For a debut novel , I liked it . I was hooked by the first couple of pages !
its has a good bit of depth , from grief, romance and forgiveness .

Before reading Yulin Kuang’s literary debut 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺, I honestly had trepidations. The premise—two writers who were once loosely acquainted in high school and brought together briefly but significantly in tragedy meet again 13 years later as co-workers on a television show—has the makings of a moving, memorable novel. But it also has the potential to be a histrionic mess of words if handled poorly. I am relieved and pleased to report that this is a beautifully written romantic drama and that the tropes of forced proximity, office romance, and forbidden love are utilized skillfully.

Kuang is a brilliant storyteller. Though this is her first novel, her background in screenwriting and directing is evident in her work. She is great at penning dialogue and setting a scene. I often felt like I was watching a scene unfold rather than just reading words on a page. But my favorite part of her writing is her characterization. She has a knack for creating and presenting characters who seem realistic and fully formed. There is Helen Zhang—once a serious, awkward, academically-minded teenager, now a reserved, self-conscious, career-focused 31-year-old YA writer who has joined the writing staff of her series’ TV adaptation in order break out of her personal and professional rut. There is Grant Shepard—former class president and homecoming king whose attractiveness, natural charisma, and ease with people have served him well in his Hollywood writing and producing career but have masked his anxiety and intimacy issues. There are their colleagues on the show—each charming and appealing in their individual ways, but never quirky for the sake of being rom-com quirky. And there are Helen’s mother and father—parents who genuinely love their daughter but struggle with emotionally connecting with her due to cultural differences, parental expectations, and the weight of grief. They all came across as complex, well thought-out personas.

My main disappointment, however, was with the third act break-up. 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬-𝘶𝘱. To be fair, it is a common element in romance fiction and I suppose that, yes, a separation between Helen and Grant at some point in their journey may have been necessary to give the characters room to really sit with their feelings, reflect on their neuroses, and grow both as individuals and in their relationship. However, I feel like the length and circumstances of theirs was a bit overwrought. Helen and Grant already had enough obstacles in their relationship, putting them through more pain to advance the narrative seemed unnecessary to me. Admittedly, it was not the worst offender of all the third-act breakups I’ve read, so it was a disappointing hiccup in an otherwise smoothly executed book.

Overall, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 is a compelling, poignant novel about vulnerability and forgiveness. This will likely be one of my favorite reads this year. I strongly recommend it to those who enjoy romance novels like 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 by Curtis Sittenfeld, 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Emily Henry, and 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 by Christina Lauren. Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of “How To End A Love Story” in exchange for a review.

I didn’t have prior experience with Yulin Kuang, but now I’m seeing her everywhere in connection to the “Beach Reads” adaptation, so I went in with big hopes!

For a debut novel, I’m impressed. I do get annoyed by the ‘I refuse to admit my feelings’ storyline, so that was a turn off for me, but the overall execution and storyline were well done. I liked the characters and they had real chemistry. I think this will do well upon release!

Spice level: 🔥🔥🔥/5

Book Review: How to End a Love Story
Stars: 5 X 5
Author: Yulin Kuang
Publisher: Avon/William Morrow/Harper Collin’s
A big Thank You to NetGalley for this ARC.

What a wonderful story this was. You will cry, laugh and shout out loud at times.

Helen Zhang is an author of young adult books and has a series that is being groomed by Hollywood for a tv show. Helen ends up in Southern California and in the “writer’s room” for her show. Will Los Angeles be the fresh start that Helen is craving? Grant is also a writing on the series and he meets Helen in the “writer’s room”. Grant who is a screenwriter has some past issues that he has dealt with and seemed to move on. Grant and Helen are surprised to see each other in the “writer’s room” ad they have a past. They went to the same high school.
Helen’s sister killed her self when they were in high school. She killed herself 13 years ago by running in front of a car. This affected Helen very much and she started isolating herself from others and she had a lot of guilt and insecurities. Grant was the person driving the car that Helen’s sister ran in front of. Grant has had a hard adjustment and he still has occasional panic attacks and suffers from imposter syndrome. Helen and Grant haven’t seen each other since this happened. The tension between them is a lot in the beginning and rather bumpy.
As Grant and Helen are forced to work together and must also deal with the past coming to life again. They both are still dealing with guilt from the trauma of the suicide. Slowly as they work together they start to support each other and they become friends and eventually much more. `As this relationship between the two of them develop, there is so much healing that occurs with the hearts and guilt these two people share. They both end up forgiving each other and Helen’s sister too. There is a bit of family drama that ensues during this time too. The complex family dynamic is all over the place. Helen and Grant have a great love story but in the end, they decide to end the relationship and remain friends.

