The Bride Test

For our anniversary, Andrew took the whole family to the bookstore and let us each pick out a book. I kind of surprised myself by picking out this one. I don't read a lot of romance these days, but people I like on social media have been raving about Hoang, and then I checked out the back cover. See, I've recently noticed that I have a tendency to fall for autism-spectrum characters on TV shows, but they rarely get satisfying romantic arcs. So, I picked this.

And I loved it. I read it cover to cover the next day. I loved Esme and Khai and their cultural/class/neuro differences that caused them to repeated misunderstand each other. I loved all the supporting characters and the way many of them were looking out for each other. I loved show more Esme's stubborn insistence on doing things her own way. I wanted so fiercely for them all to find their HEAs, which of course they did.

I'm sure I'll be looking out for The Kiss Quotient and any future books Hoang writes. I never really got the appeal of romance series before, but now I'd be especially curious to see a future book featuring Quan.

Love. show less

This was really hyped on Goodreads and some BookTube channels. Its portrayal of an autistic man was praised. I'm learning more about autism, so I checked it out. The night I read it, I had whipped through boring books and was irritated at having been deprived of a good murder mystery or thriller. So picking up a rom-com paperback and expecting to adore it was a bit much. By page sixty, I was still moody. I sighed at myself and kept reading, wanting to see where the book did lead character-wise. Shortly thereafter, I got up for a drink of water and was shocked to see that not only was I on page two hundred fifty, but a few hours had in fact passed.
I drank water and finished the book.
The cliches are overwhelming in this book. The writing show more was absorbing and vivid, and the characters were both broad and complex. I was interested to learn how they'd react as the cliches progressed. From page two hundred fifty on, I realized something: Hoang does some of the best show-don't-tell I've seen, and I do not say that lightly. And oh, how I want her to write romantic dramas! Tearjerkers and tragedies could be -wonderful- in her hands. I genuinely got choked up a few times and couldn't even give myself a hard time about it. And here Hoang is writing romantic comedy. There's no way I can ask this without sounding incredibly entitled, but: will the author please me make me cry as a result of novels she writes from now on? Because she'd be amazing at it. Okay, I'm done being entitled. Just felt the overwhelming need to ask that.

Hoang thanks her sensitivity readers before the novel starts, and I nodded a little and planned to research what people thought who knew more about autism than I did, after reading this. I didn't do the research; I was too busy sitting and staring at the cover after finishing the book. It affected me more than I anticipated, even at parts I felt I was being treated like I was stupid as a reader. That happened only a few times.
Rom-coms aren't my thing, but if Hoang writes a romantic drama or tragedy, I will check it out -so- fast. I'll definitely recommend this to anyone who's interested in romances, though. I'm hoping Hoang succeeds in her career and I'm glad I read this. show less

This novel has a perfect beginning and a perfect ending. Someone should hire Helen Hoang to write for Hollywood (and make that Kiss Quotient adaptation stat).

Rarely have I encountered a novel with such a ballsy, bonkers premise (mail-order bride and autistic accountant find love), and rarely have I rooted for two protagonists as much as I did for Esme and Khai. Esme starts the story as a janitor and single mom in Vietnam, struggling to give her daughter a better life, yet longing for her own potential to be recognized. Khai, an unwitting object of his mom's matchmaking, is kind and passionate but terrible at identifying his own emotions, whether they're love or grief. I enjoyed a lot about their unusual (for the genre) relationship. show more Esme is a new immigrant and Khai has autism, so their interactions are inflected by language, difference of culture and class, and Khai's neurodivergence. Hoang delivers sensitive and nuanced portraits of autism and of the experience of being an immigrant and English language learner.

Where this book and I didn't quite click was its adherence to genre conventions. Hoang writes excellent romances, but truthfully I was more invested in Esme's personal happiness than in her stressful and often cringe-y relationship with Khai. The novel handles the whole arranged/green card marriage plot with a lot of grace, playing it for laughs but acknowledging what it means for Esme to consider marrying her way into economic advancement. Yet because Esme is in such a vulnerable and difficult situation, I was just not that invested in her relationship with Khai. I wanted them both to be happy but, for most of the novel, could not have cared less whether they found this happiness together.

