For What It's Worth


Monday, December 6, 2021

Review: The Heart Principle (The Kiss Quotient #3) by Helen Hoang

 

A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex—he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.
  ~
 Goodreads

Source: Libro.fm ALC program

Review: (a review!!!)

I'll start by saying that I think the summary for this book does a disservice to the reader. The Heart Principle is a beautifully written story but it is not a light, fluffy romance with a comedy of one-night stands gone wrong. 

It does start that way - After Anna's boyfriend fails to pop the question but instead suggests an open relationship, she does what no one expects from her - she decides to open things up on her side too. Her plan is a string of one-night - just sex encounters. The she meets Quan Diep, who has his own reasons for wanting a one time encounter, except their one-night stand keeps extending to one more night since something always interrupts their attempts at sex - whether it be anxiety, panic or something else but their connection won't let them pass up the chance for that one-night stand. 

However, there is so, so  much more to this story.

Anna is a professional violinist who went viral after a spontaneous moment during a performance and hasn't been able to capture that magic again. The stress and feeling of disappointment is crushing her and only her awkward nights with Quan offer some relief.

Crushed under the weight of expectations - both professional and personal - Anna sees a therapist who gives her a diagnosis that explains everything for her - autism spectrum disorder. All the pieces click into place. It would seem that the relief and answers this provides Anna would mean things would only get better but she has spent a lifetime masking her real feelings and thoughts to be who she thinks everyone wants her to be. Even to her therapist but especially her family. Old habits die hard. 

After Anna's father suffers a stroke, she, her mother and sister live together under one roof  to take care of him. 

While the first half of this book had a serious bent, there were lighter, even silly moments between Quan and Anna. Things feel very hopeful with Anna's new diagnosis and tools to cope better. Once we get to taking care of the father - well - The Heart Principle is bleak. Anna is constantly gaslighted by her family - and she just takes it, over and over. The pain and suffering of her father was absolutely heartbreaking. He will not recover and the family disagrees about whether he should stay on a feeding tube. This was the part that was really rough for me to take. 

SPOILER-> Her dad specifically begs Anna not to continue with the feeding tube (by trying to push it away) and she does it anyway and never tells anyone else. The sister and mom are adamant about not removing it, so Anna knows they won't listen to her but man that was so incredibly hard to read as someone who watched my own father go through Hospice care and the idea that you wouldn't respect someone's wishes) <- END SPOILER

If you can handle - I won't even call it angst - it's too real to belittle it like that - but if you can handle the trauma and mental health issues that Hoang both accurately and beautifully portrays this is a great story. As hard as it was to read, I think it's probably the best book (especially in romance) I've read that includes the topics. It's brutal and Anna is not easily fixed. Just like real life. But it's frustrating and sad to read anyway. 

There was a light at the end of the tunnel and a well earned HEA but, even thought he ending was very concrete, emotional and triumphant - it fell kind of flat emotionally for me. I'm not sure what I wanted but I was so emotionally strung out by the end I know it was more than what there was. 

I probably made this sound like an awful book but I mean it - it was gorgeously written. It's just a tough read - definitely not as light as her previous books in the series - and maybe leaning more towards women's fiction. Although I disagree with some reviewers who said this wasn't as much a romance. Quan was wonderful! and he and Anna together were #CouplesGoals. Their relationship was the impetuous for her journey and the glue that held her together as she went through it. Did his love fix her? No. But his support saved her. 

I highly recommend The Heart Principle but only if you're in the right frame of mind and mentally prepared for it. 

16 comments:

  1. I adored the first two books from this author. But I had read a lot of comments similar to your review, so I opted not to read/review it. I think it was the right call for me after seeing more and more reviews like yours. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. It was so well done, but you really have to be in the right frame of mind for it - or like that type of book.
      I'm glad I read it but it took a toll on me while reading.

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  2. A review, whaaaaaaat?!
    I need to read this one

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    1. Have you read the first two? I've only read #1 but this is very different. Good but sad.

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  3. Wow this sounds good. "more unacceptable the better" lol. Their relationship sounds fun and awkward even as the story takes a more serious turn later on.

    I read the spoiler and yeah- tough subjects. It can be hard too when family doesn't always agree on course of action.

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    1. I think she handled it SO well even though it could be infuriating and tough to read. I just think the summary makes this sound more fun that it is.

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  4. You don't make it sound awful! I really does seem like Hoang needed to exorcise her demons. I wish she would have had the space to do it as a completely new project.

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    1. The romance (the neurodiversity, the sex) all felt within the same style as the first one (haven't read the 2nd) but the intensity was ratcheted up x's 100 and if you aren't ready for it - it was a lot. And very sad. But good!

      I guess there was an authors note after - which we don't get to hear on audio - where she said this was her most personal book. I want to read it because, as hard as this book was to read, it felt more authentic than most when dealing with depression, grief and all that.

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  5. You review had me crying. I don't think I have the fortitude to withstand the actual book

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    1. It was brutal Sam. So beautifully written but brutal.

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  6. I absolutely loved the first book and still need to read the others. I skimmed this review just in case, but I think I got the gist: tissues.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. For sure. I'm not that emotional of a reader but this one got to me for a lot of reasons.

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  7. Look at you with a review! :) I've gotta say, that I appreciate your honesty and the fact that you lay out what to expect with this one. I've seen other reviews that made vague references and that had me on the fence with whether to read it. But you laid it out there and I am fairly certain this is not the book for me - at least not right now. I had certain expectations for this book while waiting for its release and it's obvious this is not that story. So maybe it's the story Hoang needed to tell, which is fine, but it's probably not the one I want to read right now. Thanks for the great review, Karen!

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    1. Thanks Tanya. I wish I knew going in. I was not ready lol

      I highly recommend the book but you have to be in that frame of mind or like that sort of thing.

      Hoang wrote an authors note (that I didn't get to read because I had audio and they don't include it) saying this was a very personal book for her.

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  8. I'm waiting to be in the correct mindset to read this one. I know it's very different than her other books from the series.

    Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

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    1. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it because it was good!!
      But you definitely have to be in the right frame of mind.

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