The Heart Principle
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- Create Date：2021-09-03 07:51:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Helen Hoang
- ISBN：183895080X
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Summary
A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this heartfelt new romance by USA Today bestselling author 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 replicate that moment。 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。 Translation: She's 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。 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 has just started to understand herself。 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。 Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love， but to do that， they also have to fight for themselves。
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。 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。 Translation: She's 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。 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 has just started to understand herself。 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。 Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love， but to do that， they also have to fight for themselves。
Reviews
Patti
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I adore how authentic her characters are。 She shows all sides of being on the spectrum with honesty。
Penny
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Wow， this book is AMAZING - I'd give it 10 stars if I could。 I loved both Quan and Anna。 I felt like I was experiencing both of their emotions throughout the whole book and I ached for both of them and loved how it all came together at the end。 This was a truly beautiful relationship and I can't say enough。 I'm still raw with emotion after finishing it。 Thank you， Helen Hoang， for sharing you， your stories， and so much with us。 Wow， this book is AMAZING - I'd give it 10 stars if I could。 I loved both Quan and Anna。 I felt like I was experiencing both of their emotions throughout the whole book and I ached for both of them and loved how it all came together at the end。 This was a truly beautiful relationship and I can't say enough。 I'm still raw with emotion after finishing it。 Thank you， Helen Hoang， for sharing you， your stories， and so much with us。 。。。more
Natalie
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A beautiful story with beautiful characters。 I applaud the writer for diving into sticky territory not usually visited by romance books。 A heartfelt story about flawed people trying to get through life with all of its messiness。
Monica
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This was 4。5 until I read the Author's Note。 Easily bumped it up， made me cry， and fully demonstrates how this book is all about heart。 I will read， and likely love， anything Helen Hoang writes。 Lots of heart + steamy romance + family dysfunction + the importance of mental and physical wellness and self-awareness ALWAYS = a total winner！ This was 4。5 until I read the Author's Note。 Easily bumped it up， made me cry， and fully demonstrates how this book is all about heart。 I will read， and likely love， anything Helen Hoang writes。 Lots of heart + steamy romance + family dysfunction + the importance of mental and physical wellness and self-awareness ALWAYS = a total winner！ 。。。more
Natalie Minto
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DNF
Pam
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If you’re looking for a light hearted steamy romance， keep looking。 This isn’t it。 And that is what makes this one special， and yes difficult at times to read。 The author excels at writing neuro diverse characters， especially since she herself is on the autism spectrum。
Katie
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Quan has my heart。 I was a little disappointed we didn't get more family， I would have loved to see everybody not just Stella and Michael and just a tiny bit at that。 Anna's family is the worst！ Even at the end I could not find it in my heart to like them。 Quan has my heart。 I was a little disappointed we didn't get more family， I would have loved to see everybody not just Stella and Michael and just a tiny bit at that。 Anna's family is the worst！ Even at the end I could not find it in my heart to like them。 。。。more
Kelleen Moriarty
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This book is not what I was expecting。 This is a quiet book。 I've read （and loved） both of Helen Hoang's other books， but this one was so different in so many ways。 Firstly， it's told in first person person POV， where the first two were told in third person。 This switch was actually I think one of the downfalls of the book。 This POV made the story feel almost too close， with the characters being too transparent。 For such a heavily emotional book， it was hard to be in these characters' heads the This book is not what I was expecting。 This is a quiet book。 I've read （and loved） both of Helen Hoang's other books， but this one was so different in so many ways。 Firstly， it's told in first person person POV， where the first two were told in third person。 This switch was actually I think one of the downfalls of the book。 This POV made the story feel almost too close， with the characters being too transparent。 For such a heavily emotional book， it was hard to be in these characters' heads the whole time， hearing their thoughts first hand， and I just don't think it was done well， in a way that served the storytelling。 