The story touches on some very serious topics, and there’s more emphasis on Anna’s journey of self-discovery and acceptance, as well as the conflict with her family, than there is on the romantic aspects. I felt my heart clench with pain and frustration every time Anna wanted to stand up for herself but didn’t. Her sister is truly despicable and impossible to satisfy, but that doesn’t prevent Anna from trying. I was fascinated by the way Anna’s mind works, and I found her eager, gentle heart to be incredibly endearing. As a result, she finds herself reaching out for help and grappling with some life-altering truths about herself. That, coupled with her obsessive compulsion to achieve unattainable perfection as a violinist, leads to severe burnout. She is particularly concerned with disappointing her family. It’s about the importance of loving yourself and using your voice.Īnna is a people-pleaser with an all-consuming need to be liked by everyone.

The Heart Principle is an exceptional story that is far deeper than I anticipated. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex-he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands.

And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected-and the man she enlists to help her-in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

The heart principle by helen hoang