This was a wonderful book full of love, lost, regret, humor, tragedy and friendship.. Helen and Grant are so broken that it takes the friendship and love between them to become whole again. The book was wonderfully written and it also reminds us all that not all love stories have to have a happy ending..

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper voyager and to the author for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’d rate this book a solid 4 / 5 ⭐️

This is an emotional romance, that involves trauma and forgiveness. I honestly liked it more than I expected too and I can’t wait to see what other books this author releases 🤍

Helen Zhang’s sister committed suicide by jumping in front of Grant Shepard’s vehicle. Now as an adult, 13 years in the future Helen is a young adult author to a book getting adapted into a film and one of the screen writers just happens to be Grant Shepard….


Tropes:

Forbidden romance
Enemies to lovers
Screenwriter x author
He falls first

I definitely recommend the read, Helen was easy to relate with and I loved Grants Character. 🤍

Wow! This was a great book! This wasn’t something I felt I could rush through—definitely not a quick read for me. I had to savor this story word by word, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

I loved Helen and Grant, both together and separately. I loved the glimpse into screenwriting and the writers room, and how that all turns into the production of the show. I loved the tortured backstory, and how both Grant and Helen were able to heal and grow.

There were many parts of this book that made me cry, but many more that made me smile and laugh. That ending, with Shelley, had all those feelings beating me at once. This was a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to see what else this author does.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“How to End a Love Story” is a steamy, enemies to lovers contemporary romance novel. It is the story of Helen and Grant who went to the same high school, share a tragic past, and reconnect across the country as adults in LA where Grant is on the team as a screenwriter for Helen’s YA novel being turned into a show.

I loved learning about how novels turn into screen adaptations and how each unique team member had a hand in the final script. This romance was a bit too slow, it took until about 40% in to pick up, but then it became super steamy!

Overall I did not really connect with Helen’s character and I was annoyed with her parents. A solid three star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

The premise of this book was really difficult for me to look past. The story starts with a funeral for Helen’s sister and then fasts forward 13 years. Helen is a successful author whose book series is being turned into a tv show. Because of this Helen is moving from NYC to LA where she doesn’t know a soul. Well, except when she finds out Grant is in the writers room for the show. The same Grant who was driving the car when it hit her sister, to no fault of his own. This was such a huge premise for me to overcome in this story because it just didn’t seem believable that these two people could be in a romantic relationship. Beyond this, the story was enjoyable and the characters were well written in a way that made you connect with them. The relationship between Helen and Grant took a while to thaw and eventually became a very sweet bond. He is very patient with her and her trauma while she is also considerate of his perspective (eventually). Definitely worth the read and very easy to breeze through this story. Thank you Avon for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I went into reading this book not realizing how attached I’d get to Helen and Grant. Their love story is so different from the many books I’ve read before. Grant accidentally ran over Helen’s younger sister Michelle in high school when she darted out into the road to end her life. Obviously, Helen was not fond of Grant after that.

Years later, Helen has written a successful YA series that is being adapted into a television show and she gets a position in the writers room. Guess who else is there? Why yes, it’s Grant.

The angst was so real. Reading as they fall for each other while knowing it’s doomed was so good. Grant was very swoon-worthy in his love for Helen. And you couldn’t help but feel for Helen as she waged between her love for Grant and how her parents would react to their relationship.