Another weak point of the book for me was the characters themselves。 Quan doesn’t have a lot of dimension or complex interiority， and for the first part of the book， it really is just two decent， rational， near-perfect people falling in love。 But then Anna shifts， and I found almost all of Anna’s actions from that point on to be unforgivable， and nearly incomprehensible。 So many choices in this book were painful to watch， and not in a way that felt productive for the storytelling。 Yes， many of the things in this book are challenging and emotional and then painful in that way， but reading these characters process them and make choices about them were painful in a whole different， deeply frustrating way。 I can imagine this book was very cathartic to write， and that it would be very cathartic to read as a woman who was diagnosed with Autism as an adult， or someone who has worked as a caregiver to a dying family member。 In a lot of ways， it reads a little bit like a self help book far more than a romance。 If you're interested in this one， I would caution you to leave your expectations of genre and author at the door。As always， Natalie Naudus is a marvel who is excellent at her job and Brian Nishii did a great job as well。Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape for this ALC。CW: masking， cancer， illness/death of a parent， suicidal ideation 。。。more
Katie
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I just knew I would love Quan。 This book was more than worth the wait。 What a treat of a book！
Belinda
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This is not a review， merely an admiration。 Helen Hoang wrote a story about a woman named Anna， a classical musician。 Anna just so happens to be working on a piece by Max Richter， one of the best modern classical composers of our time。 Additionally， one of the pieces of inspiration was in fact a solo violin work by the composer himself。 It’s a piece called “Mercy，” and its so beautiful and minimalistic and loopy， and it evokes perfectly Anna’s cycle of being stuck in a loop。 The music historian This is not a review， merely an admiration。 Helen Hoang wrote a story about a woman named Anna， a classical musician。 Anna just so happens to be working on a piece by Max Richter， one of the best modern classical composers of our time。 Additionally， one of the pieces of inspiration was in fact a solo violin work by the composer himself。 It’s a piece called “Mercy，” and its so beautiful and minimalistic and loopy， and it evokes perfectly Anna’s cycle of being stuck in a loop。 The music historian in me was just absolutely squealing with glee at the classical music feature。 Not only that， but the symbolism （the symbolism！） between the compositional style of minimalism and Anna’s journey with neurodivergence was， egads， a beautiful metaphor！ I absolutely loved it， and inhaled this book in one sitting。 I highly recommend reading this book because it’s phenomenal and heart wrenching/warming in all the right ways， and Anna’s journey of understanding should be heralded。 However， if you’ve ever had a moment where you’ve sat and listened to Max Richter’s music， and felt absolutely stricken by this world， then you should really read this book。 （His music is sad， yet happy， yet bleak， yet comforting and we could all probably use a good heartwarming tale。） 。。。more
Katherine
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I love Helen Hoang's writing style。 I can relate to the main character Anna。 Beautiful story with a lot sad hard hitting moments。 Even though this story felt way different than her first book。 I still really enjoyed it。 I love Helen Hoang's writing style。 I can relate to the main character Anna。 Beautiful story with a lot sad hard hitting moments。 Even though this story felt way different than her first book。 I still really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Emilie
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I really enjoy her work。 And， as a data and research nerd， I loved these characters （even if I had to suspend disbelief for the premise！）。
veronica ✩
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I loved the perfectly imperfect theme of the book！ 💫review to come！ 💫
Mair
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Rating: 4。5 stars
Laura's Book Addiction
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Well this book packed a punch， it was emotionally everything I’ve come to expect from this author but actually it was so much more on every front。 The characters where spectacular and the progression was second to none。 I honestly love this trilogy so much。
Holly Hollins
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This book gives the best explanation of masking and the harmful affects of it。You will resonate with the characters more than you think。 10/10 recommend
Tabby
