Name: Kristle Saneewong's review of The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Item: The Bride Test
Rating: 4.5
Author: Kristle Saneewong

Helen Hoang

From the critically acclaimed 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 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

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, not big, important emotions like grief and love. When he steadfastly refuses to consider a relationship, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

Stacy

“Right then and there, Khai decided green was his favorite color, but it had to be this specific shade of seafoam green.”

never thought they would have as much of an impact on me than they did. 

desiree garcua

Edna

Tierney Ahad

Keira 💫

From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart...

Akansha

Ende Duerr

Goodread's Big Books of Spring 2019 - Romance 'Such a fun read... Original and sexy and sensitive.' Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist, on The Kiss Quotient __________________ From the bestselling author of The Kiss Quotient Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, 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 refuses to consider a relationship, 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. So when the opportunity arises to go to America and meet a potential husband, she can't turn it down. This could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go quite 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. As Esme's time in the United States dwindles, will Khai let his head catch up with his heart? Will he find the strength to let go, and let love in? 'Refreshingly real.' Marie Claire on The Bride Test

Goodread's Big Books of Spring 2019

hannah 

Kristle Saneewong

A touching love story through and through. I felt like the characters were so much more complex than in The Kiss Quotient, which made for a more enjoyable read. Reading the Author’s Note at the end made me appreciate it even more. 

Alissa 

Lmao Alexa play Heart of Stone because take a shot every time they used that phrase.

Not a bad romance, but not as compelling a story as the original couple. There were so many instances I was cringing and almost shouting at my phone (audiobook) for the characters to act differently. There were times I was laughing, and I don't think those were instances that were meant to be funny (chpt 16). But there were also many wholesome moments.

Did I love how the characters treat each other with possessiveness and immaturity in not having adult conversations? No. I understand that author has particular and personal reasons for the happy endings she writes but that felt soooo rushed and waaay to convenient. 

But, in comparison to many others in this genre, this was good.

Lmao Alexa play Heart of Stone because take a shot every time they used that phrase.

Not a bad romance, but not as compelling a story as the original couple. There were so many instances I was cringing and almost shouting at my phone (audiobook) for the characters to act differently. There were times I was laughing, and I don't think those were instances that were meant to be funny (chpt 16). But there were also many wholesome moments.

- slight spoiler -

Did I love how the characters treat each other with possessiveness and immaturity in not having adult conversations? No. I understand that author has particular and personal reasons for the happy endings she writes but that felt soooo rushed and waaay to convenient. 

But, in comparison to many others in this genre, this was good.

Danielle Blandina

Katherine Hampton

The Kiss Quotient: 4 ⭐️

Plot: 3.75 ⭐️

Characters: 4 ⭐️

Character development: 4 ⭐️

POV: Dual

Writing: Third person

Eva Ströberg

I know it’s supposed to be based on a genuine Vietnamese immigrant in the US and all the struggles she faced, but ugh - I cringed and curled my toes every time I read about another Asian girl character with no schooling background and broken English in “western” world, grappling and struggling to make life.

I guess My started fine when she first met the Co Nga in Vietnam. She had her own stubborness and sassiness that I appreciated, after all Asian strong independent girl ftw, but after she got to America and all she wanted was to do some flirting with Khai? Seriously? Gurl, I thought I had your back. Obviously a “romantic story” like this turned out to be a big nah for me.

"Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but he doesn't experience big, important emotions like love and grief. Rather than believing he processes emotions differently due to being autistic, he concludes that he's defective and decides to avoid romantic relationships. So his mother, driven to desperation, takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect mail-order 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 to marry an American arises, she leaps at it, thinking that it 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 believes he can never return her affection. Esme must convince Khai that there is more than one way to love. And Khai must figure out the inner workings of his heart before Esme goes home and is an ocean away"--

Rebecca Hurd

Love love love this book!! No doubt about it Helen Hoang knows how to write a romance!!!! The way she writes about autism and the thought process that comes with being autistic is amazing!! Truly love the companionship between two strangers and the love of a mother who knows what’s best for her son!!

kalenga 

** spoiler alert **
           in brief, the book is about the progression of the relationship between a poor girl from Viet Nam who’s been paid to try and get an autistic man, Khai to fall in love with her and become his wife. by his mother. My Ngoc Tran (whose American name is now Esme), the heroine of this story then moves to the U.S. to supposedly seduce Khai. 

okay, at times the relationship is endearing and it’s nice to see a female character fight for what she wants. it takes courage, bravery and patience to fight for the love of a man who hasn’t completely processed his emotions due to his Asperger’s, all for the family she left behind. but all the good moments were overshadowed by the questionable ones. 

so many of the characters manipulated Khai’s inability to understand what he felt and tried to throw everything in his face. Esme constantly lied and hid truths and when everything was revealed it was brushed off and these weren’t simple lies either, she hid the fact that she had a whole kid from him. Esme’s mother’s advice? absolutely horrible. and Esme lied so much that it was honestly hard to tell when she was being genuine and when she had ulterior motives. she was incredibly naive and made some horrible decisions, i won’t even speak about that wedding dress scene. 

all in all, it was hard to ignore all the bad moments just because of a few cute scenes.