A fun bit at the end was realizing that the author is directing one of Emily Henry’s book adaptations as well as writing the screenplay for another! Can’t wait for those to be released.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing was really crisp and I can tell the author is going to do great things for the romance genre.

3.5 stars. Take a tragic, impossible situation and make it a romance. That's what Kuang has done. This story is so sad on many levels but it also gives you hope. Helen and Grant are well matched--their temperaments and careers really compliment each other. The spice is very hot! I didn't love all the work talk though--it was redundant and boring. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

As I was reading HTEALS, I already started thinking about how this will be a book I reread. Many parts spoke personally to me, including Helen's perspective on being the oldest daughter in an immigrant family, dating someone your family does not approve of, and love languages in an Asian family. Kuang's writing is really beautiful and while I read the book very quickly, I also wanted to pause and savor her words (and thus the reread).

4 🌟

This book was more than just a love story.

I felt like the premise for this book was so good but there were a few things that fell short for me. The romance was not fully believable and partly because when they were together, all they did was have sex. I did enjoy that this book dealt with some tougher topics (make sure to read trigger warnings) and wasn't just a light romcom. And I loved the semi found family via the writers room.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I wish I had DNF'd this much earlier. I made it over 80% but just couldn't take it anymore. I absolutely hated Helen. I have no idea what Grant (or really, any other character) saw in her. She was so mean to him and such a tease. The story is told in dual third person POV which I did not enjoy; it felt like reading.a screenplay with stage directions. Considering that's the author's background, no surprise there, but that's not what I'm looking for in a novel. Definitely in the minority here. Read at your own risk.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the e-galley.

Helen Zhang and Grant f-ing Shepard. I can’t get over these two. Theirs is such a broken, messy, and complex relationship but they’re also broken in their own ways that it really did feel impossible for these two to end up together. But Kuang pulls it off. She weaves together so many emotional threads—grief, longing, mourning, love, healing, forgiveness—that was raw and painful at times but so so tender. This book gave me such a heart-wrenching book hangover that I read it again immediately.

CW: grief, suicide loss, death of a sibling, panic attacks

This is incredibly random but you know the line in Captain America : Civil War where Wanda exclaims to Clint, “Oh my god, what are you doing here?” and he says “Disappointing my kids“? Well. This is me disappointing my kids (friends).

Sadly, I knew by about 15% into this that I was not going to be rating this five stars. The only question would be how far would this fall along the way to the end. And knowing me, it could’ve been worse. But I just didn’t love this, I never even felt a glimmer of love for this, and there’s a very specific reason why. Or three.

Often times, as readers, even though we know the people we’re reading about are characters, they nonetheless feel like people. People we love or hate, whatever the case might be, but they feel like a someone. Unfortunately, the two leads in HOW TO END A LOVE STORY did not have this. They very much felt like characters, caricatures even, because they honestly felt barely developed. Helen maybe had a little more going on than Grant — who felt like Male Love Interest #72847852 — but even she just felt mostly.. remote. Angry and uncomfortable. And yes, there are reasons, but in that case give me depth and resonance to feel the emotion fuelling those reasons. But I didn’t. Overall, everyone was made up of one or two attributes that we see played out to death (sorry).

And then there was the romance (and how we skipped sO mAnY steps into getting to a place where this should’ve been something they considered; like, this needed a much slower burn) (and also with the game thing I never understood and just felt contrived). And the sex scenes. It wasn’t it for me. Either one. But especially not the latter. I have absolutely come to hate (previously, this was just an eyeroll cringe combo that lead me to skimming but we’ve graduated now) the pivot characters in romances make when they are feeling zesty and suddenly transform into sex workers on a porno set. I think there was maybe one, of the many, of these intimate scenes that did feel true to the characters, such as they were, and I would’ve much rather had just the one moment than all the others because at least it was close to feeling honest.

Back to emotions, though, I fully expected this book to wreck me based on some of the subject matter and events that play out but I, a self-professed marshmallow, felt.. nothing. Not until a certain letter was written; which didn’t make me emotional but I can acknowledge was really beautiful, really something — the first bit of something from the entire book. And it was at, like, 96% or something. Rough.

