What an interesting title and I went in blind. The title alone sold me.
Our main characters, Helen Zhang and Grant Shephard are not your typical love story. There’s no misunderstanding that is keeping them apart… Nope, it’s a legit problem. That was really refreshing and I didn’t realize how refreshing until a couple days after reading it and discussing it with a friend. Don’t get me wrong, I love my rom-coms, but man, there are some rom coms that I am like if you just COMMUNICATED this book would be so much shorter.

This was the author’s debut novel, which also in itself is incredible and I will absolutely be reading whatever this author puts out next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely LOVED this one.

Helen is a bestselling author of a YA series who is headed to Hollywood to help assist with her books getting turned into a TV show. She's still reeling from the tragic death of her younger sister while she was in high school and is very closed off and to herself. Grant is a writer in the television world who accepts on job on Helen's show, despite his connection to the death of her sister, which has affected his life immensely. They get thrown into the writing room together and what starts as genuine hatred blossoms into something else. There is a lot of depth to both characters and the relationship that occurs despite the crazy circumstances, feels realistic. I felt that the complex topic of grief was handled well and that I was rooting for the characters the whole time.
This is a good book for fans of authors such as Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez. I think that this author could absolutely become a bestseller and I am honored to have gotten to read their debut novel.

If a Pulitzer in romance was a thing, the short list would be Yulin first then Grant Shepard second. Because apparently women still remain undefeated when it comes to the fictional writing of men. (The yearning!!!)

This book is honestly an emotional prowess of romance in all its raw and uncut powers to utterly destroy and put you back together so beautifully. It’s genre defining that pushes the boundaries further, creating a narrative space for complicated families, mental health struggles, and forbidden love that still charges those two hind brain cells to lustfully kiss right through it anyway.

Helen and Grant were absolute gone (horny) for each other, and seeing the ties of everything else fall into place, complicated still, but with the understanding that love doesn’t have to wait for the perfect assimilation of two worlds colliding as long as there’s strength to fight for it everyday.

I resonated a lot with the themes that touch on growing up with immigrant parents, being the oldest sister, and the comparison that is the thief of joy from our present will to take pride in what we do have, and I think Yulin is a force to be reckoned with. Her debut is one for the ages and I think shines a light on the pool of talent that exists to tell love stories from all walks of life still.

Thanks to Avon for a digital copy of this beautiful arc.

I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. Oh my goodness I am obsessed! I finished it yesterday afternoon and I'm having the hardest time letting go. I fear a book slump coming on! This had the best romance. I wasn't invested until around 20% because I really couldn't see the two main characters ever becoming friends, let alone love interests. I think this slow build-up was what made it so good though. It never felt forced and done just for the sake of the story. And then the ending?? I was truly worried this wouldn't end well. I absolutely adored this book.

Read if you liked:
* How to Fake it in Hollywood
* Nora Goes Off Script
* Romantic Comedy
* The Idea of You
* Beach Read
* Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance


Full review to come closer to pub date

Thanks for the early review copy, Avon Books! (partner)

Can you fall for the one person who killed your forever love story? Yulin Kuang’s debut novel is for literary fiction romance fans— it’s written like a dream, with twists that develop into such heartwrenching moments that you’ll revel in the knowledge that Helen will get her HEA. It’s a book that celebrates life and how we cope with tragedy. It’s beautiful, it’s hot. You’ll love it so much you’ll wonder where Kuang has been all this time.

Want to know what happens in the room where they write scripts? The stories that flip from the page to the screen? The room is where it happens-- it's where this book takes us and where we get to revel, as outsiders, with Helen.

The room is where your insides get ripped out, like a knife through the belly of a shark—tin cans, fish guts, and shoe laces spilling out on a table. What will stick? What will endear you to the five people around the table? Will your pilot sink, swim, or be ushered into the ether like most pilots?

More than a book, this is a slice into the brain of Kuang— where I would love to live for a while. Kuang creates depth, tension, devastation and longing like the experts (see the acknowledgment section with a nod to Sarah MacLean, the ‘kissing book’ queen of us all).

