Liana 5 stars or 10

I was looking forward to this book as the previous story in the series was one of my favourite of the years and I really hope that someday we'll get to see the movie because this series deserves it more than anything.
I really enjoyed the book, the whole scenario, the perfect characters with so many flaws but with the desire to change something in better for their life, all the laugh out loud moments, their banter, their feelings and acceptance of what's happening between them and the consent that has a huge importance.
It will definitely remain one of my favourite books of all times.

Wonderfully warm and witty whilst equally steamy and smart, The Bride Test makes for a perfect, fast-paced summer read.

Don't miss on this unputdownable book that everyone is talking about!

The Bride Test was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. After reading (and loving) The Kiss Quotient I couldn’t wait to see what Helen Hoang had in store for us next and I am pleased to say this book was so so good. I didn't think Helen Hoang could beat The Kiss Quotient, I was actually scared this may book may suffer from the sophomore slump but it was utterly brilliant. I'd been excited to learn this second book would be Khai's book as he was an utter sweetheart and I wanted his HEA but I don't think anything could have prepared me for this book.

The basic premise is Khai’s mom goes and interviews potential wives for him in Vietnam as he has shown no interest in finding a wife (or even girlfriend) for himself. She luckily comes across My and pays for her to travel to the US and to complete a trial as Khai’s girlfriend and try and convince him to marry her.

I know, it sounds like we shouldn’t like it. That is the premise. But turns out it is genius. My (who changes her name to Esme, short for Esmerelda, when she goes to the US) was someone I was a little uncertain of at first meeting her. I admired how hardworking she was and how she was wary of accepting an offer from a strange, rich lady to travel to the US as a mail-order bride of sorts. She didn’t want to accept something which seemed too easy, so when she changed her name, her outfit, and began to act almost opposite to how she had first appeared I was scared she would lose all sense of self in the US. I was utterly wrong and Esme charmed all over again with how nice and hardworking she was and how she never once judged Khai, maybe because she had no idea others would in her situation. She knew nothing of Khai’s autism and even when she did learn of it not once was she critical of him, she simply acknowledged it as another facet of who he was and I adored that.

Esme was strong-willed and always wished to succeed by herself and it was so believable her path to find her place in the US not defined by Khai but instead for herself. There were so many roadblocks stopping her, even more now with the new administration in place in the US who wish to prevent people from coming in. And although she had a major inferiority complex she did not deserve as she was awe-inspiring at how hard she worked at absolutely everything, she never became downtrodden. It was very interesting how she was comparing herself to people at home and in the US. She had a US father she never met so she was mixed race and this mixed heritage left her very conflicted. She was not like those she grew up with, she viewed herself as having large hands and being ugly, but then when she saw women in the US she was nothing like them either. It was very interesting seeing her look at this new side of her heritage she had never seen and feeling she did not fit there as well. She continually felt out of place and this led to her quest to find her father, which was a brilliant side story which may have not developed quite as I expected but really enjoyed.

I could write pages on my love for Esme and how her character grew and developed. I know I said I was excited about Khai’s story but I couldn’t help but feel that this book was far more Esme’s than anyone else's as she struggled to find her place and a home she belonged to. She broke my heart and made me feel like a total slacker with the amount of work she did each and every day and still she felt like she fell short. I swear, on some pages I wish I could have climbed in and shaken some people. Esme needed protecting!

And now I feel I should talk about Khai as I did say this was his book. I think part i loved most about Khai’s story was how his autism was represented. We had autism written in a new light for The Kiss Quotient as the way women present can be very different to men, but then Khai himself presents differently to how someone else might. I think I really admired how Hoang showed the nuances of it and how he experienced it. He himself knew he was autistic and brushed off many of his personality quirks as just being his autism and as he got to know Esme and explained things to her I think he learnt new things about himself I really admired. Khai was extremely successful in running a company that made money and worked for him. He did not have a massive social circle but he had friends and family and was not incapable of social interaction, he just did not interpret all social cues and tBut it was just as much Esme's. Many might say Khai didn't come across as autistic but then many would have said the same thing about Stella in The Kiss Quotient. I really appreciate how Helen Hoang shows autism is not one set of rules. Each person has a different experience and she shows that here. In many ways, Khai is extremely successful. He uses his intelligence to run a successful company and plays to his strengths. He is not incapable of social interaction he just prefers not to. He processes some emotional things differently and he is adverse to touch. Especially a gentle touch. He has his own boundaries he has when it comes to touch. There was an amazing scene when we first more about his preferences with touch when Esme offers to cut his hair. I knew I was going to adore Esme and Khai together as he made himself vulnerable and explained he was averse to a gentle touch like a soft brush of his hair and she tested different pressures to get it right. It was such a simple scene and could have easily been overlooked but I was a goner then.

