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.

Helen Hoang is such a talented writer. The Bride Test is a fantastic read and I will be talking about it with my patrons for the rest of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Once again, Helen Hoang has managed to put a new spin on contemporary romance. I love that she takes characters that are 'imperfect' and turns them into perfect lead characters. There is a realism in this series that is refreshing.

The only criticism I have is that I found the voice shifted around too much and it was a bit distracting. It wasn't an issue of not knowing who was talking, but still, I found myself bounced around a bit more than I would have liked.

I actually liked THE BRIDE TEST more than THE KISS QUOTIENT, and was happy to see that the author will be writing more books set in the same world. This one reminded me a bit of THE ROSIE PROJECT, but again, I liked this one better! I enjoyed reading a book that I think would qualify as #ownvoices, as the author is also neuro-atypical like some of her characters, and learning more about the Vietnamese culture represented in the familial groups of this story. I purchased multiple copies for my romance collection, and I am sure it will be popular in our community, which is very diverse. Thanks for approving me to read this one. Lately, all my favorite books have been from Berkley!

This book is very well written. It pulled me in almost right away and kept me interested until the very end. I will definitely be recommending this to the customers at my work!

Khai and My (Esme) are one of the best character sets that’s I’ve read in a long time. Let me just tell you, I am a fan of Helens’. Her books broach subjects that not many people have and it’s done in an amazing tactful manner. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

I didn't want to read The Bride Test. A romance between a struggling immigrant woman from Vietnam and a man with autism? No thank you. A friend who had read The Kiss Quotient urged me to read it. I decided I'd just read the first few pages...and I was immediately hooked. This is a big-hearted, fun, sexy read with some pretty serious themes to tie it all together. This book is unique to the genre, but I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy and the books of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Emily Giffin. I especially liked the author's afterword regarding her own mother. It was inspiring and deepened my appreciation of the book.

So lovely! Helen Hoang's approach to romance is so refreshing. I love the way she centers characters that normally get left out of romantic narratives - like Esme, a working class single mother from Viet Nam hoping to make a better life for her family, and Khai, an autistic man afraid he's incapable of love. This love story is so heartwarming and delightful, and Hoang's author's note about her journey creating these characters really changed my perspective on the whole book. DO NOT SLEEP ON HELEN HOANG!

I was very much looking forward to this book after reading this authors fabulous debut, "The Kiss Quotient." While I enjoyed this book, I do think I may have over-hyped it in my head. I enjoyed the authors continuation of using own voices through both autism and her Vietnamese background. To me, I think the romance just wasn't as natural or compelling. Esme felt like two different characters a lot of the time. And the secret she was keeping was too much for me, and I found it very hard to believe Khai was just completely fine with it at the end with zero problems or adjustments.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I think I was hoping for another smash hit like "The Kiss Quotient."

I love the autism representation, I love the immigrant heroine, I love the supporting characters -- but I am firmly in the column of "liked" with this one. I needed more of a connection between the main characters -- I can't figure out what made them fall in love, beyond physical attraction -- and I needed less rushed of an ending. I'll still be recommending this to readers at my library, and I still found it a very enjoyable read, but it falls short of excellence.

I was a fan of The Kiss Quotient, so I've been looking forward to this book for months. Luckily, Helen Hoang didn't disappoint! I LOVED this book.

I read it in one sitting while on a plane and I had all sorts of feelings the entire time. It's not often (or ever) that you find a romance book with autism rep, but I felt like this one was super well done. I was truly invested in Khai and Esme's story and days later, I'm still thinking about them. This book is so much more than just a romance -- it's filled with tender emotions, brotherly love, a few laugh out loud moments, and fully fleshed out characters that you can't help but root for.

Highly recommend! Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc.

This started off slower than the first novel but if you think it's too slow keep going. I'ts impactful and powerful and meaningful novel . It's also funny and insightful. I'm interested to see in more of what this author can do because it seems like none of her books would be the same judging from the first two but it was very good.

Stars: 3.5

The Kiss Quotient set an impossibly high bar as one of my all-time favorite romance novels. I was ecstatic when I found out that Helen Hoang would be publishing another love story following a periphery character from her stunning debut.

The story, which follows Michael's cousin Khai and the delightfully independent Esme, is undeniably sweet, but somehow lacked the same swoon-worthy quality that made the The Kiss Quotient so unforgettable. It's hard to say exactly what it lacks, but it just doesn't have "it". The characters were likeable, and the plot was cutesy, but it felt to me like it was just running in a very predictable circle.

I appreciate that this romance is focused on somebody with autism, and if you read the first book, it was nice to see that Khai's autism isn't portrayed exactly the same as Stella's. There is so much diversity on the spectrum, and it is refreshing to see this represented.

I hope this book is going to be part of a trilogy, and I suspect that if it is, the third book will focus on Khai's brother, Quan. He is also a very likable character, and it would be great to follow his story next.

I chose this book after reading Hoang's first novel. I enjoyed this but not nearly as much as her previous book. I thought the characters were not fleshed out enough as in the other novel. Still a good read.