Having read and loved this authors previous 2 books I was really excited for this one, but it wasn't what i expected.
Yes, it was still fabulous, but the subject matter was less romance and more about Anna and her family and their customs.
This delved in to what it means to grown up in a household as the youngest child, about caring for a sick relative and how much that can take out of you as a person.
Anna is also struggling with her mental health and is waiting on a diagnoses of autism. There is a lot going on and on reading the note at the back, a lot of this novel is personal to the author.
I did enjoy the romance with Quan, with the calming voice he provided and the dual POV. I just wish I had known going in that it wasn't going to be all bright and breezy.

I loved this book, it was incredible🥺🥰 I loved Anna and Quan they were both amazing characters and I really enjoyed their story and following them on their journey.

The Heart Principle covers a lot of sensitive topics and the main characters do have personal hurdles themselves that they have to overcome throughout the book.

I felt so many emotions reading this book and I definitely want to read Helen Hoang’s other 2 books The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test soon. I know this book is part of a series but I definitely felt like this one could be read as a stand-alone aswell.

If I could give this book 6 stars I absolutely would.

This was my first Helen Hoang novel and I read it in less than 24 hours. Anna is a professional musician feeling disconneted from the world, she struggles to feel how she thinks and how she's told she should feel. She attends therapy and learns that she's on the specturm, which rocks her world. Whilst this goes on, her boyfriend decides to have an "open" relationship and see other people. She's left feeling lost, confused and upset.

She decides to try out dating and within this, she embarks on a battle - against her family, her preconvieved notions of herself and people's expectations of her, whilst learning to stand up for herself.

I loved this for so many reasons. Dipping into a spectum diagnosis and also the stigma and attitude from the different cultures towards diagnoses are shown so well. The cutural norm can be very much putting on mask and pretending to be who you think that they want you to be. It was very eye opening reading about how difficult this is for a person on the specturm.

The authour wrote this very much in her perspective, having gone through and going through this in her own life. The subect content isn't happy or fluffy but it does without a doubt show real issues and within this lies a heartwarming and emotional journey. I really loved it.

The wee book lady. xx

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read. This wasn’t what I expected. Many twists and last minute turns made it a page turner in a different way. Sometimes pulled at the heartstrings too.

The heart principle

Every time I read a romance I go in with this like emotional wall made of like titanium.Impenetrable.

But The Heart Principle shattered it and me.

This book was incredible I’m showing the love between Quan and Anna but also learning to love themselves in their new worlds that were moulded for them.

The twists and turns were captivating, one twist I SERIOUSLY did not see coming.

Anna’s emotional journey was astounding to watch its like seeing your friend learning life in a whole new capacity.

I think I got so lost in Quan and Anna’s desperate journeys the love story that became of those two literally slapped me in the face, it hurt, made me cry, made me laugh and love and I would do it all over again.

Having not read any of Helen Hoang's books before, I read this as a stand alone and I was not disappointed. On the outset, this seems to be a light read, but it is far from it.
This book deals with heavy topics. Anna is a violinist who strives for perfection but is suffering from burnout. Quan is a cancer survivor, successfully running the helms of a clothes business.
This book deals with so many issues. Anna receives a diagnosis for autism and things finally begin to make sense to her; her lack of social skills and her penchant for routine. Being part of a dysfunctional family whilst keeping up appearances and being a caregiver for a sick parent are also some the issues that Anna has to deal with. With Quan's help, Anna finds self-acceptance and finally learns to stand up for herself.
The only downside to the book is that I wish Hoang had written more about Quan's story. His character had depth but there needed to be more of him as the book focussed more on Anna than it did on Quan.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me early access to the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

⚠️ TW/CW: Illness, Death, Cancer, Recovery

Synopsis:
In this Helen Hoang book we follow the amazing Quan who has appeared in previous stories and his journey to find himself and his confidence again. He meets the beautiful Anna who is currently going through some personal discovery herself and they decide to have a no strings attached one night stand. However, it doesn’t quite go as planned….

