Review: How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, Libro.fm for my ebook and audio copies! All thoughts are my own.
I had no idea what to expect about this book but as the author is the screenwriter behind People We Meet on Vacation and the director of Beach Read, I knew I had read her debut novel. And it did not disappoint! In fact, I feel like it fits into the vibe of what I’ve dubbed ~ literary romance ~ like Emily Henry, Carley Fortune and Kennedy Ryan. It is a heavier book, dealing with complicated feelings of grief, second chances and parental relationships.
Synopsis:
“Thirteen years after her younger sister’s death, Helen Zhang is doing alright. Better than alright, if you don’t look too closely. She’s the bestselling author of a young adult series that’s being adapted into a TV show, and she’s scored a coveted spot in the writers' room. Never mind that she’s used to storytelling in solitude and is convinced she’ll be revealed as an imposter any minute. Or that she only jumped at the opportunity to move to LA to avoid her writer’s block. Helen has a few months to figure things out, in a fresh-start city where she knows exactly no one. No one, except…
Grant Shephard hasn’t seen Helen since high school, when their lives were tied together forever by the car wreck that killed her sister. He’s done everything in his power to move on, and while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s universally well liked around town as a screenwriter who can be counted on to deliver both on the page and in a writers room. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but working as the showrunner’s right-hand man will open doors to developing his own projects.
Grant’s presence comes as an unwelcome surprise to Helen, and he’s exactly as she remembers him–charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she has never been. Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers, too—brilliant, closed off, and undeniably beautiful. The more time they spend together, the more undeniable the pull between them becomes.
But working together is fraught and sometimes messy, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven him, have no idea Grant is in the picture at all.
When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. For these two very different writers, the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—just might lie in holding on to each other in the present.” —NetGalley
What I Liked:
The Pacing—This is one of those books that gives you the “one more chapter” feeling, which is a high I think all readers are chasing.
The Dialogue—More screenwriter’s writing novels! You can tell Kuang has a talent for dialogue, which I assume stems from her background in film and TV.
The Chemistry—OOOOOOH the chemistry. I think what I’ve heard about this book surrounds the chemistry. And it definitely holds up to the hype. Grant has a way with words.
What Didn’t Work:
It’s not that this didn’t work, but I definitely ended up having some complicated feelings along with the characters. It felt so real
Character Authenticity: 5/5 Spice Rating: 2.5/5 Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Content Warnings:
suicide/suicidal thoughts, grief, death of a sibling, car accident, panic attacks/disorders, child death