[Audiobook Review] The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Release date: 9/2/21
Format: audiobook
ALC provided by: Dreamscape Media via Netgalley

--------------------

Anna had fallen into a rut; her career had stalled after viral success, her family was derailing, and her boyfriend decided to make their relationship an open relationship - without bothering to check with her first. Anna knew she needed a change, and if her (technically) current boyfriend could sleep around, so could she. 

Quan was looking for a one-night stand to cure his drought. After some health problems and a blow to his self-image, he wants to get back out there. And Anna, with her no-commitment stance, similar likes and dislikes, and common desired outcome, seems like the perfect girl for him. But then their attempts to have their singular one-night stand keep flopping, and something always seems to come up. And everytime they meet up, Quan becomes more and more attracted to Anna, and despite the chaos going on in her life, she begins to feel the same. Deeply moving and definitely steamy, The Heart Principle is about finding yourself on the journey to finding love. 

I have so many good feelings coming off of The Heart Principle. I received an audiobook version of this novel from Dreamscape Media, and I looked for every excuse to find time to listen - there were so many good moments that I did not want to press pause. I loved Anna’s story, and I guess a part of that is the fact that I really resonated with her as a character. Anna was figuring out a lot, and she was absolutely the right character for me at the right time. Helen Hoang writes amazing romances, and The Heart Principle is some of my favorite writing by her yet. 

I thought The Heart Principle translated really well into audio format. I don’t have a physical copy to see how the syntax on the page compared to the cadence of the narrators, but the narrators did a fantastic job at lulling me into the story. Natalie Naudus performed Anna so well, it is hard to believe she wasn’t going through all the same things Anna was going though. And Brian Nishii did a wonderful reading of Quan, really bringing out Quan’s love for Anna, his acceptance of her quirks, and his frustrations over his own life. Having separate narrators for Anna and Quan was exactly what the book needed, and both voice actors gave great performances. 

The audio version of The Heart Principle definitely swept me away; the audio was relaxing and uplifting, well paced and full of emotion. There were no additional sound effects to signal chapter breaks, but most chapters switched perspectives and the change in narrator made the new chapters obvious. While I can’t say how the text would have affected me, the audio pulled at some heart strings and the steamy parts made work and my commute much more entertaining.

I received an audiobook listening copy of The Heart Principle from Dreamscape Media via Netgalley. I received no compensation in exchange for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.