This was so cute! I love both Esme ans Khai individually and them as a couple was only better. The book did feel a little rushed at the end but every other aspect of the book I loved. I’m also excited for the third book after reading this one learning about the MMC in this book. 

Priscilla Stanfield

Sarah Sammis

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang is the second in the Bride Quotient series. It's not exactly a sequel, but Stella and Michael do make appearances. Instead this is the tale of My and Khai. She works as a janitor in Vietnam — the only job a single mother with an American father can find — and he's a Bay Area CPA. My is recruited by Khai's mother who wants to find a bride for him and she believes My is the woman for the job.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

Isabella 

3.5 

AAA I liked this!! I was so scared that I would be let down after enjoying the kiss quotient, but I really liked it. I love Khai and Esme, and the angst in their relationship. I LOVED IT. This book was so adorable. I just wished we got more emotionally bonding scenes, and everything felt rushed. Would have liked more depth in their relationship. Overall, its a quick and easy read and I would 100% recommend this. I'm so excited to read the next book.

anita

loved it when khai was like my girl is mad at me I hope I die. he's just like me fr

lexie

loved that the two of them needed each other and they got through their struggles

Cardtak

Winona 

I read the  The Bride Test  (hence TBT) minutes after finishing the  The Kiss Quotient  (TKQ). Whilst I had problems with the latter book that ultimately led to me giving it three stars, most notably its K-Drama-esque third act, I still liked and enjoyed the light prose of the book, and the autism representation, enough to want to read the second book despite its predecessor's flaws. Especially because the second book had much more focus on Vietnamese-American culture and immigrant experiences according to the synopsis. I read TBT in one sitting, staying up to the wee hours of the morning to finish it only to end up thoroughly disappointed, and kind of pissed off, actually, by the end of it. 

Let's break it down: 

For a character that is meant to be representative of the author's own mother, I found Esme incredibly difficult to relate to. Not because her experiences, but because she doesn't feel like a person at all. I think she's cute, hard-working, and she loves her family, but I don't understand  why  she loves Khai at all. Her goals are all over the place: she agrees on the engagement on the premise that she wants to re-settle her family in the States and she'll do anything to achieve that despite the issues with morality. Thus, from the beginning we understand that she is a potentially morally grey character and this being a romance book we expect her eventual relationship with Khai to set her down the path of redemption of some sorts. 

Except we don't get any of that. Pretty much immediately after she meets Khai its instalove for Esme, and instead of any character development her ambiguous moral code is abandoned to establish this more-than-perfect-perfect-girl who is naive, innocent, kind, but also exotically erotic. The way in which Esme is written - both in the eyes of others - and within her own eyes is actually deeply objectifying and degrading. Helen Hoang is half Vietnamese, I understand, but that doesn't mean she isn't capable of reproducing tired stereotypes of Vietnamese / mixed-Asian women here in TBR with her characterisation of Esme. Everything about Esme from her domesticity, sexuality, and intelligence hidden behind a veil of naivete screams submissive Asian woman. The impossible green eyes she possesses (Punnet Squares say HELLO) further emphasises the Exotic Erotic trope too.

I thought that Stella in TKQ was a really good representation of one type of person with autism and was really excited to see what kind of depiction we would get here, because autism is a  spectrum . But I quickly realised that Khai and Stella are essentially the same character but with different races and genders. As someone on the spectrum herself, I sighed with great frustration when I realised that Hoang is primarily interested in depicting one type of autistic character: the Autistic Genius. Specifically, the Autistic Genius who is hyper-fixated on maths. How is this representation any different from the crude - and often offensive - depictions we see by neurotypical creators in Hollywood films? Its the same tired stereotypes with autism being the source of conflict, and the power-of-love being used as a way for the autistic person to suddenly overcome their problems. 

The problem with this is that Khai's problems aren't actually  because  of his autism, but because his family (and society at large) is  abelist . The book never - not once - recognises how harmful the environment Khai grew up in was for his development, as well as his understanding of himself as a person, nor does it shed light on how difficult it is to access resources for neurodivergent children when you're not from a wealthy family and when you're not white. Especially in the US where healthcare costs are extortionate. 

