From the USA Today bestselling author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart…Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows … defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
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Tedious and predictable.
This is a silly and predictable romance but it is entertaining enough to finish reading it.
I loved this book and read the first book by this author and loved that too. I especially loved the portrayal of some of the characteristics of people with autism. It goes a long way to understanding some of the challeneges autistic people face. Michael was a fabulous character in the first book. He and Stella appear in the second book. Additionally, I loved the male and females leads in this book. The author does a great job of showing character development. I highly recommend both of this author’s books.
You will learn more about sex that the grammar school booklet in the forties called What Every Girl Should Know. The story is wrapped in fascinating themes.. Not to be missed…
I am so happy that the What Should I Read Next podcast recommended this book. Khai, the male lead, is on the spectrum and Hoang has depicted him perfectly. I know people with this disorder and they actually do view the world differently—so that a”normal” person must adapt their responses more than in a regular relationship. There is open door romance and sexy subject matter,often handled with humor. I had to read this one straight through.
Trashy
Absolutely loved and enjoyed this book. Fell in love with Esme. Light reading but i would totally recommend.
I enjoyed it and was anxious to read more. It was realistic with people with autism , even if intelligent think differently and their senses of touch are different . Love can concur many things.
The potential groom is believable as an adult man with/on the autism spectrum disorder. The immigrant experience, also believable. Perhaps 1-2 events near the end require a suspension of disbelief but that’s okay.
I loved this book.
Whole heartedly recommend
This was SUCH A WONDERFUL BOOK!! I loved Esme, her happiness and willingness to try to make a new life for herself. And she is so smart, although she doesn’t realize it. And she is so giving, trying to make the world a bit better. And can we talk about how sweet Khai is?? He is so far removed from his emotions that he doesn’t recognize he has them-but oh does he! It was wonderful seeing such a lovely autistic character, I was a little in love with him myself!!
Helen Hoang knocked it out of the park again! In The Bride Test, our protagonist travels from Vietnam to America on behalf of a mother who is trying to find a wife for her son, who hasn’t been open to relationships in the past. While I found this book less relatable than the stellar Kiss Quotient (not that that was really relatable ), Hoang’s characters are full of depth and detail that truly make the story come alive. She’s a master of creating a fictional world that seems truly real. A unique twist on a forced proximity romance, this novel is a winner. I would recommend reading The Kiss Quotient first, though!
Loved it! It was such a delight to read this awesome novel! Helen Hoang definitely knows how to bring her readers into the story. The Bride Test centers around Khai who is austic and avoids relationships. His mom feels like he should be married by now and goes off to Vietnam to find him a bride. After interviewing several women none of them meet her expectations until she meets Esme. Esme is reluctant to take her up on the offer to go to America to meet a potential husband but feels it is her best chance at improving her and her family’s life.
Esme starts trying to seduce Khai but is failing at it miserably because Khai believes he is incapable of loving someone else. As her time in America starts dwindling down she realizes that she is in love with Khai and wishes he would return the affection. She soon decides that she has to live her own life and not be dependent on someone else for her happiness. Khai on the other hand is miserable without Esme but is so reluctant to admit that he loves her in fear of losing her for good.
The writing style was superb and was so captivating! I loved that this romance novel had such substance and depth to it!
There’s something special about Hoang’s writing. I discovered this while reading The Kiss Quotient. Her writing and storytelling just flows and it has a freshness to it. Just like its predecessor The Bride Test has focus on autism and here’s it’s Khai. He’s very meticulous about his things and very sensitive to being touched. Also he’s very closed off to emotions and doesn’t do relationships.
Esme is moving in with Khai because his mother is trying to help her son finding a woman.
Them living together starts to effect on Khai’s everyday life. It takes time for Khai to get used to having Esme around and she’s doing everything in her power to make him like her.
It’s a wonderful slow burn. It portrays autism and Khai’s struggles with an honesty and authenticity that made me see it through his eyes. Also Esme who moves to America from Vietnam has her struggles with adapting.
