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A review by ollie_again
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 71%.
DNF at 71% I just can't deal with it. CW: gaslighting, caretaking for a family member who's paralyzed and nonverbal at that point, infantilization of said person by his own daughter, mentions and brief conversations about infertility and cancer
I'm sorry but I just cannot finish this. I wanted to get to the happy ending and maybe I'll finish it someday but reading it in one go got me angry, frustrated, sick to my stomach, nauseous, and possibly caused me an anxiety attack. I was prepared that this is not a fluffy nice read like the previous books in the trilogy, but I was not prepared for the contents. I heard that it deals with Anna finding out she's autistic and dealing with that, I haven't heard a mention about the caretaking aspect of this book, which takes most of the story and is quite detailed. And traumatizing to read about.
On top of that, Julien, Anna's not-quite-ex is as gross as they come, gaslighting and manipulative, and while sure he can be all that, Anna's family standing behind him the whole time, twisting the words and situations they haven't witnessed and manipulating Anna because they like him for her, is too much for me to handle and I just can't. I hated pretty much every character in the story except from the two MCs and those from the previous books.
I don't mind harder reads, but I didn't sign up for this. I still enjoyed Helen Hoang's writing and will pick up her next book, but The Heart Principle feels like a book from a different series and genre altogether.
I'm sorry but I just cannot finish this. I wanted to get to the happy ending and maybe I'll finish it someday but reading it in one go got me angry, frustrated, sick to my stomach, nauseous, and possibly caused me an anxiety attack. I was prepared that this is not a fluffy nice read like the previous books in the trilogy, but I was not prepared for the contents. I heard that it deals with Anna finding out she's autistic and dealing with that, I haven't heard a mention about the caretaking aspect of this book, which takes most of the story and is quite detailed. And traumatizing to read about.
On top of that, Julien, Anna's not-quite-ex is as gross as they come, gaslighting and manipulative, and while sure he can be all that, Anna's family standing behind him the whole time, twisting the words and situations they haven't witnessed and manipulating Anna because they like him for her, is too much for me to handle and I just can't. I hated pretty much every character in the story except from the two MCs and those from the previous books.
I don't mind harder reads, but I didn't sign up for this. I still enjoyed Helen Hoang's writing and will pick up her next book, but The Heart Principle feels like a book from a different series and genre altogether.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, and Cancer