I've been struggling with how to review this book ever since I finished reading it last week. I was very excited to read this book, because I truly adored The Bride Test. I decided to buddy read it with Jamsu @ Jamsudreams and I am very happy that I did it, because this is a book that I needed a lot of hand-holding through. You can read Jamsu's review here. As for my review, let's dive right in!

I have to start my review by saying that this book is not a romance book. It should have been marketed as women's fiction, which is not a bad thing at all. But it was marketed as a romance book, and that's what sits at the core of my rating. 

The Heart Principle is the story of Anna accepting herself for who she is, despite her family's expectations. It's the story of Anna demanding respect from her family, her boyfriend, her family's friends. It is the story of Anna. And I adored that story. It's a story that needed to be told and shared with the world. I enjoyed reading about Anna's journey to accept herself, and to accept help to be the best version of herself that she could be. 

You get to see the story of the caregiver, which isn't an easy journey to experience. It's full of sadness, pain, self-doubt, and everything you could possibly imagine, and it's all reflected on the page. It was hard to read at times. There was one scene when Anna was feeding her dad that just about killed me. But it all made for an interesting read, and I appreciated what Hoang did with Anna.

Weaved into the plot is Quan, Anna's love interest. I say weaved, because he never felt like a main character to me. Even though I liked Quan, I felt like he was there to give Anna a reason for wanting to change her life, and I hated that for him. Quan had the potential of being such an interesting and complex character, and a lot of times he even shows that. He is such a good character, but again, he never felt like the other main character. 

I will be honest with you: I loved 94% of this book. And then the last 6% happened. Or rather it didn't. There are a lot of very heavy stuff hinted at in those last few 20 or 30 pages of the book, things that are eventually explained away with "a few weeks after that passed" passages that just didn't sit well with me. I understand that maybe there was a need to keep this book under a certain number of pages, but I didn't enjoy having so many dark, heavy topics approached, only to be glossed over. I have a feeling that had this book been marketed from the very start as a women's fiction, rather than romance, the ending would have been better. 

I wish I could have enjoyed this book more, and I wish it had been marketed with the right genre. Had I known in advance what this book was about, I am certain my rating would be higher, because I would have been better prepared to deal emotionally with the themes of the book. I am curious to see if the author will continue writing in this series, and I'll definitely check out her future books, because I did enjoy the writing style.

Not my favorite book -- the story lines dragged but I was happy to see a new perspective to love. I had a tough time reading through. Stopped in between and then went back a few weeks later!

Absolutely loved this one and found a new author whose backlist I want to read. Five stars for this emotional read.

The Heart Principle is the third book in the The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang, and was also one of my most anticipated reads for this summer! I loved the first two books in this series, and I couldn’t wait to read this book … especially since it’s Quan’s story!

Let me start this by saying that if you’re looking for a lighthearted, fluffy read, that is not exactly what you’re going to get with this book. Yes, there are lots of cute moments and romance in the book, but it also deals with some heavy topics as well. I was warned of this before starting the book, so I was able to prepare, but it didn’t dissuade me from reading the story at all. This is still an enjoyable read, but it’s not all light and fluffy like some may suspect. Regardless, I was hooked, and flew through this book in just a day, which rarely happens lately!

I have been really excited to read Quan’s story since we met him earlier on in the series. He really was great for Anna, as she was for him, and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow as the book went along. Both had their issues, but they figured them out together, after a few rough patches, and it was nice to see that. They are both just really great characters, and I love them both so much!

The storyline for this book, as I mentioned above, was both cute and fluffy, but also dealt with some heavier topics as well, including the sickness and death of a family member, and how that affected the people caring for him. As a person that has helped with multiple sick family members, I could definitely relate to Anna and her family. It’s definitely hard, and I’m glad that she had Quan to lean on.

