Unfortunately I found How to End a Love Story to be quite underwhelming. The premise had a lot of promise: two people forever tied by a tragedy come face-to-face after years apart, both dealing with unresolved feelings and traumas. But rather than exploring those layers, it felt like the story focused too heavily on miscommunication.

One big issue I had was how the blame was placed on Grant. Without giving too much away, I didn’t understand why Helen and her family seemed to treat him as if he were somehow at fault for the tragic accident that bound their lives. Grant did nothing wrong, and to me, he came across as deeply sympathetic, clearly still haunted by what happened. While it makes sense that Helen and her family would be affected by his presence, the level of blame directed at him felt melodramatic and unfair.

There are things to enjoy about the book such as the snappy dialogue and the undeniable chemistry between Helen and Grant, but it often felt more like a series of sex scenes than a genuine attempt to unpack their complex relationship.

Overall, I felt it fell short of what it could have been. Instead of delivering a truly moving story about healing and forgiveness, it ended up feeling over-dramatic.

I devoured this book in just two days—it was ''that'' good! The love story was beautifully done, touching on grief, loss, healing through trauma, and finding love in all the unexpected places.

And let’s talk tropes: Hollywood screenwriters, a grumpy FMC, a sweet MMC, workplace romance, and an emotional rollercoaster of grief and complicated relationships—this book had it all! I’d recommend it a million times over, especially because of ''Grant''. Seriously, where can I find a Grant in real life? I need one!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for letting me dive into one of the cutest love stories I’ve come across in ages! It was an absolute delight from start to finish, and I couldn’t get enough.

#HowtoEndaLoveStory #NetGalley

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

I have to say I wasn’t quite expecting such a harrowing start to the book where you feel how on earth is this going to work out between these two? Helen has lost her younger sister to a tragic car accident in an apparent suicide and is killed by someone at her school, Grant. So years later and of course they start having feelings for each other, how on earth can they get over their past? There is dry and dark humour in this. I enjoyed this, even with the delicate subject matter.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang was one of my most anticipated romance releases this year. I was thrilled to see what the creative mind behind Emily Henry’s projects would bring to the table, and I can confidently say the verdict is in—both films are in excellent hands!

The story follows Helen Zhang, the author of a wildly popular YA series and its TV adaptation, and Grant Shepard, the screenwriter for the project. As an eager reader, I was completely taken aback just from the first page—the novel begins with the tragic death of Helen's sister and reveals Grant’s involvement in the incident. The main narrative picks up a decade later, when Helen and Grant are reunited in the writer's room, where the tension can be cut with the knife!

You might be wondering if this is really a romance story—don’t worry, it all makes sense, and there’s plenty of time to swoon and giggle! The romance is beautifully woven into the story, filled with just the right amount of angst. Helen and Grant’s chemistry is undeniable; it neither feels rushed nor too slow. Grant is the perfect golden retriever to Helen’s prickly personality—they balance each other perfectly.

While I love a good, swoony romance, I always appreciate when a story has emotional depth. This book masterfully addresses difficult topics like grief and suicide (in the past) as well as the complexities of family relationships and expectations. I believe many readers will find pieces of themselves in this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eagerly anticipating what Yulin Kuang will write next!

How to End a Love Story is a book that filled me with many different emotions. This book deals with grief, but also with coping through it and a stop that brings a new spin to the genre. I liked the slow-burn parts of it and am looking forward to more books by the author.

where to start with this review.
the premise was so interesting and immediately i went into the book hooked and ready to see an angsty love story unfold. but one thing that holds me back in a lot of books is the mc being insufferable. unfortunately, this book had a majorly infuriating fmc, helen. it was so hard to empathise with her and the grief she was facing when she was as annoying as she was.
the mmc was no saving grace as it felt their romance was only charged by lust and even in reflection, i fail to recognise a genuine romantic connection between them. it just wasn’t believable for me.
the smut was too much, the third act conflict was ridiculous and didn’t suit either of their characters. it was yet another trope thrown in just to make way for a sappy resolution to build connection, which failed.
there was almost nothing enjoyable about this book for me, save the conflict our characters initially faced presenting a challenge in their relationship. but after that faded and it felt like nothing significant was in their way, i lost all interest.

