How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Confession:
I am not sure that I would call this a romantic comedy, although it did have its funny moments, but this was more of a story about grief and regrets. It was still a really good story and in some ways more realistic than other romances I’ve read.
The story is told through both points of view, something I really enjoy in my romance books. I really like seeing the relationship through both of the participant’s points of view. Helen was a very realistic character. She had a lot of guilt about her sister and parents and really struggled with resolving her feelings about them. I really liked her and could relate to many of her issues. She was certainly likable, although some of her choices were questionable. I just adored Grant though. I fell in love with him almost from the first page. He also was carrying a lot of baggage, especially when it came to the tragic incident in his past. He is trying desperately to move on with his life, but often he feels stuck. His feelings for Helen felt authentic and I really enjoyed spending time in his head as they developed.
There is also a great cast of secondary characters that support this fledgling couple and help them in great ways. I especially liked the group of writers that they spend the most time with. I really liked Nicole and Saskia and how much they came to love Helen and helped her when things were a bit tough. Helen’s parents were kind of hard to like, but I still felt that connection and at times even felt a little sorry for them. They had a very complicated relationship with Helen, but don’t we all have that with our parents?
I really enjoyed the writing in this book. The descriptions of how writers work together to come up with a script and story path for a TV show were very interesting. I loved the dialogue and at times felt like I was right there with the characters as they worked and just hung out. Although I liked both Helen and Grant as individuals I did struggle a bit with their romance. The tragedy that af but affected both of them in high school was something that I thought should keep them apart, and it often just made me feel like their relationship was rather unhealthy. But I could certainly understand how it could bring them closer together too. The trajectory of their relationship felt very realistic, especially the reasons for their breakup before their happily ever after ending. The steamy romance scenes were well done as well, just the right amount of spice without being too graphic.
If you are looking for an authentic feeling romance to read, then I would certainly recommend you give this one a chance. It has two great main characters that are struggling with their shared tragedy, but manage to open themselves up to love. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this new author.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 