Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

8 reviews

gwenswoons's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Liked a lot about this - it didn’t feel entirely successful to me, but I would certainly read more by Yulin Kuang in the future! I really appreciated that the author dived into complex familial relationships (especially with the female MC’s first-generation immigrant parents) and the specific nature of grief after losing someone close to suicide. I loved the chemistry between the two central characters and thought the sex scenes (VERY open door 😂😜) were super hot throughout and really gorgeously written.

I did find the characters’ arcs disappointing and flat - somehow their individual growth in order to find their way back to each other didn’t quite register or land believably. I also guess I struggled (though I am a voracious rom-com and romance reader and actually very rarely say this!) with the believability of the basic premise: there were just a few too many neat/tidy coincidences to the overall romance plot, and though I get the plot device of this very specific enemies-to-lovers bent, it was so on the nose

(like…there’s enemies and there’s “was driving the car when your teenage sister, who had no access to mental health support, jumped in front of it and died by suicide”)

that it felt sort of heavy-handed ultimately. As I said - lots that was interesting, and also not totally satisfying for me ultimately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide, Child death, and Medical content

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

litbrett's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Car accident, Child death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

greatestheights's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, and Suicide

Minor: Drug abuse

carla20's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Minor: Drug abuse, Medical content, and Car accident

mrsmoy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Car accident, Sexual content, and Suicide

dpai12's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed the first half way too much. The build up was amazing, and the author painted a picture with each scene (being a screen writer herself. Also, she’s adapting People We Meet On Vacation!). 
The second half ran a little long for me, but this is an uncorrected proof and they must still be editing stuff right now. 
I loved the writer’s room bits, and all the characters were interesting. That’s one problem I usually have with romcoms- often the side characters (and sometimes the leads themselves) either have zero personalities or end up with stereotypical storylines that don’t really belong in the main setting. But here, every character just belongs. They have their own place in the story and it’s so much fun to have them around.

I found the perfect summer romance for y’all! 
Fun characters ✔️
Hot leads ✔️
Witty banter/ flirting ✔️
Funny, cute scenes that have you melting ✔️
Situationship ✔️
Jaw dropping smut ✔️

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Drug abuse

anapsc's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Grief

Moderate: Death

Minor: Drug abuse

ninjamuse's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Grief

Minor: Alcohol and Drug abuse