Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The Heart Principle – L'ipotenusa dell'amore by Helen Hoang

58 reviews

noshelfcontrolll's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I will read and buy anything Helen Hoang writes. This book was such a beauty. I appreciate Helen for pushing the boundaries of what we see in romance novels, and not being afraid to include heavy topics that can be relatable to masses. By discussing things like burnout, mental health, autism, cancer, strained familial relationships, caregiving, and sex, she creates a beautifully relatable and deep novel fit for everyone’s bookshelves. (I do recommend reading both The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test because the characters and their relationships cross over and while it isn’t the biggest deal, I feel it’s most fun to see those after you know about them. Anna has become one of my favorite characters written by Helen. Love love love this book.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Cancer

zeenatpatel01's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness

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, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent

noooor_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death of parent

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

livslittlelibraryy's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

readingunderthecovers's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

I love Helen Hoang. She might be my favorite romance author. The Heart Principle had all the best parts of Hoang’s writing. It was emotional without being dramatic, lighthearted enough to make me laugh, and had the sweetest romance. The Heart Principle had slightly darker themes than either The Kiss Quotient or The Bride Test so check the content warnings if you are concerned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Early in the book Anna has a panic attack. Her sister is emotionally abusive to her and gaslights her at least one time.

Midway through the book Anna's father suffers a huge stroke and is confined to bed/severally disabled for the rest of the book before passing away. Her father does not enjoy the process of being kept alive but her family cannot let you. The whole thing is very hard on Anna who has suicidal thoughts after her father passes.

mintcheoco's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

it’s actually quite tricky to rate this book because it feels very personal to the author, almost like an autobiography since this is more on the struggle of Anna as a person on the autism spectrum and less on the romance between her and Quan. it’s a very good book, very raw and hard hitting, i just wish we see more of the romance developments instead of just Quan being the crutch for her and then just see time pass.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Infertility

hafsahrai's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

arbyreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring 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

4.75

I loved this book. The characters are so phenomenal and the love between them is so so good

Just a heads up: I heard about this book thru Tik Tok, and in none of the reviews I saw did they mention that emergency hospital visits and long term caretaking were in this book so def check the content warnings if that is something that you are not looking to read about rn

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death of parent

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Medical trauma

Minor: Cancer, Excrement, and Gaslighting