Also, his family is loving and understanding, but Khai's mother constantly crosses his boundaries, imposes her ideals on him, and treats his autism with flippant disregard. His brother, Quan, whilst an entertaining source of comedic relief that gives this story much needed reprieve, is also oddly antagonistic towards Khai even when he's  helping  him. I've had relatives speak to me the way Quan does to Khai in this book and its led me to hysterical tears. Not nice. 

TBT would have been served better if the conflict was situated around Khai and Esme resisting the ableism imposed on him, with Esme working to understand Khai better and their relationship developing authentically from there. As authentically as can be when the premise is that Esme is literally a mail-order bride. A stereotype that is never deconstructed within the text. Instead, Esme is a textbook mail-order bride  fantasy . She's highly domesticated, easy to exploit, intelligent enough to hold conversation, but naive enough to be unthreatening, bursting with pornstar levels of sexuality (cringes in images of exploitative sex tourism in ASEAN) but just shy enough to not seem like a loose girl. And it is all those things that form the foundation of Khai's and Esme's 'romance'. 

We never actually see these two having proper conversations. We're told that Esme chatters about the house and gets in Khai's space, which frustrates him but also endears him to her, but we actually never see what it is that they're talking about. They're just flitting events leading up to the inevitable sex scenes. Which aren't nearly as sweet or passionate as they are in TKQ because we actually got to see how it is that Michael and Stella fell in love through their  conversations . Yes, TKQ was instalove, but there was development in the relationship for the most part. None of this is present in TBT. Khai is just extremely frustrated. Esme thinks Khai is hot. They bang. Suddenly they are in love. I am confused. 

I mentioned in my review in TKQ that it read like a K-Drama by the end, and that's even more prevalent here in TBT. There are birth secrets, hidden children, meddling in-laws, study abroad plots (except abroad is the US), a bizarre love triangle, hidden trauma, Daddy issues, with everything - and I mean everything - being resolved in the same scene. In the last chapter of the book. It was so bad it made me laugh because I saw everything coming before I had even reached the halfway point, and it was dealt with in an even more ham-fisted and cringey way than I expected. 

Hoang really needs to learn how to pace a story. Leaving all conflict resolution to the literal last pages of a novel is not satisfying because there is no pay off and no reprieve. Subplots such as finding out who Esme's real dad is, or her telling Khai about Jade, should have resolved throughout the novel to give better weight to the resolution of the primary conflict. Instead we get them all at once, with an epilogue slapped on that ties everything together with an American Dream branded bow. 

This leads me onto my last point: the immigrant experience and The American Dream. It is this that left me with such a bad taste in my mouth that my rating dropped down to one-star. In her acknowledgments Hoang writes that Esme's experience is supposed to be based on her mother's own experience with immigrating to the US fifty years ago. I get where she's coming from, but the execution is just abysmal and ends up establishing the idea that in Vietnam everything is Bad whilst in the US everything is Good. 

Even though the US has some of the most draconian immigration laws in the entire world. As I type this there are thousands of children in cages thanks to ICE; immigrants from the Global South are regularly detained on the basis of religion and race; undocumented migrants are exploited by their employers who can have them detained, deported, or possibly even killed if they attempt to stand up for themselves. Yet, none of these racist and inhumane practices that the US is notorious for are ever discussed. Esme is able to easily get a tourist Visa despite having no money, she is able to work on said tourist visa illegally with absolutely no repercussions (even though ICE is known to regularly raid Asian establishments to look for undocumented workers), and she is able to almost get MARRIED without the immigration interrogating her and her husband prior. It is extremely difficult to have a love marriage, let alone a marriage of convenience, to a US citizen without having to go through arduous amounts of paperwork and interviews in order to receive approval from the federal government. And even if you  are  marrying for genuine reasons, any potentially suspicious activity, like I don't know your future mother-in-law having paid for your tourist visa, can send you on the next flight back to your home country. 

And this only touches the surface of the immigrant experience in the US. I haven't even gone into how the US' decades long military involvement in Vietnam made life for Vietnamese people in America hell. How their businesses have been subject to police and social violence stemming from racism. How Vietnamese-Americans are the poorest Asian-Americans, with 12% of the population living under the poverty line. All things which would have heavily impacted Khai's entire family - especially his parents' generation. Pray tell, how did Khai manage to become so successful economically and educationally despite all of these institutional barriers coupled with his autism? It is difficult enough to navigate an inherently ableist society as someone who is neurodivergent, but to do with Khai's background is even harder. But this is never ever addressed. Instead the myth of the American Dream (which is inherently white supremacist and steeped in exploitative capitalist principles) is constantly perpetuated. 