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* 4。5 stars！ *I especially love Helen Hoang's genre and I love how when I'm reading her books I feel like I'm reading something much more than a romance， like I am learning something。 I will be however honest that HH's past two books escape my brain rn， and they weren't super unforgettable， but Quan's story is something I want to come back to again and again because it's so realistic。。。I love how their struggles and their love seems so realistic and generally， I prefer to keep the realistic quot * 4。5 stars！ *I especially love Helen Hoang's genre and I love how when I'm reading her books I feel like I'm reading something much more than a romance， like I am learning something。 I will be however honest that HH's past two books escape my brain rn， and they weren't super unforgettable， but Quan's story is something I want to come back to again and again because it's so realistic。。。I love how their struggles and their love seems so realistic and generally， I prefer to keep the realistic quotient in a story separate because f*ck reality， but I loved the book。 I love how honest Anna's struggles with herself was， I love how Quan had to struggle with his own insecurities。 I wouldn't say this book is a top favourite but I hope this will make me a more compassionate person not only towards others but also， and mainly， towards self。 And it completely obliterates the myth that you'll have to be the most perfect， settled version of yourself to be loved instead it says something that we should all know by now and be forever convinced of that — we are worthy of being loved irrespective。 And it makes sense as well， I mean when you decide to spend your life with someone， you have to see them at their worst， therefore looking to settle with someone else's most perfect version or expecting them to love you only when you're at your best is the most foolish decision ever。 Be vulnerable with them， and make sure you know that you deserve love simply because you exist。 You're worthy of being loved and cherished。 If you're reading this， I hope you know， I love you because you exist。 Definitely will come back to this again for a re-read or multiple ones。 P。S。 pls read the author's note。 It's so poignant and it's a conversation we should have。 P。P。S。 sometimes I genuinely don't know what I pen down but this account is my safe space and I refuse to edit or try to make sense of it。 。。。more
Brittney // brittysbooks
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I love Helen Hoangs novels！ I found this one to be a bit different than her other books。 I found this to be a bit heavier but still a FANTASTIC storyline。 The author wrote a complex love story that has depth that is told by the perfect narrator。 I loved the main characters， Anna and Quan， and I felt so invested。 I was rooting for them the whole time。 I loved how honest and raw Anna came across with her struggles。 I also loved watching her progress throughout the story。 Just so much love for this I love Helen Hoangs novels！ I found this one to be a bit different than her other books。 I found this to be a bit heavier but still a FANTASTIC storyline。 The author wrote a complex love story that has depth that is told by the perfect narrator。 I loved the main characters， Anna and Quan， and I felt so invested。 I was rooting for them the whole time。 I loved how honest and raw Anna came across with her struggles。 I also loved watching her progress throughout the story。 Just so much love for this story。 And I can’t wait for Helen Hoangs next book。 。。。more
Di Maitland
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I want to start this review by saying that Helen Hoang is fast becoming one of my favourite romance authors and I think this is an incredible book。 I then have to tell you that， having finished， I feel like I've been put through a meat grinder。 I'm EXHAUSTED。The Heart Principle is a romance book， no doubt。 There's on-page sex and everything。 It's sweet and hot and ends happily ever after。 However， the romantic story-line forms a relatively small part of the overall narrative; its the soft cushio I want to start this review by saying that Helen Hoang is fast becoming one of my favourite romance authors and I think this is an incredible book。 I then have to tell you that， having finished， I feel like I've been put through a meat grinder。 I'm EXHAUSTED。The Heart Principle is a romance book， no doubt。 There's on-page sex and everything。 It's sweet and hot and ends happily ever after。 However， the romantic story-line forms a relatively small part of the overall narrative; its the soft cushioning between the tougher scenes。 The more important story-line is the internal journey that Anna goes on。 Quan helps， but ultimately she walks alone， as we all do。Topics explored in the book include: autistism and masking behaviour， care and care-giving， depression and burn out， perfectionism， family， （tough） love， body image， and more。 Hoang handles these with finesse and， even before I read the afterword， it was clear to me that she had personal experience with many of the issues raised。Personally， I found this book incredibly tough to read。 Mostly because I suffered my own burn-out after care-giving for a parent only a few months ago， and it brought a lot of the emotions back。 Partially because， despite being a perfectionist myself， I really struggled to empathise with Anna and couldn't help but want to scream at her at times， despite knowing that my instincts couldn't be worse。All in all， I highly recommend reading this book but must warn it's not the light-hearted rom-com you might be expecting。 。。。more
emmy
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this book really did a number on me and i don’t know how to rate it。 it was raw and real and sad， it made my skin prickly from the moments of pure hatred towards certain characters。 my only complaint is that i wish we got to see more of quan。 be sure to check for tw before going into it
Kelly
