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The Heart Principle

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The Heart Principle

By: Helen Hoang
Narrated by: Brian Nishii, Natalie Naudus
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About this listen

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 has just started to understand herself.

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.

©2021 Helen Hoang (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Romantic Comedy Comedy
All stars
Most relevant  
The female narrator was AMAZING. I loved listening to Anna’s chapters to hear how she’d portray them.
The story itself is a little deeper than your average romance. It deals with love and familial hardships. So bear that in mind, when going into this.

Beautiful story.

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As far as a subtle and accurate portrayal of an Autistic experience it is excellent. Spot on. Also an interesting story from the aspect of Chinese culture in America. I could have done without the sex scenes; these made me feel like I was reading a different genre of fiction entirely. However, the development of Anna's sexual voice is an essential part of her growth arc and an aspect of Autistic experience that is simply rarely, if ever talked about. The chapters on burnout are exquisite. This very real medical emergency that Autistics suffer when forced to live life the way of a non -Autistic person, is poorly understood and universally trivialised. If readers can imagine Anna's burnout without any supports, with needing to parent children and manage a household, or hold down a job , then readers might get a glimmer of insight into why self-harm and suicidality is so prevalent in the Autistic community. Thank you, Helen Huong, for shining a light on this.
One last comment. This is a novel that appeals to the general public. The fact that it educates about Autism is beautifully incidental. I am so happy that a popular publication can feature an Autistic main character in such a genuinely (no tokenism here!) empathic style.
(note: the male narrator's attempts to sound like a woman were not necessary and were a fault in the otherwise excellent narration.)

Thank you Helen Huong!

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This is very different to the preceding two stories on this series but runs with the same theme. I enjoyed the tale of Anna's life - not seeing her pain but watching her burgeoning self understanding and growing confidence. It was lovely to catch up with Quan and travel some of his life with him. I enjoyed both narrators.

A very intense story

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The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (The Kiss Quotient #3) is a story of second chances at love, family traditions & norms, and love of a lifetime. The main characters, Anna & Quan, are from different worlds but eventually found their way to accept each other's strengths & weaknesses. They did these despite of all the obstacles along the way that they had to endure. I really liked the author's writing style and the way she digs into common social issues or conditions that people usually experience these days.

Liked:
-Tattoed male antagonist
-Music & fashion side of things
-A view about surviving cancer and living with autism

Disliked:
-The cliche' on how Anna's family viewed Quan
-Pressure that one's family bring to a person
-Female protagonist's submissive personality

Setting: 4⭐️
Character Building: 3⭐️
Writing Style: 4⭐️
Message: 4⭐️
Overall: 4⭐️

Overall, it was a roller coaster ride but I'm happy with how things turned out in the end. It is a fun and enjoyable read with intriguing characters and fast-paced turn out of events. Highly recommended to readers of contemporary romance books with cultural diversity. Looking forward to more books by Helen Hoang!

Instagram: @BibliophileMom

Brilliant!

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I personally disliked the male narrator, his diction was poor. Narrative was predictable and somewhat derivative.

underwhelming

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I was really looking forward to this book but sadly, I found it rather underwhelming. It was very slow to start and the narration flat.

Not as good as Helen's other books

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