The Heart Principle is Helen Hoang’s third entry into The Kiss Quotient Series, which gained popularity thanks to TikTok. Personally, I was not a huge fan of The Kiss Quotient and completely skipped The Bride Test, but a friend of mine insisted I try The Heart Principle, and I’m so happy I gave Hoang’s writing a second chance! Yes, The Heart Principle provides a formulaic contemporary romance plot with a cute couple, but there is even more to this story than that.
At the start of The Heart Principle, protagonist Anna is suffering from professional burnout, pressured into an ‘open relationship’ by her long-term partner, and struggling with the consistent people-pleasing she feels she has to do to make her friends and family happy. At the urging of some friends, Anna embraces the status of her open relationship and goes on a dating app to try a slew of one night stands, where she ends up meeting Quan. Quan is our connection to the rest of the series- the tattooed cousin and business partner of Michael from The Kiss Quotient. Recovering from testicular cancer and surgery, Quan is not as carefree and fun as he was in the earlier entries into the series, but is on the same dating app as Anna thanks to Michael’s urging to regain his confidence.
They follow the typical rom-com pattern of relationship development- cute flirty texts, first date jitters, well-meant poor decisions based on miscommunication and assumptions, the eureka moment of realizing the love is mutual- all of the cute and complicated moments you want from a contemporary romance. The difference is in The Heart Principle is the added complexity of Anna’s undiagnosed autism, a family health emergency that puts her under immense pressure, Quan’s personal anxieties stemming from his own health scare and because of big changes in his business with his cousin- it felt like much more than ‘just’ a contemporary romance.
The audiobook is narrated by alternating narrators- Brian Nishii narrates chapters from Quan’s perspective and Natalie Naudus reads the chapters from Anna’s perspective- both of whom are wonderfully expressive and engaging as narrators, giving even more life to the already complex characters. While both narrators are excellent, Naudus did stand out as being spectacularly emotive, making Anna an even more sympathetic and authentic-feeling character.
While I do think there could have been a little more focus on the romantic aspects of the story (I would have loved a few more cute dates just to see how happy Quan and Anna do make each other)- I appreciate the novel’s focus to detail on mental health, the pressure of caregiving for an ill family member, self-compassion and self-worth. It is such an emotional read that I’m not sure empowering is the right word, but it was encouraging to read a novel where the character developed as Anna did- from such a people pleaser to a person who makes decisions based on what is actually best for themselves. If you’re opening The Heart Principle expecting a straightforward romance, this may not be the best fit for you. If you’re interested in delving into the psychology of two very well-developed characters with a lot of emotional baggage and the best of intentions towards one another, this would be the read for you.