Welcome to Litsy!

#TBRTarot #February. And an unplanned #SeriesLove2023 selection.

Loved this book! It was cute, romantic, funny, and steamy. The woman love interest had a lot of agency and goals beyond love and that was nice to see. Also loved the exploration of grief here.

Didn‘t get as much reading done this month as I‘d hoped. I got a new position in my company and a lot of days I was just DONE with mental tasks when the work day was over. Tagged book was my #doublespin for September.
@TheAromaofBooks

Here are my #WickedWords books from June.
Ready to tackle July.

the tagged book The Bride Test by Helen Hoang is the book from my previous post i got from the library.
@Pogue @TheSpineView @TheKidUpstairs @UwannaPublishme @Catsandbooks

“My heart works in a different way, but it‘s yours. You‘re my one.” #TheBrideTest #HelenHoang
👀😍 Link in Bio for Review♥️

I love the way Helen Hoang writes & how she develops her love stories. These aren‘t insta-love, these aren‘t stories you can read half heartedly. You are invested in their growth, culture, families, struggles, & it is EVERYTHING.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎊 #bookreview #bookworm #booklovers #bookblogger #GreatReads #RecommendedReads

This was a borderline “pick”. First half was intriguing yet a bit annoying. The way some things were portrayed didn‘t sit 100% right with me, but at the same point, made me think “well who am I to judge”. Everyone is different, whether they‘re neurodivergent or not, and I think Hoang shows a facet of that.
The second half was more predictable in a “rom-com” way, but the flow was so good, and the feels were on point!
#2021 #Autism

What a cute and fun, fluffy, fast paced read! I loved The Kiss Quotient, so I was eager to read this and it didn‘t disappoint. It makes you laugh. It makes you tear up. It makes you feel frustrated for/about characters, which is all too real with Autism Spectrum Disorder (which is close to my heart). Little bit of sexy, a lot of sweet and extremely heartwarming. This was my November #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

4.5⭐ This one was better than the first one. I liked the characters more and I liked the whole story and plot more.

I played a bunch of Candy Crush while I listened to all of THE BOOK OF FORGIVING by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu and the beginning of the tagged book. I was a little dismayed to learn my narrator nemesis, Emily Woo Zeller, performs it, but her volume modulation isn‘t TOO bad so far.

Oh, and I‘m now at 4:34 for the Readathon. Time for another comic, I think. #deweyoct #readathon

Started reading “The Bride Test” by Helen Hoang and I love it.About a Vietnamese gentleman who is autistic that is getting set up by his mother so desperate for him to have a girlfriend.Its romantic and sweet.It‘s the 1st time I‘ve read a book by Helen Hoang.I‘m looking forward to reading other books by her.I believe the others are related but are not a series to be read in order.anyone know for sure? #romancebooks #autisticstory #helenhoang

Why did I wait so long to read this?! I was so into it and rooting for Khai and Esme so hard that I felt it viscerally. I am so excited for Quan's book!

I still can‘t stop ‘thinking‘ about my last wild ride of a book, I‘m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. I figured my #currentread would help.

#angsttoromance

Good morning, Littens!! For once, I'm not late.. i can take my time for breakfast and I'm re-reading The Bride Test 💕
Have a nice day & a great week! 💪🌞🌻

Esme & Khai
While I loved The Kiss Quotient this one fell a bit flat for me. It felt forced which makes me sad. I think the ending was rushed and didn‘t feel true to the characters

Happy people don‘t wear all black.

So simple if only it were true

Well this was just deliciously delightful 🥰Sure there were a few plot holes, and yes my eyes rolled a tiny bit….but I was still smitten by the story of Khai & Esme. Helen Hoang writes wonderfully seductive contemporary romance novels, with a focus on both Asian characters and those who are on the spectrum. Like her previous book, The Kiss Quotient, the sex was steamy and the drama minimal. A perfect summer listen ♥️🎧Loved the narration ❣️

I have at least 6 #NetGalley #ARCs due the first week of August and what do I do for my next read…choose a rom/com audio!! And so far, it‘s delightful ❣️❣️❣️🎧 #Hoopla

Compared to book 1, The Kiss Quotient, The Bride Test was cute, but I didn't love it. In this one, our male MC Khai has autism & is perfectly happy with life as it is. While I liked Esme well enough, the Female MC & love interest, a few points of their relationship didn't sit right with me. It seemed that Khai and Esme didn't truly communicate their feelings or bond over much. The fact that Khai's mother went to Vietnam looking for a woman⬇️

I loved The Kiss Quotient and I loved this one too ❤ I really enjoy Hoang's writing and they are very easy reading.

I enjoyed this fun book, the second in the series. Khan Diep is happy as he is, but his mother is determined to see him married. While in Vietnam she meets Esme and convinces her to come to the US to see if she can seduce Khai into marrying her. But things don't go as planned.

I‘m also reading this one. It was gifted to me by my girlfriend- I can‘t remember for what occasion. I‘m only a couple of chapters in but I‘m already laughing. It‘s about a young man whose mother decided to bring him a wife from Viêt Nam with no warning because she felt he needed help finding love.

Finished book three for the #readtherainbow challenge! The Bride Test by Helen Hoang for yellow! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Next up!

4.75 ⭐️

I loved this book so much! My roommate recommended it after I gushed over 'The Rosie Project'. This is similar, but MUCH steamier, hehe. I loved Esme's determination and I felt like her reactions and thoughts were totally understandable. Khai frustrated me somewhat. There was one sub plot that I felt was resolved too quickly and neatly, but it's still a good feel good with some pleasant twists and turns along the way.

I really enjoy Kiss Quotient but had no idea that a sequel existed. Although I didn't really find it as a sequel, this is an enjoyable read. A beautiful, conflicting, romantic read

When a wealthy woman offers Esme a trip from Vietnam to California as a “test fiancé” for her son, Esme reluctantly agrees, knowing the money offered would help her family.
Khai doesn‘t do relationships, or feelings, so when his mom tells him about the woman she chose for his bride, he‘s reluctant to obey.
Esme and Khai have instant chemistry but secrets and misunderstandings keep them at arms length.

I liked both Esme and Khai; they were believable, likable, and I felt for both of them throughout the book. I loved that the surrounding characters were supportive and helped these two along in their journey together.

I found myself laughing out loud and crying at the sweetness of it.

While not quite as steamy as The Kiss Quotient, I absolutely loved Esme. This was a beautiful story about self worth and appreciation. The author‘s note brought such a beautiful sense of closure to this story. I‘m so happy I read it.

About half way through this one and I love that I already feel like I know a few of the characters. Reading from an autistic perspective adds a fascinating element to the story.

Read like a fan fic but I wasn‘t complaining. A feel-good, easy read to start out the year.

It got better as it went on.
I was cringing for the first 25%, but enjoyed the ending. Overall I'm glad I persevered, and I did finish it pretty quickly in two days.

It's nice to be back into reading, I've been a bit slow recently.
I finish work on Saturday for a few weeks - looking forward to getting properly stuck into Winter Games!

#wintergames2020 #merryreaders #tbrread @Clwojick +16

Well...damn. This book totally charmed the pants off me, in spite of myself. Is the premise slightly problematic? Yes. But the characters are so utterly compelling (especially Khai), & Hoang fleshes out their world-views with such empathy & grace that it‘s impossible not to love them & root for a happy ending anyway. Once again I had some minor issues with plot, but otherwise this was a sweet, steamy, addicting read. ★★★★☆.

#currentlyreading | I‘m a little skeptical about the premise of this one (I mean...you can‘t just “surprise” your grown son, who is also autistic, with a fiancée?!) so...we‘ll see.

I‘m crying, this was beautiful! 5⭐️ #BOTM

I really loved this book! I'm not usually much for romance novels, but there was so much more to it. A love story between a man with autism and a single mother from Vietnam, living in San Francisco is definitely something I've never read before. It was so good!

Starting another book that has been sitting on my shelf for too long. #BOTM

This was a cute, quick read, but I didn‘t love it. I read it because I liked The Kiss Quotient, but it didn‘t really compare, unfortunately.

4/5 if you liked #thekissquotient you‘ll enjoy this one too. I like it when a book can give me something that hasn‘t been done and redone over and over again. Hoang brings something fresh and unique to the romance genre with each of her books

Yeah, this confirmed that I don‘t really like traditional romance novels. I had hoped this one might be different, but it just felt like way too much sex. Too much sex and not enough honest communication or real getting to know each other. Neither main character rang true for me. I should have bailed 20 pages in when the guy couldn‘t stop talking about the state of his penis.

3 stars. Liked but didn‘t love. I felt like certain parts seemed to stall. There were also some cringey moments like when Khai refers to his dick as his cock. Now I‘m not a prude by any means but for some reason it just didn‘t flow right with Khai‘s character. The sex scenes were definitely steamy and had me clutching my imaginary pearls. I liked all the characters but really liked Esme. Can‘t wait for the third book which will be about Quan! 😍

FYI ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I listened to the audio book of this fantastic adult romance novel. I really enjoyed it and it even had me tearing up too! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Delightful

This was a very cute book. I still like "The Kiss Quotient" with Stella and Michael more, but this was a great second book! I loved the relationship between Khai and Esme and how their love blossoms over the course of the book. Not much else to say without getting into spoilers other than I hope the third book, if there's a third one, is about Quan finding forever love. I really enjoy his character and hope we get his love story next!