Review by inaroselano - How to End a Love Story

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

inaroselano 's review for:

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

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