Book Club Book Review: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

The Bride Test

by

Helen Hoang

Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Series: The Kiss Quotient #2
Publication Date:1st July 2019
Genre: Romance
Pages: 300
RRP: $29.99 AUD
Format Read: Paperback 
Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Beauty & Lace Book Club

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 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. 

The Bride Test is book 2 in the Kiss Quotient series. I didn’t read The Kiss Quotient book 1. I knew it wouldn’t appeal to me but after reading the blurb for The Bride Test I decided to give book 2 a go. I felt this was more in line with what I enjoy reading.

I did have a hard time staying connected to My/Esme. She started off funny, witty and determined. She knew what she wanted and was going for it. She was going to seduce Khai and make him fall in love with her. Then all of a sudden she did a back flip “I can’t marry you unless you saw I Love You”. Who was this insecure girl? I much preferred the Esme who was determined to do anything to better her and her daughter’s life. 

The character of Khai Diep, a young man on the autism spectrum, was brilliantly portrayed and I could feel his anxiety and inner turmoil as he tried to be himself and also please those around him. He always felt like he was letting everyone down which was quite sad to watch.

Esme did a lot of talking but no communicating. I feel a bit more communication could have solved most of their problems straight up.

The plot was predictable and ran along the lines that I was expecting. 

I would love to read the stories of Khai’s mother, Co Nga, who went to America as a refugee and started her own restaurant chain and Esme’s mother, Linh, who was left to bring up a child alone in Vietnam after a brief affair with an American businessman. I think these two strong women would have very interesting stories to tell.

The Bride Test was a highly entertaining, sweet, fun romance read.

                            🌟🌟🌟 

My rating  3/5

This review first appeared on the Beauty & Lace book club

 

Photo credit:Goodreads

Helen Hoang is that shy person who never talks. Until she does. And the worst things fly out of her mouth. 
She read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since. 
In 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. 
Her journey inspired THE KISS QUOTIENT. She currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish.