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.
- Title: How to End a Love Story
- Author: Yulin Kuang
- Publisher: Avon
- Publication Date: April 9, 2024
- Genre: Romance
- Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley
- Targeted Age Range: Adult
- Content Warnings: car accident, suicide, substance abuse, panic attacks, grief and the death of a sibling
- Rating: ★.5
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Emily Henry, and also how anxious I am about the forthcoming Beach Read adaptation, so when I heard that the director of Beach Read and screenwriter for People We Meet on Vacation had a book coming out in April, I immediately went to request it on Netgalley. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Yulin Kuang, I have a few friends who enjoyed I Ship It — but have never watched it personally, so I was quite excited about How to End a Love Story.
When bestselling author, Helen Zhang, secures a spot in the writer’s room for the TV adaptation of her seven book series, the last person she expects to see is Grant Shepherd. Thirteen years ago, Helen’s younger sister, Michelle, passed away by suicide by throwing herself in front of Grant’s car. Now, the two of them must put everything aside — their pasts, their complicated feelings, and their growing chemistry — to ensure the success of this adaptation.
In all honesty, I genuinely don’t know how to feel about this book. First and foremost, I don’t think I could ever be romantically involved with someone who was involved in the death of a family member, even if it was accidental. And to give Helen credit, she really puts her foot down at first, going as far to asking Grant to quit this project. When we first meet Helen, she’s equal parts ridden with grief, anxiety, and imposter syndrome; always holding everyone at an emotional distance, in part due to grief, but also due to her upbringing. It’s in her best interest not to cause waves before they even start working on the adaptation, however, and she knows it — She’s new to screenwriting, but also to L.A., and has yet to earn the respect of the people she works with. Grant, on the other hand, is your classic all-American, former homecoming king. He’s charming, or at least, Kuang intends for him to be. He’s a big flirt, everyone in the room loves him. He’s easy to work with. He’s a golden retriever. He has no real personality. He’s simply a stand in caricature for your classic white man, rather than a love interest in a book. That being said, he’s a stand in caricature that says a lot of great lines, like a pre-programmed robot, a child’s toy, or a Staples button. So in a way I can maybe see the appeal. If I squint.
To be completely fair to Grant, he feels guilty! And the incident isn’t his fault — Kuang does eventually reassure the reader that it was just a case of him being there at the wrong moment, if it wasn’t him, it would’ve been someone else. In fact, Helen isn’t even mad at him after a while; it’s just easier to be mad at Grant than it is to be mad at Michelle. I saw a Goodreads review that said “In my opinion, this is not a romantic book. This is two characters trauma bonding and calling it love”, and that’s pretty much how I felt. And for the incident being as life-altering as it was in both of their lives, I was surprised that the conversation that Grant and Helen had about it felt very anti-climatic. It just didn’t feel like there was a lot of — if any — proper closure. The entire time Grant and Helen are hooking up, Helen’s not just keeping it a secret from her family, but also the fact that he’s a writer on the show. Helen’s parents detest Grant, and Helen’s complicated relationship with her Chinese immigrant parents is a separate side plot of her own. Helen conflates acceptance and love with achievements; it’s something she has to work through, and ultimately does by choosing a path that’s right for her.
I simply think that the writing style didn’t work for me. At times I felt very detached from the story, and just did not care about either of the characters, or the romance. I also just wanted more character growth, on both Helen and Grant’s parts. Certain parts of the book felt like they were meant to be a movie montage and I think I just wanted to see more moments between Helen and Grant. They were either trauma bonding, talking about how their relationship had an expiration date, or Grant was yearning (just Grant!). If we had seen a little more insight into Helen’s feelings, I might’ve rooted for them a bit more.
I’ve been quite negative thus far, so let’s talk about the things that did work for me. I loved getting some insight into how screenwriting happens. The rest of the writers had a lovely and compelling dynamic, and reading about Helen befriending the girls, was fun to read. I do think this could translate well on screen, I just don’t think this book was for me. It looks like I’m not in the majority though, from the numerous 4 or 5 star Goodreads reviews that my friends have left — so please don’t feel deterred from my review, despite this being one of my biggest reading let downs of 2024.
Links for How to End a Love Story: Goodreads | TheStorygraph | Bookshop.org
Yulin Kuang is an LA-based award-winning screenwriter and director. She was born in Guangzhou, China and quickly uprooted first to the flat plains of Wichita, Kansas and then to various suburbs of New Jersey, where she wrote a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction and became obsessed with telling kissing stories.
She is currently adapting and directing Emily Henry’s novel, Beach Read, for 20th Century. She previously also adapted Henry’s People We Meet On Vacation for Temple Hill and 3000 Pictures. Yulin’s own debut novel, How to End a Love Story, will be published in April 2024 through Avon.
Yulin lives in Pasadena with her husband Zack and their orange cat, Eloise. In her free time, she enjoys figure skating, figure drawing, and getting very invested in her bonsai garden.
She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, and is repped by UTA, Kaplan/Perrone, and Root Literary.