“It’s my birthday. Lie to me. Treat me like you love me back.”

“You could keep me your dirty little secret, come to me tasting like other men, I’d still take you back every fucking time,” he says, a muscle ticking violently in his jaw. “I’d rather have a fraction of you than all of someone else.”


These are two of my favourite quotes from the book because it shows how heartbreaking this love story actually is.

It was angsty, devastating and heartbreaking. All of those things and more, even better is that we actually got a happy ending to the story. This is everything I love about romance books. It was heartbreaking and healing at the same time.

I really enjoyed this read and I recommend it to anyone who needs to feel something because it will defo help with that.

I went in with high expectations following all the hype about this book and ended up severely disappointed.

Several things didn't work for me at all. Mind you, I read an ARC, but I found the editing really bad. So many repetitions, especially in the first half, it grated on my nerves and I am not usually someone who pays close attention to such details. Even I found it egregious here.

I was not prepared for that opening ||the burial of a young girl who died of suicide||. It does a great job of hooking into the story right from the start but it was tough to read for me.

I did like the beginning of the present-day relationship between the MCs. I could understand her hate and distrust though she didn't even try to see his POV or treat him fairly. It was angsty and both MC stood out as multi-dimensional people with real issues. Honestly, this was the bit I liked the most in the story.

After all the animosity, then boom, they just right into an intense sexual relationship. And there was a lot of sex on page, pretty graphic, and quite repetitive. There was no real growth in the relationship. She insisted on keeping things casual and secret and as can be expected, it didn't work out.

All the angst and deep emotion that was explored at the beginning was completely lost and lots of external conflict came into play. The heroine had a car accident that led to her parents' finding out and rejecting her relationship with Grant. The whole story moved into a completely different direction. Her parents became the main obstacle for her relationship, not the actual lack of communication between her and Grant, or their complicated past.

Her mother was especially toxic and I felt she was never redeemed. None of their family issues got resolved in my mind.

Overall, this book was not what I expected it to be. Despite some good elements, it was mostly a disappointment for me.

CW: teen suicide (in the past), drug use (in the past), toxic family relations, panic attacks, anxiety, car accident, hospital stay

I can see why Yulin Kuang has been chosen to be the screenwriter for the adaptations of Emily Henry's books. Their writing styles are very similar which is a strength to Yulin Kuang. The story and characters had a lot of depth and it was a great read.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Yulin Kuang for giving me the opportunity to arc review How To End A Love Story.
The premise for this story How To End A Love Story is a bit out there on the spectrum of meet cutes, but I’ve actually heard of something like this happening in real life before. Tragic circumstances can bring people together in the most unlikely ways. I think Yulin Kuang has a great imagination and openness to explore usual situations that draw people together.

A bitter sweet romance forged out of tragedy. I liked the overall story, but I felt the chemistry sometimes between Helen and Grant was a bit bland, not striking the right balance between emotions I would have expected. Unfortunately the romance between Helen and Grant didn’t gel with me. They are supposed to be late 20s or early 30s, but act so childish in their relationship. I mean there is a lot of baggage for them to unpack but I felt this was glossed over in the plot, but expect they will both need a lot more therapy the future.

My reading experience wasn’t the best as the format of the digital arc was awful; missing letters and weird paragraphing. I had to focus a lot to read this so it felt a little exhausting for what I hoped would be a bittersweet, but heartwarming romance.

Some books are hard to review – you love some elements, dislike some others. How To End A Love Story sits in this category for me. Would I read another Yulin Kuang book? Probably. I enjoyed her writing style, bold exploration of themes of grief, loneliness and self, and normalising people do go to therapy (it’s not a dark stain on the soul or secret).

I loved everything about this book and was genuinely so sad to finish it and have it be over 😭 Helen loses her younger sister to a tragic car accident as a teenager - she runs on to the road in an apparent suicide and is killed by one of Helen’s classmates, Grant. It was not his fault, but her family can’t help but see him as responsible. Years later, Helen is a successful YA writing and her book series is being adapted for TV. She’s one of the screenwriters but in a horrible twist of fate, so is Grant. In trying to deal with all the horrible things his presence evokes for her, she can’t deny that there is something between them.

