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hellarachel's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
3.25
this book was set up to fail by pitching it as ‘written by emily henry’s screenwriter.’ which is true but still disappointing. the conflict was forced and despite “going to therapy” these characters had no self-reflection or awareness of boundaries. a prime example that (un)happiness is a choice <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicide
Minor: Drug use
estellec13's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, and Car accident
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Medical content and Alcohol
juanat77's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
datskira's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Car accident
lokireads25's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide
sholtie's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is so fucked up and i mean that as a compliment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
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? No
3.5
This book was a mixed bag for me. The beginning was a five-star, the middle was a three-star, and the end was a five-star again. So I'm landing on a 3.5 for this book as a whole.
I found Helen so relatable. There was one part in particular that was so familiar. She talks about picking up her feelings and putting them aside for others, which made her more fragile as an adult. That was 100% me in university. It got to the point where I was so damn depressed, emotionally repressed, and unable to process my own feelings that I was crying on a daily basis without a full understanding of my own feelings. Some of the stuff her parents say to her felt like they'd been pulled from my life. That side of things was written to perfection.
What lost me was the romance. She spews venom at him, she gives him a panic attack, then nothing happens, she has a sex dream, and suddenly they're doing it everywhere. It was not the vibe for me and came out of left field. The build up felt like an attempted montage of nothing that should've been comraderie where there was none. They lacked the communication I needed to buy into their relationship and that was a huge disappointment. Even at the end of the day, I didn't fully understand their love for each other and why it should've worked. This felt the same for most of Helen's and Grant's outside relationships. There never felt like there was a foundation of something stronger than convenience or a passing moment at a bar or cafe. I wanted more substance there, and never got it.
I'm keeping this book because I felt seen by it, but I think that my least favourite part of this romance was the romance, so I don't quite know what to do with that. All in all, I see why people love it, but I also see why people didn't.
TW: death of a sibling/child, car accident, panic attack, sexual content, alcohol consumption, grief, drug use, suicide
ARC gifted by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. Audio ARC gifted by Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.
I found Helen so relatable. There was one part in particular that was so familiar. She talks about picking up her feelings and putting them aside for others, which made her more fragile as an adult. That was 100% me in university. It got to the point where I was so damn depressed, emotionally repressed, and unable to process my own feelings that I was crying on a daily basis without a full understanding of my own feelings. Some of the stuff her parents say to her felt like they'd been pulled from my life. That side of things was written to perfection.
What lost me was the romance. She spews venom at him, she gives him a panic attack, then nothing happens, she has a sex dream, and suddenly they're doing it everywhere. It was not the vibe for me and came out of left field. The build up felt like an attempted montage of nothing that should've been comraderie where there was none. They lacked the communication I needed to buy into their relationship and that was a huge disappointment. Even at the end of the day, I didn't fully understand their love for each other and why it should've worked. This felt the same for most of Helen's and Grant's outside relationships. There never felt like there was a foundation of something stronger than convenience or a passing moment at a bar or cafe. I wanted more substance there, and never got it.
I'm keeping this book because I felt seen by it, but I think that my least favourite part of this romance was the romance, so I don't quite know what to do with that. All in all, I see why people love it, but I also see why people didn't.
TW: death of a sibling/child, car accident, panic attack, sexual content, alcohol consumption, grief, drug use, suicide
ARC gifted by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. Audio ARC gifted by Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Car accident
Moderate: Drug use, Suicide, Grief, and Alcohol
beanith's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I had (have?) a love-hate relationship with How to End a Love Story. The premise has many elements that appeal to me; two writers with a complicated history are forced to work together, set in Los Angeles. Ripe for tension building, messy feelings, and even the exploration of grief and healing.
I found the writing to be solid, and it’s abundantly clear to me that Kuang is a skilled storyteller. I would pick up another book from her in the future, and I look forward to her film adaptations of Emily Henry’s Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. I see so much potential, but my reading experience with this was quite bumpy (at its lowest a 3.5 and at its highest a 4.25) and the issues I have are hard to ignore.
