Review: The Heart Principle (The Kiss Quotient #3) by Helen Hoang

 

A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex—he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.  ~ Goodreads

Source: Libro.fm ALC program

Review: (a review!!!)

I'll start by saying that I think the summary for this book does a disservice to the reader. The Heart Principle is a beautifully written story but it is not a light, fluffy romance with a comedy of one-night stands gone wrong. 

It does start that way - After Anna's boyfriend fails to pop the question but instead suggests an open relationship, she does what no one expects from her - she decides to open things up on her side too. Her plan is a string of one-night - just sex encounters. The she meets Quan Diep, who has his own reasons for wanting a one time encounter, except their one-night stand keeps extending to one more night since something always interrupts their attempts at sex - whether it be anxiety, panic or something else but their connection won't let them pass up the chance for that one-night stand. 

However, there is so, so  much more to this story.

Anna is a professional violinist who went viral after a spontaneous moment during a performance and hasn't been able to capture that magic again. The stress and feeling of disappointment is crushing her and only her awkward nights with Quan offer some relief.

Crushed under the weight of expectations - both professional and personal - Anna sees a therapist who gives her a diagnosis that explains everything for her - autism spectrum disorder. All the pieces click into place. It would seem that the relief and answers this provides Anna would mean things would only get better but she has spent a lifetime masking her real feelings and thoughts to be who she thinks everyone wants her to be. Even to her therapist but especially her family. Old habits die hard. 

After Anna's father suffers a stroke, she, her mother and sister live together under one roof  to take care of him. 

While the first half of this book had a serious bent, there were lighter, even silly moments between Quan and Anna. Things feel very hopeful with Anna's new diagnosis and tools to cope better. Once we get to taking care of the father - well - The Heart Principle is bleak. Anna is constantly gaslighted by her family - and she just takes it, over and over. The pain and suffering of her father was absolutely heartbreaking. He will not recover and the family disagrees about whether he should stay on a feeding tube. This was the part that was really rough for me to take. 

SPOILER-> Her dad specifically begs Anna not to continue with the feeding tube (by trying to push it away) and she does it anyway and never tells anyone else. The sister and mom are adamant about not removing it, so Anna knows they won't listen to her but man that was so incredibly hard to read as someone who watched my own father go through Hospice care and the idea that you wouldn't respect someone's wishes) <- END SPOILER

If you can handle - I won't even call it angst - it's too real to belittle it like that - but if you can handle the trauma and mental health issues that Hoang both accurately and beautifully portrays this is a great story. As hard as it was to read, I think it's probably the best book (especially in romance) I've read that includes the topics. It's brutal and Anna is not easily fixed. Just like real life. But it's frustrating and sad to read anyway. 

There was a light at the end of the tunnel and a well earned HEA but, even thought he ending was very concrete, emotional and triumphant - it fell kind of flat emotionally for me. I'm not sure what I wanted but I was so emotionally strung out by the end I know it was more than what there was. 

I probably made this sound like an awful book but I mean it - it was gorgeously written. It's just a tough read - definitely not as light as her previous books in the series - and maybe leaning more towards women's fiction. Although I disagree with some reviewers who said this wasn't as much a romance. Quan was wonderful! and he and Anna together were #CouplesGoals. Their relationship was the impetuous for her journey and the glue that held her together as she went through it. Did his love fix her? No. But his support saved her. 

I highly recommend The Heart Principle but only if you're in the right frame of mind and mentally prepared for it.