A review by just_one_more_paige
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

 
If you've been with this blog for a little while, you'll know I absolutely loved Hoang's first few novels (The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test), so naturally I was top of the waitlist at the library for her newest romance. Like, literally the top - I was the first person to get it. Anyways, I know there was a bit of a publication date delay, which Hoang talks a bit about in her Afterward, but honestly, it was worth the wait. I would have waited twice as long for it. Because once again, Hoang works her literary magic in these pages and I could not put this one down. 
 
Anna Sun just recently went viral for a violin solo she played and is really struggling to keep up with the expectations the new fame has brought (or, at least, her internalized interpretation of the expectations). Quan Diep (we finally get Quan's story!), usually quite the ladies man, is dealing with the aftermath of a surgery as a result of a cancer diagnosis, one that has deeply affected his view of his own worth in a relationship and, just in general, re: traditional manhood. When Anna's boyfriend decides he wants to try an open relationship, she and Quan "meet" on a dating app - Anna to get out there and Quan to get back out there. They have a bit of a non-traditional dating start, but their match seems to be pretty perfect. Except life gets in the way when Anna has to take on burdens within her family that she is completely unsuited for after tragedy strikes. The confluence of expectations, "tough love" instead of support from family and a new clinical diagnosis, threaten to overwhelm her, even with Quan's unwavering support. So, Anna will have to stand up for herself, and Quan, or risk losing both him and herself. 
 
All of Hoang's novels had been spectacular, and you can feel the pieces of herself and her family that she has sprinkled into them, but this one took it to another level. It was incredibly emotional and there was a deep sense of the personal in the writing. Like I said, Hoang addresses that aspect a bit in the Afterward, but as a reader, you can tell even before getting to that how much was poured into this from Hoang's heart and experiences. Anna's work with a therapist to overcome her artistic block with the violin after her "success" uncovers a deeper causal diagnosis that, for all that it comes so late in life, is eye-opening and cathartic for Anna. Although that doesn't make it easier, necessarily, to live with - and there is of course the fight to make her family accept and understand - it allows Anna herself a lens through which to see and understand her life and reality within a much needed explanatory context. And in this perspective, Quan's unconditional support, and ceding to Anna the expertise of her own self/life, is something she's never experienced before and I could not, as a reader, have loved it more. It's one of the most heart-warming and supportive relationships I have ever read - like wrapping oneself up in a cozy fictional blanket (especially because of Quan's tattooed, motorcycle-riding, tough guy look, which I have a particular soft spot for, especially when paired with a "big softie" inside). 
 
The other major emotional blow throughout this novis is Anna's internal experience. The caregiving role she is thrust into unexpectedly puts her in such a  horrific mental health space. Her silent and claustrophobic pain is heart rending to read. It is written well - so well, in fact, that if you have ever struggled as a caregiver, with family expectations, with artistic blocks, with self-discovery/therapy or with being on the edge of a mental health break with no one to talk to about it....be careful with this novel and make sure you are in an ok headspace to read it before picking it up. It's heavy. But also, it makes the story feel that much more real. All romances have their conflicts; it's a staple of the genre, of course. But there was something about the conflict here, the external forces more so than the internal ones or based on any choices the characters themselves have made, was presented in a very affecting confluence. And that is where you really feel Hoang's personal experiences shine through in the writing (which I know I've already mentioned, but it bears repeating because it's done so well). In fact, it was f*cking phenomenal. 
 
There were many emotions and hurt in these pages, but there was also deep, absolute belief and support within a relationship. It was a wholesome and tender and vulnerable romance (with a couple of Hoang's trademark steamy scenes, of course!). Also, what an important conversion about the expectations of family and caregiving that is never talked about in this way. And what bravery for the personal side of it. This was perhaps a more "serious" romance than Hoang's first two, but it is all the more impactful for that, and it was just as fantastic to read. I continue to be deeply impressed by and pulled into Hoang's words, characters, stories. 
 
 “For that’s the only place where true perfection exists - the blank page. Nothing I actually do can compete with the boundless potential of what I could do.” 
 
“Tough love is brutally honest and hurts you to help you. Tough love cuts you when you're already bruised and berates you when you don't heal faster.” 
 
“No one should need a diagnosis in order to be compassionate to themself. But I did. Tough love doesn't allow room for weakness, and tough love is all I've ever known. Maybe for now, just this once, I can experiment with a different kind of love. Something kinder.” 
 
“The thing with feelings is they pass. Hearts aren't designed to feel anything too intensely for too long, be it joy, sorrow, or anger. Everything passes in time. All colors fade.” 
 
“All I can do is go forward, and to do that, I must stop chasing perfection. It doesn't exist. [...] Instead, I must focus on giving what I have, not what people want, because that is all I can give.” 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings