The Heart Principal by Helen Hoang | Book Review *Spoiler-Free*

The Heart Principal by Helen Hoang

Published: August 31st, 2021

Synopsis from Goodreads

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex—he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she has just started to understand herself. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.

My thoughts:

The Heart Principal was one of my highly anticipated reads of 2021, and it didn’t disappoint.

In my opinion, The Heart Principal is the most heartwarming story out of the three. It’s emotional, honest, and deep. This story wasn’t just about love and relationships, it’s about family, hardships, and learning about yourself. I didn’t expect that, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Here’s what I loved about the book.

The characters. They were complex. Not just with each other, but with themselves. Anna and Quan tugged at my heart strings, and I rooted deeply for them.

The steam. Oh man. THE STEAM! It was intense, and I’m here for it. I loved how the sex in this book wasn’t perfect. It was realistic, and raw. I loved it.

The care-giving aspect. This is the first story I’ve ever read that talked about it. As someone who has personally done that, it clenched my heart and gave me all the feels. It was talked about in such an open and honest way. Care-giving is hard, and watching someone you love struggle is heartbreaking. I’m happy to see that being talked about in fiction–especially a romance. I also appreciated her author note at the end.

Helen Hoang, thank you for writing diverse books that are sexy, powerful and emotional. This was a fantastic read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.