In Helen Hoang's romance The Heart Principle (#1,040) Anna Sun is not having a good life. She had a brief period as an internet sensation playing her violin, but now she finds herself unable to play. There is no joy in it, and all she can hear are the mistakes she's making. When her picture-perfect boyfriend Julian (thoroughly approved of by her close-knit Chinese family) announces that he wants an "open relationship" it's the final straw for Anna. Her on-line friends egg her on, and suggest "revenge sex" via a series of one-night stands. Anna determines to do this and posts her profile on dating sites.
Enter Quan Diep, who sees and responds to Anna's dating profile. He is also determined to get back into a normal dating life through a one-night stand. When Quan shows up for their date, Anna sees a tall, tattooed stranger climb off his motorcycle. Anna isn't sure she's ready for this. Or for their second, third or fourth attempt to consummate the deal.
Read this book for the steamy sex, and yes, there's plenty of that!, but savor it for the depictions of the difficulties an autism-spectrum person must endure every single day to function. Quan's struggle with life-altering surgery make Anna and Quan a pair to root for against all odds.
The story of Anna and Quan makes for one of the best, most thought-provoking books I've read in a long time. For Helen Hoang, it's personal.
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