Their romance was spectacular. As they grew closer (even when Khai didn't want to) I was cheering as they were so sweet and they had so much chemistry. I was so fully invested in everything that happened. This pair had me cheering when things were going well and broke my heart and had me crying at their lows. It was a complete rollercoaster and didn't even want to put this book down to work.

I didn't think she could beat The Kiss Quotient for me but The Bride Test was just as good if not better. Now I just want to know what Helen Hoang will write next?

I adored this so much, but I am completely biased and I love Helen Hoang. Another well crafted story full of emotion, characters you care about, you don’t want to put it down and will find yourself saying just one more chapter early in the morning.

Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

4.5 stars

Hold on while I gush because a mail-order bride story with diverse representation, you say. Signed up. Helen Hoang did not disappoint second time around.

What starts off as an interesting Vietnamese character, My, quickly transports to the US where My renames herself Esme, ready to take on the challenge of being the wife-to-be for Khai. Esme was a ball of self-proclaimed inadequacy, desperate to provide for her family. The slow transformation of a twinkling of Esme's self-belief and beginning to live for herself was beautiful as it unfolded. I was drawn to her humility, her heart on her sleeve and genuineness.

"Sky and earth, she wanted to taste that smile. And each of those dimples."

Khai didn't feel or emote and despairing, his mother went on a special mission to find him a wife, a companion. Khai didn't know what he wanted or needed, he lived by his routines and the satisfaction in intellectual tasks. However, in little ways, Khai was a stand-up guy for his brother and his mother that gave insight into the caring man he could be. This book brought such believable character development as he navigated the heart connection and sexual attraction.

There wasn't one thing I didn't enjoy about this story. It was engaging, it represented topics that we need to read and hear about more, such as, immigration, autism spectrum disorders, poverty and access to education. Helen Hoang wove these issues seamlessly without pontificating, through real lives. Most of all, I adored Khai and Esme, together, apart, awkward and yet natural together, fish sauce and all.

"Her curves fit to his hollows, soft to hard, smooth to rough, the perfect debit to his credit."

Thank you Atlantic books for the review copy, I feel lucky to have read this early.

“Everyone deserved to love and be loved back. Everyone.”




I’m kind of disappointed. Not from the book, tho. It was good. But I expected something else. I didn’t read the blurb before I started the book. Somehow I wanted to see more from Stella and Michael. How they are going to organize a wedding, all the troubles they are going to go through. I was prepared to laugh. A lot. But no. Nothing like this.

The story follows one of Michael’s cousins Khai adventures to love. He is autistic like Stella. And here all the similarities end.
Khai is a strange guy, who thinks that he isn’t capable to feel or to have strong feelings like love or grieve. He is absolutely happy on his own and he doesn’t need somebody else in his life. But his mom doesn’t think so. She thinks that her son is been enough on his own, and she is determinate to find him a wife. So she flies to Việt Nam to find and mail-ordered his bride. There she meets Mỹ.

“ “I’m not lonely. I like being alone.” Lonely was for people who had feelings, which he didn’t. ”

Mỹ (She changes her name after she arrives in America to Esme. The author likes to call her Esme in the rest of the book) is 23-years old living in poverty, working as a cleaning woman to support her family. After Khai’s mom meets her, she knows from the sigh that this is a perfect bride to her son. She offers Esme a green card and works in America for the summer in exchange of My trying to seduce her son and marry him. In this offer Esme sees an opportunity to give her and her family a life they deserve, so she except the challenge.

“How did you change your life when you were trapped like this? Her history didn’t define her. Her origins didn’t define her. At least, they shouldn’t. She could be more if she had a chance.”

In the beginning, I didn’t like Esme. She is interest driven and keeps her secrets longer than necessary. She doesn’t admit to Khai who she really is – a poor girl, uneducated (she doesn’t finish high-school so she can work), become a mother in her teenage years. It doesn’t feel right for me to keep such secrets from the guy you are willing to marry and claim to love him. Slowly I started to feel for her and at the end, I didn’t hate her, neither I like her. Also, she has another reason to want to go to America – to find her father. She’d never met him. After a short romance with her mother, he went back to America before her mother realized she was pregnant.

