THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang

Rating: 4 / 5

I am not a big romance reader these days, but sometimes you just need a fun read to snuggle up with… and a fun puppy too. My little girl Kylee LOVES socks! Thankfully she loves them a little less than my last dog (he had to go in for an emergency sock removal after swallowing a whole athletic sock!), but you can bet your socks won’t stay where you left them if this girl is in the room!

THE BRIDE TEST by Helen Hoang is a book that has been making the rounds. I haven’t read her first book (THE KISS QUOTIENT), but it comes highly recommended. A few people even said that they liked this book even more, so I picked it up in a recent book order. That adorable bright yellow cover just screamed summer read to me!

THE BRIDE TEST tells the story of Khai Diep, a man on the autism spectrum who believes that he has no feelings because he processes things and emotions differently than most people. Khai’s mother is determined to overcome her son’s relationship avoidance so she goes to Vietnam to try to find him the perfect bride.

Esme Tran is a mixed race, single mother who works at a hotel in Vietnam just to try to make ends meet for her daughter and her family. Given the opportunity of life in America if she can convince Khai to fall in love with her, Esme can’t help but take a chance. With her mother’s encouragement to make a better life by seducing Khai, Esme sets out for America for the summer to try to find a new life.

This book was a lot of fun as promised! Both main characters are very lovable and are characters one can easily root for. They are not falling into insta-love, but work first to build a friendship and then something more. Esme is the perfect pair to Khai, eager to learn more about what makes him tick. It is great to see a main character on the spectrum approaching life in a different way and this book does an excellent job of presenting diversity in a very natural, integrated way.

While this isn’t my natural go to type of book, this was an excellent read and highly recommended!