This debut story, "How to End a Love Story" by Yulin Kuang, is an absolute gem.
At first, I was unsure if it would captivate me, but gradually, it drew me in until I was completely hooked.
Helen and Grant's characters are beautifully developed, and their complex relationship unfolds with a perfect blend of softness and melancholy.
The story delicately tackles themes of grief, loss, and cultural dynamics, adding depth to the characters' arcs. Despite their tragic past and seemingly incompatible differences, Helen and Grant's love blossoms in a way that feels both authentic and heart-wrenching.
The writing is stunning, with sentences that are both beautiful and poignant.
The third act of the book had me on the edge of my seat, and while I hate books in that sense, this one delivers a well deserved ending.

Overall, "How to End a Love Story" is a breathtaking debut that I highly recommend.

Very grateful to the publisher for this copy, opinions are my own

'It was a slow fall but a pretty permanent crash'

I am all kinds of in my feels.

How to End A Love Story is the debut Novel from Yulin Kuang. It follows Helen and Grant as they see each other for the first time in 13 years, after a tragic accident entwined their lives together. Whilst they have both tried to put what happened in the past behind them, they can thelp but still feel every moment of it, whether they want to or not. And now, forced to work together on an adaptation of Helen's popular YA series, they have to reconcile the difference between who they thought the other was, and who they actually are.

I'm more of a fluffy romance reader, but the angst in this book hit me in all the right spots. Although I wasn't sure at first about a romance between Helen and Grant, the slow burn, the chemistry between them, both of them being determined to not allow anything to happen between them until they realise that something alredy has, and then jumping in head first, had me rooting for them and nearly screaming at my kindle for them to just get it together.

Helen's character was really interesting for me to read. Her family dyanmic, and the way her sister's suicide impacts her realtionship with her parents was so interesting that I would have been happy reading a lot more of it. The resentment she feels towards her sister felt a lot more real than the way a lot of books handle death in the family, where they become an untouchable martyr, and because of it I found Helen so compelling. I would have liked to have seen more interaction bewteen her and her parents, but by having limited time between them, I think it makes it all the more impactful.

The way she changes once she decides to let her walls down, and be who she wants to be not who she thinks she's expected to be is liberating to read, and she feels alot more authentic because of it.

Grant's character was one that I didn't quite know what to expect, but he really compliments Helen's character. The way he feels like he has to be the funny one in the room, wholst internally battling his own shortcomings, to the way he falls so hard for Helen was so endearing that when Helen was hoping that he would have the happily ever after, I found myself wanting that to.

I wish the third act wasn't so brutal, but it made perfect sense, and I had a feeling that when Helen had said it was going to painless it was going to be anything but. I had a hollow feeling in my chest, and I felt as though I was feeling everything that they were both feeling. But it made the ending so worth it.

I found it hard to read at some times, and found myself racing through it for the rest of the time, there was no inbetween. (Please check the trigger warnings for this one though). 3/3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Yulin Kuang, and Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read this early copy. All thoughts are my own.

With Yulin Kuang's screenwriting credits, I knew I needed to read her debut as soon as it was announced, and I was so chuffed to get a proof copy here! I loved the idea of her bringing in her screenwriting knowhow to the setting and plotline of the novel, and I think it worked really well.
I loved how we get immersed into the characters' lives and the stakes of the story right away. Without giving too much away, the incident that is alluded to that creates the animosity and tension between Helen and Grant is an enormously tragic and significant one – one that profoundly affected both their families and their lives. Handling the stakes of love and grief involved in overcoming an event like that takes a lot of grace and respect from the writer, and Yulin Kuang really delivered on that front. You feel the gut-wrenching mix of guilt, loss, and attraction that infuses Grant and Helen's relationship all the way through, and you still come out rooting for Grant and Helen to make it. Both Grant and Helen felt so complex and real, and I grew really attached to them throughout. A big part of that was the amount of detail and attention given to Helen's relationship with her parents, and how it evolves throughout the novel. And the romance scenes were absolutely electric!
I did end up docking a star for a couple of reasons. The third-act breakup felt a little drawn out, and I wasn't totally convinced it was needed. At times, I also felt like the writing was a little detached – perhaps since it's written in the third person. And finally, I was torn at the end – still am – over whether or not Helen and Grant can heal from the accident in their pasts together. I really want to think they can, but a part of me wasn't totally sure. They started lusting after each other pretty early on, and I guess I wish they'd had more time before that came in to process what happened and how they would handle working together given their backstory, and that more space had been given to the emotional aspects of their relationship.
Overall, would definitely recommend – though do check the trigger warnings before reading!

