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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The Bride Test is a complete jewel about a woman looking for the perfect spouse for her autistic son who believes he is defective with no ability to feel emotions. She goes back to Vietnam, arranges several meetings with prospects only to be disillusion with the people who turn out. However, she takes a break goes to the bathroom only to find the perfect match in a hard-working young woman there cleaning the woman’s toilets, her name is My Esme Tran. She makes her an offer to come to America so that she can meet her Son Khai Diep.
My Esme Tran is a poor mixed-race woman with little to no options, so when the opportunity to go to America to find a husband, she takes it. Esme leaves her daughter, mother, and grandmother to go to America to embark on her journey and also to find her American father.
This story is a heartbreaking jewel one that must be read and re-read over and over again. The words just flow like a river running downstream. The Bride Test was so much more than a love story; it was thought-provoking. You might find yourself asking questions would I do this, could I do this, could I be strong enough to leave my family and country to find a better way of life?
I did not go no into this novel with real interest. To be honest, it was hyped up everywhere so I decided to give it a try knowing I could get a refund. Turns out, I won the book lottery. I fell in love with it early on and it never let me down. Now I must snag other novels by the author. The narrator (I listened to the Audible version) was amazing as well.
This story of whether people with autism –and not “autistic” people– speaks volume to me. Since I’m directly concerned with the matter.
I absolutely ADORED this book! I can understand some readers might have frowned upon Esme’s character and her behaviors, but before we go any further, as a Vietnamese, I’d like to testify the truth and authenticity of her actions. Please remember that she comes from a small village in Southern Vietnam, where four generations could pile into a small and confined space, where people have very different social etiquette or perspectives in life. I’ve known stories where young women would do anything just for a chance to move overseas, to escape poverty, and to be able to work and send money back home to support their families. And that’s the choice Esme has made, to seize an opportunity to improve the lives of her loved ones. What make Esme such a powerful heroine are her fierce love and loyalty, her independence, her work ethics, her warrior attitude to thrive in difficult situations…
I was born and grew up in Ho Chi Minh City (where Khai’s mother went to look for a bride for him and found Esme). Unlike Esme’s family, mine was from the middle class. We were not extremely wealthy, but we lived a comfortable life thanks to my parents’ hard work. They could have had a nice retirement in Vietnam with their own big house and their savings. But like Esme, they’d decided to migrate to the US so that my brother and I could have a better future and more opportunities to pursue whatever we desired. And that meant they had to start all over again in their 50s, with no English, finding labor jobs at local Vietnamese restaurant or shop (both of them were teachers in Vietnam), so that my brother could finish his degree at UC Berkeley (I was already in my PhD program at USC with my own stipend). We’ve all worked hard, and I guess, in the end, hard work does pay off. To this day, I’m counting my blessings and grateful for having such wonderful supportive parents.
Back in 1980, my uncle (my mother’s younger brother) escaped Vietnam after the Vietnam War in the midst of chaotic political reforms. He was one of those “boat” people, but he went by the land route via Cambodia instead. Nowadays, during our family gatherings, sometimes he would tell us horrific stories of his escape, but he always managed to turn them into humorous tales. One day he was laughing about that one night while en route in Cambodia, he and others had to sleep in an open field to later find out leeches were crawling and sucking blood everywhere on their bodies. Or that one time when they were almost shot by the Khmer Rouge after they got searched and stripped off all their valuable items they’d brought with them. He made it to the US after a couple years staying at a refugee camp in the Philippines. With bare minimum English, he worked while going to school to finish his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. He was the one to make it happen for not only my own family, but also for my other aunts and uncles’ who migrated after him.
Back to The Bride Test, this story hits close to my heart. It’s made me cry thinking of my parents, my uncle, my mother’s friends who were raped by pirates or had to witness their families being killed and thrown into the ocean, and countless individuals who have made the same sacrifice as Esme does for their future generations. I hope my family stories would make you understand Esme’s character better and not judge her harshly. When you’re in a dire situation, you’d do anything for your loved ones.
