How to End a Love Story

A Novel

By: Yulin Kuang

Narrated by: Katharine Chin, Andrew Eiden

Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A special dual narration by Katharine Chin and Andrew Eiden!

“Emotional, relatable and binge-worthy."–Tessa Bailey

“I’ll read anything she writes. An absolute star."–Emily Henry

“I was hooked on the very first page. Don't miss this one!"—Carley Fortune

A sexy and emotional enemies-to-lovers romance guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings and give you a book hangover from brilliant new voice Yulin Kuang.

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Entertainment Weekly · Today.com · Paste · Daily Waffle ·The Nerd Daily and more!

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.

©2023 Yulin Kuang (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Good book, didn’t like the male narrator

I loved the book and the story. I wish I would have read it though instead of listening. The male narrator made it so hard for me to get into the story. He over performs his lines, it sounds like everything is delivered with such disgust and angst - it didn’t match the character for me. It was distracting.

Author goes to Hollywood

Good start, great second section, hated the middle, loved the ending. When the author has two people separate when they so obviously belong together, and each character is longing for the other, her plot points that kept them apart were ridiculously stupid. Especially when the characters are suppose to be smart capable people. The two readers were exceptional!

Sweet, innocent; yet very hot love story

The resolve between Helen with her sister and the forgiveness Helen gave Grant allowed them to forgive themselves.

Wonderful debut novel

excellent character development, plot and pacing. After reading that the author has written E Henry books to film screenplays I was excited to read her voice in a novel. Her novel didn’t disappoint. The handling of shared grief, the Asian American family experience, and the Hollywood industry connection to writing Made the connection between the two characters so interesting. I just kept rooting for them. I hope this debut novel is followed up by more novels by Ms. Kuang. I enjoyed the insider look at screenwriting and book to tv adaptation as a premise for the characters to reconnect.
I enjoyed the dual narration- I especially enjoyed the female narrator but the male narrator was quite good as well, and was familiar with his voice from other audible books.

Male narrator was not it.

I wish I would have read the book because Teddy Hamilton was not the right choice. He sounded almost nasally and did not match the character at all. It truly ruined the story for me. This book could have been a five star read but every time it was Grant’s chapter it was like I was being sucked out of the story. People seem to love Teddy Hamilton but I do not get the hype. Zachary Webber would have been perfect for this role.

A Love Story you'll never forget

I was utterly speechless when I finished this book. I had to take a day or two to process it all before I wrote the review. I don't say this lightly but this book deserves ALL THE STARS!!! Is it possible to fall in love with someone you share a tragic history with? This is a romance story that feels like the conflict is insurmountable. Helen Zhang, a successful YA series author gets the green light for a TV adaptation. Grant Shepard is a successful screenwriter. They end up working together on the project but also share a past, a tragic accident that has bound them together forever. The story begins 13 years after the accident that happened in high school and they meet once again in the writer's room. Their past is emotional and painful but is there a chance they can let go of it and write themselves a new ending? I loved Helen, stoic and scared but completely afraid to show others. Grant....Gah, the man whose grieving the accidental death he thinks he caused while unable to truly show people his true self. Trying to manage his grief for years by being "the guy" everyone loves while dealing with paralyzing anxiety and guilt. It's truly hard to believe this is Kuang's debut novel. Her writing is like art on the page. Each word crafted so carefully and beautifully. She's a master at writing a scene and knows how long to linger before the moment becomes cheesy or trite. Kuang will wreck your tender heart and put it back together, It's an exceptional love story and will most definitely be a top read/listen for me in 2024, Narrated by Katharine Chin and Andrew Eiden, these two, GAH!🙆 They are sensational! I can't say enough wonderful things about their performances. The final chapters will have you audibly gasping at the narration. I could scream about this book all day. I will most definitely re-listen to this and probably soon. This book got me good and hard but it's certain, Huang was made to write romance and I'll snatch up whatever she writes next, sight unseen. I'm a fan that she won't get rid of! This book is a gem and Huang is a star! Go read or listen to this book IMMEDIATLEY, put it on your TBR, just make sure you experience the marvel that it is.
TW: grief, loss of a sibling to suicide, anxiety & panic attacks

Romantic

OK, so I truly loved the storyline, but it was disappointed by the extreme details in the erotic sex scenes, but yeah, we relax the detail behind. No main characters like the law sister we sped through their break up through the end where they got back together, but we focused every second on making sure we defined to the gills all the sex… say that detailed in your sex that detailed in your story also, kind of need a disclaimer Don’t listen to this without your earplugs lol

Excellent

A tortured and sweet love story! Sad and happy and exciting throughout! Want to read more from this author!

Awful Male Narrator

I feel bad rating so poorly because the female narrator is 5 stars and the story is good. But I can’t listen to the male narrator any longer, if I want to finish the book I’ll have to buy the hard copy and read the rest. Grant is so much more likable when the female narrator is impersonating him. The male narrator is aggressive, over performative, and unlikable. It doesn’t fit the character at all, which makes it confusing to listen to. I pushed through for 23 chapters but can’t bring myself to continue, such a shame.

Why?

I really tried to like this book, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what was motivating the characters. Why did they do what they did? Why did the author come to the ending she did? I ended up hating it. Sorry :( I read this because the author is adapting Emily Henry’s books for the big screen and OMG, I hope she’s a better screenwriter than novelist.