Thoughts:
I absolutely adored this instalment in the companion novel series! I was so happy to finally learn more about Quan and seeing his love story blossom just filled me with joy. The deeper messages and themes within this book made it so much more enjoyable to me. I love how Helen Hoang writes characters and makes them so real and relatable too. I’d definitely recommend giving this story a read, especially if you’ve enjoyed Helen’s other works!

Recommend? ✅
Reread? ✅

A super steamy novel but I love the representation in this novel - so, so important that publishers are getting behind novels which contain more diverse characters. I really fun read that explores big themes in an accessible way

Rounded up from 4.5 stars ⭐️ At this time of year I always love reading a feel good romance novel. This is one of my favourites to date.

The Heart Principle flips between the perspective of Anna and Quan. Anna’s life is spiraling as she is struggling with a creative block and her boyfriend asks to be in an open relationship. In her pretty disastrous attempt to enjoy some one night stands, she meets Quan.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance novel that felt quite so personal. Upon reading the authors note at the end I can completely understand why it felt like this. I applaud Helen Hoang for having the bravery to put so much of herself into this novel. I actually found myself connecting to this book in ways I never expected, and it pushed me to start moving outside of my comfort zone, just like Anna. I laughed and I was moved almost to tears by sections of this book. It touches on so many incredibly tough and important subjects (such as cancer, caregiving, autism in women and mental health).

I fell in love with the romance aspect of this book. I just really want a Quan to walk into my life!! This book has some pretty steamy sections but it just added to the beautiful love story that was being created. My biggest complaint is that I now don’t want to settle for anything less than a Quan!! Reading this book has definitely increased my romantic expectations! This is one of the few romance novels that I think will live with me forever.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves romance novels! I want to thank Netgalley, the publishers and Helen Hoang for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.

You cannot go wrong with a Helen Hoang book. She can capture and convey human feelings and whole human beings really very easily. This book is no exception.

Anna, the heroine, is trying to understand first what is happening with her, why is her burnout crippling her work and how her miserable choice in men impacts her life and work and then she is trying to piece her life back together. This is not an easy task, and the book shows her mental health issues and this rebuilding process in the usual Helen Hoang style: with detail and care.

Quan, the hero, is actually more likeable in this book, but he has the "easier" story: he is not fighting depression but cancer, and he has a family he can rely on for support.

This is not my favourite of the 3 in the Kiss Quotient series, and does not deliver the kind of ending I was hoping for, it is still a very good book, with relatable characters and storyline, that I had to devour in 2 sittings.

Unfortunately, I think The Heart Principle was a bit of a miss for me after really enjoying the Kiss Quotient and Bride Test. Perhaps this could have been due to the time I read it however I just didn't feel as invested in the characters as much as I hoped to be.

I do think there was an interesting mix of building romance and also family/life issues.
I really hated how judgemental Anna's family was and how unsupportive they were regarding her diagnosis, I just wanted to slap them in so many scenes. Even though this was at times difficult to read it was clearly written well with the ability for the reader to understand what the character's are going through.

I was hoping the romance maybe moved a little faster in this book but I did think their relationship was really sweet in a lot of ways.

It was also great to see continued representation for POC characters and autism like the author's previous 2 books.

I've only recently discovered Helen Hoang's books and I love them! This latest book was no exception as I fell in love with it too. The characters of Anna and Quan are wonderful and I found myself enthralled from the very first page. A modern day love story to get lost in.

This is everything I wanted and more. So many important topics including their differentiating grey areas have been addressed in this book which I'm so grateful about. THIS COUPLE HAS MY ENTIRE HEART.

