Reviews - How to End a Love Story

9.51k reviews for:

How to End a Love Story

Yulin Kuang

3.77 AVERAGE

germerica11's review against another edition

3.25

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Decent story has a happily ever after but very complicated last between the two

meredithnoseworthy5's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

lewislover's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

I did not like the narration.

thechristinaalicia's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

inaroselano's review against another edition

2.75

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’ll be honest — I wanted to DNF this book at least three times. The only thing that kept me going was realizing I was already halfway through, and part of me hoped the second half would redeem the experience. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite get there.

Helen, the main character, is difficult to connect with. She comes across as cold, closed off, and often judgmental — not in the “flawed but relatable” way, but in a way that made it hard to root for her. Grant, on the other hand, swings too far in the opposite direction. He’s overly needy and emotionally dependent, which added to the imbalance in their dynamic.

The main romance revolves around trauma bonding, and while that’s a valid (and often poignant) theme in fiction, the execution here felt repetitive. Their cycle of hooking up, emotionally imploding, and pushing each other away happened so many times that it started to feel like the story was stuck on a loop. Instead of growing together, it felt like they were emotionally stunting each other — and I found myself more frustrated than invested.

To give credit where it’s due, Kuang’s writing has moments of sharp emotional insight, and the behind-the-scenes look at a writers’ room was interesting. But ultimately, the characters’ emotional immaturity overshadowed the story’s deeper themes of grief and healing.

Content Warnings