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frvr_overhead 's review for:
The Heart Principle
by Helen Hoang
This was "The Kiss Quotient" reading marathon, and I'm writing this after reading all 3 books, so some points will definitely elude me.
I don't like how the whole book basically revolves around Anna and Quan is more of a supporting character rather than a full-fledged MMC. It's the only book in the trilogy with the 1st person POV and I feel like I understand its characters the least. The irony.
First of all, we never get to know what is so special about Anna that a guy who's seen her something like 4 times over 3 weeks, knowing that she has a boyfriend, is okay with waiting for her while she takes care of her dying father. I am not saying that's impossible, but we're not given any clear reasons for this decision. (Also, he's "happy" to wait until she wants to have sex while she's depressed? I would use the words "ready" or "willing", but "happy"? Really?
On top of that Anna's family are all 2D characters at best, being horrible to her "for her own good," going as far as choosing her a boyfriend. And she stays with him for 5 YEARS. Why? How? How didn't she try to do at least something, explain her difficulties to at least someone?
As for Quan, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. He was a playboy in the first 2 books and now he's afraid of sex. Why? Again, not impossible, but we're not getting any clear reasoning for his feeling that way. We do get a mention that he can't have kids anymore. Did he want to? Plus, I would have like the topic of accepting one's own body after a major surgery to be explored further.
What did he find in Anna that made him stick around through so much - no explanation. How and why did he fall in love? We don't know. He just is. He wants to be her "rock" (oh, she has a rock as a "pet" who she named "Rock", how subtle). Again, no idea why.
There's almost no mention of Quan's extended family. It seems that the only person he talks to is Michael (who is, of course, gorgeous). We do get a brief glimpse of Khai in this book, but nothing significant, and somehow his dialogue doesn't reflect that he's on the spectrum at all.
The mentions of 2 virtual friends are weird and I've got the impression they were put there just so FMC positive interactions besides Quan.
Overall, my impression was that the whole cast of supporting characters needed to be horrible just so the author could describe autistic burnout (that took only a couple of chapters and not detailed ones) and Quan was here to be her rock. A sprinkle of health problems, so his playboy status is scrapped and voilà, a perfect boyfriend to weather all her troubles.
I don't like how the whole book basically revolves around Anna and Quan is more of a supporting character rather than a full-fledged MMC. It's the only book in the trilogy with the 1st person POV and I feel like I understand its characters the least. The irony.
First of all, we never get to know what is so special about Anna that a guy who's seen her something like 4 times over 3 weeks, knowing that she has a boyfriend, is okay with waiting for her while she takes care of her dying father. I am not saying that's impossible, but we're not given any clear reasons for this decision. (Also, he's "happy" to wait until she wants to have sex while she's depressed? I would use the words "ready" or "willing", but "happy"? Really?
On top of that Anna's family are all 2D characters at best, being horrible to her "for her own good," going as far as choosing her a boyfriend. And she stays with him for 5 YEARS. Why? How? How didn't she try to do at least something, explain her difficulties to at least someone?
As for Quan, he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment. He was a playboy in the first 2 books and now he's afraid of sex. Why? Again, not impossible, but we're not getting any clear reasoning for his feeling that way. We do get a mention that he can't have kids anymore. Did he want to? Plus, I would have like the topic of accepting one's own body after a major surgery to be explored further.
What did he find in Anna that made him stick around through so much - no explanation. How and why did he fall in love? We don't know. He just is. He wants to be her "rock" (oh, she has a rock as a "pet" who she named "Rock", how subtle). Again, no idea why.
There's almost no mention of Quan's extended family. It seems that the only person he talks to is Michael (who is, of course, gorgeous). We do get a brief glimpse of Khai in this book, but nothing significant, and somehow his dialogue doesn't reflect that he's on the spectrum at all.
The mentions of 2 virtual friends are weird and I've got the impression they were put there just so FMC positive interactions besides Quan.
Overall, my impression was that the whole cast of supporting characters needed to be horrible just so the author could describe autistic burnout (that took only a couple of chapters and not detailed ones) and Quan was here to be her rock. A sprinkle of health problems, so his playboy status is scrapped and voilà, a perfect boyfriend to weather all her troubles.