By: Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient #2 | 296 Pages | Pub. 2019

The Bride Test at a Glance

• Overall Rating: ★★★★★
• Heroine: Cutest octopus ever
• Dude: I’m cool with hot Asian Terminator
• Steaminess: The first time is never the best…
• Hilarity: Devious moms alert

Pairs Well With:

Champagne

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Review

Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin for a free copy of the book!

Oh my gosh, I love this book. The Kiss Quotient was awesome, but I am now fully on The Bride Test side of things. The way that Hoang can make a traditional romance novel into a new way to look at autism, cultural differences and single parentage blew me away.

Khai’s mom, who we met in KQ, goes to Vietnam to find him a wife. This is the beginning of some crazy stereotype we have all seen, BUT, she finds Esme cleaning toilets and chooses the hardworking and pretty girl to take back home.

Esme only agrees to this because she is raising her baby girl, with some aid from grandma and mom. But this isn’t single-mother in the US… this is Vietnam and it’s not nearly as easy (NOT that being a single mom is easy anywhere, because it’s hard AF). Esme has never even slept on a mattress or a couch. She has slept on straw pallets most of her life.

I loved Esme’s resilience. Not only does she move to a place where she is without her family and cannot speak the language, she also pushes herself to go to school and become more in the limited time she has.

Ok… I might have a small girl crush on her… possibly.

Her mom made me laugh. THE PLOTTING!! Even over the phone.

“Can you unscrew one of the legs off the couch and say it broke?”

“Why would I do that?”

“So that you can sleep with him, daughter of mine.”

Khai was a doll. The way that his brain logics things is amazing. He runs to work in his suit that is made of sweatproof material… Yep.

“So my brother’s been running the streets of Silicon Valley like an evil Asian Terminator. I like it.”

I can’t get that out of my head. Just hot, Asian Terminator running around everywhere. I’m here for it.

Khai coming out of the dark and realizing that he has the capacity for love broke me. His internal struggle with how he processes the loss of a loved one was intense and eye-opening. No one can tell you how to grieve or the right way to handle loss. We all have our own process and refrain from casting judgement on others’.

The steam was fantastic…once the engine was cranking. I also enjoyed revisiting Michael and Stella and Quan. I can’t wait for Quan’s book!! Tell me we are getting one!

If you liked KQ you have probably already read this, but if not, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

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Have you read The Bride Test? Let us know what you thought in the comments!

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