Then of course, we have Khai, an American-born Vietnamese who can only understand but not speak the language fluently. Their cultural differences are no doubt innumerable! On top of that, he’s autistic and requires a certain level of patience and understanding for people to interact with, but he’s so kind, sweet, and caring to Esme. Because of his limitations, he almost denies himself of the love he so much deserves. After Stella from The Kiss Quotient, Khai is the next autistic character I’ve got the chance to read about and understand more of their attributes. I love Khai and Esme’s awkward conversations, their secret desires and steamy lovemaking, their nonverbal care for one another, and their acceptance of each other’s flaws, of who they truly are. The character development is so well done, and the detailed descriptions of their emotions and thoughts paint a perfect picture of what they were struggling with, especially for Khai. It feels like you’re there witnessing their actions before your own eyes. Even the secondary characters are so much fun and endearing. Quan is perhaps the BEST brother anyone could ask for, and I can’t wait to see his own story next!
I hope this book will give you another perspective about hard working immigrants and how they struggle to fit in and to build a new life in a foreign country. Please spend extra few minutes at the end to read Ms Hoang’s notes about her inspiration for Esme’s character. It’s really heartwarming and touching. Most of all, this book is about a beautiful and captivating love journey, it’s funny, sweet, and emotional, and will keep you on reading nonstop until the end!
Definitely a fantastic 5- read for me!
I enjoyed this book so much I read it in one day! I fell in love with each of the characters. Don’t let this lighthearted, sexy read fool you. It’s also full of substance; love through the eyes of a man who has autism. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Totally different way of considering many things, cultural differences, spectrum issues and male-female relationships! Couldn’t put down for more than short periods of time!
Beautiful, funny, heartbreaking – I loved this story!
I fell in love with Esme and Khai, and while the idea of arranged marriages or anything of that ilk feels beyond strange to me, I can see where Khai’s mom is coming from.
I also loved Quan (well, who doesn’t?!), and I can’t wait to read his story!
(I also wish that more people IRL could be open enough to share their specific “instruction manual” – that could potentially prevent a world of hurt for everyone involved.)
Fun to read! Her other book is great…a little steamy though.
Another unique and compelling love story by Helen Hoang. I love how she portrays characters outside of expected romantic stereotypes, and creates wholly human characters who are fully actualized. I also loved the overlap of characters from The Kiss Quotient!
I wish I lived in the universe that Helen Hoang’s books are set in. Another great read that I couldn’t put down. So good that I’m sad it’s over, despite choosing to read it over just a few days.
3.5 stars
I enjoyed the first half of this book, the flirtation between the main characters, how they started to meet each other, but then I started to dislike how the heroine lied about a very important part of her life and the end seemed so rushed.
Why I waited so long to read this book is beyond me because I absolutely couldn’t put it down I loved it so much. The chemistry between the two main characters slowly grew and it was awesome.
Esme is trying to make ends-meet for her and her family as a hotel maid. But when she has an encounter with a woman in the bathroom of the hotel where she works, she ends up going from living in a one room home where she sleeps on the floor along with her daughter, mother and grandmother, to suddenly living with a man who wants nothing more than for her to leave his house and get out of his space. But for her and her daughter’s sake, she is willing to try to get this man to marry her, while also learning the American ways. She just never expected to fall in love with him.
Khai is an autistic man who his mother thinks he needs a woman to complete him. But he wants nothing to do with finding a wife. But when he discovers his mother has decided for him that a woman he has never met is moving in with him, he has no choice but suffer the through the time frame in which she is there. But when he sees the woman, Esme, he knows he is going to have it tough, because he is obviously attracted to her.
As they spend more time together putting on the facade that they will probably get married by the end of the summer, they both start to really fall for each other. But when one can express her feelings easily, the other can’t.
So when Khai’s house is only occupied by only him again, he can’t dismiss the feeling that his house is too empty without her. But he can’t come to terms with falling in love.
This book was super good. Finding love in unexpected circumstances and overcoming your inner battles make up this wonderful book. Helen Hoang is becoming a favorite of mine to read. You will laugh plenty in the book and feel all the emotions right along with the characters. I love it when the author writes so good that you actually feel like you are in the story yourself watching it all play out.
The Bride Test was a cute story. I did like the first book better and I think it was because there seemed to be more of a connection between that couple. This one lacked some of that for Khai and Esme. It was a very cute story though and the ending was the best part. I think if we got more of these two and Esme’s daughter, I would have enjoyed this so much more. One thing you should know about my tastes in books is that I’m not the biggest fan of pushing away, which Khai does a lot and pretty much up until the end.
