How To End a Love Story

The brilliant contemporary romance novel debut from Yulin Kuang, the acclaimed screenwriter of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and director of the forthcoming Beach Read feature film.

Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever.

Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She’s even scored a coveted spot in the writers’ room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels, and if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome her writer’s block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needs. After all, no one knows her there. Except…

Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s well liked around town as a screenwriter. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just can’t pass up.

Grant’s exactly as Helen remembers him—charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she’s never been. And Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers too—brilliant, beautiful, closed off. But working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s 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. And yet… the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—might just lie in holding on to each other in the present.

Published by Avon
on April 9, 2024

Review:

I saw a lot of buzz about this book prior to its release, so when I saw it was a selection in April’s Book of the Month box, I went ahead and added it without knowing much about it. As the title suggests, this is a romance, but for some reason I went in thinking it would be a rom-com, but it wasn’t. In fact, there’s some pretty heavy subject matter involved, including suicide, grief, and anxiety. In this book, the author takes readers on a rollercoaster of emotions as two former high school classmates with a devastating connection find themselves face to face after thirteen years.

The book focuses on Helen Zhang and Grant Shepard, two former classmates whose lives become intertwined once again when they find themselves working together on the TV adaptation of Helen’s bestselling young adult novels. What sets this apart from your typical enemies-to-lovers romance is their issues with one another (and really, it’s Helen who carries the brunt of the grudge). Grant was driving the vehicle that killed Helen’s younger sister when she stepped out into the street in front of Grant’s car. It would later be discovered that Helen’s sister was suicidal (as well as a drug addict) and had planned to kill herself. Grant was found innocent, but there’s still a lot of animosity between him and Helen’s family.

Helen knows her sister was troubled and that Grant wasn’t at fault, but when she sees him in the writer’s room, she can’t help but be disgusted. She decides to set aside her personal feelings so that she can work with him, but the more time she spends with him, the more she falls for him and vice versa. Forgiveness is good, but she knows her parents would never accept this, so the two of them decide that once they’ve finished writing the series, they’ll go their separate ways, but that is easier said than done when your heart gets involved.

One of the strengths of the novel lies within Kuang’s characters. Helen and Grant are both strong, believable, and well-written, each struggling with their demons from the past while trying to navigate their feelings for each other. Helen, a successful author battling imposter syndrome, is fiercely independent and closed off. Her walls are high, and her emotions are tightly guarded. On the other hand, Grant is charming and funny but plagued by panic attacks that surfaced after the accident.

The chemistry between Helen and Grant is electric, and their interactions are a mix of tension, longing, and heat. As they work together, old wounds are reopened, and buried secrets come to light. The push and pull between them is both heartbreaking and heartwarming as they navigate the complexities of their past while trying to figure out whether they have a future together.

At the heart of the story is an exploration of grief, forgiveness, self-acceptance, and healing. As Helen and Grant come to terms with their past, other forces stand in their way, and at the core of that are Helen’s parents, who still grieve the loss of their daughter. Seeing Grant reopens their wounds as well, and Helen finds herself struggling with following her heart, or allowing her parents to dictate her future with Grant.

Overall, I found this to be a well-written and poignant tale of redemption and second chances. While I found the story predictable and wasn’t super keen on the pretty little bow that was placed on everything in the end, I still enjoyed it. This book will definitely appeal to fans of contemporary romance and emotional dramas.