There's a line where Grant realizes that if he can't be with Helen, he’ll move to a Greek island and become a cabinet maker. I think like that sometimes, in those absolutes of a starving human. Parts of Grant are pieces of ‘shattered glass’ (as Kuang likes to put it) where I’ve found that reflection of myself in How to End a Love Story.

Kuang is here for the long game— that while Grant is ‘good in a room,’ she makes the room, and I, for one, am so glad she’s running the show.

Emily Henry is one lucky writer, and I will keep my ear to the ground for the ‘Good in a Room’ film…

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc to review.

I really loved this book. When I started it and found out the history of Helen and Grant I really didn’t know how the author was going to be able to make it realistic for how they could overcome it. But, I ended up really really loving it. The characters felt very real and I loved their chemistry, how they talked to each other and this was a case where I didn’t mind the things that usually frustrate me.

This is a debut novel from Yulin Kuang and as long as she keeps on this same path, I can see her in the leagues with some of our favorites.

Helen Zhang and Grant Shephard are not your typical love story. What I liked most about their story, was that it didn't seem like a silly misunderstanding. There was no miscommunication troupe (thank God) there's no cheating, what keeps them apart is a legitimate problem that takes therapy, want and work to move past. Both these mains were so relatable, and as the reader you were rooting for them to not only better themselves for themselves, but also for each other.
There were times I felt the transitioning in the story felt a tad bumpy, Kuang gave us a love story that was filled with steam (seriously loved that) and realness. I highly recommend checking this novel out and will be keeping my eye on her to see what else she has in store for us!
Fun fact: She is the screenwriter on both Emily Henry's book to screen adaptations :internally screams:

Thank you NetGalley & Harper Collins for this ARC!

There is a solid romance here. But I think the premise will be difficult for some readers to get past. It's a big tragedy, and having experienced a version of that tragedy, the glib way it's just moved past for most of the book did not feel true to me.

Kuang is good with dialogue, especially in group settings -- the scenes in the writing room are fun -- but there seemed, to me, always a big disconnect between characters' interior thoughts and their words. Some of that is by design; however, there's also a lack of action by the characters to back up either thoughts or words. Basically, Kuang relies too heavily on telling you, vs. showing you, that Grant and Helen are meant for each other. In another book with a less tragic premise, this wouldn't have bothered me as much.

Excited to see how Kuang adapts Emily Henry's work. I came away from this thinking she must be an excellent screenwriter.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

As I’ve stated before, sometimes contemporary romance books can be a dud for me. They kind of all seem the same when reading them back to back. However, this book had so many things I liked about it.

In Yulin Kuang’s debut novel, we are introduced to YA author Helen Zhang. Helen is the first-born daughter to immigrant parents who much like other immigrant parents would prefer their children to be a lawyer, doctor or engineer. She also had a sister. Her sister died 13 years prior in a way that even her parents still don’t understand. Helen’s book series is being turned into a TV series and one of the writers of the TV series happens to be the driver of the vehicle that hit her sister.

Grant Shephard may have moved (literally to another state) on with his life but he still thinks about the tragedy that took place. The tragedy that will forever bind Helen and him. Grant also suffers from panic attacks and just wants to do the TV series justice.

Helen and Grant have to learn to not only work together but co-exist outside of work gatherings with work colleagues. At first, they are annoyed with one another but they form a bond using the tragedy that took place all those years before.

I loved the chemistry between the two and I may be a bit bias but I appreciate that the characters are close to my age. It felt like I had friends telling me what was going on in their lives. Finally, I liked knowing what it was like to be in a writer’s room as I never thought that there were sometimes more than 5+ people pitching in to write one episode of a TV series.

This was a great debut novel! Thank you @harpercollinscanada for the eARC!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I went between 4 and 5 stars on this one. The only reason I'd dock a star is the heaviness of the themes which made it hard to get lost in because my heart ached for the characters. But doesn't that just prove it was really good writing?

