaving because he said he didn't love her. We never got to see him actually fall for her.
And the ending, oh my god. Esme's dad bursting into the room out of nowhere—is this a soap opera? So many things about this book just tipped it over from lovably fun and enjoyable if slightly unrealistic to just absolutely absurd.
It was such a letdown after TKQ, I honestly feel so upset about how much I wanted to love this book and I didn’t like it at all.
karkei's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.75
I am glad to read something with an East-Asian influence. I often find myself in that awkward place, being Asian but Western-educated. Hence, this books speaks to me.
At some parts, I did feel that maybe Khai was objectifying Esme too much? Everything was about sex and how beautiful or alluring she was. Or the green eyes. While he did also notice other things about her, it felt like all this was overshadowed by Esme’s physical attributes.
I also thought there was a missed opportunity in raising awareness about autism. It was only briefly mentioned and while this was something that was supposedly quite central to the story (why he couldn’t love Esme, why he was different), I didn’t fully understand autism at the end of the book. In fact, I was left feeling confused about it.
Apart from these two points, the book still spoke to my heart just because I finally picture characters that are somewhat like me. I feel represented even though I’m not Vietnamese and that’s a beautiful thing.
At some parts, I did feel that maybe Khai was objectifying Esme too much? Everything was about sex and how beautiful or alluring she was. Or the green eyes. While he did also notice other things about her, it felt like all this was overshadowed by Esme’s physical attributes.
I also thought there was a missed opportunity in raising awareness about autism. It was only briefly mentioned and while this was something that was supposedly quite central to the story (why he couldn’t love Esme, why he was different), I didn’t fully understand autism at the end of the book. In fact, I was left feeling confused about it.
Apart from these two points, the book still spoke to my heart just because I finally picture characters that are somewhat like me. I feel represented even though I’m not Vietnamese and that’s a beautiful thing.
13_dear_reader_13's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.5
nnise's review against another edition
I find this the least interesting out of all the 3 Hoang books I've read so far (respectfully).
0pearl0's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25