Esme comes to the US barely speaking any English but by the end of her three month stay she manages to get her GED, and by the end of the book she's a Stanford graduate. I'm sorry that's so bad its actually funny. As if university education in the US isn't hampered down by major racist and economic barriers. Though apparently having a rich white Dad automatically solves every single one of Esme's problems, including being able to bring FOUR GENERATIONS OF HER FAMILY over to the US. Something literally unheard of. Its very much giving: come to the US, land of the free home of the brave, and all of the problems that you suffer in your pathetic ASEAN country will be solved because we have democracy! And unregulated free market capitalism! Student debt? IDK her. Crippling medical bills? Idk her. Violent racism and white supremacy? IDK her. US military and economic involvement that directly ruined your home country? Never heard of her. Its just so terrible that when I woke up this morning I immediately docked my rating from 3 stars to 1 star because of the terrible message this book propagates. 

I'm not saying Hoang needed to do an in depth analysis of the political, socioeconomic barriers that exist in the US for immigrants - especially Global South ones - because this is a romance after all. But you can't claim your book is aiming to represent the immigrant experience and then depict this extremely unrealistic fantasy version of moving to the US. Its distasteful and offensive to the overwhelming majority of real-world, lived, immigrant experiences for BIPOC people from the Global South to the US (or any Global North country tbh).

In conclusion, TBT defaults onto problematic stereotypes of Asian women, autistic people, and a reproduction of the mythos of the American dream to create a romance that is ultimately shallow and unsatisfying. If you're going to write a novel where a character's autism is the main source of conflict, you should be prepared to interrogate ableist structures that make existing as an autistic person worse, but none of that was here at all. After this bad experience, I won't be moving onto reading the third book in the series. At least not until I have had a long break from Helen Hoang, or she's learnt not to marginalize people as a marginalized person herself.

"there were an infinite number of reasons to exist on this earth, but that seemed the most important of them all—making esme happy."

"feel something" by clairo
"your best american girl" by mitski
"i <3 U" (i heart you) by min, erik

"there were an infinite number of reasons to exist on this earth, but that seemed the most important of them all—making esme happy."

3.5 🌟

Petaco

This book is a no for me. I don't 
(view spoiler)[care for her, he wasn't much better. And I hated, hated, hated that she kept the kid from him until the end... And everybody was fine with that. I'd wonder what else she was lying about. And the wedding dress scene made no sense and was so out of character for her! I did not feel any chemistry from them and felt like the confession of love came out of left field. They seemed to work better as roommates, not even friends. They like nothing about each other, or at least, they never let the audience know. 

I felt like the problems were too large to just neatly be wrapped up in a bow. Everything worked out, which I usually like but here, no. I hate the epilogue, four years and not married and we're supposed to believe that everyone is ok with that. Man,I did not like this book at all. (hide spoiler)]

5 stars for Quan because he's a great friend and big brother. I subtracted 4.5 stars because of everything else.

Ms. Mint

The "talk" on page 171-177 between Khai, Quan, and Michael alone was enough for me to give this book a 5 star. 😂😂😂 No other reasons needed.

Loved this book, read it after the kiss quotient. Very rom-com/drama. Light hearted and good palate cleanser.

Nyachang Johnson 

Joana da Silva

Way, way better than The Kiss Quotient! Esme is a great character.

super light reading! got me out of my reading slump. 

Diah Amaradanty

Lauryn Page

I have to say I loved this book even more than the first one! It was absolutely fantastic in every way!

Lily Balderston

I loved this. I didn’t think I would based on the reviews but I really enjoyed it. Khai’s perspective offers what Stella’s did in the last book and I love that. Cant wait to read the next one :)

Louise 

I ate this shit UP!!!!!! 

Helen Hoang can do no wrong in my eyes and this ending? WHEW i shed a couple TEARS lmao 

I absolutely loved Esme as the love interest, she is the epitome of strength & empowerermemt and Khai is very endearing.

This book reminded me of 90s romcoms and was so completely different than the first in this series which kept it so fresh and readable. 
I love Quan so so much, why's he so good and pure?🥺 I can't wait for his story next!!

menna

my heart is full and happy because of this book

Helen Hoang is a truly beautiful author. Her characters are so real, and she writes for those who find themselves often unrepresented. She wrote this LOVE story about an immigrant from Viet Nam and an autistic Vietnamese American — how many authors are doing even half that? Not very many. 

The Bride Test is not just a love story between the two leads, but it's about the love story inside of us. Khai struggles with understanding how he experiences emotions differently, and Esme (My) forgets that her class does not make her person. It's deep and impactful, yet so utterly charming. 

Kristle Saneewong &
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

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