I suspect other readers will find the romance elements more compelling, but I probably would have preferred this book if the HEA had not been a foregone conclusion. Then again, perfect ending, and one that both characters heartily deserve. show less

“Em yêu anh yêu em. Girl loves boy loves girl.”

Another wonderfully fluffy romance put me in a great reading mood. It seems like these Rom-Com stories are going to save my Spring and I’m not mad at it. The Bride Test is a companion story to Helen Hoang’s debut, The Kiss Quotient. We follow Khai, who hasn’t had a long-term relationship, much to his mother’s chagrin. So she takes it upon herself to find Khai a bride. Enter Esme Tran, a Ho Chi Minh City transplant looking for answers of her own in American, but she’s not opposed to finding love along the way.

I loved Khai and Esme as main characters. I really felt like I got to know them individually, before the relationship. So I was able to route for them on their own show more journeys, and as a couple. And having family be such a central theme for each character is always a plus in my book. I loved Esme’s family and her complete devotion to them. Quan, Khai’s brother, is such a scene stealer and I loved his well-meaning mother as well.

There’s a ton of drama right off the bat that make this book un-put-downable. It’s so entertaining and such a fun time. I can’t wait to see what’s up next for this cast of characters!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review show less

I was very impressed by the Bride Test, I think it was a wonderfully well written book that drew me in and kept me emotionally involved throughout. I'd been looking forward to reading this since being blown away by the Kiss Quotient, the previous book in the series. As a librarian and POC lover of romantic fiction, I'm always on the lookout for new diverse and inclusive romance, and Helen Hoang definitely delivered. The story revolves around Khai, a Vietnamese American with Asperger's and Esme, a young Vietnamese single mother. Esme is brought to America by Khai's mother for a trial run as his fiance. I immediately fell in love with Esme' and Khai. Esme's humor really resonated with me and I loved her determination and strength. I felt show more deeply for her and really found myself pulling for her throughout the book. Hoang created characters that the reader could really relate to and I think you can she that her own life experiences and that of her family greatly influences her writing and gives it a real personal feeling. The book brought out a wide range of emotions me. There were laugh out load moments, and also moments where I found myself crying with the characters. Overall I think this was an amazing book, and I can't wait to read the next installment. show less

Helen Hoang is now on my instabuy list. The Kiss Quotient was one of my favorite books of 2018, and it's hard to believe, but The Bride Test was even better. There is no sophomore slump here! I loved Esme. I wanted to wrap her in a giant blanket and feed her all the tea. She's an amazing character. Full of strength, determination, smarts, and heart, but held back by her circumstance in life. I cheered for her and Khai the entire book.

The afterword shows me just how deeply personal this book was for Hoang, and it honestly shows. There was a depth here that was honest and resonated.

Also, I really hope Quan gets his own book in the future. I adore him.

Esme Tran is just getting by working as a maid in hotel in her native Vietnam when a chance encounter drops the chance of a lifetime in her lap: go to America for the summer and try to convince Khai Diep to marry her. Esme feels obliged to try for the sake of her daughter and the photo of Khai that his mother shows Esme doesn't hurt either. But Khai is on the autism spectrum and he's convinced that love isn't something he can feel and thus refuses to be in a relationship. Can Esme help Khai change his mind or will she return to Vietnam at the end of the summer?

I thoroughly enjoyed this second novel from Helen Hoang, which pleased me as her first novel was solid but a little TOO steamy for me (and as a regular romance reader, that's show more saying something). Esme and Khai's tale is an excellent romance along with a solid exploration of an immigrant experience for Esme and Khai's struggles with understanding emotions of both others and himself as a result of his autism. Recommended for contemporary romance readers. show less