The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well he can't feel big emotions like love. He thinks he's defective. His mum knows that his autism means he just processes emotions differently, and goes to Vietnam to find him a wife. As a mixed race girl living in Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place, so when the chance to travel to America to find a husband arises she jumps on it. And though she finds herself falling for the man, he says he can never return her affections. With Esme's time in the US running out, Khai is forced to learn he's been wrong and that there's more than one way to love.

I loved the story line. The book was a bit slow at parts, but I liked that the author had both characters growing throughout the novel.

I received The Bride Test on Saturday, a few days before today's release date, through Book of the Month. I've been really excited about this one, because it's another adult romance with an autistic main character, like the first book, The Kiss Quotient. (The author is also autistic.) There's actually a lot of #ownvoices representation here; Hoang has an author's note at the end talking about how much of Esme's personality and struggles are based on her own mother, who immigrated from Vietnam as a refugee at the end of the Vietnam war. I love that in writing the book, Hoang grew closer to her mother as she learned about her history. Definitely don't miss the author's note at the end of this book, if you read it!

I have mixed feelings about this one, but unfortunately the part I really have mixed feelings about is very spoilery, so I can't talk about it without ruining major plot points! Overall, I did really like the book, and Khai showed a lot of the same traits my husband does. The first book's autistic character is female, so it was nice to see a character so similar to my husband this time. The characters from The Kiss Quotient do make a token appearance in The Bride Test, and I'm hoping Hoang will finally write Quan's story next! There is an untitled third book in the series due out in 2020, so I'm crossing fingers for Quan!

I absolutely adored Esme in this book. She is hardworking and strong-willed, and knows what she's worth. I wish she'd been a little more honest with Khai, but I can understand being too afraid to be fully honest with someone who could have such control over your future. I did really enjoy this sequel, and I can't wait to hear what the plot will be for the third book.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

This started really good (better than The Kiss Quotient), then got better, then completely derailed during the drama near the end. 4 stars only for the cute fluffy stuff for 80% of the book.
Was the damn drama required near the end? Should you be pushing an autistic person that way? It seemed so weird and I cringed a lot because it was really uncomfortable.
But apart from that, I liked the characters and the interactions a lot.

Also, there is no way Esme looked up tax laws in Indonesia when Khai asked about it and other English words, but when he mentions he's autistic, she doesn't Google that!

Another gorgeous read from Helen Hoang.

She has a way of bringing her characters to life that makes the story fly by.

Watching the romance unfold between autistic Khai and the delightful Esme from Vietnam made me alternately smile and sigh.

Thoroughly enjoyed.