In the same family as her The Kiss Quotient, Helen Hoang writes another SIlicon Valley love story. Her characters are interesting and well-written, particularly our hero, Khai (who we met in The Kiss Quotient as the cousin of Michael). Khai has Autism, is super smart, and believes he is the type of person who is just fine on his own. He is immensely likable and understandable. My, or Esme, is a single mother from Vietnam who happens to meet Khai's mother one fateful day. Khai's mother arranges for My to go to America for the summer in hopes of winning over her son. My takes the opportunity because she longs for new opportunities for herself and her daughter. Of course, our characters fall in love but there are many complications to them being able to be together.

I love how we hear from both Khai and My about their unique struggles. These characters made me stop and think about how people are judged and stereotyped in our society today. The story is lovely and romantic, but it's the characters with these unique perspectives that really makes it stand out.

Read this even if you haven't read The Kiss Quotient yet!

I definitely enjoyed this second installment in Hoang's TKQ series, though not as much as her debut. It had a very engaging plot, and I found it hard to put down in order to do necessary things, like sleep, eat, work.

The author does an excellent job with character development - I felt like I knew the characters personally. I loved Esme for how hardworking and earnest she was in achieving her goals. And I really enjoyed traveling with Khai as he gained a better understanding of himself and his feelings. While I know most people experience physical symptoms as a result of strong emotions, reading about it from Khai's perspective was enlightening for me.

I only had one issue with the story, but it was an important one given the current political climate. I felt that the subplot of Esme's immigration process was not handled properly and paints a thoroughly unrealistic picture. I know it's a work of fiction, and most readers will either be unaware of the inaccuracies, or will be willing to suspend disbelief in favor of the HEA. However, I felt that a little research and a some revision to the storyline could have made it less of an issue.

OMG...all the feels! I. Loved. This. Seriously, The Bride Test by Helen Hoang was sexy, sweet, funny and so swoon-worthy! You need to lock yourself in a room and devour it!

A full review will post at Caffeinated Reviewer on May 6th. I will share it on all social media and I will post a review on Goodreads and Amazon. Link below valid on 5/6/19 Thank you.

I loved Kiss Quotient, and this follow-up did not disappoint. A fun read with fresh perspectives, interesting characters and just enough steamy romance.

While this was a light, somewhat entertaining read, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as Kiss Quotient. The plot and the way the characters act are not believable.
The first 3/4 of the book is just the MCs being awkward and misunderstanding one another again and again. I kept cringing. I thought the depiction of Autism at the beginning of book was good, but as the story went on, I couldn’t understand why Khai didn’t explain himself to Esme (and vice versa).
There are a few subplots that are just addressed very tangentially through most of the book and the entire story just falls into place and gets tied up in a neat little bow in the very last chapter sort of out of nowhere.
Nonetheless, I did find myself rooting for the characters and it was generally an entertaining read.

This ended up at around 3.5 stars for me. I adored The Kiss Quotient and I knew the chances of The Bride Test living up to that were low, however I found myself more disappointed than I even expected. The first half of the book is very slow and there’s little to no chemistry or romance between the leads. It felt like the set up for their love story had to go on for so long that I wasn’t getting invested in them as a couple, so much as I was invested in Esme/My as an individual. Had this been my first read by Hoang I would have DNFed. However, I’m glad I stuck it out because the second half brought the emotion and charm I was expecting. It takes that long for Khai to warm to Esme and that was where I could finally root for them and their HEA.

A romance with lots of heart, substance, and intrigue. Highly recommend to lovers of both romance and literary fiction.

I actually liked this one better than The Kiss Quotient. Esme was such a fun character to read. I really liked the way the author managed to make her stand up for herself while at the same time being uncertain about her place and how she fit into her new world.

I loved this book! I have not yet read the Kiss Quotient, but this book stands alone and you are not missing anything by not reading that book first. But now that I have finished the Bride Test, I certainly will pick it up!
The Bride test is very unique and its nice to see a main character you don’t often get to see in books. It was interesting to learn about the American/Vietnamese culture and how people process their emotions. The key takeaway I had from this book is communication and how important it is to communicate with yourself and others. I definitely recommend it and cant wait to read The Kiss Quotient!

I read a TON of romance, so it is pretty hard to impress me. I want a book that is different, sucks me in, and has me feeling all the feels. The Bride Test was all this and more. Khai has no feelings, or at least he thinks he doesn't until Esme walks into his life thanks to his meddling mother. Their arranged meeting has a deadline though, and culture shock, past hurts, and lots of secrets all conspire to put a stop to their love story.

Beyond the fact that the writing was great, the slow burn romance was hot, and the love story was sweet, it is also amazing to be able to read and then know that I can recommend a book that not only features a diverse set of characters, but also one that has characters on the autism spectrum.

The Bride Test definitely lives up to the hype of Hoang’s first book The Kiss Quotient. In this book she deals flawlessly with a main character with autism as he struggles to let a stranger his mother chose as a bride for him get close to him. What ensues is a heartbreaking, humorous, and honest attempt at a relationship between two strangers. Great supporting characters.

After reading The Kiss Quotient, my expectations were high for the sequel. As an autistic woman, I connected with the main character of the first book in a big way and I was glad to see that The Bride Test featured another neurodiverse character. I enjoyed seeing the differences between one autistic character and another as they were not presented as monoliths. The relationship Khai has with his family is fun to read about, especially between him and Quan, and I would have liked to see more of it. I enjoyed getting to know Esme but I felt as if the power balance between her and Khai was off. She was so desperate to change her circumstances that the romance sometimes felt a bit forced. Perhaps that is why this book seemed a little less steamy than it’s predecessor.

All in all, The Bride Test is an enjoyable romance that I will read again and recommend far and wide! More romance featuring autistic and/or non-white protagonists is needed in the publishing world and this is an excellent example of such done well.

Wow. Helen Hoang has done it again! In The Bride Test we meet Khai and Esme. Khai's mom is sick of seeing Khai shut himself off from the world. So, on a trip to Vietnam, she sets off to find him a wife. After a long line of awful interviews, she stumbles across a lovely young woman cleaning the bathrooms. Something about Esme speaks to her and she convinces Esme to come to America to meet her son. Soon Esme finds herself in America, trying to win over a guy in the hopes of not only changing her life, but the life of her whole family. The only problem is, Khai is a hard nut to crack. It doesn't take long for their mutual "trial run" summer to turn into a bond that cannot be broken. The only problem is, Khai is unable to feel emotions and that includes love.

I really liked that we got both POV's in this story. If we didn't get Khai's thoughts on things, he would have been a very easy character to write off and hate. However, you are aware of his inner workings and therefor know that he processes things a lot differently than most people. So, when he reacts a certain way, or says something that could be considered hurtful or tactless, you know that in his mind, he's just being honest or reacting to the situation naturally.

Esme was also someone that you would probably get the wrong idea about if you didn't get her POV. I mean, this random woman shows up in the bathroom and offers to fly her to America in order to seduce and marry her son... and she agrees. Is she in it for the money? Is she only looking to get a green card? At first? I'm sure that was in the front of her mind, considering her, her daughter, her mother, and her grandmother were all huddled up on the floor in front of the stove in order to stay warm at night. However, because we get her POV, we see her shift from trying to please Khai and do things that she thinks would gain her favor, to just being herself and trying to help him out.

I really like that this author not only writes about characters that might find themselves in interesting and taboo situations, but she also incorporates characters who fall along the Autism Spectrum. Stella (in the first book) had Asperger's, and Khai has autism. Both characters view situations differently and both were able to find love in the end (even when they thought it was impossible). While The Kiss Quotient was a bit more on the physical side of things, The Bride Test slowed things down a bit and we got more of an emotional story between two people.

I really enjoyed my time reading The Bride Test. I honestly read it in one sitting because I just couldn't seem to put the book down. While it had a different tempo than The Kiss Quotient, it was still an amazing read. You don't need to read The Kiss Quotient in order to read The Bride Test. Even though Khai and Michael are cousins, their stories don't really intersect at all. So, if The Bride Test sounds like something you'd love, then I highly suggest you grab a copy.

Another cute romance by the author of the Kiss Quotient. The mother or a rich vietnamese and Autistic man goes to Vietnam to find a wife for her son. She brings Esmerelda to the U.S. and gives her 3 months to charm her son into marrying her. Cute love story.

Loooooooved this! I love the way Helen Hoang writes about characters we don't get to see very often.

Helen Hoang does it again. I loved "The Kiss Quotient" and didn't think it was possible to like her work any more than I already did -- and then I read "The Bride Test." It was heart-warming and even somewhat suspenseful, and Helen Hoang writes her characters so beautifully, you'll fall in love with them, too.

Somewhat predictable but an enjoyable, fun read on a Sunday afternoon. I loved the immigrant experience coupled with the melding of two cultures.

Fresh and utterly delightful! I'm probably one of the few who read this second book by Helen Hoang before her hit first book The Kiss Quotient (that's next on the TBR!) but I was thoroughly charmed by a romance that really shouldn't have worked at all in theory. The modern mail order bride is a concept that's hard to fathom but because of Esme and Khai's specific circumstances and personalities, it really worked here. The hero and heroine are both very endearing characters for entirely different reasons. There's a lot of attraction and insta-lust, but kindess and caring do develop (despite a lack of some of the usual genre hallmarks like long bonding conversations sharing their needs/wants/fears etc.) between them and I believed they did love each other by the end even if it was born mainly from attraction and forced proximity. Things did feel a bit rushed at times especially towards the end but in general it was a really lovely read.

Helen Hoang’s writing and style is fantastic, and exactly what I love.

But that alone doesn’t guarantee a hit novel. The story has to work for me as well, and The Bride Test didn’t quite reach the level of The Kiss Quotient.

Because even though I really enjoyed Khai and Esme’s story, it just didn’t resonate with me the same way as her debut novel did.

While reading TBT, I caught myself smiling many times because the interactions between Khai, his family, and Esme were just too awesome to not be appreciated. The author’s talent for writing great scenes and wonderful dialogues needs to be recognized. I really valued Esme’s quiet but also sassy personality, and how well it worked for Khai. Because he certainly wasn’t the easiest person to get to know, and Esme’s patience and kindness towards him was inspiring. She was a truly kind, hard working and genuinely wonderful person.

Khai, a virgin which made sense knowing how he struggled with physical contact, slowly made progress opening up and getting used to the idea of Esme. I really enjoyed his straight forwardness, but otherwise he was a more quiet and introvert character, and their relationship much more slower and an almost understated affair.

There were a couple things I didn’t agree with, and Khai’s big hangup at the end was starting to drag on me. I got slightly bored. And I must admit Esme’s time in America all went way too smoothly, especially her quick and efficient grasp of the english language.

But all of this doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy this novel, it just wasn’t a WOWing kind of book for me.

TBT was a solid performance, with a couple slower parts, but otherwise nothing to sneeze at. The author emphasized the Vietnamese culture much more deeply in this book than in the last. I couldn’t pronounce the names if my life depended on it – lol. But hearing about all the food made me hungry for some egg rolls.

And in the end I can’t wait to read her next books. Her unique and fresh voice is filling a niche and I just wish there were more authors like her.

Like The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test was a thoroughly enjoyable romance with thought out characters that you root for.