BRIDE TEST, THE

4.5★s

The Bride Test is the second novel in the Kiss Quotient series by American author, Helen Hoang. It may be the twenty-first century, but Khai Diep's mother has come to Vietnam to find him a wife. His older brother Quan will have no trouble in the romance department, but Co Nga despairs of ever having grandchildren if it is left up to Khai.

Singularly unimpressed by the applicants she has interviewed, Co Nga is taking a moment's respite in the hotel bathroom when she encounters Tran Ngoc My. Just a short conversation with My has her convinced this young woman, a hotel cleaner, could be the right one. Co Nga offers her a summer in California, no strings: enjoy America, fun and food at three family weddings, and trying to convince Khai he wants to marry. My wonders if she could find her father, an American businessman, while she's there…

There's no way Khai wants a house guest upsetting his routines, but refusing his mom when she fixes on an idea is impossible. But getting married to this (admittedly hot!) woman? Nor going to happen! Khai is on the autism spectrum and he knows that he isn't capable of love. It would be unfair to any woman to agree to marry, because he could never love them back and he hates the idea of hurting someone like that.

My, now calling herself Esme, does her best to make herself attractive and useful to Khai, but feels guilty that she has misled him on some things and not revealed a particularly important aspect of her life: Jade, her young daughter living with family in Vietnam. For Jade's future, it's vital that Esme succeeds.

From the chemistry between the protagonists, it's quickly clear to the reader that these two are meant to be together, despite the many little misunderstandings that initially plague their relationship. How then, does she come to be walking up the aisle to his brother Quan?

There's lots of humour and even a bit of heartache in this romcom. The flat aspect of the autistic is belaboured, some of the minor characters are quite stereotypical and, as with The Kiss Quotient, expletives are liberally used, especially in Khai's narrative, and the sexual descriptions are fairly explicit. An enjoyable sexy romantic comedy.