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toofondofbooks_'s review
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Every time I read a romance by Helen Hoang with a neurodivergent main character and romance that makes me blush, an angel gets its wings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Car accident, Child death, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
zoiejanelle's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
(listened to audio book from library)
i do not read romance books often (i am trying to read more this year!) so the writing style and the ridiculous premise was off-putting at first… but once i accepted the plot and each character at face-value, i was hooked.
i have never read a contemporary/non-fantasy with Vietnamese characters and the subtle inclusion of authentic Vietnamese traditions and family dynamics was very interesting. it was so lovely to see a cast of characters that weren’t cookie cutter white bread with values that reflect those of Vietnamese people in current day. i feel like i truly learned something about the immigrant experience and about Vietnamese culture!
this story had the perfect amount of will-they-won’t-they moments, didn’t make me wait a painstakingly long time for romantic/sexual payoff, and had a happy ending. the pacing in the first 3/4 was perfect, but the timeline of events for the last ~3 weeks of the novel felt slightly rushed. the exposition introduced very intriguing sub-plots so, understandably, each one needed to be addressed and closed before the book ended. overall i liked how each sub-plot was handled and the epilogue was adorable icing on the cake.
i was generally pleased with the neurodivergent/autistic representation, though at times i felt like Khai was infantilized by other characters (could have been intentional by the author?). occasionally it felt like his absurd choices and opinions were attributed to his autism rather than him simply being an adult human man. all this to say, it was cool to see an nd person as a lead love interest and read how trauma informed his decisions and feelings differently than Esme’s. and his idiocy about love would have been believable had he not been autistic because… he is an adult
human man.
EDITED TO ADD: i just read that Helen Hoang & her daughter are both autistic! which makes me appreciate the representation much more and i now understand that she was drawing on personal experience for Khai’s characterization.
though Esme is coded as neurotypical, in my head Khai and Esme are the perfect autistic/ADHD couple. she totally brings that high energy, anxious, leave-half-empty-cups-around-the-house, and start-a-new-house-project-every-day energy that was very relatable to me.
wrt tge sex scenes: like i said, i don’t read romance much. i was not into the manly/carnal/feral descriptions from Khai’s POV, but maybe i’m not the right audience for it. 🤪 i did love that he was an… ahem… enthusiastic learner and that consent was very important to him. Esme’s POV the entire book was equally as entertaining, though i’m also not a fan of the “i’m so tiny and he’s so big!” internal voice. part of me wishes she had been described as thicker, softer, wider, or rounder seeing as she is a mother (MILF), but i understand why she wasn’t. kind of.
DESPITE my criticism, this was a thrill and a half. i really enjoyed the feel-good energy and the epic highs and lows. it was so fun to read (listen to) and i definitely want to check out Helen Hoang’s other books!
i do not read romance books often (i am trying to read more this year!) so the writing style and the ridiculous premise was off-putting at first… but once i accepted the plot and each character at face-value, i was hooked.
i have never read a contemporary/non-fantasy with Vietnamese characters and the subtle inclusion of authentic Vietnamese traditions and family dynamics was very interesting. it was so lovely to see a cast of characters that weren’t cookie cutter white bread with values that reflect those of Vietnamese people in current day. i feel like i truly learned something about the immigrant experience and about Vietnamese culture!
this story had the perfect amount of will-they-won’t-they moments, didn’t make me wait a painstakingly long time for romantic/sexual payoff, and had a happy ending. the pacing in the first 3/4 was perfect, but the timeline of events for the last ~3 weeks of the novel felt slightly rushed. the exposition introduced very intriguing sub-plots so, understandably, each one needed to be addressed and closed before the book ended. overall i liked how each sub-plot was handled and the epilogue was adorable icing on the cake.
i was generally pleased with the neurodivergent/autistic representation, though at times i felt like Khai was infantilized by other characters (could have been intentional by the author?). occasionally it felt like his absurd choices and opinions were attributed to his autism rather than him simply being an adult human man. all this to say, it was cool to see an nd person as a lead love interest and read how trauma informed his decisions and feelings differently than Esme’s. and his idiocy about love would have been believable had he not been autistic because… he is an adult
human man.