I just don’t think the narrative meshed with the motions the author put her characters through because instead it feels like she’s trying to follow expected patterns that don’t quite line up with the shape of her story. Or, more fitting maybe, it’s like the characters are following a different and less interesting script and it just doesn’t work (for me).

Maybe this would make a good movie or limited series run, maybe it’s better as a screenplay (where the author’s experience lies), but as a book, no matter who’s head I was in, whether it was dealing with complex familial dynamics, panic attacks, grief and rage and bitterness from loss with no closure, I just felt.. nothing.

But I’m definitely in the smallest of minorities about this so, hey, don’t even listen to me. What do I know.

I loved this and I can’t wait for others to get the opportunity to read it. I first had interest in this book when I heard Yulin Kuang was adapting Beach Read and The People We Meet on Vacation. This gave me complete faith in her ability to adapt Emily Henry’s books. This had a lot of the same elements that make me love Emily Henry as a writer.

I enjoyed this from the first page. Yulin set up a really difficult task for herself with such a heartbreaking start to Helen and Grant’s story. They’re connected in a way that’s absolutely unimaginable. But in the end it’s perfect and their relationship makes sense. Of course Helen and Grant would fall in love for the same reasons that once kept them apart. I also really loved the writer’s room setup too. It was fun seeing how a show is created and written.

The depictions of grief and guilt are done so beautifully too. It feels like a really honest portrayal of the grief you feel when you lose someone unexpectedly and the guilt you may feel that you couldn’t help them more.

It’s not often that I know a book is going to be a five star from the jump. I really hope that Yulin writes more books (after she directs Beach Read!). She has an easy space in my rotation of favorite romance writers.

WOW! After the literal beginning of the story, I had absolutely no idea where this story could go and how it could possibly be romantic. But I realized that must be the magic of Yulin. It also makes sense to me that she is adapting Emily Henry's books for the screen, as she also has a lot of emotional layering in her stories. I think that grief and suicide are obviously extremely heavy topics, and Yulin handled them with care and a sort of lightness that honored the difficulty of emotions surrounding the topics. Along with how beautiful the story is, this is beautifully written. I'm now a huge Yulin Kuang fan!

If this book were a song: 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁; 𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴

When they were seniors in high school, Helen and Grant had their lives forever entwined following a terrible accident. Not friends before and certainly not friends after, 13 years later, they find themselves thrown together in the workplace.

Helen is a best selling author of a YA series being turned into a TV series; Grant, a screenwriter hired to lead with the adaptation.

When Helen arrives in Hollywood, imposter syndrome hits hard. An awkward loner, Helen is unprepared for the boisterous, bonding experience of the writer’s room, and comes off the prude, standoffish, cold. Secretly, though, she wants to break free from her stifling Chinese immigrant parents and memories of her sister.

Grant, on the other hand, is made for the writer’s room. Gregarious and charming with a winning smile, he has the ability to get anyone talking. Secretly, though, he suffers from panic attacks and the belief that he’s too hard to love.

Working together is difficult initially, but then there’s a spark, a moment where they become human to one another, but at what cost? Helen’s parents have never forgiven Grant and have no idea Helen is working with him.

The result is the heartbreaking slow dance of two broken people trying to forgive themselves, let go of the past, and allow themselves happiness.

There is certainly spice to this novel - tender and lovely - and feels organic. But it’s so much more. Helen and Grant are so delicately drawn that I promise you will cry and laugh, hope and cringe throughout the book, and then be inconsolable during the last 40 pages.

I urge everyone to put this book on hold at your library, preorder from your favorite bookseller, or show up on April 9 to get your own copy.

I may never recover from this one and I will be rereading my physical copy this summer and every summer after.

Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the ARC to review. Available April 9, 2024.

these people would be absolutely infuriating to work with, but to read about, they are pretty damn entertaining. there's a really well executed balance of grief, grace, and smut (and it is smut) here that is quite satisfying. but seriously, a companion novel from the perspective of the others in the writers room would be hilarious.