Helen Zhang is the first daughter of immigrant parents and their family is struggling through the grief of losing a daughter/sister from suicide and the love interest, Grant, is unfortunately attached to this trauma. In her writing, Kuang gives readers a glimpse into her delightful and witty characters who (like most of us) are buried beneath complicated experiences of grief/loss, anger, love, forgiveness, and complex healing. The unfortunate circumstances of Helen and Grant's history sets up a story of impossible love where you are cheering for their healing and growth so they can just love each other through the complexities of their lives.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ This book is very spicy BUT in her acknowledgments she suggests chapters that her parents should skip when reading this book which would also be super helpful for sensitive readers. So if you want a cleaner read, here are the chapters she suggests skipping: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, and 35.

Read if you like these tropes:
•Forced Proximity
•Enemies to Lovers
•Forbidden Love
•Office romance
•Second Chances
•Destiny
•Impossible Love
•Multiple POV

3.5 stars
This story starts off great - the characters are well drawn, major trauma is handled deftly and with nuance, and the chemistry is hot! I really enjoyed the depiction of a writers' room and recognized a lot of the personality types there. Sadly, it kind of lost steam as it went along. Helen's parents are not given much depth and her issues with them are resolved in a way that feels both too easy and incomplete, making the main obstacle to the romance feel like a bit of a straw man, even though it decidedly isn't. And Grant's mental health challenges also sort of drop away without comment. I really liked the first half or so, wanted to like the rest more, and I will definitely look out for new books by Kuang in the future!

Yulin Kuang’s DEBUT novel BLEW me AWAY! How to End a Love Story ended up on my radar when I read that the author is the screenwriter for “People We Meet On Vacation” and the writer/director for “Beach Read”. I will consume ALL THINGS Emily Henry so if there’s something in the Henry-Verse I’m going to read it.

Helen Zhang is a widely successful YA writer and has just published the final book of her popular series. Grant Shepard writes for TV shows and gets hired to work on the TV show adaptation of Helen’s series. Unbeknownst to their coworkers, Helen and Grant are bonded by a shared trauma they experienced in high school.

This is truly an Enemies to Lovers romance. The trauma they share is heavy and it’s not something to easily move past. In the beginning there is so much hatred I constantly wondered how they could possibly move to the “lovers” phase!! Be assured that THEY DO. Expect pining, aching, and forced proximity. There’s so much heart in this novel, it hurt my soul a little. Yulin Kuang is going to be a MUST-READ author for me. I’m excited to see her work in other mediums as well!

How to End a Love Story is out April 2nd 2024.

Thanks to the Avon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Most Anticipated Romance Books of 2024

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Release Date: April 9 from Avon

Many romance readers may know Yulin Kuang as the screenwriter adapting Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read (and directing the latter), but I’ve been aware of Kuang since I Ship It, her short-lived TV series about bandmates who write songs about fandom culture. I leapt at the chance to read the ARC for her contemporary romance debut, based upon perhaps the darkest foundation for a love story: Helen Zhang lost her sister Michelle to suicide when they were teenagers, when Michelle ran in front of the car of homecoming king Grant Shephard.

Thirteen years later, Helen is a bestselling author of a dark academia series, and she’s nabbed herself a spot in the writers’ room of the forthcoming TV adaptation. The only problem is, one of her new coworkers is Grant himself, who is the definition of “good in a room”: annoyingly affable and a brilliant writer. As Helen and Grant work through their awful history to try and collaborate on something new, they are drawn to each other in dark, messy, heady ways. This book will twist the knife in your gut, yet give you every reason to root for these two, even when they don’t know how to fight for themselves.

This was a good read. While it had some unique elements, it did end up being pretty predictable. I also found the female main character hard to like at first. I found the plot hard to follow at times due to how it was written. However, it was a good book overall.
First off, this book does put a couple spins on contemporary romances. Grant and Helen’s past traumatic connection was one I hadn’t seen before and created a unique hurdle for their relationship. I also found the author working to adapt her book series into a tv show plot to be unique. It was interesting to see how this experience helped Helen grow as a person and a writer. However, the book still ended up being pretty predictable and followed your basic contemporary romance template.
I found Helen hard to like at first. I know grief is strange but the fact that she still held Grant accountable for the accident 13 years later and told him so to his face made me dislike her for a while. Maybe it was since the reader also got to see from Grant’s POV but it was obvious he was still torn up about it and she was way too harsh on him. Especially since later *spoiler* she seems to just get over it? Grant I liked right away. In fact I would have preferred if this book had been all from his POV.
That brings me to my next point. The plot was a bit hard to follow. The book would change POV’s suddenly with no warning. Sometimes we got to see what a character was thinking and others we didn’t. At least a couple times there was a time jump with no warning. A little more consistency and clear breaks would have been better.
Overall though, this was a good book. The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading and I cared about Grant enough (and eventually Helen) that I was rooting for them to have a happy ending. If you’re looking for a good contemporary romance with some angst I would recommend it!

