B's Monday Review: The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Natalie Naudus

Series: The Kiss Quotient Series, Book 3

Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins

Release date: 09-02-21

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Fiction romance /storytel.fi

This was not a contemporary romance. Yes there is romance, but also so much more and with a focus on Anna falling into darkness.

Anna fell apart after a viral video and she feels like she cant play the violin anymore. Then her boyfriend says he wants an open relationship. Her shrink tells her she thinks Anna is on the spectrum. And she just goes all I will have a hook up and that will be it.

But a hook up is not as easy as it sounds. Quan has his own demons after having had surgery. He is starting to fall for Anna and the hook up that never happens. Anna is torn between her failed relationship, her strained relationship with her family and this new budding feeling for Quan who is just so right.

And there is like I said so much more. Anna´s depression, her feelings of having to say yes to everyone and everything. To sacrifice herself for family as something happens. She is falling to pieces and that is there it goes from contemporary romance to something else. Very deep and sad, and with some real issues.

I liked it a lot and I rooted for these two even in the darkest hours. Quan was lovely and I really wanted Anna to put herself first.

Great narration. I am not sure if I have listened to these two before, but they were both good. Each told their POVs well and I liked how it all worked together.

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She's going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better. 

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex - he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she has just started to understand herself. 

However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family, she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. 

Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.

Book Review: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

Author: Helen Hoang

Title: The Kiss Quotient

Series: The Kiss Quotient #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

Format: Paperback

Pages: 323

Published: June 5, 2018

Where I Got It: My shelf (Xmas gift)

Summary: 

Stella Lane thinks math is the only thing that unites the universe. She comes up with algorithms to predict customer purchases—a job that has given her more money than she knows what to do with, and way less experience in the dating department than the average thirty-year-old.

It doesn't help that Stella has Asperger's and French kissing reminds her of a shark getting its teeth cleaned by pilot fish. Her conclusion: she needs lots of practice—with a professional. Which is why she hires escort Michael Phan. The Vietnamese and Swedish stunner can't afford to turn down Stella's offer, and agrees to help her check off all the boxes on her lesson plan—from foreplay to more-than-missionary position...

Before long, Stella not only learns to appreciate his kisses, but to crave all the other things he's making her feel. Soon, their no-nonsense partnership starts making a strange kind of sense. And the pattern that emerges will convince Stella that love is the best kind of logic...

Review:

I was so excited to unwrap this for Xmas! I have been wanting to read this!

Here we follow Stella and Michael. Stella is all business and loves math. However, she wants to get better at having sex and she figures that she should hire a professional....so she hires an escort to help her. In comes Michael who has turned to the escort service to get as much money as possible to help his family. He decides to accept Stella's plan and help her learn and check off all the boxes of her lesson plans. Before long the two will fall for each other but things couldn't be more complex. 

I really enjoyed this one. It was different and refreshing. I also loved the fact that Stella, our heroine, has Asperger’s Syndrome. She is so smart and has money, but she has issues with some things. I also loved that when Michael finds out he literally doesn't care. He just loves her and understands her. However, he has a laundry list of issues too.

They fit together perfectly and there was insta-lust, but it takes them some time to realize it was more than lust. 

I do feel like the love a little quick. I would've liked more time for them just talking and learning about each other. Don't get me wrong...there were convos...but I felt like they mainly only talked dirty or banged. More talking one-on-one would've been nice. I also would've liked to see more at the end. Maybe see the proposal. I felt like we spent too much time in the bedroom and that blow-up drama near the end. It seemed to go on too long and I was meh about certain parts of that.

Other than that, this was super sweet. Stella is loveable and Michael is a good egg. 

However, I adored Quan. *swoon* LOVE HIM! He does get to have his own HEA in book 3 so I can't wait!

Overall, I liked this a lot. Cute couple. Fun side characters. I would've liked more talking and seeing more of their HEA at the end. I'll give this 3 stars. 

B's Monday Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Paperback, 336 pages

Expected publication: June 6th 2019 by Corvus (first published May 7th 2019)

Series: The Kiss Quotient #2

To review

Contemporary romance

I do think I enjoyed this book even more than the previous one! I do love when that happens. When the books just grow stronger. Which means I can't wait for the next one. Ohh Quan's book, thrilling!

We met Khai in a previous book for a moment, but I would say that this one works perfectly as a stand alone. You do not need to have read it to understand this new one.

Khai has aspergers. And his mum goes to Vietnam to find him a wife *headdesk, mum!* But she means well and se wants him to be happy. And he just kind of goes along with it when his mum tells him look here, you have 3 months with her, marry her or do not marry her.

I loved Khai. Just loved him.

Esme worked cleaning toilets when she met Khai's mum, who saw something in her. And gave her a chance to win his love. She took the chance and ran with it.

Obviously there are hurdles to overcome. He does not do emotions, he does not want to be touched. Things should be as they are. While Esme is forward, sweet and cheerful. And they are exactly perfect for each other.

But this is so much more than two people finding love. She finds her own path, which is more important. She wants to make something of herself, to create a better life for her daughter.

I really enjoyed this book. It felt light and I read it in no time at all.

Sweet, with passion on the side. Fun, with drama thrown in. And most of all, delightful.

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.