I can’t remember the last time I read my #botm pick the month I got it — probably way back when I signed up! 😂 I’ve been waiting for this one to release ever since reading The Kiss Quotient, and it did not disappoint. I love Helen’s writing style, and I LOVE her characters and all their quirks. I also love that we’re starting to see more diversity in writing.

Another great book by Helen Hoang!  She really has a knack for writing pieces that, aside from their obvious excellence at broadening the options for romantic leads to neurodivergent characters, resonate and feel empowering.  Many romance novels unfortunately create characters too flawless to be true or a plot that requires a woman to disempower herself in order to get her Happily Ever After.  Hoang has succeeded once again in authoring a book where a woman empowers herself within and without the central relationship.  I'll continue to pick up any book she publishes and recommend her books as much as possible.

140+ books into this year, and I choose this book as my top book of the year.  There are so many reasons to love this story - it's an immigrant's perspective, it has feminist undertones, and it's heart-felt.  The characters are marked by compassion and driven to make things right.  The author notes that this is written with remembrance to her mother, and it shows.  It is a caring story that highlights the struggle and perseverance that characterizes so many immigrant family stories.  I've read it twice already and thinking about it again, I may need to read it one more time before the end of the year.

After having enjoyed The Kiss Quotient, I knew I had to check out The Bride Test. I ended up liking it even more than The Kiss Quotient.

Just like in The Kiss Quotient, there were a lot of steamy scenes, which Helen wrote so well each time. Throughout the story, I found myself laughing, crying, cringing, squealing, and/or smiling. I love when a novel can take me on an emotional roller coaster ride. Khai and Esme were such lovable characters and I enjoyed getting to know both of them.

It would be great to have a pronunciation guide for names, since this was not an audio read for me, like the previous novel was. However, not knowing how to pronounce a name did not detract from my enjoyment of this novel.

I definitely recommend checking out The Bride Test. While it can be read as a standalone, it contains a spoiler for The Kiss Quotient, so you may want to read that one first. I already can't wait for Helen Hoang's next novel to publish in 2020!

Movie casting ideas:
Khai: Hideo Muraoka
Esme: Liza Soberano
Co Nga: Tia Carrere
Vy: Gemma Chan

I enjoyed this more than her first book in the series. I have never quite read anything like her books that feature anyone on the spectrum and romance. It is not something that people read often and what keeps me looking forward to her books. It was fun, and a great audio!

After devouring The Kiss Quotient in a single day, I immediately started listening to the next novel set in this wonderful world. An arranged marriage scenario between a gorgeous, extremely successful Vietnamese-American man who also happens to be on the autism spectrum, and a young, mixed-race single mum whom his mother met in Vietnam—working as a hotel maid—and talked into coming to America for the summer to meet her son. There's reluctance on both sides at first, but an emotional bond quickly begins to form between them, and we begin to hope that a true love connection could follow. But regardless of how irresistibly attracted he is to the heroine, the hero believes himself incapable of love, so he keeps pushing her away, unknowingly feeding her insecurities of not being good enough for the man she loves. A touching, compassionate, beautifully developed tale that made me cry more times than I wish to admit. Hoang's nuanced portrayals of characters on the spectrum continues to take my breath away.

I love Juan (Khai's brother) so much! Best character in this book. That is not saying that the rest of the character's don't rock, I just loved Juan (spelling?)! He is such a great brother to Khai. Read it to find out more about this awesome character.

Okay so this is the sequel to The Kiss Quotient, which who didn't love that book! This book can also be read as a standalone in case you didn't read the first book. But read the first because it was awesome! Okay so back to The Bride Test. The Bride Test is a crazy concept if you think about it. A mom meets a random girl and asks her if she will marry her son. Crazy, right? Well basically this mail-order type of bride story turned out to not be strange. It turned out to be a great novel! I need more stories from this story. Like I want Khai's brothers story! As you can tell I loved him. Well The Bride Test is a great book about a guy who is grieving over his best friend, a mom who wants a better life for her daughter, and together a couple that can grow from being together. Read it. You won't regret it.

