build momentum in her career, and the fact that she has only recently discovered she may have been unconsciously “masking” her autism, and all of these issues build up and lead to burnout. She’s struggling with a lot, from the illness and death of a parent, to toxicity from other family members in her life, not to mention a fickle boyfriend, plus her struggle. Now, for Anna: I really liked her character, and she, like most HH leads, resonated with me. I still felt it met the “romance” criteria for me, but can understand if others didn’t feel the same. And while I did inevitably love this, I can’t help but feel that it‘s a shame life panned out as it did, as while Helen Hoang’s other books aren’t necessarily completely free of tough topics, the marketing definitely suggests a lighter book than it actually is, and while Quan stole the show in the previous two books, his story is largely eclipsed by a larger focus on Anna.

The Heart Principle is either going to be a book readers love or hate, especially if some of the discussions amid an early trade review are anything to go by. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.SEE LESS 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. That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. The more unacceptable the men, the better. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. 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. 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. ISBN-13: 978-0451490841 | $16.00 USD | 352 pages | Contemporary RomanceĪ 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.

The heart principle