Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - How to End a Love Story

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

38 reviews

kaneebli's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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jennaviolet's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad 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

2.0

Would have rated it higher but the last few chapters were tough. It’s also hard to root for the love story between people in these circumstances? It also feels more like lust than love.

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dcnireads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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? No

5.0

as an aspiring writer who's also a chronic overthinker that always hovers between feeling like she's doing too much or not doing enough, helen was my mirror, which is an automatic guarantee that i loved her and will hold her close to my heart as one of the many fmcs that spoke deeply to me as a person. grant is diabolically gorgeous and romantic and deeply, deeply in love with helen to a point where i as a reader could honestly feel all of his angsty yearning. i love a fictional man who's so horrendously, unequivocally down bad and grant shephard was a flawless portrayal of that.

their chemistry and attraction (both physical and emotional) was very organic and believable. helen loves grant so much she thinks he'd be happier and healthier without her, whereas grant loves her so much he finds it so hard to even think about having a future with someone who isnt her and it all just painful and beautiful and UGH. i have to say, the breakup and general third act angst was heartwrenching but not in a typical "it all goes to shit so they break up and stop talking and wallow in otheir own individual pain until they eventually get to the big moment where they kiss and make up at the end". dont get me wrong, i dont really hate those moments, but i do like that this story did it slightly different for a change. helen and grant's actual road to HEA is a bit of a slowburn which was realistic, and while i dont care much for realism in romance or fantasy, it worked for this book.

and also my compliments to the sex scenes, which i usually dont have much standards for, but i really liked it. not just smut for the sake of smut, it was all incredibly sexy and tastefully written. absolutely 10/10.

and all the romance aside, this novel also got my approval for the beautiful, brave and honest depiction of grief, specifically the kind a person would feel over losing a loved one who took their own life. i do wish that grant's anxiety and panic attacks was a topic that was explored a bit more, but im still satisfied with what i was given on that front.

in conclusion: a flawless 5 stars. it usually takes a lot before i give in to book that is being generously hyped up and i've often found myself let down by a lot of them, but i certainly didnt feel that way either this novel. i sobbed my fucking ass off (just a bit), but im SO happy i gave it a shot, and boy am i lucky that i chose to go in blind and get the softbound before i even read the book. its definitely the kind i'm glad to have on my shelf.

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