A review by pantslint
How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

emotional funny sad tense 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

4.0

Okay. The premise of HTEALS is honestly quite fucking ridiculous (
I mean, falling in actual love with the guy that literally drove the car that killed your sister?
), but I've shut my eyes and ears to everything wrong with this book because I really enjoyed it. Yulin Kuang is so good at building tension and vivid imagery—you can really see her skill as a screenwriter here. Her writing is so cinematic; I felt like I could see and hear everything as I read, like scenes in a movie. Great 🌶️ scenes. I love how Grant is absolutely gone for Helen, his emotional state being in complete shambles over how much he loves her (very much like Ali Hazelwood's MMCs).

This book is funny and emotional. I really enjoyed the little snippets of what it's like to love and resent your immigrant parents. There's a quote from the book where Helen's dad is "sitting on the couch, watching some bootlegged Chinese historical drama series on his iPad" and thinking about that quote makes me laugh every time, because I can only picture my own father doing the same thing.

The sister relationship of this book felt oddly familiar, and I realize that Helen's Sending All My Love is an actual book by Anna Akana (titled So Much I Want to Tell You: Letters to My Little Sister). I've been a long-time fan of Akana and I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that she was the sensitivity reader for this work, mentioned in the acknowledgements. Finding out two of your faves are friends is so fun.
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