I actually enjoyed this even more than
This is the story of Esme Tran, and her opportunity to come to the United States. A woman approaches her while she is cleaning the hotel and after a small interview, the woman asks Esme to come to the US and becomes the wife of her son, Khai. There is a large sum of money and a job in it for Esme – both what she desparately needs to help support her young daughter, so she agrees.
Khai – an emotionless man who had no intentions of ever getting married, suddendly finds himself face to face with a girl he knows nothing about. His mother insists that Esme lives with him for the summer and he helps her get adjusted to America. His mother is sure that Khai will fall for Esme and they will get married before summer’s end.
As the summer moves on – Khai and Esme find an easy relationship with each other. Khai finds himself opening up and Esme finds herself falling for Khai. But the summer is quickly coming to an end, and she isn’t sure that it is enough to allow her to stay in the United States.
This book is silly. It was entertaining – the perfect audiobook for running errands or exercising, or doing chores around the house. It is light and an easy read. But this is not good literature. The characters weren’t endearing or easy to like. It moved at a good clip in the beginning of the book, but then it just dragged. It is like a romantic comedy movie where you KNOW what is going to happen, so just get to it already. The author just seemed to be filling the last 1/4 of the book with suspense just to make the book longer.
There is also a lot of sex obsessed talk in this book, so be forwarned. It was unnecessary. It was too 50 shades of grey for this type of book (which I am assuming is more of a romantic/love story book).
The book is cheesy, the characters obnoxious, and the pace slow. Just pass on this book. Maybe I wil try her other one (Which people seem to like much better), but after this – I just don’t know.
This was an unexpected yet totally enjoyable read. I absolutely loved My (Esme) and Khai. Both characters were deep, complex and very likeable. It was a sort of a mail-order-bride trope but with a twist. Esme had her own ambitions and motives than to simply marry, and Khai had a lot of reflection and self-learning to do. Like the first book, The Kiss Quotient, I found that reading from the POV of someone with Asperger’s syndrome both fascinating and eye-opening. The author’s note about her mother’s struggle with poverty in Vietnam and her move to the US was extremely interesting, since that was her inspiration behind the character Esme. Excellent writing and wonderful characters, I highly recommend this book.
Audiobook: Narrator – Emily Woo Zeller
Loved this narration! Ms. Zeller did a freaking amazing job with these characters. Especially Khai. I could hear the frustration in his voice as he had to deal with the upheaval in his life. It was pure joy listening to this book and I will definitely be listening to it over and over again.
Oh my gosh! I am absolutely in love with every single thing about this book! This was so cute, so extremely charming, it capture my heart immediately and wrapped about it tighter as the story progressed.
I loved how this Khai tried to dissect what Esme was doing and why she was doing them. She was driving him crazy and he grumbled and complained to himself but you just know it’s going to come back and bite him on the rear. She was so lighthearted and a breath of fresh air in his stale existence, although he didn’t see it that way. I loved how she woke him up to life, despite the fact he didn’t realize he wasn’t really even living.
Everything about this story is pure perfection. I truly don’t have the words to express how much I adored it. With the perfect amount of angst to offset the humor, this kept me on my toes and desperate to find out how this couple were going to find their happy ever after.
Yes, yes, yes! If you’re on the fence about this one, jump off now…into this book. Definitely going down as a favorite read for all time!
This delightfully different romance is sweet, sexy, and full of surprises.
Oh, Helen Hoang. You did it to me again.
After reading Ms. Hoang’s first book, “The Kiss Quotient,” I fell in love with the writing and the characters. It was the first time I felt the need to purchase the ebook after purchasing (and listening to) the book on audible.
The audio book just wasn’t enough. I wanted to get closer to the characters, to reread certain scenes over and over again. To dive deeper into the story and into their world.
With “The Bride Test,” it happened again, dang it. I loved this book. Khai was perfect, and the fact that he had limitations due to being on the autism spectrum, just made him all the more endearing. Another great read by a great writer. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll fall in love with Khai. What could be better than that?
I thoroughly enjoyed the unique characters in The Bride test. It was a unusual romance between two flawed characters who each had obstacles to overcome.