The Bride Test: A Bit Cheesy, But Cute

The Bride Test is Helen Hoang’s second book following her debut, The Kiss Quotient. Her debut was a light-hearted and low-stress read, so I figured I’d read her follow-up because I was in the middle of a very stressful move!

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.

What I liked About The Bride Test:

1. The emotional depth of the novel is much greater than most romance novels. Disclaimer: I don’t read a lot of romance, but the ones that I have read, I ultimately DNF due to lack of emotional depth. The characters are actually three-dimensional. 
2. The autistic main character (Khai) and his arc. I liked The Kiss Quotient for the same reason. It was just as interesting reading in this novel. I particularly like that I can glimpse the thought-processes and motives behind his actions (or lack thereof). I learned things reading this book, and learning is always good!
3. It’s a very easy, light-hearted read with a predictable ending. You read this book knowing exactly what you’re going to get out of it. Low stress, happy ending.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for an easy, fun, and slightly deeper romance novel. 

Have you read this one? Or did you read her other one? What did you think?

A.S. Thornton

A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.