Review: The Bride Test

Hi and welcome to the reading world!

Today I’ll be sharing my review of The Bride Test by Helen Hoang.

Firstly, this is a sequel to The Kiss Quotient, and while this story focuses on different characters, there are spoilers for the romance in the first book, so if you’d like to avoid those spoilers you can read The Kiss Quotient first!

While there is so much I loved about The Bride Test, to me the shining element was definitely the characters. The characters had so much depth, development, and growth overcoming their struggles and it was an incredible experience cheering them on and celebrating their moments. To me the sign of a well written character is also when I can even get frustrated at times but understand why they made their decisions. These characters were written with nuance, flaws, and they are some of my all time favorites. I also  loved the writing style and choices that conveyed character growth in subtle ways and broader, more concrete ways as well. The ideas explored of place being central to this story and the characters, with Esme grappling with her place in the world for her family and herself were scenes that were so incredibly well written and powerful.

As for the story, this is a romance centered plot so it’s going to have some dramatic elements that move the story along.  It feels like reading an award winning romance film with moments of drama and twists, but with more depth and development that shines throughout this story. I was blown away by the incredible heart and themes at the core of this story even if I didn’t like some of the more dramatic moments. 

For those wondering about the level of adult content, Helen Hoang’s romances do have adult content but this story was less of a steamy premise than in The Kiss Quotient and she wrote both in distinct ways that still flow together well within their respective stories. So, yes there are adult steamy scenes in this book, but I think less compared to The Kiss Quotient.

Overall, this story is a favorite of mine because it introduces us to some compelling characters and situates them in a story about themselves and who they are as people and how they find each other along the way. Although I don’t read a ton of romance, the ones I do love are the ones that have connections to themes and characters beyond just the romance interest, and The Bride Test does that expertly. I’m so excited to read The Heart Principle next!

Have you read this series?

Thank you so much for stopping by!

-Rae