How to End a Love Story

So thoughtfully and carefully written, with characters you want to root for. The premise was not one I was interested in but saw it came highly recommended so gave it a chance, and so glad I did!

At the age of eighteen, Helen and Grant were on opposite sides of a tragedy. Thirteen years later, they encounter each other again, unexpectedly, in the writers' room of the show being made out of Helen's YA novels.This book had a slow start for me, and I wondered if it was going to drag, but it gradually drew me in until I was completely invested and finding any excuse to pick it up and read a few more pages. Grant and Helen are such different characters on the outside - one relentlessly affable, the other the definition of awkward - and initially it seems impossible that they can ever find common ground, but the story develops beautifully and also with a mounting sense of doom, because it's clear that somewhere there has to be a breaking point. I'm not a fan of the phrase 'all the feels', but it's actually an apt description for this book, because not only are the main characters' feelings delicately depicted in detail, but it evokes plenty of varied emotion in the reader as well. An incredibly satisfying reading experience.

Loved this book start to finish.Such a warm cozy hug of a book to read. I haven’t read a book I didn’t want to put down in so long.

Once I realized who the author was I was interested in reading this book. This book deals with loss of a family member at a young age and how it impacts all those left behind. Its multi generational and multi cultural and filled with so many feelings. It deals with family, accusations, forgiveness and healing.

I love Emily Henry and knowing Yulin Kuang has been trusted to adapt her books to film was enough for me to pre-order this book. I also really liked Dollface.The author has a compelling writing style and I'm not afraid of some angst and sadness. It's a heavier subject matter than some may like in their CR novels, but I live for a little bit of heartache as long as things are OK in the end. This book delivered on that, but I do feel like there was something missing. I might read it again and change my mind, but I think maybe I am a little dissapointed we didn't get as much time with both Helen and Grant post-aftermath of what happened when they were teenagers. I think more of their POVs at that time vs just hearing about it later might have endeared us to them more.I didn't feel especially connected to Helen at the first part of the book. I didn't dislike her, but it wasn't til a bit later that I felt like I understood her character. I liked Grant right away, and I also enjoyed the secondary characters a lot.The plot was refreshing, I enjoyed the writers room perspective and how it didn't go off and focus too heavily on the glitzy side of it all. I didn't need that, I like that it was all rooted in reality. Oh, and the yearbook bit was probably my favourite (won't say more to spoil much).