I was already expecting good things when I saw she was adapting Emily Henry’s books and I was not disappointed. This was amazing, and even more impressive for a debut! I loved the story and how complex the characters were and the representations of anxiety and panic attacks and difficult relationships with family members. I felt truly connected to the characters which made the story all the more impactful to read. It was truly wonderful and I’m so excited for her future books!

This book is fantastic! There was so much emotion packed into this one

How to End a Love Story centres around a bestselling author called Helen Zhang, whose family life is marked by the tragic death of her younger sister, Michelle. Her sister died in a tragic car accident, an event that shaped both Helen and her family's life and the driver's, Grant. Thirteen years after the accident, Helen's books are being adapted into a TV series and one of the writers is Grant, which complicates the situation for both of them as they come to terms with the aftermath of Michelle's death and its consequences to their psyche. Their story was never meant to be a love tale, but somehow that's what happens in this emotion-packed book.

How to End a Love Story was so raw and real. These characters had so much depth to them and their story was heartbreaking. It'd been a long time since a book had elicited so much emotion from me. Yulin Kuang made me truly care about these characters and I suffered with them throughout the novel.

Reading and loving this book and knowing Yulin Kuang is the adapting screenwriter of Emily Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation as well as the writer/director of the forthcoming adaptation of Beach Read into a movie made me really excited for these adaptations. I hope we get more books by Yulin Kuang soon!

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for my e-ARC!

I thought I would absolutely love this book, but the more I read, the more I disliked it.

Overall, I loved the writing and I quite liked the relationship between Helen and Grant (THE ANGST AND YEARNING). They had a lot of sweet moments, but then all of sudden, it felt like I was reading about two horny teenagers. It kind of ruined it for me. Also, both characters have their flaws, which made them a perfect fit.

About the characters. Grant was alright. I didn't like the guy that much. I did like how the author brought up his anxiety and panic attacks every now and then (which was really well written). Helen, on the other hand, is such an interesting character to read about. I loved reading about her story and the complex relationship she had with her parents (especially her mother).

I really liked this book at the start and I thought it had a lot of potential. Around 40% in, it went downhill and it didn't get much better. It absolutely had a few well written and emotional scenes, but not enough for me to rate this book higher.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang is a stunning debut. It’s such a rich, clever and tender story, and one that also deals deftly with some really big and heavy issues. I cannot wait to see what Kuang writes next.

In How to End a Love Story Helen Zhang, bestselling YA author, is having her novel series The Ivy Papers turned into a TV show. She’s got herself a spot in the writers room but is thrown when she finds herself face to face with Grant Shepard, a man she’s not seen in 13 years. Helen and Grant’s lives have been shaped by a terrible tragedy that will forever link them together. And yet they find their attraction to one another inescapable and soon find themselves in a position they could never have imagined.

I loved that this novel is about an author having her work made into a series and that it’s written by a debut author who is herself a screenwriter and director. It was amazing to read about the process of taking a book from page to screen and made for such a great story. I don’t often find myself reading third person and though it took a little getting used to I found it really worked within the context of everything that was going in.

It’s important to note that Kuang had written her own content warnings and to say that this book deals a lot with the impact of a character’s suicide. The opening is heavy and yet it’s not without its dark humour. Both Helen and Grant’s lives were altered by the death of Helen’s sister and their grief and trauma related issues felt incredibly real, though always handled with care and grace by Kuang. The mental health representation was really something.