The build up to the relationship worked the best for me, unfortunately the follow through was convoluted.
My problems mostly revolve around Helen and how she treats Grant (and how the narrative handles his PTSD). This book is dual POV, and during the third act I found myself actively rooting for Grant to break up with Helen. She’s coming from a hurt place but there’s no excuse for how she behaves
-Helen never really apologizes to him for treating him cruelly, even when she finally acknowledges that her sister’s death wasn’t his fault
-Grant’s PTSD is not given the gravity it deserves, and he is forced to bottle his emotions for most of the book except for some key Big Scenes
-Although they both agree to this ‘situationship with an end date’ thing (which seems like a disaster) Helen strings him along emotionally even when it seems obvious that he wants a genuine relationship
-Grant literally and explicitly begs for her to love him and she still doesn’t cut him loose until the last possible second
-When Helen does break up with him she’s really unsparing
I think this book had a hard time balancing its emotional core with ‘steamy romance’. It felt like once sex entered the picture the emotional growth of the characters paused. And the side characters weren’t really integrated enough in their lives to call them out on it.
Characters
Helen: I’m so sorry to this woman but I kind of hate her. I want her to heal and grow and find joy, but I also felt like she was really so bad for Grant.
Grant: I slow-burn fell for him lmao. He’s an oak tree, he’s the prom king, he’s an East Coast transplant, he’s got PTSD. I love him and want him to be happy and loved and taken care of.
Helen’s Mom and Dad: I loved the individual scenes they had with Grant, and I understand why they are the way they are, but it sure is a doozy (much love to all of you people pleasers with parents who love you but your not sure if they like you)
Michelle:I wish there would have been more closure. Maybe if Helen had met one of her friends so we could understand Michelle better. But I understand that might not have been the goal of the story. Sometimes you never get closure.
How to End a Love Story (Taylor’s Version)
- I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
- Out of the Woods
- Gold Rush
- Guilty as Sin?
- Down Bad
I found the writing to be solid, and it’s abundantly clear to me that Kuang is a skilled storyteller. I would pick up another book from her in the future, and I look forward to her film adaptations of Emily Henry’s Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. I see so much potential, but my reading experience with this was quite bumpy (at its lowest a 3.5 and at its highest a 4.25) and the issues I have are hard to ignore.
The build up to the relationship worked the best for me, unfortunately the follow through was convoluted.
My problems mostly revolve around Helen and how she treats Grant (and how the narrative handles his PTSD). This book is dual POV, and during the third act I found myself actively rooting for Grant to break up with Helen. She’s coming from a hurt place but there’s no excuse for how she behaves
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I think this book had a hard time balancing its emotional core with ‘steamy romance’. It felt like once sex entered the picture the emotional growth of the characters paused. And the side characters weren’t really integrated enough in their lives to call them out on it.
Characters
Helen: I’m so sorry to this woman but I kind of hate her. I want her to heal and grow and find joy, but I also felt like she was really so bad for Grant.
Grant: I slow-burn fell for him lmao. He’s an oak tree, he’s the prom king, he’s an East Coast transplant, he’s got PTSD. I love him and want him to be happy and loved and taken care of.
Helen’s Mom and Dad: I loved the individual scenes they had with Grant, and I understand why they are the way they are, but it sure is a doozy (much love to all of you people pleasers with parents who love you but your not sure if they like you)
Michelle:
How to End a Love Story (Taylor’s Version)
- I Can Do It With A Broken Heart
- Out of the Woods
- Gold Rush
- Guilty as Sin?
- Down Bad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicide
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident
catsandmetaphors's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, and Car accident
michelle_my_belle's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great mix of heavy and fun (and spicy). I also appreciated the author's use of dual POV. It was so nice to get almost simultaneously, both characters' perspectives throughout the shared scenes. I could definitely feel the author's experience in screenwriting. The story felt very cinematic. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse