Mini Reviews (part four)

Hi everyone!

Here are my next five non-podcast reads of 2022. Spring of this year was a real deep-dive into contemporary romantic comedies. If this is not your genre of choice, don’t worry - my upcoming summer reads were primarily fantasy and mythology retellings.

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2)

This is a tough one - I think I may have had too high hopes because of how much I enjoyed 'The Kiss Quotient' and ended up being a bit disappointed. As I said in my review for the previous book, I cannot speak to the experience of autistic people and so will focus this review on the other elements of the book.

Let's start with the premise - a mother who flies to Vietnam to find a bride for her (autistic) son because she deems him incapable of doing so himself and is impatient to have grandchildren. I cannot stress enough how much I did NOT like this. In fact, I pretty much hated Khai's mother and her manipulative behaviour and complete disregard for her children's wishes (I expect we will see more of this in Quan's book as well). It drove me crazy.

Khai and Esme - I didn't really fully connect with either of them, but I liked the progression of their relationship.

The language barrier - this was really inconsistent, which annoyed me. Also, who looks up the meaning of the word 'ridiculous' but not the meaning of the word 'autistic', especially when it comes to someone you have feelings for? This seemed really implausible to me.

I appreciated the Author's Note at the end of the book explaining the author's personal reasons for writing this book but - for me - this fell a bit short.

Rating: 3/5

An Exhaustive Proof of Love

Thank you to the author for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun read this was!

The book follows Edyth and Lawson, a mathematician and an engineer, and their rollercoaster relationship that develops after sparks fly at a conference.

Despite being a bit on the long side for contemporary rom-coms, I thought the pacing was amazing and I literally could not put it down. I liked that there was representation of females in STEM, although I would have liked it even more if Edyth had actually been presenting at the conference at the start of the book and if she wasn't the only female scientist. I also would have appreciated a bit more explanation of her conjecture in layman's terms.

The characters themselves were ... problematic at times. I, personally, didn't like how everyone communicated with each other often to the point of being mean/rude. Everyone had their own issues, which were acknowledged and discussed but I would have liked some more introspection on Edyth's part. I liked the dynamic between Edyth and Lawson, they were both quippy and apart from their general tendency to speak before thinking, I liked them as a couple. Kendrick was abhorrent - well done for writing a character who made me shudder in disgust every time he appeared!

I could have done without the events of the final chapter which were a bit over the top, but overall I really enjoyed this. I would definitely read a book by this author again!

Rating: 4/5

The Heart Principle (The Kiss Quotient #3)

This book is a work of fiction, but it's also half memoir. To date, it's the most "me" book that I've written.

The above are the opening lines of the Author's Note and all I can say is - it shows in every page.

This book was amazing and is hands down my favourite book by this author to date. I really wasn't sure what to expect going into it because I hadn't enjoyed 'The Bride Test' very much, but I am so happy I read this.

It felt SO real, to the point of almost making me feel uncomfortable to witness these extremely personal struggles of Anna, the main female character. I had both empathy and sympathy for her and Quan, despite not really connecting with his character very much. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed their relationship and how understanding and supportive he was.

I do think the middle section dragged a bit and I did find myself a bit frustrated by Anna's crippling inability to stand up for herself, but I suppose that was the point.

Really wonderful - thank you Helen Hoang for being so open.

I have read some of the negative reviews and I agree with the recurring complaint that this book was not at all a light-hearted rom-com and should perhaps not have been marketed as such. It deals with very dark themes and it would have been prudent to include trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. If anyone reads this review before picking up the book, I would recommend reading the Author's Note first to get a better sense of the potential triggers.

Rating: 5/5

About Us

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'About Us' follows the lives of three couples who all start going to the same therapist. Ann and Ken have been married for over 35 years, are nearing retirement and Ann feels that time is running out for them to experience new adventures. Alice and Niall are in their thirties, have 4 children under the age of 10 and Niall feels that the spark in their relationship has been lost. Orla (and later on Paul) is a young woman suffering from vaginismus who feels she is unworthy of love.

I was most interested in Orla's story, because she was such a tragic character and I think she had the most potential for growth and healing. She made great progress in this book, but I feel she is just getting started.

Alice and Niall were ... frustrating. They are both over-worked and while I could on some level relate to/empathize with Niall's assertions that they have become a boring, old married couple who never have sex because Alice is never in the mood, I also became frustrated by his constant complaining. This could be because the Alice and Niall chapters of the book were from Alice's POV so we get a lot more of her inner monologue and how she sees the situation. I also thought their children were pretty horrible little people, with the exception of James.

Ann and Ken's story was almost exactly the same as the movie 'Hope Springs' and therefore interested me the least. Ken's stubborn refusal to see or understand Ann's complaints about their marriage was also very repetitive.

Overall, this was a pretty average book for me. It was easy enough to read but I honestly didn't really care about the outcome of any of the relationships.

Rating: 3/5

Under One Roof (The STEMinist Novellas #1)

This was a cute, quick read.

I don't really have anything to say that isn't already in the blurb. I really enjoyed it, it made me chuckle and there wasn't anything that I had issues with - hence, an easy 5 stars.

Rating: 5/5

Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my ratings? Let me know in the comments below, via e-mail or DM us on Instagram - we love to hear from you!

Until next time, keep reading!

Lucia