The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
Genre: NA Realistic Fiction/Romance
Blurb (on back of book):
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 bette
r—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.
MY OPINION: ****
I heard that a lot of people didn't like this book in comparison to the first one. However, I am not in that party and found this one to be my second favorite of the three books within this series. I really loved the plot of this one and found the characters to be the most interesting.
I like how each book in this series is different from each other and doesn't seem to all blend into the same plotline as many rom-com series tend to do, especially when it's about side characters from the previous book. This one was definitely different from the first one and I appreciated how I wasn't reading three renditions of the same story with different characters.
Our main character Esme is plucked out of Vietnam and brought to America to be the bride of Khai Diep, a man clearly not interested in having a wife or ruining his way of life in any way. I didn't originally like the concept of this book because it's an arranged marriage and something about that doesn't really pique my personal interest. However, I really liked how it all turned out in the end and I easily overlooked that.
Khai is convinced he cannot love (or feel any real emotions at all). His family, however, know better and understand that because of his autism, he functions differently from others, even if he doesn't understand that concept of his supposed lack of feelings yet. I really liked this idea because it explored a side of autism that I hadn't yet really read about and added a dimension to it that was different from Stella's portrayal in the first book.
I really loved Khai. I think he had a lot of different idiosyncrasies that made him unique, fun, and interesting as a character. I absolutely loved his character development throughout the book as you really see him begin to grow and recognize that he does indeed have feelings that he never knew he had. I think reading from his perspective added another layer that helped us to see who he truly is, what he's feeling (or not feeling), and his obvious love for Esme, even if he couldn't see it himself.
Esme. She had a lot going for her. She's strong and independent, loyal and fierce, determined and intelligent. She had a lot of insecurities that she gradually learns to overcome and I liked how we get to see her personal growth throughout the book. She wasn't my favorite of the female protagonists in this series but she definitely was fun to read about.
The chemistry between the two is more gradual than the love story between Michael and Stella from the first book. Both of them have their own issues, motives, and secrets that I think prevent them from falling into that insta-love trap, which I personally appreciated as a self proclaimed hater of insta-love. I do think there were times when their secrets were a bit too much and definitely should have been divulged to each other at the earliest time possible. However, I understanding both of their reasoning.
I had a slow start to this book but once I really got into it, I finished the last 90% in about one night. I found it very fast-paced, fun, and easy to read. I love the voices of each character and the dialogue really helped speed it along and make the book more engaging. As I mentioned in my review of the first book, the side characters also each had their own voices that really made us love them just as much as Esme and Khai. I especially adore Quan and was super excited to read his book (I loved it!). He played a pretty important role in this book and I loved all of his quips and mannerisms. I loved how he played the opposite love interest (you'll see) rather than having some other rando play the jealousy-inducing role.
I do think there was a fairly controversial power dynamic spotlighted within this book that I personally did not care about but I know is an issue with some readers. Khai is rich and educated, working in a high position as an accountant while Esme was a janitor back in Vietnam who never finished high school due to an early pregnancy. It can cause doubts on the overall validity of the feelings between them and if there aren't any ulterior motives. There are scenes where characters comment on her "gold digger" status and her need for a green card and money to bring her daughter and the rest of her family to America. I didn't like how this relationship was portrayed and was glad that it was (sort of?) resolved by the end. I also love how Esme pushed herself to get a GED and give herself the same opportunities Khai had. She didn't just sit back and let people talk down about her.
Overall, I loved this book. It was sweet and fun to read. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a quick, cute, fluffy rom-com with lots of diversity and representation.
Main Character: Esme, Khai
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, Quan, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, etc
Realistic Fiction Elements: This book was all very real to life.
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