Overall; The Heart Principle was a great addition to this fantastic series! I really enjoyed reading the story, and finally getting to read Quan’s story as well! I don’t know if this is the final book in the series or if we will be seeing more, but if Helen wants to write more books in this series, I would totally read them! (And I think a re-read of the series is definitely due soon!)

Happy Reading!

I have loved all of Helen Hoang’s books, but I think this is my favorite!! A perfect, heartwarming romance with a top tier book boyfriend, and a beautiful story about family and grief as well. I just loved it!

4.5 Stars / 4 Steam Fans

The Heart Principle is the story we all waited for, and the wait was worth it! Quan and Anna have individual journeys as well as a beautifully fought journey together. I appreciated the time Helen Hoang spent laying out the struggles both characters were going through and related to the journeys so much more.

CW: Mental Heath Discussions, Autism Spectrum Discussion, Grief, Cancer, Advanced Directives, Death

Video review available in Week 41: Oct 10 – Oct 16, 2021, full weekly book reviews available on Steph's Romance Book Talk Patreon.

For other bookish content, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

This was a great addition to the series and I read it in one sitting. It was so good that I didn't want to stop reading!

Helen Hoang is an auto-read author for me and for good reason. Her latest and much-anticipated book, The Heart Principle, did not disappoint and I loved learning more about Quan Diep, who was a background character in her previous novels, and new heroine Anna Sun. As with all her characters, they're multi-faceted, honest, and real. And that is in large part thanks to how the author infuses so much of herself into her stories. She said this is the most personal book yet and it shows.

Anna is a violinist and an accidental viral YouTube star who's burning herself out trying to recapture the magic of that moment. At the same time, her (douche-y) boyfriend has decided that they should have an open relationship so he can sleep around to make sure she's the one (he made me so mad!). Anna decides she's going to have a one-night stand too and meets Quan, who is definitely more boyfriend material than hook-up. (I dare you not to fall in love with him while reading -- seriously.) Quan, with his tattoos and motorcycles, may not seem like the perfect fit for Anna but he's the one person who accepts Anna unconditionally and helps her to find that confidence within herself. After multiple failed one night stands together, they naturally move towards dating instead and I was 100% here for it. All the little and big ways they connected, whether it was over Netflix or their interests, made me smile and swoon, and provided a good counterpart to the more serious plot line that came later on.

Of Hoang's books, this one was admittedly the heaviest (but not overly so) and it hit rather close to home for me in ways I didn't expect.

Do I recommend? Absolutely! If you're been a fan of Helen Hoang since her debut novel, you'll enjoy this one too.

Helen Hoang had my heart from the beginning with "The Kiss Quotient" so I knew I had to read her newest.

This was the absolute sweetest book. I love that she incorporates a main character with autism.

Her writing make you want to hug the book and never let go. This one is much different than her other two but in the best way possible.

The characters truly feel so relatable.

I must thank NetGalley for this ARC copy. I truly enjoy this author and this is part of the Kissing Quotient series, book #3.

Sometimes it's hard for people to say "no," especially when you are being bulldozed all your life by your own family and boyfriend. Add being autistic (no matter where you are in the spectrum), which makes it even more arduous.

Anna is a violinist. She was discovered when the first chair couldn't make it and the second chair happened to have gotten into the accident with the first chair. Suddenly, Anna is an overnight sensation, thanks to YouTube and that faithful night. However, she is compounded with self-deprecation and her constant sister's comments on putting Anna down and then there's the anxiety to keep up with how to be, how to act, and oh, did I mention the crappy a$$ boyfriend who cares only about himself and suddenly wants an open relationship "to see what he's missing?"

In comes Quan and Anna discover, don’t be so quick to judge a book by its cover. She learns she can be herself and voice her truest thoughts with him.

This is a very good read for anyone who wants to see a person’s journey to learning to have a voice and growth.

“People like me better when I make them feel good about themselves.”

