Publication Date: April 9, 2024
The brilliant contemporary romance novel debut from Yulin Kuang, the acclaimed screenwriter of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation and director of the forthcoming Beach Read feature film.
Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever.
Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She’s even scored a coveted spot in the writers’ room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels, and if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome her writer’s block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needs. After all, no one knows her there. Except…
Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s well liked around town as a screenwriter. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just can’t pass up.
Grant’s exactly as Helen remembers him—charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she’s never been. And Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers too—brilliant, beautiful, closed off. But working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s in the picture at all.
When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. And yet… the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—might just lie in holding on to each other in the present.
Helen Zhang never expected to cross paths again with Grant Shepard after he was sent away from her sister’s funeral.
Thirteen years later, Helen’s books are headed to television. Added to the team as a screenwriter is none other than Grant. Author Yulin Kuang delivers a witty, fast-paced read in How to End a Love Story.
Prickly and defensive, Helen provides a sharp contrast to the seemingly outgoing and relaxed Grant. However, under the surface, it’s clear they both suffer from unresolved issues relating to the tragedy tying them together.
It takes a writing retreat to finally break the ice between them and allow an attraction to grow. Their struggle for a happily-ever-after comes with plenty of bumps along the way.
How to End a Love Story takes two people united by grief and turns it into the basis for a beautiful future.
Yulin Kuang is a screenwriter and director, whose credits include The CW’s I Ship It and Hulu’s Dollface. She was once fired from a Hallmark movie for being ‘too hip for Hallmark’ and is the adapting screenwriter of Emily Henry’s People We Meet on Vacation, as well as the writer/director of the forthcoming Beach Read film for 20th Century Studios. She lives in Pasadena with her husband Zack and their orange cat, Eloise.