Also fascinating in this story was the complicated relationship between Helen and her parents, that was shaped, of course, by her sister’s death but also by the cultural differences between their being first generation immigrants and Helen being American born. The way Kuang dealt with Helen’s own complicated feelings brought so much depth to her character and I’m sure will resonate with many.

The romance was a stunning slow burn, and the evolution of the relationship between Grant and Helen worked so very well. Their history is complicated and yet you can tell how right they were for one another. The third act break was difficult, it was prolonged but it made so much sense and made the resolution that much better.

I absolutely adored this one. It really was an incredible read.

How to End a Love Story pulled me into Helen and Grant's world. The emotions in this book run deep. There is grief and there is forgiveness and healing. There is conflict, tension, angst and romance. There is also a celebration of actually achieving new heights in careers which was quite refreshing to read.

Aside from the romance, Yulin Kuang has brilliantly brought out what life is like in an Asian household where feelings aren't shown and talked about openly.

If you're looking for a steamy romance, with engaging narratives and character development, this is the book to read.

After reading a very gushing review of How to End a Love Story, I was so excited to read it! But unfortunately it fell quite flat for me.

Our two main characters and love interests are Helen and Grant. Now in their early 30s, they meet in the writers’ room for the tv series being made of Helen’s highly successful YA book series. But their past is very complicated - they went to the same high school, Helen the quiet academic type, Grant the homecoming king. They became fatefully connected one awful night when Helen’s younger sister kills herself.

Now they find themselves working together and need to face the past. And as they do, things take an unexpectedly romantic turn.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the insight into how the tv series was made. That was super interesting! And some of the friends Helen makes along the way were fun characters that gave some light relief. But for me, Helen was frustratingly annoying and Grant confusingly obsessive.

The sex scenes were so cringey - why was Grant growling so much all the time? And he talked way too much awful cringey stuff during the sex scenes. I had to start skimming through them because it was so dire! And this was after what felt like weeks of doing nothing but sucking each other’s fingers which was also a bit bizarre.

And then about 70% in, suddenly Grant starts calling Helen ‘Crackerjack’ every other page out of the blue! Why? What? I found myself far too often wanting Grant to just shush. His intensity was more creepy than romantic.

Despite all that, there were some interesting themes and dynamics and a nice ending.

At the age of eighteen, Helen and Grant were on opposite sides of a tragedy. Thirteen years later, they encounter each other again, unexpectedly, in the writers' room of the show being made out of Helen's YA novels.

This book had a slow start for me, and I wondered if it was going to drag, but it gradually drew me in until I was completely invested and finding any excuse to pick it up and read a few more pages. Grant and Helen are such different characters on the outside - one relentlessly affable, the other the definition of awkward - and initially it seems impossible that they can ever find common ground, but the story develops beautifully and also with a mounting sense of doom, because it's clear that somewhere there has to be a breaking point. I'm not a fan of the phrase 'all the feels', but it's actually an apt description for this book, because not only are the main characters' feelings delicately depicted in detail, but it evokes plenty of varied emotion in the reader as well. An incredibly satisfying reading experience.

I first heard of this author as she’ll be directing and writing Emily Henry’s books into adaptations and when I saw that she’s also releasing her debut novel, I was curious to read it. And I’m so glad to pick it up because it’s one of the most beautiful stories written.

It follows a love that is all at once soft and melancholic, making me fall in love with Helen and Grant as they too are falling in love with each other. It tackles grief, loss, trauma, familial tension, and cultural dynamics which play big roles in their character arcs, especially Helen’s. I relate a lot to her as an Asian, immigrant, and eldest daughter, and although I didn’t go through what she did, I can still see the reflection of it through her family and inner monologue. It also ties into how the conflict rose between them which made it really realistic despite the nature of feeling frustrated by it, because it’s easier said than done for them to just work on it. There were definitely things that they needed to unpack and work through.

