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Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'
The Heart Principle – L'ipotenusa dell'amore by Helen Hoang
141 reviews
theespressoedition's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
When I found out that Helen Hoang was adding another novel to The Kiss Quotient series, I was so excited. I honestly didn't think anything could compete with my love for The Bride Test, but this book completely blew me away.
One of the things that I find incredibly impressive is when an author can flawlessly mesh really heavy, challenging topics with humor and romance. That is a skill that I don't see very often if I'm perfectly honest, which is why so many of the romantic comedies I read are rated with only three stars. They're fine, they're cute, but they're not great.
Helen's writing is great.
Let's start with the main character. She's struggling with her music after going viral, which is something that feels very relatable. Living up to the standard that has been set for you can seem so daunting, so my heart immediately went out to Anna before even knowing much else about her.
Like most of the other books by Helen, there is autism representation and it is incredibly written. While her other books focus on individuals who already know about their diagnosis or happen to meet someone who is on the spectrum, Anna discovers that she is autistic mid-book. It's a different approach and it wrecked me. The way her family treats her, the way she wants to treat herself but doesn't really know how, and of course the way Quan treats her - it crashed down on me like a true wave of emotions.
In the midst of all of this, something truly traumatic happens in Anna's life. In order to touch on this, I'm going to add a spoiler warning because I feel like it's important for me to mention it but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone else.Anna's dad has a stroke. It's fatal. This was the most challenging aspect of the book for me because my own dad had a stroke several years ago and was in the ICU for a prolonged period of time. I related to the up-and-down feelings of coming to terms with saying goodbye only to be told that he's stable the next day since that's exactly what happened with my own dad. However, the death of Anna's dad is beyond heartbreaking because there was so much pain surrounding the way he wanted to be treated and couldn't communicate it with anyone in addition to Anna knowing and not being able to fulfill his wishes. My own dad survived, for which I will never be able to express my full gratitude, but reliving the emotions of that period of time while reading this book was incredibly challenging for me. I'll admit that I nearly DNF'd because of the triggering content, but I knew that it would be better for me in the long run if I continued. And I'm glad I did.
There were so many moments where I wanted to scream at Anna to make a different choice. But I know that my screams mimicked the ones in her own mind. It was a really intense book to read, considering how light so much of it was.
Of course, I need to talk about the lightness and the romance aspect as well! Quan is a dream. Truly, he's an absolutely perfect book boyfriend and I loved him from the minute I "met" him on the page. His desire to meet Anna where she is because of his own "shortcomings" made him all the more wonderful. His insecurities made him feel realistic and he has his own challenges throughout the story too. I really enjoyed reading from his perspective (I love a dual POV in romance) because it gave me a better understanding of just why he was so lovable!
Gosh, I really feel like I could go on forever about this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. This is a book I'll want to pick up again and again.
One of the things that I find incredibly impressive is when an author can flawlessly mesh really heavy, challenging topics with humor and romance. That is a skill that I don't see very often if I'm perfectly honest, which is why so many of the romantic comedies I read are rated with only three stars. They're fine, they're cute, but they're not great.
Helen's writing is great.
Let's start with the main character. She's struggling with her music after going viral, which is something that feels very relatable. Living up to the standard that has been set for you can seem so daunting, so my heart immediately went out to Anna before even knowing much else about her.
Like most of the other books by Helen, there is autism representation and it is incredibly written. While her other books focus on individuals who already know about their diagnosis or happen to meet someone who is on the spectrum, Anna discovers that she is autistic mid-book. It's a different approach and it wrecked me. The way her family treats her, the way she wants to treat herself but doesn't really know how, and of course the way Quan treats her - it crashed down on me like a true wave of emotions.
In the midst of all of this, something truly traumatic happens in Anna's life. In order to touch on this, I'm going to add a spoiler warning because I feel like it's important for me to mention it but I don't want to ruin anything for anyone else.
There were so many moments where I wanted to scream at Anna to make a different choice. But I know that my screams mimicked the ones in her own mind. It was a really intense book to read, considering how light so much of it was.
Of course, I need to talk about the lightness and the romance aspect as well! Quan is a dream. Truly, he's an absolutely perfect book boyfriend and I loved him from the minute I "met" him on the page. His desire to meet Anna where she is because of his own "shortcomings" made him all the more wonderful. His insecurities made him feel realistic and he has his own challenges throughout the story too. I really enjoyed reading from his perspective (I love a dual POV in romance) because it gave me a better understanding of just why he was so lovable!
