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A review by _reedmylife_
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I am so disappointed with this book. I read The Kiss Quotient a few years ago and gave it five stars. It was truly a beautiful romance, but this one landed so flat for me.
I am not a huge fan of arranged marriage romances in the first place so The Bride Test was already starting off on a lower playing field simply because of the trope. Then you add a child aspect into the mix and my brain has turned off. Although there were already two tropes that I was not a fan of, I decided to carry on reading because I know Helen Hoang is really good at creating a beautifully romantic story and intriguing characters. Sadly, I was wrong.
Esme is annoying because of how she is portrayed as weak and accident prone all the time. She is somehow the most clumsy person alive and Khai makes things even more awkward. Khai is an interesting character to say the least. He does have autism, which is a theme in Helen Hoang's novels and was done really well in The Kiss Quotient, but was done pretty poorly in The Bride Test. Khai felt like the stereotypical Autistic person and I just couldn't get behind it, especially with his mindset of "I don't want Esme, but no one else can have her." it was absolutely disgusting and the fact that they end up together makes me so upset.
Now, let's talk about the sex scenes. There were lots and most of them were just so cringe. Why must we call vaginas and penises, their sex. LIKE WHAT!!? I will never understand how that makes a scene sound sexy in any case but to each their own. I personally felt the sex scenes in The Kiss Quotient were much nicer and more my speed.
Overall, my dislike for this book has nothing to do with Helen Hoang, it simply was not for me. I continued reading even after knowing that it had two tropes that I don't like and the romance felt all wrong to me. It was not helped by the fact that the amount of chaos that happens in this book just causes a lot of confusion and even more dislike towards Esme and Khai because they are both so messy.
I am not a huge fan of arranged marriage romances in the first place so The Bride Test was already starting off on a lower playing field simply because of the trope. Then you add a child aspect into the mix and my brain has turned off. Although there were already two tropes that I was not a fan of, I decided to carry on reading because I know Helen Hoang is really good at creating a beautifully romantic story and intriguing characters. Sadly, I was wrong.
Esme is annoying because of how she is portrayed as weak and accident prone all the time. She is somehow the most clumsy person alive and Khai makes things even more awkward. Khai is an interesting character to say the least. He does have autism, which is a theme in Helen Hoang's novels and was done really well in The Kiss Quotient, but was done pretty poorly in The Bride Test. Khai felt like the stereotypical Autistic person and I just couldn't get behind it, especially with his mindset of "I don't want Esme, but no one else can have her." it was absolutely disgusting and the fact that they end up together makes me so upset.
Now, let's talk about the sex scenes. There were lots and most of them were just so cringe. Why must we call vaginas and penises, their sex. LIKE WHAT!!? I will never understand how that makes a scene sound sexy in any case but to each their own. I personally felt the sex scenes in The Kiss Quotient were much nicer and more my speed.
Overall, my dislike for this book has nothing to do with Helen Hoang, it simply was not for me. I continued reading even after knowing that it had two tropes that I don't like and the romance felt all wrong to me. It was not helped by the fact that the amount of chaos that happens in this book just causes a lot of confusion and even more dislike towards Esme and Khai because they are both so messy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death