This romance does not follow the typical roller coaster, and I loved it for that reason! Thank you for writing outside our expectations, but still giving us fantastic characters (and spicy scenes)!

5/5 :star:
3/5 :hot_pepper:

Yulin Kuang absolutely knocked it out of the park. I give this book actually SIX out of five stars because it’s simply the best book I’ve ever read.

I’m sorry, this is her DEBUT??? Incredible. Her writing is so good it makes me no longer want to be an author because if I don’t make my readers feel the way Kuang made me feel I simply don’t want it.

Throughout the story, Helen Zhang (the FMC) has some side dialogue to her sister who died by suicide. The way she speaks to her sister is *absolutely hilarious* which I didn’t expect from a book about the grief process and moving forward but wow, I don’t want anything else now. I personally deal with difficult situations by using humor so this was exactly my kind of book. Kuang’s sense of humor is so good. Like the subtle hints throughout the dialogue made it even funnier — "funny funny" not "funny haha."

The character development, the way Helen works through the grieving process but also processing with Grant (the MMC). I loved all of the side characters and I felt like I was in the writing room with them. They each had their own personality that added to the MCs' story.

Grant Shepard is the absolutely king of dirty talk. I was BLUSHING during some of the spicy scenes and I had butterflies from some of the dialogue. WOW.

Overall, I'm screaming about this book from the rooftops and can't wait to see what Kuang comes up with next (aside from the screenplays I am WAY too pumped about!). And if she never publishes a book again (please don't let this be true) this book will have made it's mark.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought it could’ve been shortened in places, but I kept turning the page to see how Grant and Helen’s story progressed.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. Lovely cover. Was really interested to see how Emily Henry's screenwriter would write. It was similar to Emily Henry's style but the content left a lot to be desired. Not for me.

4.5 stars!

I loved "How to End a Love Story" by Yulin Kuang! What a fabulous debut novel. Talk about a beautiful, romantic gut punch. This is a simply beautiful, tragic, terrific story that I will be thinking about for months and possibly years to come. It really affected me on a deep level. I was taken through the gamut of emotions while reading this one. My HEART! It's not the typical kind of love story readers have come to expect. It's layered, full of big emotions like grief and reckoning, full of second chances (not in the way you'd assume). It is bitingly funny, shockingly relatable. Helen and Grant are fully fleshed-out characters with terrific backstories. I was immediately overcome with emotions by their stories. I wanted so badly for things to work out for them! I loved them both for different reasons. They are each trying to work through their traumas and discover who they are apart from them. I felt for them and understood their journeys. I understand why Helen is the way she is. I did not find her unrelatable or unkind at all. She's just trying to pick up the pieces of her broken life and move on the best she can. And Grant... ugh, what a guy. Loved them so much! The pull to one another is divine. The spicy scenes are soooooo good, and well-earned, too! My one tiny complaint is that it feels like the book ends too quickly. It's almost as if Kuang ran out of steam a little towards the end. I found everything up until the last 10-ish% to be well-paced, but it's a teensy bit rushed. Apart from this, this is a tremendous novel full of excellent dialogue and fantastic chemistry. I urge you to read it as soon as possible!

Thank you to NetGalley, Yulin Kuang, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I really did not like this one as much as many people did. It did not live up to any of the hype for me. I didn't like either of the two main characters and found the sister subplot to be emotionally manipulative and ultimately did nothing to forward the plot in a meaningful way but to add angst to a relationship. I also never felt any connection between the two main characters at all, but especially one that would allow them to come together so fast despite their past and current job status.

I just loved this so much! As a sometimes socially awkward introvert, I very much related to the FMC, Helen. And obviously am so in love with Grant, the MMC. <3

Felt myself laughing, crying, and kicking my feet throughout the entirety of the book, which doesn’t always happen for me. It’s cute! It’s sad! And it’s… complicated. With a hefty serving of spice: 3-3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

What a wonderful, wonderful novel. A powerful, emotional, heart tugging, sexy story that had me reading and reading and has left me with such a book hangover. The set up is painful but Helen and Grant find their way to each other with a supporting cast that is so endearing. I'll be telling everyone to read this one - Yulin Kuang's talent is in every line on every page. Bravo. I just hope she can write really fast because I need her next book asap.

Really liked this one! Felt like it dragged at some points, but the immigrant and sibling trauma was well done. The chemistry between grant and Helen was amazing and I loved their scenes together. Excited for what Yulin does next!!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6086177955

At the beginning, you're like how can Grant and Helen get over this traumatic past? I admit it freely, I was skeptical. But How to End a Love Story is a story about confronting our past. About seeing the baggage, the issues, the thoughts we can never discount, and having to decide what we do. It very much is a story about grief and love, but also about chemistry and secret feelings.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great mix of heavy and fun (and spicy). I also appreciated the author's use of dual POV. It was so nice to get almost simultaneously, both characters' perspectives throughout the shared scenes. I could definitely feel the author's experience in screenwriting. The story felt very cinematic.

Helen Zhang lost her little sister in a tragic suicide that changed her and her relationship with her parents. She does all she can to never show them weakness or make them doubt she can do it all. This drive gets her not only a very popular YA series but a spot in the writing room for the TV adaptation of it. It's all going great until she learns that one of the leads in the writing room is Grant Shephard, the popular kid from high school whose car her little sister jumped in front of. Meanwhile, Grant has done all he can to get over the tragic accident, panic attacks notwithstanding, and he knows that he shouldn't take the job because it will hurt Helen. But it's an opportunity to further his career and he can't deny wanting to spend more time with the beautiful and brilliant woman. Can the feelings they find have room to grow when a tragic shared past and Helen's instinct to suppress all emotion get in the way?