EDITED TO ADD: i just read that Helen Hoang & her daughter are both autistic! which makes me appreciate the representation much more and i now understand that she was drawing on personal experience for Khai’s characterization.
though Esme is coded as neurotypical, in my head Khai and Esme are the perfect autistic/ADHD couple. she totally brings that high energy, anxious, leave-half-empty-cups-around-the-house, and start-a-new-house-project-every-day energy that was very relatable to me.
wrt tge sex scenes: like i said, i don’t read romance much. i was not into the manly/carnal/feral descriptions from Khai’s POV, but maybe i’m not the right audience for it. 🤪 i did love that he was an… ahem… enthusiastic learner and that consent was very important to him. Esme’s POV the entire book was equally as entertaining, though i’m also not a fan of the “i’m so tiny and he’s so big!” internal voice. part of me wishes she had been described as thicker, softer, wider, or rounder seeing as she is a mother (MILF), but i understand why she wasn’t. kind of.
DESPITE my criticism, this was a thrill and a half. i really enjoyed the feel-good energy and the epic highs and lows. it was so fun to read (listen to) and i definitely want to check out Helen Hoang’s other books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Vomit, Car accident, and Death
Minor: Addiction, Deportation, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
katsbooks's review
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.5
"Her history didn't define her. Her origins didn't define her."
“Everyone deserved to love and be loved back. Everyone.”
Khai and Esme are so stinking sweet. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually teared up a couple of times while reading this book. That rarely happens to me. If a book can make me emotional, it's definitely a keeper. I really loved how we got to see Khai work through his emotions and how his autism was portrayed, in general. On one hand, I would have liked more discussion on it but, on the other, I really kind of dug how his autism was just part of who he was and wasn't a sign that something was wrong with him. The steam in this novel was definitely less than in the Kiss Quotient but I think the emotions were heightened in this one. It could also be that I just loved the characters that much. I really loved Esme. It's so rare to see the immigrant experience in romance novels. I loved that she took classes at an adult school and was so fierce and confident, while also being incredibly emotional and vulnerable. She was so multi-faceted and I'm totally here for it! I definitely wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book given that the premise is that Khai's mom convinces Esme to fly half way around the world to try and seduce him but I think the author handled the subject well and I ended up really loving how the leads fell for each other. My only real gripe is the ending. It felt like it wrapped up entirely too quickly and neatly. It's already just a little north of 300 pages so it feels like some things may have been cut/not addressed for the purpose of page count but Khai meeting Jade and Esme meeting Gleaves should have been much bigger moments than they were. I definitely would have liked to see more interaction in both of those relationships. Other than that, this was a fabulous follow-up to the Kiss Quotient. I can't wait to read Quan's story in the Heart Principle!
“Everyone deserved to love and be loved back. Everyone.”
Khai and Esme are so stinking sweet. I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually teared up a couple of times while reading this book. That rarely happens to me. If a book can make me emotional, it's definitely a keeper. I really loved how we got to see Khai work through his emotions and how his autism was portrayed, in general. On one hand, I would have liked more discussion on it but, on the other, I really kind of dug how his autism was just part of who he was and wasn't a sign that something was wrong with him. The steam in this novel was definitely less than in the Kiss Quotient but I think the emotions were heightened in this one. It could also be that I just loved the characters that much. I really loved Esme. It's so rare to see the immigrant experience in romance novels. I loved that she took classes at an adult school and was so fierce and confident, while also being incredibly emotional and vulnerable. She was so multi-faceted and I'm totally here for it! I definitely wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book given that the premise is that Khai's mom convinces Esme to fly half way around the world to try and seduce him but I think the author handled the subject well and I ended up really loving how the leads fell for each other. My only real gripe is the ending. It felt like it wrapped up entirely too quickly and neatly. It's already just a little north of 300 pages so it feels like some things may have been cut/not addressed for the purpose of page count but Khai meeting Jade and Esme meeting Gleaves should have been much bigger moments than they were. I definitely would have liked to see more interaction in both of those relationships. Other than that, this was a fabulous follow-up to the Kiss Quotient. I can't wait to read Quan's story in the Heart Principle!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, and Child death
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