This book was such an emotional roller-coaster! I absolutely loved Anna and Quan (their relationship was adorable), but I wasn't expecting such a.. sad book! Especially after reading The Kiss Quotient, which is more on the fluffy side. This didn't take away from the story in any way though, and I think Helen Hoang did a great job of exploring the issue of women on the autism spectrum going un-diagnosed. I could really relate to Anna's trouble with people-pleasing at times (although not to her extent), and also the stress of trying to keep everyone happy, especially her family members. Personally, I also wanted to see Quan tackling his own problems, and possibly seeking therapy alongside Anna — but alas. That would have brought the book to a 5 stars for me, but all in all I really enjoyed this book! Will definitely be going back to read 'The Bride Test' because I loved Kai's character in this book, but as always Helen Hoang has stolen my heart with her writing.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing the ALC. All opinions are my own.

This book was everything I wanted a more from Helen Hoang! She always seems to portray the characters perfectly, no matter their faults or imperfections, as that's what makes them human! After loving both The Kiss Quotient and The Bride Test, this was a heavily anticipated 2021 read for me, and Hoang did not disappoint in the slightest!

I love Helen Hoang and her books have yet to disappoint me. I thought that the focus on self discovery and coming of self was fantastic and loved the mixed POV

Lots of fellow reviewers seemed to be absolutely loving Helen Hoang’s trilogy, so when it popped up on Netgalley, I jumped at the chance to read ‘The Heart Principle’. Obviously, I was expecting great things…
Sadly, I felt I received pretty average things! The story itself is a lovely idea: Anna, a musician struggling with social anxiety, is told by her absolute disgrace of a boyfriend that he wants to have an open relationship for a while. Meanwhile, Quan, a tattooed motorcycle rider with a heart of gold and his own hang-ups, is struggling to get back into dating. The two meet with the intention of a no-strings-attached one night stand but, of course, strings become very much attached.
My main issue with this book is that Anna irritated me. A lot. She takes far too much crap from her family and I found myself pleading with this fictional woman to grow a backbone! And Quan, wonderful as he was, was just too good to be true, to the point where he seemed like a simple stereotype who deserved more as a character.
If you enjoy a rom-com, give it a go, but I can’t promise it will be the best one you read this year.

The Kiss Quotient series has been one of my favourite romance series to date. I absolutely love the autistic rep that Helen Hoang gives us, and The Heart Principle is no exception. Autistic and neurodivergent characters don't usually get to be romantic leads. I adored Anna's character, her perpetual people-pleasing, her creative block. Quan is a great romantic lead, and I really enjoyed his storyline too; I almost wish it had been given a bit more weight. Overall, I devoured this one in two sittings, and it was just the ending that let it down. I'm not sure why the last 10% covers several years and speeds through it in such an odd series of vignettes. The rest of the book was very well-paced, and it seemed like the ending was just tacked on. It might have worked better as a single epilogue.

I would read absolutely anything Helen Hoang writes, and if she decided to make this a longer series, I would probably perish from glee.

This was by far the best crafted Helen Hoang book - this series just keeps getting better and better.
Quan and Anna we're both such loveable characters and they go through soooo much in this short book.
This book is heartbreakingly dramatic and also deliciously sexy - the sex scenes were to die for.
Absolutely loved it

This was an enjoyable read which tackles some really important themes around invisible disability, family and cultural pressures.
The main character Anna and her love interest Quan are really likeable and their stories are absorbing. The plot is well constructed and having it written from both of their perspectives allowed for a well-rounded view of the story.
The main character's struggle with her undiagnosed neurodiversity are really sensitive and it's so important to have that representation and show how life can be so different when you finally find an explanation for a question that you've unconsciously had for your whole life.
The themes around care and caregiving in family were also really good - as a caregiver I definitely could relate to Anna's struggle between duty, love and survival.
I think the unconventional romance was overall well written but at times it felt a bit rushed and especially near the end, I struggled with Quan's seemingly endless patience and understanding at such an early stage in their relationship. It was less realistic but there was a good attempt to show how he might have developed into that character through his family and experiences so not too much of a stumbling block to the overall plot. I suppose he just seemed to good to be true but that's no bad thing in a work of fiction!