This is achingly sad but lovely. It’s dry, dark humour hits just right - what are the chances, you fall for someone so wholly inconvenient? For Helen, the man who technically killed her sister and for Grant - the one woman who will always remind him of the worst thing that happened to him. Dealing with this is such an emotional journey for them, and the moments that make up their love story are just so precious and tender but grim at the same time. Their meant to be entertaining just radiates off the page, but against a constant backdrop of pain from the past. Could not put this down, especially as dual POV present tense narrative is just so immediate making the heightened emotion and tension even more visceral.

What to expect:

- forbidden romance
- slow burn
- he falls first
- overcoming grief
- quite spicy

After hearing that Yulin Kuang was working on one of Emily Henry's screenplays, I was really excited to read this. But sadly it was a let down for me.
It has an interesting premise but it felt overly long and I really didn't connect with any of the characters either.
I particularly struggled with Helen, who I should have been rooting for.
And while the spicy/steamy scenes were well written, it didn't feel like there was enough lead up to them or connection for me to be fully on board.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

How to end a love story is humorous yet heart wrenching story with a fairly unique plot.

I enjoyed the characters and the inclusion of Helen’s Chinese heritage gave an interesting slant on the story. Helen is looking to turn her book series into a TV show but encounters the man who killed her sister in the writing room.

What follows is largely inevitable but I enjoyed the ride there.

Quirky and very steamy in parts. A solid 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

This could have been great but ended up being sort of average.

I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, loved the asian family rep and what it's like growing up in that culture, loved that we got a glimpse into the screenwriting industry, BUT the book was unecessarily long. There is so much fluff in here it's ridiculous. It made the whole thing drag to a point where you just don't care about the story as much as you should.

This for me was one of those books that doesn't live up to the hype. It was a decent enjoyed story but for a rom-com I think I got one chuckle and didn't feel any chemistry between Helen and Grant. So lacking both the rom and the com.

I loved this a lot! Going in, I was not expecting to like Grant as a character but I really grew to love him by the end and I was rooting for his relationship with Helen throughout! The characters were all really interesting, even the background characters, and I liked how varied and in depth their personalities were. This is a really fun story about a writer working to develop her books for screen, but it has mentions of grief and mental health which was really refreshing to see written perfectly. I would definitely recommend this book!

This complicated love story was tough to get behind. While the novel was undeniably well written, I could never get passed the fact that Helen and Grant knew each other because Grant was involved in Helen’s sister’s death – she jumped in front of the car he was driving. Due to this, the novel possessed a strange tone that made me feel uncomfortable. The romance was convincing and I was sympathetic towards the characters’ trauma, but the way that these two elements of the story linked was jarring.

Helen and Grant were well developed characters. They each harboured their own vulnerabilities and insecurities which made them feel genuine and grounded. I easily preferred Helen. If it wasn’t for the addition of his own perspective, I would have really disliked Grant. Luckily, getting a glimpse into his psyche helped explain why he often acted brash and insensitive at the start of the novel. I wished his reason for joining Helen’s writer’s room was made to be higher stakes than it was because, as it was, their dreaded reunion was easily avoidable. If Grant showed any compassion for Helen, he would have quit immediately. Alas, he stayed on her team and the two developed a somewhat “enemies to lovers” dynamic. Their dialogue sparked with palpable tension and excitement, but the ever-present knowledge that Grant was involved in Helen sister’s death tempered how much I could enjoy their budding romance. I couldn’t shake this feeling throughout the novel. This meant that every romantic and emotional scene was marred by their tragic shared history. I was rooting for Helen and Grant to heal, but in truth, not with each other.

OVERALL: Despite the characters possessing palpable chemistry, I couldn’t reconcile with their shared tragic backstory. This set an uncomfortable tone that made me feel removed from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group and the author for this copy for my honest review.
I really wanted to read this book because the author is the screenwriter of Emily Henry, so of course I wanted to know something about this woman...
It wasn't my favourite book, I feel like I got bored, I had a hard time reading it and connecting with the story.
I didn't feel much connection between the characters, sometimes I even felt like I was reading two people who were just there for the sake of being there.
The climax at the end didn't make sense to me, it was all super dramatic and I could see it coming.
I'm really sad because this book was one of the most anticipated and I want to erase it from my mind.
I'm really sorry for giving such a low score.