Title: The Bride Test
Author: Helen Hoang
Published: July 1st 2019
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Pages: 312
Genres: Fiction
RRP: $29.99
Rating: 3.5 stars
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions – like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective.
Khai’s family, however, understand that his autism means he processes emotions differently. As he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.
With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
Review:
‘He couldn’t love.
Andy had been right. Khai’s heart really was made of metaphorical stone.’
The Bride Test is a modern day fairytale, crossed with an original romantic comedy, from second time novelist Helen Hoang. It is the story of a man who thinks he has no feelings, or ability to love, but when the right woman steps into his life, he changes. Fresh, snappy, humorous and filled with plenty of feeling, The Bride Test is a book romance fans do not want to miss!
Beginning with the lead Khai Diep, Helen Hoang uses her main protagonist to examine what life would be like for someone who has an inability to experience feelings and emotions. For Khai, life is constant struggle, the people around him fail to understand that he is unable to process, or express emotions. It is hard to constantly grapple with being the outsider. Khai’s family love him, and would like nothing more than to see Khai settle down in a relationship. This seems impossible until Khai’s mother weaves a little fairy godmother magic and she brings Esme, a woman from Vietnam, to be Khai’s trial bride for the summer. For Esme, the journey to the United States is a big culture shock. Esme has grand plans to win Khai over, but things do not go smoothly. The more Esme gets to know Khai and his idiosyncrasies, she starts to fall for him, but Khai proves tough to win over. Is the plan fruitless? Will Khai be destined to be alone forever?
I was initially lured into this book by the almost unreal concept of a mother shipping in a bride from overseas to help her son find love. It is an odd way to spark the start of a relationship and a possible marriage, but I am sure it is not unheard of. Khai, the young man in this novel, suffers from a social and emotional disorder that prevents him from forming relationships, as well as expressing appropriate emotions. Therefore, his mother steps in to overcome these shortcomings in a bid to see her son find love and happiness. For some, this may be a slightly uneasy and unorthodox method of finding a soul mate. However, the way this scenario is handled in the context of Khai and his difficulties makes this novel quite endearing.
Khai is an interesting lead, and the style narration employed by the author allows the reader to easily step into the shoes of this young man’s life. From the opening scene, we get a good feel for Khai and his battle with the world. Helen Hoang manages to convey Khai’s innermost thoughts to the audience in a way that makes us more understanding of what others like Khai are continually bombarded with. Hoang presents Khai’s character with authenticity, sympathy and insight. Personally, I enjoyed following the life of a male lead who was a deviation from society’s norms. I truly did want Khai to find the ability to love someone, not necessarily Esme.
In Esme, I felt like Hoang was following a modern day Cinderella style formula with her journey. Esme comes from a disadvantaged background. We know she has a daughter, she is a single mother and her family are struggling. The opportunity to improve her life circumstances and find love in a foreign country was a bold move. I’m not sure I could leave my own daughter behind if I was Esme, but we understand the desperation of her situation. Esme experiences a big wake up call and immense character journey during her time in the US. Esme uses her time in the US wisely and she eventually connects with her family roots. Esme also develops her language skills and education while living with Khai. I did enjoy this aspect of The Bride Test.
The Bride Test is a chick lit style romance, with comedic elements. The humour was well timed and I appreciated it. There are some touching moments in this book that will definitely strike a chord with romantics. For those who like some steam, there were quite a few sexy moments in this novel. These elements didn’t really work for me and I did feel uncomfortable reading these scenes. This may be due to the fact that I am definitely a hearts and roses kind of girl – I prefer sweet romance. However, this is an unconventional love story, with a twist. I am sure readers will embrace The Bride Test, much like Hoang’s very popular first novel.
I noted an interesting structural format employed by Helen Hoang to her novel. A two page Acknowledgements section was located at the very start of the book, before the Prologue. I found this to be a different structure, but it did give me a good feel for the intentions of the book, prior to delving in. An Author’s Note closes off The Bride Test, providing the reader with an extra insight into the creation of this novel. Helen Hoang’s personal stamp and passion for the subject line of her novel is ever clear through these additional touches.
It seems like this is the time for unconventional protagonists to make their mark on the literary world. In Khai Diep, Helen Hoang opens her readers hearts and minds to a very different lead, a man on the fringes of society, who takes a long journey to find out what it means to love. The Bride Test is recommended to lovers of romantic fiction, this love story is a great deviation from the norm.
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang was published on 1st July 2019 by Allen & Unwin. Details on how to purchase the book can be found here.
To learn more about the author of The Bride Test, Helen Hoang, visit here.
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
