5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I would definitely be recommending this book to readers on my Instagram bookstagram account.

The best of The Kiss Quotient trilogy, IMHO! Great representation and really lovable characters. Anna was vulnerable and it was so great to read.

heartbreakingly real portrayal of anxiety... this felt so so much deeper than past Helen Hoang novels. I had a hard time putting this down and I know I will be thinking about it in years to come. the characters and their struggles felt so real and raw.

I will read everything Helen writes

Ok, this book was fantastic, as I expected. But it was also a VERY hard read and deserves a few content warnings that I had no idea about going into.

The primary one for me was care of a sick/dying loved one. It was very well done, but hit way too close to home and was very hard to push through. So it took me much longer than usual to read this one.

The way her family treats her is also very hard to “watch” and I could see this being triggering to many people as well.

I did listen to the audiobook, and once again, Natalie Naudus is one of my all time favorite narrators. She did a fantastic job and that was likely a large contributor to why it was so hard to finish quickly, you could just feel the emotion as she narrated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVE this book but it wasn't what I was expecting...I like that this book tackled heavier subjects and focused on the main character’s development with the romance being a subplot. However, the writing was too simple to carry the heaviness of the story, Despite that everything else was perfect, I really appreciated how Hoang showed us a character being diagnosed during the story, something that I have never seen before in a story.

I really love the way Hoang handles diverse characters and this books was no exception. The narrators weren't my favorite and the end did feel a little rushed but all in all another solid effort.

A well paced romance book. It had good highs and lows and I really felt connected to the characters and what they were going through. I appreciated how they each didn't try to change each other and worked through their issues together. It was great insight into the main characters mind and how she dealt with life. Romance and heat was off the charts loved it!

WOW.

THE HEART PRINCIPLE By Helen Hoang is a heart wrenching masterpiece! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Anna’s struggles are very real. Autism. Depression. Anxiety. Suicidal thoughts. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Hoang handled these topics with her unique #ownvoices insight on Autism and touched on the other subjects with ease, and a realistic resolution. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The narration in this is TOP
NOTCH. The emotion of the narrators made it so much better than I could have ever read in my head!
⠀
Quan…. Oh my HEART. YOU BEAUTIFUL GENTLE BROKEN MAN. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
*insert crying hysterically gif * ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Anna and Quan = HEART INFLATING TWO SIZES. HEART SHATTERING INTO A MILLION PIECES. HEART BACK TOGETHER AGAIN. In that exact order ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Anna… although I got frustrated with her internal struggles sometimes I understood her motives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This story spoke to me on so many levels I probably cried about half of it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Fun Fact: I am a violinist. I started in 2003 and played until 2013. Ten years. Ten years of constant practice. And then only here and there for the next 5 years. And then I felt just like Anna - not good enough to keep playing. I stopped. I picked it up a few times over the years but I kept failing. Getting frustrated. For the amount of years I’ve played I should be better. So I stopped. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
So thank you @hhoangwrites for the reminder that it’s okay to not be perfect at your craft whatever it may be. Today, I play. Even if it’s just scales. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
PLEASE READ THIS BOOK ! ⠀⠀⠀

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4/5

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this audiobook along with the BOTM copy as well. I read while I listened, and it made me feel EVERYTHING! Such an amazing book that I will never recover from. It has a special place in my heart! I highly recommend this series, and if the other audiobooks are just as good as this one was, then go get a copy of that as well!

The Heart Principle was exactly what I was looking for. It checked all of the boxes for a perfect modern romance while feeling incredibly realistic. I enjoyed the main character with all of her strength and flaws. Her story combined with the story of her current romance situation was unique and engrossing. Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Anna and Quan are meant to be. Helen Hoang is in a class of her own with another heartfelt, emotionally deep read. What an absolute treasure these two are. The Heart Principle is rich with layers, upon layers of literary goodness. Pure genius.

I’ve heard about Helen Hoang for years and very positive reviews for her previous books but I’ve never read any of them, and I’ll admit that I didn’t put together that the Heart Principle was sort of part of a series with her previous books. That being said, having never read the others, I was glad that I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I knew from the names that some of the side characters in this book were main characters from some of the previous books and I could appreciate that these were cameos. Fortunately, the story itself was separate enough that I could tell it was all fresh in this book and I could enjoy it as a stand-alone.