Very well written romance of complicated nature. I cried a lot but that’s a good thing! Very interesting event connecting the main characters 😉

This book was wonderful. I'll be honest, I went in thinking it would be a little more romcom, but what I ended up reading was a beautiful story of two people who were damaged in ways only the other could understand. I know this author has a history in screenwriting and is only getting more famous, but damn. If she can keep writing books like this I will read every single one of them. I laughed, I cried, I had my heart broken. This book was like Normal People but honestly better and with a much more satisfying ending. (Sorry if you liked Normal People but I'm right on this one.) Anyway, please keep these coming, Yulin.

17 days into 2024 and I have already found one of my favorite books???

Kuang will be directing Emily Henry’s Beach Read so obviously I had high hopes. Felt like a great mixture of an Emily Henry and Ava Wilder book. A beautiful love story that had tension with characters that had big emotions and trauma to unpack. I obviously cried at 10pm last night finishing this one
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @avonbooks for an early copy of How to End a Love Story by @yulin.kuang. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Release date: April 2nd, 2024

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

How to End a Love Story is first and foremost an emotional love story that revolves around the trauma experienced and shared by Grant and Helen during their senior year in high school. They were never close, and haven’t spoken to each other in years, but when Helen’s book is being adapted into a television show and coincidentally with Grant as one of its screenwriters, they initially try to work with all the hostility in the air, mostly coming from Helen. However, they could not deny their mutual attraction with all the tension and emotions, their work and trauma have brought them closer together, and have made their already complicated relationship even more complicated.

Despite having a slow start, I couldn’t help but feel invested in the characters. Their pain and sorrow were expressed so thoroughly and deeply that I sometimes had to pause a bit and process (and cry internally 😪). As I mentioned, this is a heavily emotional novel (and I advise you to read the trigger warnings before starting this) and I highly applaud the author for handling the topics surrounding death, grief, loss, suicide, and panic attacks delicately and well. Regardless of the heavy emotions I felt reading this, the story was very well written. Grant and Helen are individually broken but have come together to comfort each other in their loneliness. Their eventual acceptance of the pain of putting everything in the past, and their pining and yearning for each other, only made the story even more beautiful. The spice (so much spice!) was also a bonus that I enjoyed. 😉

If you’re a fan of Emily Henry’s, Kennedy Ryan’s, or Annabel Monoghan’s works, you’ll surely enjoy this gut-wrenching beautiful romance!

A lovely debut romance that hits all the right notes and whose leads are charming in all of the frustrating ways. Grant and Helen have not seen each other since the tragic death of Helen's sister in high school. When Helen's novels are being adapted into a tv show, Grant is brought into the writer's room. As the two of them work to put their past traumas behind them and connect in the present, they find they have far more in common than high school and their shared past. Kuang's debut is marvelous and expands on the usual tropes to make a charming love story. Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC.

I went into How to End a Love Story pretty uninformed. I started it on a Saturday at home and when I got into it, I couldn't stop. My friend Kari would call this "romance with heft". It's the love story between Grant and Helen. They went to high school together and suffered different sides of a horrible tragedy. When they come together to work as screenwriters years later, they both struggle with their past. That tension and emotion and trauma bring them together but also kept me deeply invested in this story.

I read this reminded of Talking at Night and also of Ava Wilder's books. But Kuang uses words so well to tell Grant and Helen's story. I very rarely am aware of a writer's skill, but found myself wanting to highlight phrases and remember passages because they connected so well to life. I immediately texted friends to make sure they have this on their radar.