When Anna goes on a break with her longtime boyfriend (who doesn’t seem super interested in her happiness), she tries for a one-night stand with Quan Diep, who wants to get back into the casual dating game after surgery and a long recovery period. Their mutual disinterest in a long-term relationship doesn’t hold very well when they keep meeting up and giving each other emotional support and affection. The joys of The Heart Principle lie in many different parts of the book. Anna and Quan start their relationship by texting and watching nature documentaries together. Then, their relationship grows through their failed attempts at a one-night stand. While Anna is discovering a new part of herself in her autism spectrum disorder, Quan helps her stop masking and ask for what she wants out of her relationships. Even with all of their good communication, they have to overcome some difficult parts of their respective pasts before they can be together completely. If you’re looking for a book like The Heart Principle, there are a few fun plot threads to follow out to different reads. Anna and Quan make an agreement to have a one night stand that keeps getting derailed by their feelings for each other. Another huge part of The Heart Principle is both Anna and Quan learning to accept themselves and open up to each other: Anna with her diagnosis, and Quan with his post-surgery recovery. They also have an adorable and nerdy texting relationship in between one-night stand attempts. If you’re looking for a book like The Heart Principle, you probably want something with crackling energy between the main characters, exploring pleasure, a little bit of miscommunication, and a lot of heart.
When The Best Laid Plans Go Awry
I Wasn’t Looking For Love
Talking It Out
Finding More Principled Hearts
If you went down a similar rabbit hole of books after enjoying The Kiss Quotient, finding even more reads after these books like The Heart Principle might be an absolute necessity. Book Riot’s TBR service matches you with a bibliologist who is well-versed in all the new releases to satisfy your genre cravings. If you’re in need of tailored book recommendations to meet your reading goals, seek out new genres, or just find more enjoyable books, TBR is the best gift for yourself or your bookish friends. Dive into the themes of The Heart Principle even further for readalikes with books about autism by authors in the autism spectrum disorder, books about going viral, and a ton of contemporary romance stories.
