Don’t mind me, just sitting here, MIND BLOWN by this book. Seriously, someone go find some goddamn paper towels because there are chunks of brain matter all over the floor. My relationship with this trilogy has been a little rocky in the past but The Heart Principle said “fuck ur expectations” and then proceeded to ruin my life.
The story follows Anna, a professional violinist who is experiencing creative burnout after a video of her performing goes viral on YouTube. At the same time, her serious boyfriend suggests they see other people before making the commitment to marry each other. Heartbroken, Anna uses her new open relationship to try and shake things up in her life, inviting change in the form of the tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan (who we all know and love from previous installments in the series). Their relationship begins slowly, but it won me over RIDICULOUSLY fast.
Let’s discuss-- I am a cold-hearted bitch, as we know. It takes a lot to make me feel, but this book really yanked me through the wringer. The sheer amount of trust and support in Anna and Quan’s romance was sweet and swoon-worthy, and their individual fights for self-acceptance basically had me leveled from page one (I am 127% sure I would’ve cried if my pesky tear ducts actually functioned).
I mean it, Anna’s coming to terms with her new diagnosis of ASD and struggling to connect with family members, all while providing care for a terminally ill parent, alongside Quan’s own journey to regain confidence after surviving cancer, had the emotional intensity reaching peak levels. It is a truly heart wrenching read at times. As a result of what both deal with over the course of the story, The Heart Principle has a more serious tone in comparison to the rest of the series, but I personally didn’t mind the focus being shifted off of the main couple from time to time. Their separate journeys were so authentically human. It was what made the book stand out to me, and why I believe that it is Helen Hoang’s strongest release to date.
The only thing I would have changed was the length of time that was spent concluding all the open plotlines. Things definitely got a bit hectic at the end, and there was room for a little more attention to be placed on wrapping things up satisfactorily in a way that didn’t seem rushed. That said, even with that tiny criticism, I'm still very impressed with the overall story and can’t imagine giving it anything less than five stars.
As Hoang reveals in the author’s note, this book is particularly personal to her, which is apparent. Not only because of the technical aspects, like being written in the first person as opposed to third, but also in the level of care that was given to the characters’ arcs. I admire her for being able to unpack such intimate difficulties in a novel, and I do think that it’s going to impact many of the people who read it in a beneficial way.
The Heart Principle comes out on August 31st and I implore you: buy it, borrow it, find a copy on the side of the road, JUST READ IT (if u wanna lol) (no pressure) (but also PRESSURE).
The story follows Anna, a professional violinist who is experiencing creative burnout after a video of her performing goes viral on YouTube. At the same time, her serious boyfriend suggests they see other people before making the commitment to marry each other. Heartbroken, Anna uses her new open relationship to try and shake things up in her life, inviting change in the form of the tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan (who we all know and love from previous installments in the series). Their relationship begins slowly, but it won me over RIDICULOUSLY fast.
Let’s discuss-- I am a cold-hearted bitch, as we know. It takes a lot to make me feel, but this book really yanked me through the wringer. The sheer amount of trust and support in Anna and Quan’s romance was sweet and swoon-worthy, and their individual fights for self-acceptance basically had me leveled from page one (I am 127% sure I would’ve cried if my pesky tear ducts actually functioned).
I mean it, Anna’s coming to terms with her new diagnosis of ASD and struggling to connect with family members, all while providing care for a terminally ill parent, alongside Quan’s own journey to regain confidence after surviving cancer, had the emotional intensity reaching peak levels. It is a truly heart wrenching read at times. As a result of what both deal with over the course of the story, The Heart Principle has a more serious tone in comparison to the rest of the series, but I personally didn’t mind the focus being shifted off of the main couple from time to time. Their separate journeys were so authentically human. It was what made the book stand out to me, and why I believe that it is Helen Hoang’s strongest release to date.
The only thing I would have changed was the length of time that was spent concluding all the open plotlines. Things definitely got a bit hectic at the end, and there was room for a little more attention to be placed on wrapping things up satisfactorily in a way that didn’t seem rushed. That said, even with that tiny criticism, I'm still very impressed with the overall story and can’t imagine giving it anything less than five stars.
As Hoang reveals in the author’s note, this book is particularly personal to her, which is apparent. Not only because of the technical aspects, like being written in the first person as opposed to third, but also in the level of care that was given to the characters’ arcs. I admire her for being able to unpack such intimate difficulties in a novel, and I do think that it’s going to impact many of the people who read it in a beneficial way.
The Heart Principle comes out on August 31st and I implore you: buy it, borrow it, find a copy on the side of the road, JUST READ IT (if u wanna lol) (no pressure) (but also PRESSURE).