Gosh, I really feel like I could go on forever about this book. It was everything I hoped it would be and so much more. This is a book I'll want to pick up again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicidal thoughts
ashreadsandbowls's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
perpetualpages's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
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
4.5
CWs: some internal and external ableism; explorations of cancer and terminal illness; some descriptions of panic attacks and overstimulation; discussions about infertility; some self harm and suicide ideation; explorations of caretaking; parental death and grief; and explicit sexual content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Minor: Infertility and Panic attacks/disorders
rrubin97's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book took a lot out of me to read. It was a struggle to read the rawness of the words and reading the authors afterwards put a lot into perspective about her experiences feeding into the story of the woman on the autistic spectrum learning to stop masking and accept herself
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
audiobook_obsession's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-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
3.5
This book is masquerading as a romance but the romance isn't in the center of this story.
Romance is one ingredient but Anna's trip to find herself takes precedent.
Anna discovers that she's on the Autistic scale. She is high functioning but lately she can't play her violin.
Trying to accept yourself isn't so easy though when your family expects you to conform to their rules. But her knew boyfriend Quan helps by accepting her as she is.
Romance is one ingredient but Anna's trip to find herself takes precedent.
Anna discovers that she's on the Autistic scale. She is high functioning but lately she can't play her violin.
Trying to accept yourself isn't so easy though when your family expects you to conform to their rules. But her knew boyfriend Quan helps by accepting her as she is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
Depression is described in detail.quasinaut's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.25
This book captures the toll of caregiving, the pressure of living up to others' expectations, and the value of finding people you can be your authentic self around. That said, there were a few things that didn't work for me. For example, how was Anna able to get by without working for so long? Just... financially, her situation doesn't make sense to me. I've read other books, particularly romances, that skim over these practicalities too, but it felt odd when other harsh realities of life were given such thorough attention in this book.
A lovely book, though not for those seeking a relaxing, lighthearted romp of a romance.
A lovely book, though not for those seeking a relaxing, lighthearted romp of a romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
jackie_recommends's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
Ok so, first and foremost, this was well worth the wait.
Secondly, Helen, thank you so much for this book. To me, it was amazing. It deals with some pretty heavy things, and it does it well, and it does it in a way that feels authentic.
The Kiss Quotient was the first book I had ever read that featured a main character, let alone a heroine, with ASD, and I stayed up past midnight to finish that one. The Bride Test was more difficult for me to love, but upon rereading it I appreciated the culture and the storyline so much more. And now we have Heart Principle, a book that truly feels like it’s Helen’s baby; for those who don’t read author’s notes or acknowledgments, I encourage you to do so for this book, and for Helen’s other two books- they enrich the story and really put everything into perspective.
This is not a romcom. Not in the slightest.
But it does feel real.
Secondly, Helen, thank you so much for this book. To me, it was amazing. It deals with some pretty heavy things, and it does it well, and it does it in a way that feels authentic.
The Kiss Quotient was the first book I had ever read that featured a main character, let alone a heroine, with ASD, and I stayed up past midnight to finish that one. The Bride Test was more difficult for me to love, but upon rereading it I appreciated the culture and the storyline so much more. And now we have Heart Principle, a book that truly feels like it’s Helen’s baby; for those who don’t read author’s notes or acknowledgments, I encourage you to do so for this book, and for Helen’s other two books- they enrich the story and really put everything into perspective.
This is not a romcom. Not in the slightest.
But it does feel real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
sqacedvst's review against another edition
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
akjdkfkf this book is soo good. cute romance + WELL WRITTEN diversity *chefs kiss*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
kingrosereads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
4.25
I waited for Quan’s story and this exceeded my expectations. At first, the switch to first person threw me, but after reading the author’s note about the book, it all made sense and gave the book even more meaning. This book was incredible and was more than just love and sex. Way more. It talked about a lot of intense things and what it’s like to get a diagnosis later in life that changes so much for someone as well as dealing with being a caregiver to a loved one and the challenges that come with it (something that isn’t often talked about). I related so much with Anna in more ways than one and really appreciate this book for existing. I love Quan and Anna’s relationship so much, I’m so glad there was a conversation about the aftermath of cancer had on a man, especially one as sexually positive as Quan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship
theloveofwordss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility