how to end a love story by yulin kuang — a february book club review
“He wants to hold on to this hurt and wrap it in plastic and store it somewhere safe, because it's probably all he'll ever have left of her.”
New month, new book club pick! This month in That Romance Book Club, we read How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang. There were a couple reasons why I was excited when this book won the vote on Fable: 1) it has been on my physical TBR collecting dust for longer than I’d care to admit and 2) the author is adapting Beach Read and People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry for the screen (I don’t think I’ve ever felt more anticipation about anything before).
And now that I’ve finally read it, I’ve got a lot of thoughts.
Firstly, to put it very very simply, the plot in this book is complicated. If you like romance with a backstory, then chances are you’ll love this. I am not going to reveal any more information than what the blurb reveals, but essentially, we are following Helen, a bestselling author, and the screenwriter tasked with adapting her novels for TV, Grant. Something truly life changing happened to them both 13 years ago when they were in highschool and they haven’t seen each other since… well, until they are sat in the writer’s room as adults. The premise of the story is original and messy, and very well executed.
Yulin Kuang’s writing style is really great. The narrative is third person, which I know is a turn off for some readers, but in this case, it is effective. We get to be in both of their POVs through this choice of storytelling, providing a truly well rounded insight into both protagonists and the decisions they are making. As characters, Helen and Grant feel very real. They are far from perfect people who mess things up, figure things out and, particularly for Helen, avoid discomfort. Kuang’s descriptions of emotions, intimacy and struggle are almost devastatingly beautiful but she still manages to capture the fun that comes with exploring a new relationship — this balance shines through each page. I think this was the most redeeming feature of the book for me.
As with any book, I’d strongly urge anyone thinking about reading How to End a Love Story to check the trigger warnings before they do so — information on these can be found in the author’s note. The themes in this story are heavy. Discussions of mental health are interweaved throughout, as are emotional depictions of male anxiety, reminicisent of those in Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez. These topics are handled with care and love, and so is the tumultuous on-page relationship between Helen and her parents: another testament to Yulin Kuang’s writing.
However, I’d be lying if I said this book wasn’t capital F frustrating. I want to preface this point by saying that the miscommunication and avoidance from both Helen and Grant is completely justified. This behaviour is a side effect of their lived experiences and is effective in emphasising just how impacted they both are for the past and also in creating exceptional character arcs. However, it is still frustrating.
Despite an obvious attraction, they never really properly get together — this plot essentially follows a 300 page situationship. You still get scenes of them acting undoubtedly couple-y (hosting a dinner party, furniture shopping, going out for food) but whenever any conversation surrounding feelings arises, Helen immediately shuts it down, and this happens multiple times. As I said, Yulin Kuang provides enough context on Helen’s life for this reaction to make sense, but given how clear their connection is, this vicious circle that the protagonists are stuck in is tricky to read about at times.
Because of this, I found myself lacking the desire to pick up How to End a Love Story. Don’t get me wrong, once I found a rhythm with reading it, I was 100% invested, but getting to this point was more difficult for me than usual. As I mentioned in my review over on Instagram, I am keen to re-read this book later down the line to see if my reading experience was circumstantial, however, after speaking to some people in the book club, it seems to be universal.
Even with this in mind, How to End a Love Story is still a four star read for me. The connection that I felt to the characters and the emotional relatability of the plot, for me personally, were stronger than my annoyance at the speed I was reading it. While I wished to feel more of a gravitational pull to the book at the time of reading, upon reflection I think I am learning that not all books are meant to be binged (despite Tessa Bailey being quoted as calling this story ‘binge-worthy’ on the back cover). Taking my time to read this book hasn’t impacted my understanding of the narrative or morals of the story, or the enjoyment I felt when reading, for that matter. If anything, spending longer with Helen and Grant only strengthened their impact on me as characters and the investment that I had in them finally securing their happily ever afters.
Overall, I’m glad I read How to End a Love Story. It is complex, funny, original and full of love — even if it takes the protagonists a little while to figure that out. I can see how it won’t be the right book for all readers, but I think if you connect to the narrative in any way, you’ll see the value in the story right away. And Yulin Kuang, I can’t wait to see what you do with the Em Hen classics.
If you would like to join the book club to read and talk all things romance with other lovers of love stories, then you can click here — https://fable.co/club/that-romance-book-club-with-jess-land-462772473382 — to head over to Fable! We’d love to have you!
This review was written by Jess, who you can follow on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/thatromancebook for more bookish content.