I was so excited when I got approved for an ARC of this book. I had absolutely loved The Kiss Quotient and couldn’t wait to read this one. However, for some reason I really didn’t like this book. I ended up not reviewing it . Recently I saw that the next book in the series was coming out and I decided to revisit this book but as an audiobook. I love this book! 
Whatever strange mood I was in when I read this the first time has obviously gone because this is a great book. I enjoyed Khai as a character in the first book because his diagnosis of autism was connection to Stella, the heroine of the book. When Khai’
Khai’s mom goes to Vietnam to find him a bride she meets My in the ladies restroom of the hotel where she is interviewing potential brides. When My passes the initial bride test, she quickly finds her self on a plane heading to California to become Khai’s fiancé . 
Now known as Esmeralda, or Esme for short, My finds herself living with a handsome but aloof man.
Author Hoang draws on her own spectrum experience to right about the difficulties of a couple dealing with cultural clashes, language issues, and each partner eagling with their own insecurities. I really enjoyed the way the relationship slowly unfurls because it seemed so realistic. Emotionally Esme is far ahead of Khai but feels the lack of education and sophistication. Khai has a great job and material things but he’s a baby when it comes to a relationship. 
It was pretty wonderful when the man who thinks he has no feelings discovers that he does and the woman who thinks she has no value finds out she is truly a gem. The HEA is so satisfying because of the seeming impossibility at the beginning of the story.
Bring on Quan’s book, please!

I really do enjoy Helen Hoang. As a librarian who is passionate about advocating for education and services for special needs kids and adults, I am immensely proud to support this author. However it is increasing hard for me to keep comparing her books to Tracey Graves’ book, which to me was much better.

If I'm being honest, this one didn't work as well for me as the Kiss Quotient. I can't quite put my finger on why. Still, it was enjoyable and it's so good to be able to add this diverse, own voices title to any collection of romance novels!

After THE KISS QUOTIENT blew me away, I was nervous (to say the least) to start THE BRIDE TEST. I had seen the rave reviews and wanted to love it just as much as everyone else. And for the most part, I absolutely did. This book follows Khai, a man with autism, and Esme, a woman Khai’s mother finds in Vietnam for him to marry. Esme and Khai have to live together for one summer to see if they suit. I love a good arranged marriage trope with the delicious addition of forced proximity thrown in there.

I’m learning that one of the best parts of Helen Hoang’s books is that they’re imminently readable. I picked this book up on a Sunday morning and hit the last page by mid-afternoon the same day. Ms. Hoang’s writing inspires laughs, feels, and the occasional tear. Her ability to portray Esme and Khai’s individual personalities and quirks completely invested me in both of them. The characters were so real and vibrant in my mind, not something that happens every day.

My favorite part about this story was the nuanced and delicate portrayal of Khai’s autism and Esme’s immigrant experience. Their stories individually would have captivated me, and to be honest, one story could have easily out shown the other. But Ms. Hoang deftly wrote and intertwined both stories in a way that made them both shine.

The only thing that kept this from being a five-star read was Esme’s daughter. I thought to keep her a secret from Khai was absolutely awful, and I had to try to forgive Esme for it throughout the book. I also thought that the resolution of her hidden daughter was merely skimmed over. As if the addition of a daughter to their relationship dynamic wouldn’t change anything.

Overall, this was an absolutely gorgeous romance novel. Sexy, sweet and everything in-between, I highly recommend it. In the meantime, I’ll just be over here anxiously waiting on Quan’s book!

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

This is my second book from Helen Hoang, and I think it's safe to say that I won't be picking up her books anymore. Truthfully, I was somewhat iffy with several things about The Kiss Quotient, which was Helen Hoang’s debut novel in 2018. After my reading experience with The Bride Test, I am fully convinced that I’m just not the right audience for her books.

Much like in The Kiss Quotient, the premise of her sophomore novel involves very glaring power imbalances between the main character and the love interest that were difficult for me to ignore. Except, this time the imbalance is amplified: Esme Tran is dirt poor, uneducated (which is arguably romanticized in this book, yikes), and later on, displaced to an entirely foreign country where she knows nothing about its language and its customs. On the other hand, Khai Diep is a highly intelligent business CEO who constantly views Esme as some kind of sex object (again, this is arguable). But even Khai is powerless as his desires and decisions are constantly undermined by his mother, and later on, by Esme.

Essentially, the premise of this novel is built on very, very shaky territory. From Khai's mother literally buying a vulnerable woman from a poorer country as a bride for her son despite his repeated disinterest in relationships... to Esme using sex to force Khai to admit that he loves her, too many things in The Bride Test are questionable at best and outright horrifying at worst.

It took me until around halfway through to be sold on the premise, but then it completely grabbed my heart. I adore Khai and My (and Quan always.)

I blazed right through this one and had an incredible amount of fun returning to the world of The Kiss Quotient.
The Bride Test follows Michael’s cousin Khai and a new character, Esme, a Vietnamese immigrant. Khai is intelligent, logical, intense and autistic. He’s also single. The latter of which his mother plans to remedy by inviting Esme to stay with Khai for the summer. Esme desires a better life for herself, her daughter and their family. She reluctantly sees this opportunity as a stepping stone to said life. She isn’t searching for a husband. But how hard could it be? Go to America and seduce this man. Perhaps they would fall in love. And if she didn’t succeed, she would at least be paid for her time. Both Esme and Khai certainly have their work cut out for them.