3.5 out of 5 stars so I'll round it up to 4

I loved Helen Hoang's previous book, but this one felt a lot more women's fic than genre romance to me. It sort of felt like Helen Hoang was trying to appeal to both audiences, and landed in a place that's not quite right for either.

I was REALLY excited to finally get Quan's book, so I was pretty disappointed when he - and the romance storyline with Anna - was put on the back-burner for a lot of the story. And then the back half of the book is just a lot of heavy things piled one after the other and the way the book wraps up there's just not a satisfactory resolution. Not a fan of this one.

What took me so long to read this book?? I adored the whole freaking thing. Anna, she has some screwed up people in her life. You fall in love with her right away and you know she will blossom. Quan, who doesn't want a tattooed, motorcycle driving stud to save the day??

This book is funny yet serious. I loved how it touched on Autism and Cancer. How two people who feel broken can be whole together.

Now I have to back track and read the first two books!! Helen Hoang is my new favorite author!!

Mixed feelings. Parts I liked and parts that weren't what I expected. The title and blurb are misleading, I went in expecting a romance but it was entirely different. I enjoyed the overall story but since I expected something else, it didn't work for me.

This book broke my heart and mended it all in one. So refreshing to see a romance that's not afraid to delve into painful topics.

I'm not a romance reader, but I like Helen Hoang's stories. It follows the genre conventions but I enjoy her sweet characters, even when I'm yelling at her to stand up for herself, to speak up! ;-)

I've been a fan of Quan since The Kiss Quotient and was very excited for his story. I loved the inclusion and representation of mental health. While it isn't a favorite for me, I did enjoy it and the author's note is great and makes you appreciate this story so much more.

I have never felt so seen in a book, as an Autistic person diagnosed in adulthood who also went through burnout while caretaking for a sick loved one, this book felt so personal to me. It was incredible for me to see myself in this story, and I hope readers who are not Autistic or caretakers and maybe understand a bit more what navigating the world for people like me is like. The love story was also so sweet and felt so real to me. It was amazing to see someone be so supportive and understanding. I just love this book so much it's hard to put it into words.

This book was so well written and a fantastic representation of autism/depression.

Unfortunately it just wasn't a book for me. Going in I was expecting a romance and that wasn't what I got. Yes there is romance but the heart of the story was a women's journey to discovering herself and the diagnosis of her health.

Overall I was left feeling sad and depressed after reading it. While I appreciated the heart and soul that was put into the story it ultimately wasn't book a book for me.

I absolutely loved this book! I was so engrossed by the characters right off the bat. Helen Hoang's writing is out of this world, if you've been in a reading slump this is a great place to start, it absolutely blew me away!

I am very, very, late getting to this book, but I am so glad that I finally got a chance to read it. This was a long awaited read, after loving the first two books in the series. But I was kind of taken off guard when I started reading because it is quite different from the first two. First off, the Heart Principle is written in first person, which I wasn't expecting, and quite honestly I'm generally not a fan of. But the writing here was so well done that the first person didn't bother me at all. Also Hoang explains why she chose to use first person in the afterwards and it makes sense and it does give a more personal feel to the book.
I have to say that I absolutely love Quan and have so since the beginning of the series. I was so excited to see him get the HEA he deserved. But I did struggle with Anna. And honestly I think that's understandable since there were some very serious topics addressed throughout the book. I think we really got to see some great character progression throughout the story but things were not quite wrapped up with Anna and her family, and I felt like things that probably would have been major issues in her and Quan's relationship were kind of just glossed over. That might have been a testament to how caring and accepting Quan was, but I think I would have like to see more of how the two would have interacted during those difficult situations where Anna was dealing with burnout. I like my romances to end without continued conflict and that didn't happen here but as the author described it, this was not just a romance, but also somewhat of a memoir of her life. The end of the book definitely didn't have a romance feel and I was honestly a bit disappointed. Despite this, Helen Hoang is definitely a talented author and I would like to read more from her in the future.