Khai and his older brother Quan are amazing. Their friendship made me smile and I hope Quan will get a book. He has to! Another fabulous book from Helen Hoang.
4 You’re The One Stars
Helen Hoang’s second novel follows Khai Diep who we were first introduced to in The Kiss Quotient. Khai has autism and views the world and his experiences in different ways. He is under the belief that he has a stone cold heart and is unable to express emotions and love. His mom expects him to marry and decides to take the matter into her own hands finding him a wife. She convinces Khai to a summer long trial engagement to Esme, a country girl who is looking for better opportunities for her family in Vietnam. Esme finds herself easily falling in love for Khai but has a secret of her own she is keeping.
Though there connection is more lust at first sight, as Khai gets to know Esme he becomes intrigued and fails at keeping her distant and not as a part of his life. Esme is able to make Khai begin to feel things he never imagined he would. She seems to understand him like no one else can and opens his mind to trying new things. Khai has to battle the emergence of feeling he hasn’t felt in a long time, since he lost his cousin and best friend 10 years ago.
The bride test was a unique fun read about what it’s like for someone with a disability to find love. Esme is a fighter and it was refreshing to read a story of a strong immigrant woman looking to better herself. She has a number of insecurities to move past but she works hard to make things happen the way she wanted.
I am so ready to read Helen’s next book and Quan’s story!! I have been dying for the player covered in sexy tatts to find love!!
So many thoughts! (And a minor spoiler — I’ll warn you.)
I’d heard a lot about The Kiss Quotient, but that book was available so I grabbed this one. It reminds me a lot of The Rosie Project — an Autistic man trying to navigate romantic relationships, except this book includes a LOT more sex (I honestly wasn’t prepared).
I really loved watching Khai’s character discover things about himself, and Esme was SO patient and kind. It did bug me that they kept running away from each other, but that fit their characters so it worked. There are three things that actually kind of bug me about the book though:
1. The phone call with Khai’s brother and cousin. While it was really funny, no one ever explains why the cousin HAD to be on the phone call. I kept waiting for an explanation, but it didn’t come.
2. It’s clear that Khai’s loaded and Esme doesn’t know it, but he never tells her. No one does. If it’s not going to be something that impacts their relationship, why bring it up.
SPOILER!
It’s called the Bride Test, but Esme never gets married!! It should be called the Fiance Test or something else — I kept expecting to see her wedding but it never happened.
END SPOILER
If those three issues had has some resolution, I definitely would have given this another star. As is, I still enjoyed the story and will probably pick up another Helen Hoang book.
If you like the characters in this book, I highly recommend The Rosie Project. If you like the heat level of this book, you might enjoy Jasmine Guillory.
I loved this book! The characters were wonderful but not perfect. The story deals is about family, life, mistakes and coming to terms with them.. The story starts slow but picks up speed. The ending is satisfying and heartwarming.
This book follows Ms. Hoang’s first book, The Kiss Quotient, and I loved it just as much. Words aren’t enough. All I can say is I couldn’t put it down.
This was such a fun, witty, and humorous read! Author, Helen Hoang, gently delves into the relationship between an autistic man and the Vietnamese woman his mother has decided he should marry. Oh, the mishaps that ensue! This book was a pleasure to read!
I was not sure how this one was going to go and then I could not stop listening to it, it had me captivated. Khai Diep is autistic, highly functioning and intelligent but his mother does not understand why he will not find a woman. She takes it upon herself to find him one. She goes to Vietnam and brings home one, Esme, for the summer. She is single mother but does not tell anyone about her daughter and Khai is not pleased to find he has a housemate. These two learn to co-exist and even develop feelings for each other but Khai does not know how to reciprocate or acknowledge those feelings until it is almost too late. This was an emotional but very, very special book.
I really enjoyed this book! It was a one-sitting read for me because I couldn’t put it down! I recommend for anyone wanting a light read that will also get you in the feels.