I enjoyed Khai point of view more. His life – so ordered and planned to perfection, is getting changed. His change to better is so truly beautiful. So does Esme’s. It is respectful how she started from the bottom and grown to be an independent woman. Her passion to study and make her dreams come true. I loved how they both changed and became a better version of themselves.

Though, I wondered why The Bride Test is a sequel to The Kiss Quotient. I rushed myself to read the first book, so I can continue with the next one. It put different expectations. Like Colleen Hoover’s books November 9 and Ugly Love – they have characters that are common for both book, but they are not part of the series, which worked great for me.
Overall I enjoyed the book and will definitely want to read the last book about Khai’s older brother – Quan. So curious to find out who is going to slay this bad guy’s heart.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Corvus for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are mine!

4 - "You're my one." Stars!

The second book in Helen Hoang’s Kiss Quotient series gives us Khai’s story. We met him in the first book and his blunt to the point delivery of opinions was equal parts amusing and cringe-worthy. Being autistic presents its challenges for Khai, but he has settled himself into a regimented existence that he believes makes him happy. Only his mother doesn’t agree!

Lonely was for people who had feelings, which he didn’t…

On a visit to Ho Chi Minh City, his mother starts interviewing potential candidates for an arranged marriage to her son, which brings about an unexpected meeting with Esme Tran in a hotel bathroom, Khai’s mother believes she would be a perfect match for her son, even if she is there as the cleaner and not a patron of the high end hotel.

"Mom knows best…"

Esme travels to America for the summer, effectively moves in with Khai, and tries to ingratiate herself into his life, as you can expect having his routines and general day to day living messed with by someone his mother has picked out for him, does not sit well with Khai and initially he is reluctant to Esme’s presence in his life, but little by little she works her way into his affections, even though he still believes he isn’t capable of feelings.

She was already a song that played on endless repeat in his head…

Although another great read, I didn’t love The Bride Test quite as much as its predecessor, I found myself hooked on the first book from its beginning and it pulled me in deeper and deeper the further the story progressed, The Bride Test was more of a book of two halves, where the first half felt a little bit pedestrian in the way the plot moved along, but then then it took off at a faster clip in the second half and grabbed me completely until the end.

"I’m glad it was you…"

I am so glad that Quan (Khai’s brother) is next up to get his story, we spend quite a bit of time with him in this book when Khai is trying to negotiate his way around certain aspects of being with a woman, and boy did he have me giggling. I’ll be interested to see how this ladies’ man falls and who the author puts in his path to catch him.

Aw. I instantly fell head over heels for both of the main characters and started shipping them immediately. That's some good writing. They're both adorable and naive and they both love their families. I didn't want to put the book down because they're both so cute, and super well suited for one another.

I like that Esme has a daughter. I like that she has another reason to visit the States in the shape of wanting to track down her American father. Esme having a job and doing night school was nice as it made the story about so much more than just the romance: it fleshed her out as a full character that you can really root for. Her determination to get a visa through any means that didn't make her feel like she was trading in her self worth was incredibly admirable. I like that she never felt that Khai's autism was something to be conquered or tolerated, but just a part of who he is.

The real deal here though is that it's truly an eye opening book about immigration and poverty in foreign countries. It's a very well crafted story. You can see the love the author had for the story and characters. It felt deeply researched and was told with so much love. The very moving author's note at the end really brought this home.

Very sweet and lovely, overall. A fantastic, worthy follow up to Hoang's amazing debut novel. It was just fun to read.

