A romance fiction with an Asian lead character? I was deeply invested in this novel. It is my first time reading a Helen Hoang's book, and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from her.
No Spoilers
"The Heart Principle", is a contemporary romance novel that centers on a dual POV of Anna and Quan.
Anna is a struggling professional classical violinist, who hasn't been able to play a complete piece for a month. After going “viral” in a video on YouTube, she struggles to replicate that moment, with no success.
She is frustrated and anxious, and her anxiety further compounds, when her long term boyfriend, Julian decides to make their relationship an open one to supposedly "make sure" she is the one he wants to marry.
Anna, who is hurt and shocked by his decision, decides to do something totally out of character, and joins a dating app, where she eventually matches with tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan who is battling with issues of his own, after being out of touch socially because of his battle with testicular cancer.
The both of them immediately hit it off, and they eventually embark of a journey of helping each other deal with their different demons.
It was absolutely amazing how Helen Hoang made this book enjoyable as a standalone novel.
"The Heart Principle" is the third book in The Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang, a series of interconnected books, and you don't even need to read the first two books, to flow into the third.
It is safe to say that this author wrote about something you could only expect to watch in movies.
There were so many lovable things about this novel starting from the plot, but I think what stood out for me, were some characters who brought out the beauty of this novel's plot.
I have nothing but praise for Hoang’s authentic, honest characterization of Anna and Quan, and for her genuine depiction of their experiences, their limitations, and their realness as characters, including Anna's autistic burnout and caregiving for her dad.
There is also the genuine depiction, of how Quan, manages to work through his challenges and still support Anna at the same time.
There is also so much raw emotion, it makes for quite an enjoyable read, and I found it a little overwhelming because I wasn’t expecting to be so drawn into the plot.
I also appreciate the author's attempt at inclusivity. Not only with the male protagonist Quan, but also with the subject of autism.
This author has done so well with this novel, by using fiction to educate others about autism which is not a common occurrence.
Obviously I liked this book more than I expected, well enough to try this author again.
I didn’t realize until much later that "The Heart Principle" is the third book in a series that begins with "The Kiss Quotient" and continues with "The Bride Test".
The connection of the three books is fairly loose and from my understanding of this one, it's okay to infer that one doesn't have to read the first two to get rooted in the plot of this one.
I'll someday attempt reading the other two, at least to satisfy my curiosity, on if they'll match up to the standards of this third one.
If you're a lover of romance, with an Asian lead character, then you should read this.