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A review by abrunettereads
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
4.0
This was my first Helen Hoang, and I completely fell in love.
Khai is a complex yet simple character. He’s autistic and believes he is incapable of feeling love for someone else. He has many quirks and comes across as someone who feels deeply but is unable to navigate it. Or so he thinks.
His loving yet overbearing mother, Cô Nga, decides to change his life by adding a new addition; a wife. Like every asian mother, she thinks highly of her kids and goes to extreme lengths in searching for what is best for them.
Here comes the bride, Esme Tran. A single mother who works as a sanitary worker in a hotel to support her mother and child. She has never known her father, but knows that he is American. When Cô Nga offers to pay her expenses to visit USA and fall in love with her son, she decides to take the opportunity, and if nothing at all she could at the very least find her father.
Khai and Esme are two lovable characters. They have a lot of quirks and definitely feel like they belong together. Esme learns to navigate how to live with Khai, where as Khai finds himself getting more familiar with Esme and her presence. Their struggle and passion speak for their relationship, and more often than not, I found myself rooting hopelessly for the two.
Quân, Khai’s brother, is a surprise element I didn’t expect to love. I was all prepared for a brother who “didn’t understand” their sibling’s needs or made fun of them for who they are. But boy was I not prepared for the loving, charismatic and funny Quân. Him and Khai are hilarious together, and I could feel the sibling love through the pages.
This book has several character stories and all the stories tie up very well in the end. I finish this book with not just a favorite character or a quote, but also a favorite author ♥️
My favorite quote:
« It wasn’t loneliness if it could be eradicated with work or a Netflix marathon or a good book. Real loneliness would stick with you all the time. Real loneliness would hurt you nonstop »
Special mention:
« He was ignoring everyone, including her, at this expensive wedding, so he could read a novel about alien demon things »
Khai is a complex yet simple character. He’s autistic and believes he is incapable of feeling love for someone else. He has many quirks and comes across as someone who feels deeply but is unable to navigate it. Or so he thinks.
His loving yet overbearing mother, Cô Nga, decides to change his life by adding a new addition; a wife. Like every asian mother, she thinks highly of her kids and goes to extreme lengths in searching for what is best for them.
Here comes the bride, Esme Tran. A single mother who works as a sanitary worker in a hotel to support her mother and child. She has never known her father, but knows that he is American. When Cô Nga offers to pay her expenses to visit USA and fall in love with her son, she decides to take the opportunity, and if nothing at all she could at the very least find her father.
Khai and Esme are two lovable characters. They have a lot of quirks and definitely feel like they belong together. Esme learns to navigate how to live with Khai, where as Khai finds himself getting more familiar with Esme and her presence. Their struggle and passion speak for their relationship, and more often than not, I found myself rooting hopelessly for the two.
Quân, Khai’s brother, is a surprise element I didn’t expect to love. I was all prepared for a brother who “didn’t understand” their sibling’s needs or made fun of them for who they are. But boy was I not prepared for the loving, charismatic and funny Quân. Him and Khai are hilarious together, and I could feel the sibling love through the pages.
This book has several character stories and all the stories tie up very well in the end. I finish this book with not just a favorite character or a quote, but also a favorite author ♥️
My favorite quote:
« It wasn’t loneliness if it could be eradicated with work or a Netflix marathon or a good book. Real loneliness would stick with you all the time. Real loneliness would hurt you nonstop »
Special mention:
« He was ignoring everyone, including her, at this expensive wedding, so he could read a novel about alien demon things »