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The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient, #2)

Helen Hoang

Start date: October 1, 2019

Finish date: October 29, 2019

Discussion: Finish the Series

Why we're reading this: In September we read The Kiss Quotient (the first book in The Kiss Quotient Series). A lot of the members…more
[close] In September we read The Kiss Quotient (the first book in The Kiss Quotient Series). A lot of the members read the first book and said the second book is fantastic. Not only does it educate about Autism but also Korean culture.

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Showing 2 of 2 topics — 13 comments total

Finish the Series

Anne of Avonlea (September 2020)
By Mariah Roze · 7 posts · 39 views

last updated Jul 10, 2025 12:53PM

The Bride Test (October 2019)
By Mariah Roze · 6 posts · 55 views

last updated Nov 19, 2019 05:47AM

What Members Thought

Nov 25, 2019 Stacey rated it really liked it

Cute, but with substance. I rolled my eyes just a teeny bit when Khai's mother was in Vietnam looking for a suitable partner for her son. Enter Esme. Esme is half Vietnamese, half American and never felt like she fit in. When the opportunity to go to the United States to seduce Khai who happens to be good looking and smart, she jumps at the chance to make a change in her life. That seemingly easy task was harder than she thought. Khai doesn't show emotions because he's autistic. I liked the danc ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2023 Radwa rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult, contemporary, romance

I think I was taken by surprise at how different this book is from "The Kiss Quotient", and at some points I loved how the story progressed for Michael and Stella in that first book, than how they progressed for Khai and Esme in this.

Khai is Michael's cousin, and he's autistic, and this plays a huge role in this story, mainly in his interactions and his thoughts about relationships. Esme is a simple girl from Vietnam coming to the US to seduce Khai, sponsered by his mother. Usually these setups ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2019 Nikki rated it really liked it

Shelves: racial-ethnic-diversity

The Kiss Quotient is still my favorite, but this one was a close second!

**EDIT 05/30/19**

You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...

Just like everyone else, I wasn't sure how this one would go. It would either be just as good as the first, or it would fall victim to the sophomore slump. Lucky for me, it was just as good as the first one for me. The characters, the romance, everything made it a story that I loved!
Khai thinks he's defective because he has no emotions, but in The Kiss Quotient is still my favorite, but this one was a close second!

**EDIT 05/30/19**

You can find more of my reviews here at my blog: Take Me Away...

Just like everyone else, I wasn't sure how this one would go. It would either be just as good as the first, or it would fall victim to the sophomore slump. Lucky for me, it was just as good as the first one for me. The characters, the romance, everything made it a story that I loved!
Khai thinks he's defective because he has no emotions, but in reality its his autism that makes him feel the way he does. And because of that, he has strayed from relationships as long as he could. But then his mom takes it into her own hands and takes it upon herself to choose a bride for him. In comes Esme. She takes the opportunity to come to America to see what other opportunities there are. But trying to make him fall in love with her is harder than she thinks. But falling for him is surprisingly easy....
The main thing I liked about this was the characters. I loved the growing that all of them did and it was so great to see all the things they learned along the way. But the best thing was they did it all by themselves. They both had very different lessons to learn and it made them even stronger, individual characters. And when they finally did get together, it was a wonderful romance and they were both able to bring something to the relationship.
Another thing I liked about this was the representation. Although everyone's experience with autism isn't the same, this one is #ownvoices. I liked the way it was shown that Khai had to work to feel comfortable with Esme and he wasn't automatically ready to be with her. And I liked that Hoang chose to focus on a different part of the autism spectrum for Khai's character. I thought that was important to show that not everyone's the same.
I found the audio of this was just ok for me. All the characters (except for Quan and Mike randomly) sounded the same and that bothered me. (Esme had a bit of a sharper accent, but that was all the difference.) I wish there was more than one person on the production. Just to make them a bit different. Other than that, Emily Woo Zeller did a really spectacular performance.
Even though this one was not about Quan like I wanted it to be, it was still an amazing read. (Also because I get Quan's book next lmao) I have grown to really love Hoang's writing style and now I'm excited for what else she will do next. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review