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4。5/5I really enjoyed this book！ I think ‘The Kiss Quotient’ is still my favourite of the three， but wow if this book wasn’t relatable。 I fell in love with Quan （how could you NOT？！）， I was rooting for Anna， and I loved the slow burn romance。 However， because this book is not a traditional romance book， the ending gave me a different feeling than I expected it to。 I still really， really loved this story， but that’s why I gave it the rating I did。 I’m sad to say goodbye to Helen’s characters！！ I 4。5/5I really enjoyed this book！ I think ‘The Kiss Quotient’ is still my favourite of the three， but wow if this book wasn’t relatable。 I fell in love with Quan （how could you NOT？！）， I was rooting for Anna， and I loved the slow burn romance。 However， because this book is not a traditional romance book， the ending gave me a different feeling than I expected it to。 I still really， really loved this story， but that’s why I gave it the rating I did。 I’m sad to say goodbye to Helen’s characters！！ I need more Michael and Quan！！ 😭😂❤️ 。。。more
Djamimi
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okay so i did enjoyed BUT it was not like AMAZING im a little bit disappointed but that’s bc i was way over excited about this book so i kinda anticipated it i really really liked Quan， his vulnerability and how understanding and gentle he was with Anna even tho i wished we had more chapters about his character， inside his mind Anna’s struggles with her family made me almost cry， i related so badly with her and how it is difficult to express yourself when you know that everyone around you is not okay so i did enjoyed BUT it was not like AMAZING im a little bit disappointed but that’s bc i was way over excited about this book so i kinda anticipated it i really really liked Quan， his vulnerability and how understanding and gentle he was with Anna even tho i wished we had more chapters about his character， inside his mind Anna’s struggles with her family made me almost cry， i related so badly with her and how it is difficult to express yourself when you know that everyone around you is not gonna understand or take you seriously。 the fear or disappointing lol🥲and i wished we had a little more chapters about their romance， the end felt a little bit rushed but yeah i still liked this book and i had a good time reading it 。。。more
WilmaHed
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SO GOOD！
Holly
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3。25⭐️
Julianna Hansen
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this book is VERY spicy & is all about self discovery BUT i want more quan！ Id give it 4。5 stars。
annie
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This book reduced me to tears…Their stories， both individual and together were so real and raw and gritty。 I loved it， I was completely immersed within the story。 I felt Anna’s pain。 I felt Quan’s pain。 It was perfect。
Ellie Wilson
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really， really enjoyed reading this book， so much so I couldn’t put it down。 It is beautifully written and the writer has done an excellent job at including lots of in-depth detail and information in the storyline。This novel is very raw， emotional and deeply personal taking the reader on a journey with the character。 The book is very intense and allows the reader to understand the struggles in which the character is going through。 This is a great book about self-discovery and the characters a I really， really enjoyed reading this book， so much so I couldn’t put it down。 It is beautifully written and the writer has done an excellent job at including lots of in-depth detail and information in the storyline。This novel is very raw， emotional and deeply personal taking the reader on a journey with the character。 The book is very intense and allows the reader to understand the struggles in which the character is going through。 This is a great book about self-discovery and the characters acceptance of their diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum in a society which lacks understanding regarding the condition。 The characters are well executed and the storyline is well thought out。 To me this book was very unique as I haven’t read anything similar and I would definitely recommend this book。 It is relatively easy to understand and follow。 。。。more
Shiloh
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⚠️This review may contain spoilers！！ ⚠️Please look up content warnings before reading this。 A few I would like to point out: mentions of cancer， infertility， care giving for parents， ableism， and parental death。 End of CW/TW。 •••My review:Like I said before， Helen Hoang is an instant-buy author from me。 I love the diversity in her books， and the characters she creates。 Her books have a perfect balance of romance and steam， in my opinion。 They aren't overly steamy and there is always a solid plot ⚠️This review may contain spoilers！！ ⚠️Please look up content warnings before reading this。 A few I would like to point out: mentions of cancer， infertility， care giving for parents， ableism， and parental death。 End of CW/TW。 •••My review:Like I said before， Helen Hoang is an instant-buy author from me。 I love the diversity in her books， and the characters she creates。 Her books have a perfect balance of romance and steam， in my opinion。 They aren't overly steamy and there is always a solid plot and great character development， outside of just the sexy scenes。 I found The Heart Principle a little less steamy than her other 2 books， but it placed the same emphasis on relationships and family。 