I enjoyed this book far more than Helen Hoang's first novel, though I was happy to see plenty of characters from The Kiss Quotient return. The Bride Test was less humorous and more thought-provoking than Hoang's earlier novel; it handles a number of issues, such as wealth inequality and access to education, that are usually only found in historical romance novels about peasant girls and arrogant aristocrats. Hoang has clearly worked hard to 'humanise' women who are overlooked at best and demonised at worst: the domestic workers who leave home to support their children, and the women who emigrate in order to marry and give their families back home a better life. My/Esme's story is a little unrealistic at times- she starts off struggling with conversational English, yet by the end of the novel- a mere 3 months later- she has passed her GED with flying colours. Hoang wanted to show that a person without access to education is no less worthy than a person who has been able to afford schooling, but of course, a migrant worker with no 'hidden genius' is still worthy of love. Khai was an endearing protagonist with a (mostly) supportive family. I found his reaction to Esme's child a little puzzling- perhaps if he had a large family, like the love interest in The Kiss Quotient, I would have found his laid-back, fun-filled attitude a bit more realistic. I would have liked to have seen and heard more from Jade (who seemed awfully willing to accept any handsome man as her 'new daddy') That said, every romance novel needs a happy ending. Mine will come when I find a shop that sells the delicious fruit that Hoang describes in almost every chapter...mmmm!

3.5/4 stars for me - The Bride Test is unbelievably cute and gorgeous, and I could not put it down once I'd started it, but there were plot tensions that I think could have been developed further to provide them a bit more depth (as Helen Hoang does so well in The Kiss Quotient).

Hoang is now an auto-read author for me - she delivers funny, touching scenes and characters who tug on all the heartstrings. It was so interesting delving into Khai's experiences and perspectives, and he felt like a very real person from the first page. Esme is, frankly, brilliant - uncertain but always herself, smart and cunning when she needs to be, and it was fascinating gaining some insight into her world and background. I also appreciate that, while we see some serious cases of insta-lust in Hoang's stories, she shows us romance and love that develops over time (and through the quirkiest of circumstances).

I can't wait for the next book and am already planning a day off work so I can indulge myself in a day of non-stop reading...

"The best way to win the heart of an odd, irritating man is to be more odd and irritating". - (LOL) How true!

I loved the Kiss Quotient, but The Bride Test will always have a special place in my heart.
It´s a beautiful love story about the difficulties of being different.
Esme is a unique heroine. Sometimes she was so irritating and odd, that I laughed until I had tears in my eyes.

Helen Huang has outdone herself here. Skillfully she plays with the different emotions of this story and hits every nerve of a romantic.

I loved The Kiss Quotient last year. I'm not a romance reader, and it came as a surprise how elegantly it was done. And I loved how Hoang wrote about autism and raised awareness in a very positive way. I love her charming writing, and the wit she carries in her books.
This book was not any different. Although I enjoyed The Kiss Quotient more, I also liked this book a lot. Lovely characters, very emotional, yet witty.
I'd definitely recommend her books.

Thanks a lot Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I have read Helen Hoang's first novel, The Kiss Quotient, I was charmed with its fresh, original characters and plot, centering around a protagonist with Aspergers syndrome. I enjoyed the book so much that I immediately requested The Bride Test, despite my misgivings about the plot (a poor Vietnamese girl is taken by a rich family to America to be a potential bride).

Khai Diep, the main character, is an Asian American who is also autistic, and, amongst other issues, finds it hard to form relationships. Enter Esme (My Ngoc Tran), an uneducated mixed race Vietnamese girl, who together with her family lives in abject poverty. She is given a chance to go to America and improve her family's life. She will meet and seduce her potential husband, with his mum's blessing, and either marry him, or go back home. Summer in California seems like a dream chance for Esme, and when she meets Khai she is smitten. But will love blossom between them?

When I started this novel, I had a lot of mixed feelings about Esme's intentions - taking a plunge, seducing and marrying a man for the chance of a better life. I thought her motives were questionable at least and I was not sure if I could like her as a character. Having said that, the author did a great job in presenting her motives, indecisions and insecurities, making her a believable character and making me warm towards her. Having suffered from many setbacks, none of which were her fault, Esme is determined find herself worthy - worthy of Khai's feelings, worthy of the chance presented to her; In a world that cares little for her and her situation, Esme is determined to work as hard as possible to prove that she matters. Self worth is a big theme in this novel, one which links Esme and Khai - he also questions his motives, finding it hard to understand his own feelings towards Esme as well as other people who matter to him. At first glance, Khai's setbacks do not matter in his privileged position as a wealthy American citizen - but his own issues, very subtly painted by the author, make his position in this relationship in many ways as vulnerable as Esme's.

Helen Hoang's second own voices novel is another fresh and quirky love story. I really enjoyed reading this book - it was hot and steamy in some places, funny and romantic in others, and it offered a unique perspective not only on love and romance between two different characters, but also on the setbacks suffered by many immigrants looking for better life, based on her mother's story. All together - a highly recommended original contemporary romance.

