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A review by bklassen
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was more of a sad book than a sexy book, which is ok! The book can be that and still be good! This is more of a heads up for readers because you may go into a book expecting one thing and receive another.
I love Kwan and was hoping his story would get more fleshed out, but still, it was nice to get an in-depth character study of Anna, essentially.
There’s a lot to unpack, between familial and cultural expectations, high standards of perfection, people pleasing, burnout, late age neurodivergence diagnoses, dating, and more. I really felt for Anna and was pleased to see that she messed up and had to repair the relationship, which feels more real and balanced than men always groveling (nothing wrong with the trope, but I do love subversion of tropes, or character decisions that feel real and less contrived).
Like I said, there is much less sex or even sexy times in this book than in the Kiss Quotient because the book focuses more on Anna’s acceptance of herself and growth, as well as the fraught relationship she has with her mother and sister, and her guilt and conflicting feelings regarding her grandpa.
I love Kwan and was hoping his story would get more fleshed out, but still, it was nice to get an in-depth character study of Anna, essentially.
There’s a lot to unpack, between familial and cultural expectations, high standards of perfection, people pleasing, burnout, late age neurodivergence diagnoses, dating, and more. I really felt for Anna and was pleased to see that she messed up and had to repair the relationship, which feels more real and balanced than men always groveling (nothing wrong with the trope, but I do love subversion of tropes, or character decisions that feel real and less contrived).
Like I said, there is much less sex or even sexy times in this book than in the Kiss Quotient because the book focuses more on Anna’s acceptance of herself and growth, as well as the fraught relationship she has with her mother and sister, and her guilt and conflicting feelings regarding her grandpa.