As someone who is neurodivergent, I am excited that Helen is out there writing books like this about neurodivergent ladies. I have ADHD and my sister is on the autistic spectrum and getting to read and see characters that remind me of us feels like seeing reflections waving from the pages and make me feel less alone and help me and my sister feel like we are part of a community and less like outliers so voices like Hoang’s and stories like this are important.

This was a difficult story with many complex layers that needed care and attention but it was worth it. I’m really glad I got a chance to read it and get to know Anna and Quan and see them find each other and get to know and understand and fight for themselves and each other. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book entirely like this in-depth and timeline-wise but because of that, it was special and distinctive and really meant something to me.

As far as the narration goes, BOY was my favorite of the two. I liked his performance best. Natalie I feel is a perfectly credible and talented narrator and she brought a lot of emotion to this role that was nice to hear. I just had the bad luck of just coming off of 2 other unrelated audiobooks that were also narrated by her that I was starting to feel a little burnt out by her. I genuinely don’t think this is her fault, it was just bad timing on my part.

The Heart Principle is a singular book that I feel really glad to have read and gotten to experience its depths and emotional intimacy. It is a real emotional journey of a book and worth every minute, I look forward to reading more by Hoang in the future.

The Heart Principle is a book that can be experienced differently depending of the expectations you go into it with. If you're looking for traditional, escapist romance, this one might feel a bit too heavy. But going into it eyes wide open, yes it's a romance, but there's a lot of real life in it, with it's challenges and sadness and uncertainties and you get to experience a touching portrayal of two people trying to do their best to get through life and maybe help each other along the way. It reminded of the experience I had with Beach Read, not what I went in expecting, but nevertheless a memorable and worthwhile read.

I received an audioARC and also enjoyed the narration.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook! I'm a huge fan of Helen Hoang and loved the audio version of her book. The narrator was perfect!

This one was just as good as the other books. I could empathize with Anna so much! Quan was the sweetest. I love the imperfectness of the characters. This one was everything that I wanted and more. I highly recommend it. Thank You to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audioARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

Five Stars from me! I absolutely LOVE this series and the author’s writing style! This is another beautifully written book by the author that was sadder than I expected it to be. The tears, oh the tears! Such an emotional read. Just goes to show you that the author truly puts her heart in all she writes. Emotional read so if you’re not up for that, maybe wait on reading this one. But whatever you do definitely pick this one up at some point you won’t regret it!! Just be sure to grab a box of Kleenex too.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Heart Principle! Two hurting people form completely different walks in life suddenly meet and begin to explore…..who they really are! This book is sad and not what I expected at all. I feel the author did a successful job writing about very difficult subjects. I loved Anna’s character! I did not care for her sister Priscilla. Then I was just really sad for her mother. I believe this maybe the situation for many undiagnosed Autistic people.

Thanks to Netgalley for this opportunity for my honest review

I have mixed feelings about this book. The Heart Principle although promoted as a rom com is actually far different from one. This is a heartbreaking sometimes triggering story of an autistic artitst and her mental health issues. It’s said to be a fictionalised autobiography of Hoang. I loved Anna and her story was heartbreaking. But I think if it was written as a standalone focusing only on Anna it would have been better. There was too much happening and Hoang wanted to incorporate too many things that none of the issues gets explored with the depth or the nuance such sensitive themes requires. Quan is a character I have come to love from the two other books in this series and I was really excited for his love story. But I think he got pushed to the side when the focus of the story shifts midway to all of Anna’s issues and her breakdown. I did love the small glimpse into the love story and Anna’s struggle touched my soul but overall as a book this one just didn’t hit the mark. The structure of the book vaccilated between a romance and literary fiction focusing on mental health. This lack of a proper structure ultimately failed the book. Anna’s story would remain close to my heart but I still wish this book was split into two one focusing on Anna and one on Quan and their romance. If you are planning to pick this up, please go through the trigger warnings and content warnings and also keep in mind that this is absolutely not a rom com.

I had read the other two books in this series and enjoyed the characters very much. It was nice to learn more about Quan and meet Anna.. It was very realistic in its depiction of family -responsibilities and the role each person is expected to play in the family. I would recommend this title to fans of contemporary romance and those who appreciate playing a musical instrument.

I love Helen Hoang's writing, and her newest is such a great asset to the Kiss Quotient series. I adored the audio narrators, and I flew through this one as I did chores around my house (and my house is cleaner because I wanted to keep listening). The character development is top notch, and I love how much she includes neurodiversity. The relationship development wowed me - I loved the relationship between Quon and Anna, and I loved the growth of the relationship of Anna and her mom. This one was a big win for me!