Esme works in a hotel in Vietnam. One day she's cleaning the bathrooms when she meets a woman with a very interesting proposal. She asks if Esme would come to the United States for the summer to stay with her son, Khai, as a potential bride. If they get along, they will marry in August. If not, Esme will return home to Vietnam, but paid handsomely. At first, Esme rejects the proposal, but she begins to think about her young daughter and their future... So, she agrees.
Khai isn't like other people; he believes has no feelings. His heart is made of stone. His mother knows differently, which is why she took matters into her own hands. Khai's not thrilled about Esme living with him. He has his routines and schedule. Having her there throws everything off and he can't wait for the summer to be over. Little by little, Esme inserts herself into his life. Everything has changed. The summer is coming to an end and decisions must be made...
While this book is a standalone novel, THE BRIDE TEST by HELEN HOANG is a companion novel to The Kiss Quotient. Readers will love seeing their favorite characters from the first novel. It's not hard to fall for the main characters of The Bride Test. Both characters are Vietnamese-American and both realize the importance of family. Khai is autistic and has OCD compulsions. He believes himself incapable of feelings, including love. Watching him struggle with emotional growth and how to treat other people is both heartwrenching and heartwarming. From the beginning, Esme works hard to bring him out of his shell. Additionally, she sees the value of bettering herself, so she spends the summer earning her GED. Esme knows this is a great opportunity, to see the world, to try to find the American father she's never met, and to create a future for herself and her daughter. The secondary characters consist of family members, adding drama and entertainment to the story. Khai's overbearing but well-meaning mother adds fuel to the fire as needed. She desperately wants her son to see himself the way she sees him. Khai's brother provides wisdom, drama, and entertainment. Readers will be swept away by Khai and Esme's story.
Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he's defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.
As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can't turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn't go as planned. Esme's lessons in love seem to be working...but only on herself. She's hopelessly smitten with a man who's convinced he can never return her affection. With Esme's time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he's been wrong all along. And there's more than one way to love.
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