To add to that, Helen and Grant are tied together by this tragic past as well and they shouldn’t go together on paper. But when they’re left on their own, in forced proximity where differences are set aside and thus unfolds their true selves to each other, it made them care about each other. And it’s so good the way it happened! They slowly gravitated towards each other, find comfort in each other, which made the conflict hurt so much to read because I can truly feel the way they love. Kudos as well to the writing because these two have major physical touch as their love language and from the briefest and mundane touches to the overt and sexual ones, they speak so much and come to life on the page.

I suppose why it lacks a 0.5 star is because I can’t remember every single thing that would make me feel the oomph of a 5 star. I’m the problem it’s me lol. Maybe on a reread it might bump up to 5. Regardless, I highly HIGHLY recommend this book.

I also recommend if you love these Taylor Swift songs:
💗 Love Story
💗 Say Don’t Go
💗 You Are In Love

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC.

Rating: 4.5 ⭐ (rounded off to 5)

This was such a gorgeous, breathtaking debut.

I was hooked from the very first line and the story that unfolded can only be described as full of yearning. The line of tension that continually ran between Helen and Grant was handled so well, I thought.

The writing in this was stunning and some sentences stopped me in my tracks with how beautiful and poignant they were. The whole third act broke me in some way and I feverishly kept on reading to see how it would end.

And what a beautiful ending it was.

How to End a Love Story is a contemporary romance read set against the backdrop of Hollywood and the world of television adaptation. The story follows Helen, a bestselling author, and Grant, a screenwriter, as they are unexpectedly brought together to work on a project that forces them to confront their past.
Throughout the read we witness both characters dealing with their personal demons and the lingering effects of this tragic event that binds them.
An emotional but also heartwarming read that tackles some really sensitive issues.

This was a great book full of tension and will they won't they. The narrative and complexities are well written keeping you hooked in on this story.

When I read that Yulin Kuang, the screenwriter of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and director of the forthcoming Beach Read feature film wrote her debut novel, a contemporary romance novel, I just had to get my hands on it!

This book will literally have you feeling all the feels, a rollercoaster of emotions! This story touches on some difficult themes so I would suggest to look up the trigger warnings before diving in.

"How to End a Love Story" revolves around Helen, a bestselling author, and Grant, a screenwriter, who are unexpectedly forced to work together on a television adaptation of Helen's book series. They haven't seen each other in thirteen years, a period that began with a tragic accident that changed their lives forever.

At the start of the novel I really was wondering how this would turn into a romance, but Yulin Kuang really pulls it off! The main characters are complex and trough the dual POV you really can’t help but feel for both of them and the way they are struggling with trauma and grief.

I highly recommend picking this one up if you’re looking for something different in your romance, as this story has quite the unique premise.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton, Yulin Kuang and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

It took me a while to get into the story but once I was into it I enjoyed it. It’s an emotional story so make sure to read the trigger warnings. Helen and Grant had a great chemistry and I liked the side characters.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc

✨ ✨ “I know you’re human,Helen, And I’m sure you know how to love people,even if you don’t say it out loud all the times.”✨

Helen has always been a reserved person who was marked by the loss of her sister thirteen years earlier. Unable to overcome the tragic event , Helen has closed herself even further into herself maintaining only a relationship with her parents in a fragile balance. Only once she arrives in L.A. for the adaptation of her novels does she begin a slow journey of healing and acceptance in which she stops blaming herself for the event, forgives her sister ,begins to discover her full potential that she had never let blossom until now, and in which she finally learns to live and let other people into her life.
A central part of Helen's journey is undoubtedly Grant, an her ex schoolmate,who turns out to be an equally complex character. He is related to Helen as the apparent cause of the car accident in which the protagonist's sister was involved, and through his eyes, we see a different kind of grief dictated by grief, guilt, and the onset of panic attacks.

The fact that Grant has agreed to be part of the screen writers' team of the adaptation of Helen's novels certainly brings increasing tension to their relationship. But the more the project goes on the more the tension slowly turns into tolerance,friendship,support , mutual healing and forgiveness , attraction and only eventually into something more.