PS. I have just read that a third book is in the making and i already cannot wait to read it. The best recommendation in my books!

Lovely novel! touching and absorbing. really liked the characters and wanted to know more about them!

I received a free ebook version of this from Netgalley. Thankyou to both the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this! My review is still honest.

The Kiss Quotient is one of the few romances that I genuinely adore. I'm so very picky about them and so when I find one that I truly love, it's quite a big deal! I was excited and a little scared going into this one, but I'm so very happy to say that this one lives up to the expectations! I loved it!
This book follows Esme, a young Vietnamese woman who is invited to America on a trial engagement by the potential husband's mother. Khai, our love interest, is autistic and isn't interested in a relationship. The book follows both of their points of view. The relationship between them was very well done, with plenty of tension and angst and drama, but also being very respectful and all about consent.
I absolutely adored both of these characters! Esme is so considerate and determined. She does what she does to make her family proud. It broke my heart seeing how insecure she could be about herself and especially about her Vietnamese nationality in a foreign country. Khai is also incredibly sweet. He's very caring and kind without realising that he is, and it's very endearing.
Hoang does such a brilliant job showing Khai's perspective and the traits that come from his autism without making him 'other'. Her books are some of the only ones that show people on the spectrum having fulfilling, sexual relationships and it's so important. You can really tell that this is own voices. Also, both characters are Vietnamese! It shows a lot of the culture and the experiences of Vietnamese immigrants. I especially liked reading Hoang's note at the end explaining how Esme wasn't originally the main character, and her examining why she changed that.
The only thing that I wasn't 100% happy about was how Esme and Khai met in the first place. I understand arranged marriage can be a cultural choice, but for Khai, he didn't get much of a choice. It was very much obtaining agreement for the trial engagement after the fact, and Khai was manipulated into accepting.

On the whole, I really adored this though! I'm impressed again by Hoang's writing, and after being disappointed by the second novel of another one of my favourite romance authors, I'm so very pleased that this one was good.

4 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

After reading and loving The kiss quotient by Helen Hoang I was excited to see what she would write next, and I was not disappointed!

It’s incredibly refreshing to read a contemporary romance which has a heroine who is so completely different from myself and whom you’d normally not read about. Reading about Esme and her journey immigrating to America and working hard to learn and work to provide for her family and make a life for herself, with all the challenges that come with that, was inspiring.

Khai is our other POV character and he, like the protagonist of the kiss quotient, has autism. Until reading kiss quotient I had never seen or read a romance with an autistic character as one of the main characters and it’s so amazing to see. The fact the novels are own voices make it even better.

The romance between the two was incredibly sweet but you could also feel the chemistry between the two characters. While I’m not a fan of the arranged marriage trope when used in a modern setting I very much enjoyed it here. They also swerved a couple of miscommunication mishaps which almost put me off early on as it’s a trope I really have an issue with. Both characters grew together and individually over the course of the novel and it was so well done.

The side characters were also a lot of fun and felt very much like they could stand on their own. Most notably was Quan who I loved and would absolutely love to see in his own novel.

The Bride test was a really sweet novel and I’m looking forward to the next novel Helen Hoang publishes.

This is a fantastic 9.5/10 read! A brilliant book - I stayed up to the early hours of the morning reading this. Definitely recommended from me.

The Bride Test is a spectacular story that I enjoyed very much and was very easily engrossed into.

The way Helen Hoang tells the story is in an extremely enlightening way. The readers learn about how an immigrant woman lives and views life as well as how determined said woman is to better her life for her and her family.

We also learn that the male lead is autistic and find out how he lives his life and the way he views the world.

Both characters are ones that aren't portrayed very much in stories and for Helen to include them and have them as the main characters is incredible as it gives a very different view point to all the other characters in other books.

The Bride Test is definitely a book that everyone should read because they're missing out on an amazing book if they don't.

This was an enjoyable read and one that i preferred to its predecessor.
Helen Hoang writes really well and can craft characters that i can't help but like.

Not my genre, but a good read nonetheless.

This was enjoyable, entertaining and well written book.
I didn't read the previous one so I can't say if it's better or not but I surely liked this one
The cast of characters is well written and fleshed out, I appreciated the empathy of the author toward Khai Diep, it's fast paced and never bores.
There's a lot of sex but it's written in a way that's not disturbing or boring.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine.