The Bride Test

De: Helen Hoang

Narrado por: Emily Woo Zeller

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 important emotions, like love. 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. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go as planned. She's hopelessly smitten with a man who's convinced he can never return her affection.

©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC

All Heart

Having now read both this and The Kiss Quotient, I can officially say I am a devoted fan of Helen Hoang. Her stories are not just amazing for their diversity and inclusivity, but because the actual stories are truly good. As the parent of a child on the spectrum, it is heartening to read stories that feature characters with Autism -- better still, to read these characters in stories where Autism is not the subject, but is merely a character trait, as this helps minimize othering by underscoring the reality that people with Autism are just people. As a lover of romance, I thoroughly enjoyed falling in love with, and through, Kai and Esme! Kai and Esme are both wonderful characters -- fully drawn and multifaceted -- and the side characters are also well-written (I fell instantly in love with Kai's mom!). Finally, the narration was top-notch! Emily Woo Zeller delivered an impeccable performance; whenever I recall this story, I will automatically hear her voice in my head.

One of the best books I've read

I loved The Kiss Quotient so much and since then I've been impatiently waiting for The Bride Test, and I was not disappointed. This is your next 5⭐ read/listen. Love both Khai and Esme. Love Helen Hoang writing style, it's refreshingly and uniquely different. This was a beautifully written and beautifully narrated book. I look forward to her next book. Worth the credit and your time.

Wonderful story and excellent narration

This book kept me up really late......wonderful story with "real" feelings and understanding of people. Made me purchase her other book just after I finished The Bride Test. Awesome!!

Could not put it down

I binged this book in just over a day, listening at every chance I got. It has everything - witty, smart, excellent performance, great characters. I loved it so much. Would heartily recommend.

Adorable and Steamy Vietnamese American Romance

This is an adorable, and often steamy, Vietnamese American romance by Helen Hoang. I read Hoang's first book, "The Kiss Quotient", in December 2018, knew immediately afterwards that I would read her next book, and "The Bride Test" does not disappoint. I think I might even like "The Bride Test" MORE than "The Kiss Quotient" now!

While this is the second book in the series, and there are 4 overlapping characters, you by no means need to read "The Kiss Quotient" in order to enjoy "The Bride Test". If you look for these books in the library or bookstore and "The Kiss Quotient" is out of stock, you can absolutely pick up "The Bride Test" first no problem. Hoang is slated to come out with a third book, "The Heart Principle", which is already on my radar and set to be released in 2021.

In "The Bride Test", Kai is an attractive and intelligent man who is accustomed to his lonesome routine and convinced he is incapable of love because he's autistic. Mei is a young single mom who is kind and hardworking but convinced she is stupid and undeserving of love because she was too poor to finish high school and cannot speak English well. Kai's mom is fed up with him being too old to be single, and so offers to employ Mei at her restaurant for the summer in southern California. The arrangement is that after a summer of living together and Mei being Kai's date to their 3 family weddings that season, if they don't want to get married themselves, then they don't have to and Mei returns to Vietnam where her mother and grandmother are caring for her daughter Jade while she is away.

Since Kai and Mei are living together in the same house before actually dating, there are some sweet and hilarious moments of them getting used to their new routine, spending time together, and growing attracted to one another. I really like how Mei's desire for an education folds into the narrative and that she has multiple options for herself moving forward. While the marriage-for-a-green card stereotype is there, it is handled well and the situation evolves so that both parties have agency by the end in order to truly fall in love. Kai's mom is an unbelievable character, but I LOVE all the moments between Kai and his brother Kwan. He's great!

I am giving this 5 stars because I enjoyed it so much; almost couldn't stop listening to my audiobook! Nevertheless, this book is not perfect. I wish I knew more about Mei's upbringing and what it is like for her living in Vietnam. Stella's autism is much more central to the plot of "The Kiss Quotient", so I wish Kai's autism had been more important in "The Bride Test". He's almost so high-functioning that it isn't that much of a barrier at all. If Kai or Kwan had just explained earlier what autism is to Mei, then Kai and Mei could have had a much more understanding relationship earlier on.

In addition, it is hard to believe Mei is a mom at times because she hardly ever calls or thinks about her kid. It's as if Jade is just there to make Mei a more vulnerable and sympathetic character. I forgot multiple times that the grandmother even existed because she is so inconsequential to the story. I wish Mei had mentioned using her lunch break to call home once or twice a week or something, and that would have fixed much of this issue.

Overall, this is an excellent read with memorable main characters and some really well written scenes. Hoang does a fantastic job of building tension and writing Kai and Mei's moment-by-moment feelings and motivations from their perspectives. This would make a great movie! I would watch it opening weekend. Especially that hair cutting scene and motorcycle riding scene--UGH! So good :D

I love Happy Endings!

Predicable story but it was still great!! Eseeme should have look up the word Autistic.

I liked it better than the first book!

Another perspective from an autistic character showed me that each person's experience is different. I preferred it better than the first book- The Kiss Quotient. I think this is more romantic. I liked that the heroine at the end learned to value herself and do things for her own dreams rather than for her family alone. She's a mother and I did see how she courageously made decisions for the sake of her daughter. All she did was impossible to happen in real life unless you factor a mother's love. A mother's love can do anything. I honestly thought this will be Kai's story but not really. It was Esme's.

Can’t get enough of Helen’s Books!

Okay, I think I’m hooked on Helen Hoang’s Books now that I’ve read this one and “The Kiss Quotient”. Both books are so good, crazy romantic and real. I love how she incorporated real life experiences into these beautiful stories and shed light on autism. It’s often looked at as a disability and that’s it, but autistic people love and feel in their own unique way just like everyone else. The character development is so beautiful between the hero and the heroin in this story, and it grabs you in from the start. Can’t wait to see more books from this author!

The narrator took some time getting used to due to her tone, but once I did, it wasn’t so bad.

So good!

I'm pleased to say that this was even better than her first book, which I loved, and the narration was PERFECT.

Loved It!!

The storyline was great!! So different from your normal romance books and informative too. A great buy.