✨ What drew me to this novel is the mere fact that the author will be the screenwriter for Emily Henry's books tv adaptation . And what did I get out of it? A read with real and complex characters that made me smile and move and in which , romance blends with important themes such as grief, hope and vulnerability.

HELEN ZHANG THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE!!!!

At heart, I'm an angst girlie. Generational trauma and complicated families are my thing. So this book has everything I could have ever want. IMMEDIATELY PUTTING THIS INTO A 2024 FAVE!!!

1) small town childhood friends!!!
are they friends if you moved in different social circles tho? hehehe. all those little moments where they go back to their hometown and explore the "what could have beens" (hey so what if we knew each other better back then, would you have looked at me differently? would you have been into me?). not to mention their old friends are like "wait hang on, you're cool now? you both hang out together or?" this is my jam. yes yes yes. so much good confusing/sexual tension build up. the FMC made me feel so seen? with her introverted personality and the feelings of having to work that much harder to stand out in the room, so you try to make yourself a commodity because you think just being you isn't good enough? HELLO. YULIN KUANG HOW DARE YOU!!! (lovingly)

2) secret relationship
right off the bat, you're told that Grant is involved in an accident that obviously devastates and links him to Helen forever. so there's a lot of anger and complicated issues surrounding this single moment in their teenage life. so when they start to catch feels for one another? woof woof.

more context: the boy used to be the popular golden retriever jock!!! and she's the high-achieving prickly student who runs the school's paper!!! like just think of him as a more well-adjusted Normal People's Connell Waldron. and when they're adults now & start feeling all the things with the forced proximity of working on the same job (he's a screenwriter adapting her book) it's just like powder keg perfection. HE CAN'T STOP LOOKING AT HER FROM ACROSS THE WRITERS ROOM. EVEN THOUGH EVERYONE CAN SEE HIM. THE MAN IS PINING LIKE A FOREST.

3) grief/family trauma/generational trauma/sibling angst
done really well there. i appreciated how this looks through the lens of a traditional/conservative Asian family. for some people they might read this and go, "oh they are horrible. just cut them out, you're an adult now." but culturally it's so different and it doesn't work that way for some family dynamics. that's not how they've been raised, you know? there's a lot of feelings of resentment and gratitude (i owe them because they did this and sacrificed so and so to get me a better life) that will always be there. there's always a barrier of how much you can have "open conversations" with parents of that mindset. i think yulin did a really good job at weaving that tricky web of wanting to assimilate into an environment that is largely western/english-speaking but also wanting to hold on to your roots and identity, and paying respect to your culture. i also appreciated how it's not neatly wrapped up in a bow by the end either, you can tell it's going to take a lot of work for decades upon decades of expectations to evolve into something different. i cried when Helen wrote the letters (and when you get there, if you have a soft tender heart like me, you'll understand.)

this book is steamy btw and i was eating it all up!!! love the sexual tension and all the push and pull between them (maybe a bit frustrating but where is the fun if it's all easy hey???) this man was so into her, so pathetically drawn to her. i'm sorry but more MMCs and real life men need to follow this example lmao.

ok but knowing yulin is handling the film/show adaptations of beach read and people we meet on vacation by em hen??? I AM SO FOR IT. BECAUSE YULIN IS A GEM!!!! there's so much heart and wit in her writing and i cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy when this debut releases + whatever next story she'll come up with!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK ❤️

Thank you so much to Yulin Kuang, the publisher Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

I loved this rom-com, perfectly blended comedy and romance with deeper themes. This book has made me want to the read the Emily Henry books Kuang is adapting

I really enjoyed Helen and Grant’s story. The plot’s interesting enough, and their relationship is actually so cute. I heard someone say it’s giving insta-love, but it didn’t feel like it to me at all. It’s got found family feels and a whole lot of dealing with family trauma, both past and present. I thought it was well written, funny, and just an overall light-hearted yet deep read.