It had amazing characters and representation present。 This book really gives more insight into what it can be like to recieve an ASD diagnosis as an adult， and how it could feel to process and share that news with others。I loved the dynamics of Quan and Anna's relationship， and how they were able to help each other through their insecurities in the relationship。 I enjoyed getting to learn Quan's story and more about him。 One thing about Helen Hoang's books is that she usually ties in character's from her past books。 It was nice to see Stella， Michael， and Khai again， in The Heart Principle。 The authors note at the end reveals that Anna's story is very personal to Helen and a reflection of her own experiences as a care giver for her Mom。 She leaves an important message about making sure care givers are also being taken care of in society， due to their risk of burn out and suicidal ideation。 The phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline was included。 I thought that was a very personal and thoughtful touch to include。 5/5 stars 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟I cannot wait to read more by this author！ 。。。more
Fatima
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So good， read even if you were not a fan of The Bride Test like me。 We're a South Asian Immigrant family and arranged introductions are a norm in our culture; however， bringing a girl over， one who is in a lower economical standing than you， because you want her to seduce an autistic male really did not go over well with me。 It felt manipulative。I read Helen's author notes at the end of all her books and it really explained what was going on with her and the characters。 I love that she takes ins So good， read even if you were not a fan of The Bride Test like me。 We're a South Asian Immigrant family and arranged introductions are a norm in our culture; however， bringing a girl over， one who is in a lower economical standing than you， because you want her to seduce an autistic male really did not go over well with me。 It felt manipulative。I read Helen's author notes at the end of all her books and it really explained what was going on with her and the characters。 I love that she takes inspiration from her own life。 Super important to read the author's notes， especially if you are going to take issue with her writing and really for any books published by Berkeley。 It is really obvious that some reviewers of her work don't take the time to do that。I swear some of the top reviews on this website are either chock full of gifs which seems super immature， from people pushing their own content， or from people who wished they themselves were writers and are therefore unnecessarily super harsh。 Real people are not perfect， so to expect characters to do exactly as you wish them to do is again immature and shows you are not an intelligent reader。 Why would you want characters to be one note and act predictably and/or perfectly to your standards？This was really well done。 She has a way with her writing that if you are from the Bay Area and Asian you will recognize yourself， your family and your community in this book。 I am not even the same type of Asian， but her books speak to me on that level。I bought The Kiss Quotient right after reading the sample which is super rare for me。 I usually wait until the book becomes available at my library， but I couldn't wait to read it and then reread it because I rushed through it-it was just so good。 I bought The Bride Test because I figured it would be the same level of writing and storytelling， but I just didn't connect with the material。 So when this came out I made a hold and when it became available sooner rather than later （literally there was several months wait）， I read it right away and I wouldn't have been disappointed if I purchased it。 I am going to do a reread because I rushed through some of the chapters， it was just that good-I wanted to know what happened！If you liked The Kiss Quotient， you'll like this and they are definitely different。 It's not The Kiss Quotient all over again。 。。。more
Ramona
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I really liked this book！ The romance was sweet and wholesome and I enjoyed reading from both Anna and Quan’s POVs。 This book dealt with heavy topics， but I think they were handled well and in a realistic way， which I feel is not the norm in contemporary romance。 I related a lot to Anna’s struggles with being a caretaker and her story was bittersweet overall， which may not fit with people’s idea of what a romance heroine is。 My only gripe with this book is that I felt that the previous books hyp I really liked this book！ The romance was sweet and wholesome and I enjoyed reading from both Anna and Quan’s POVs。 This book dealt with heavy topics， but I think they were handled well and in a realistic way， which I feel is not the norm in contemporary romance。 I related a lot to Anna’s struggles with being a caretaker and her story was bittersweet overall， which may not fit with people’s idea of what a romance heroine is。 My only gripe with this book is that I felt that the previous books hyped up Quan so much and I expected this book to focus more on his development， which was not the case， as he was mostly a supporting character in Anna’s story。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Heart Principle
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Heart Principle&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Heart Principle&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0