Helen Hoang

The Heart Principle Helen Hoang

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to be perfect in other people's eyes. If Anna ever wants to move forward, she has to learn to listen to her own heart, but that's not easy when her greatest fear has always been disappointing others. Her solution is to create a low-stress environment, with no expectations to fulfill, where she can experiment with being herself and going after what she wants. Translation: Anna is going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That's where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in, but nothing goes according to plan. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, until it starts to feel like a real relationship. But when her traditional-minded family disapproves of the relationship and the person she's slowly discovering herself to be, Anna must choose between meeting expectations and finding happiness in who she really is.