I confess that I get mad when a book that's as hyped as this one proves to be worthy of it because it gives me hope and very rarely is a book as good as the hype makes it out to be. But if there ever was a book that deserves all the love and attention, it's this one. Not only is it a great romance, but you also get a story about dealing with sudden loss and the shock of it, and about the generational/cultural disconnect that many children of immigrants have to navigate. There is so much of being human and living held within its pages that you can't help but dive feet-first into all the emotions it engenders.

There are so many things to analyze and obsess over in their individual stories and as a couple that just focusing on that makes a page-turning romance, but Kuan went the extra mile and included Helen's experience with her parents and their shared grief. All the different elements combine to into a story that pulls you in and makes you feel. It's fantastic.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the wonderful read!

This debut was really funny and heartfelt. Helen and Grant are high school classmates linked by a singular tragedy who are thrown together in a writers room after her best-selling novels are adapted into a prestige TV series, which is among the senior writers of. But after butting heads, the ice begins to thaw and they find themselves drawn together. It did a great job exploring how tragedy shapes us and informs the baggage people carry within a sexy, glamorous love story set in Hollywood. A quick read, it has me looking forward to what Yulin Kuang has in store as she adapts Emily Henry's novels.

4.5 stars! This was soooo good! I was so excited to read Yulin's debut knowing that she is adapting one of my very favs Beach Read to screen!

This was balanced with levity and depth touching on serious topics of ⚠️ TW: suicide, grief, and death of a family member. Helen and Grant were truly swoon worthy! The audiobook really brought their relationship to life for me. Enemies-to-lovers can be tricky to successfully execute, and Yulin nails it to a tee.

She brought banter, steam, complex family dynamics, complicated relationships, and truly delivers on an emotional and heartfelt love story.

Angsty, emotional, and complex this is one to add to your TBR!

The big draw for me to this book is that she's adapting an Emily Henry book for a movie, but this one didn't really do it for me. I wasn't drawn in by the main characters and the tragedy the brought them together was just too intense.

Oh GOSH this was completely gut wrenching and absolutely everything i love in a romance novel.. Both of these characters felt so fleshed out and real, which i feel like is becoming harder and harder to come by in romance novels these days. And Kuang’s writing!!! Oh my GOSH I was entranced. She has such a fun abs conversational way of writing dialogue and discussing a scene I truly felt like I was watching a movie than reading a book at times.

-1 unfortunately just for this third act break up!! girl these two have already been through SO much what was the point?? let them be happy!!

anyways it’s fine, i’m fine. Amazing book, will prob be one of my fav romance reads of the year 😊😊

I received a copy of How to End a Love Story by Yulin Huang from Frenzy Books in exchange for an honest review.

How to End a Love Story is one of my favourite books read this year and it reminded me of what I love about love stories. In this story, Helen Zhang is a bestselling author who finds herself in a writing slump. When her popular novel series gets picked up to be adapted as a tv show, she finds herself in the writers' room, hoping that the change in scenery and pace would be just what she needs to get back to her writing. Little does she realize that she is about to be reunited with Grant Shepard, a man she used to go to high school with; he was also involved in the accident that killed her sister. Both Helen and Grant have had a hard time since that accident, each finding ways to grieve and deal with the aftermath. As they begin to work together though, they come to understand one another, and find healing and love through their newfound connection. But their relationship is one that is full of questions and doubts - their careers, their lives in different parts of the country, and the trauma that continues to tie them together.

This was not your typical love story. It felt like one that played upon so many complicated emotions - grief, joy, family pressure and expectations, and the chances and risks that one must make to try at a chance of happiness. I absolutely loved this debut and cannot wait to read more from Yulin Kuang.

This is a completely enthralling story -- it hooks you in right away and keeps you involved and caring about these wonderful characters and what happens to them. Helen lost her beloved sister in a car accident many years ago, and while she has moved on and had some healing, we all know the nature of grief and how this will be with Helen for the rest of her life. She is now a successful author of YA books, and when they are turned into a TV series, she is invited to be a writer. Unfortunately, unknown to her, so is Grant, her old friend who was involved in her sister's death, and who is now a screenwriter of some note. They reconnect, but the way is far from smooth. Recommend this one to readers who love a contemporary romance with engaging characters that will make them laugh and cry.

This book caught me by surprise! It is so difficult to create a realistic enemies to lovers plot that takes place in the present day, but the events of this story really create a realistic situation. Grant and Helen's lives tragically became linked thirteen years ago, and both of them have spent the years trying to move on. However, when Grant is hired to write for Helen's new book to TV adaptation, the two are thrown together, and feelings and secrets come to the surface. The more time they spend together, the more their feelings deepen. But can they overcome their past?

This book is definitely not a rom-com, but a story with a much deeper meaning and relatable emotions. I really enjoyed how Helen's complicated relationship with her parents is explored throughout the book, and how Helen's healing journey is not necessarily linear. I found this book to be very angsty, with a high stakes plot and relatable characters.

I will be reading more from Yulin Kuang in the future!

It was a total surprise to me that Yulin Kuang was working on the Emily Henry adaptations, but I am now very excited to see that shared vision come to life after reading this debut. It is very hard to write enemies to lovers/hate to love dynamics in a real world context without it feeling trivial or overblown, and this one absolutely nailed it with the gravity of its context. The internal lives of both characters were rich and their actions were always very easy to relate back to the traumas they’d both experienced. The dynamic was very fresh and it was nice to see some avoidant attachment represented in a female protagonist.

I do wish we’d had more time to appreciate the dynamic between these characters more, given that this was a romance novel. The ending felt a bit chaotic to me, and I did sometimes feel like scenes were skipping over one another too quickly. I think a neater ending and less rushing in the scenes with the central couple once they got together would’ve helped this novel to be even more impactful.

I’m very much looking forward to what this author has in store for the future.