I really enjoyed this story and found it to be sweet and funny, while also carrying a fantastic message about grief and maneuvering one’s emotions. Esme’s character is truly the bright spot of this story and I admire her hard-working nature and tenacity. She is truly the type of character I could aspire to be more like.

The romance in this is slow to blossom, of course. Khai has never had a non-platonic relationship with a woman in any form. Esme’s past relationships have been wrought with bad experiences. Watching these two navigate their relationship from roommates, to friends, to more was delightful. I especially found a part in which Khai criticizes junior high sex education and seeks advice from Michael and Quan to be hilarious and true in so many regards.

All of this said, Khai and Esme have big secrets they are keeping from one another (because of course) and must decide how to approach these subjects, or lose one another completely. Khai is in new territory, with Esme constantly in his personal life – whereas before he could ignore phone calls and lock himself inside his house. As they grow closer, Esme finds she doesn’t know how to share the most important part of her life. She fears it’ll shatter her chance of a different life.

It’s important to note that The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test are #ownvoices novels. The author Helen Hoang and the characters Stella and Khai have autism spectrum disorders. Helen has clearly infused both of these stories with her own experiences and struggles. As the parent of a child on the spectrum, I feel the difficulties Stella and Khai have in traversing emotional and social situations deep in my bones. Its something I struggle to help my own child with on a daily basis. I applaud Helen for bringing us these characters and their stories to us readers.

Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed The Bride Test and his predecessor, The Kiss Quotient. Definitely keep your eyes peeled for Helen’s next novel, The Heart Principle, due out in Spring 2020!

I was absolutely blown away when I read The Kiss Quotient last year. Other than Sophie Kinsella, I haven't read too much adult contemporary in recent years, leading more towards YA when I was in the mood for a contemporary, but lately I've been finding myself more and more in the mood for a good adult contemporary, especially when they're a bit on the steamy side (likely why I devoured every single one of Christina Lauren's books in a year!)

I absolutely love that Helen Hoang writes about characters with autism and she too is on the spectrum. Her characters come across as so genuine and real that I just want to be friends with them in real life too. Stella's story was amazing in The Kiss Quotient but I also loved Khai's story just as much. The Bridge Test is very different from her first book and The Bride Test is considered to be a companion novel, not a true sequel. If you haven't read The Kiss Quotient yet, you should start with that one as there is a scene in The Bride Test that will spoil the first book if you haven't read it yet.

If you loved The Kiss Quotient, you'll love this one too, although it does have a totally different feel than the first book did. They're both excellent stories with amazing characters and I can't wait to see what Helen writes next!

Note: An egalley was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A young friend told me this book was too steamy for me ---since I am actually, though I hate to say it, over 70!  But guess what.  I went ahead anyway and read this sweet, compassionate love story of a mother's attempt at an arranged marriage and found much to enjoy..  Khai is a successful businessman and a high-functioning autistic virgin; Esme is a smart, brave Vietnamese woman fighting to find her place in a country not her own and in the heart of a man who claims to be incapable of love.  How these two beautiful souls, with the help of family, come together makes for an enjoyable (sometimes humorous) read.   I'm happy to report as I turned the last page that I didn't feel over-steamed or too old.   Is anyone too old for a good story, well told?  3.5 stars.

The Bride Test is the second book in the series by Helen Hoang. She writes romance stories that matter. The  book has substance and that's not something you always find in a romance novel. This book was a delight to read. I loved the characters and getting to know their backstories. I really look forward to more books by this author.

I love Hoang's characters. They are so sweet, so easy to root for, everything about Esme and Khai was on point. Representation is so important in any genre and I love how Hoang steps up to the plate every time. The book suffered a bit from pacing, slow build up and then everything wrapped up a bit quickly in the end. I really enjoyed it and will recommend it to customers.

Finished up The Bride Test this morning and I really enjoyed it. I love how Helen Hoang shines light on disabilities with her main characters. It’s brought a lot of awareness and a new perspective in which I’m thankful for. You get to see how Khai struggles to love and get close to people because of his Autism. I love that Esme is so receptive to him and even more so after learning about his disability. She takes the time to figure Khai out and make him more comfortable in their love. I think what I loved most is that this story shined light on a single mom. It’s not too often you see single moms in a happily ever after.

Overall a 4 star rating for me, although I think I liked The Kiss Quotient better. It was a little steamier in my opinion but this one was still great nonetheless.

The Bride Test was a really fun read. Hoang's characters were really well written, and I really felt like I had a better understanding of autism and how that plays into relationships after reading this novel. I loved the glimpse into another culture as well, and I really appreciated that the "thing" that caused the tension was believable and not just another "they don't talk about it" trope.