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The End of Romance
A big-hearted, wise, unceasingly buoyant novel about a woman who, after escaping a bruising marriage, theorizes that happiness is possible solely with the eradication of all romance--only to find a love that could change her life forever
Sylvie Broder was taught early to embrace joy. The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who'd developed a system of thought that focused on enjoying the life they'd snatched back from Hitler, Sylvie grew up believing in the tenacious pursuit of pleasure. So, when she finds herself trapped in a suffocating, emotionally abusive marriage, no one is more unmoored than Sylvie herself. With enormous fortitude, Sylvie frees herself and turns to graduate school, determined to prove her new Straight women will find true liberation and happiness only once romance is eradicated.
Sylvie uses her new-found freedom to enjoy men, but never to commit to one, priding herself in separating sex from tenderness. She doesn't sleep over, certainly doesn't cuddle, and never hooks up with a man more than once. Then she meets Robbie and Abie...and finds her philosophy sorely tested. A warm and gentle man, Robbie treats Sylvie with patience and enormous kindness, offering her the soft place to land she hasn't had since childhood. Abie, on the other hand, is passionate and dynamic, a man who challenges Sylvie, and with whom she finds herself constantly disarmed. With both men, she feels a deep desire that looks, worryingly, a lot like love.
Cleverly constructed, delightfully funny, and beautifully written, The End of Romance is an anti-romance romance novel that charts its fallible heroine's tumultuous journey to love and happiness with erudition and deep feeling—a story for anyone who, despite their very best efforts, has fallen in love, and wondered why.
Sylvie Broder was taught early to embrace joy. The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors who'd developed a system of thought that focused on enjoying the life they'd snatched back from Hitler, Sylvie grew up believing in the tenacious pursuit of pleasure. So, when she finds herself trapped in a suffocating, emotionally abusive marriage, no one is more unmoored than Sylvie herself. With enormous fortitude, Sylvie frees herself and turns to graduate school, determined to prove her new Straight women will find true liberation and happiness only once romance is eradicated.
Sylvie uses her new-found freedom to enjoy men, but never to commit to one, priding herself in separating sex from tenderness. She doesn't sleep over, certainly doesn't cuddle, and never hooks up with a man more than once. Then she meets Robbie and Abie...and finds her philosophy sorely tested. A warm and gentle man, Robbie treats Sylvie with patience and enormous kindness, offering her the soft place to land she hasn't had since childhood. Abie, on the other hand, is passionate and dynamic, a man who challenges Sylvie, and with whom she finds herself constantly disarmed. With both men, she feels a deep desire that looks, worryingly, a lot like love.
Cleverly constructed, delightfully funny, and beautifully written, The End of Romance is an anti-romance romance novel that charts its fallible heroine's tumultuous journey to love and happiness with erudition and deep feeling—a story for anyone who, despite their very best efforts, has fallen in love, and wondered why.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published February 3, 2026
114 people are currently reading
11955 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
February 7, 2026
I liked the idea of an anti-romance novel and on that front this story delivered, though I'd describe it more as women's fiction about an unconventional love story. It just wasn't for me, mostly because it's hard to appreciate beautiful sentences when you loathe all the characters.
This book also belongs in the trope of literary authors writing about open relationships only to discover the message that pair-bonding monogamy is the most natural state of being, which I find annoying. This kind of felt like a pretentious Sex in the City.
Sylvie runs away from a controlling husband and starts a new secret life studying philosophy, which was her childhood dream. Her Ph.D dissertation explores the idea that she can heal from her abusive marriage by thinking her way out of romance, that romance should belong to a private instead of public sphere and separated from emotion. But even as she embarks on ethical nonmonogamy with a safe but dull corporate lawyer, she struggles to implement her own philosophy of emotionless love.
I perhaps found this too smart for me as it routinely got bogged down in philosophical meanderings, which was sort of interesting, but then Sylvie turns into a hypocrite when she meets Abie. I thought this was going to be a romance between her and Robbie the boring lawyer, then her asshole husband, then Abie came out of the blue. I was sold on him being the best choice for her, but I didn't like how he held a monogamy ultimatum over her head. Their happiness happened too quickly. Sylvie learns the boring message that not all men are abusive. Thankfully she did not go back to Jonah- I would have thrown my Kindle out the window if so. I frequently wanted to shake Sylvie for her selfish, shallow decisions and lack of agency. The way to feminism and independence is apparently digging into assholery, it often felt like.
I also hated Dr. Rau, the controlling mentor of her best friend whom Nadia was in love with. There was not one character I was rooting for.
Much of the book was Sylvie philosophizing her way into good treatment, which I just ultimately found kind of boring.
An unconventional piece of women's fiction, but not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book also belongs in the trope of literary authors writing about open relationships only to discover the message that pair-bonding monogamy is the most natural state of being, which I find annoying. This kind of felt like a pretentious Sex in the City.
Sylvie runs away from a controlling husband and starts a new secret life studying philosophy, which was her childhood dream. Her Ph.D dissertation explores the idea that she can heal from her abusive marriage by thinking her way out of romance, that romance should belong to a private instead of public sphere and separated from emotion. But even as she embarks on ethical nonmonogamy with a safe but dull corporate lawyer, she struggles to implement her own philosophy of emotionless love.
I perhaps found this too smart for me as it routinely got bogged down in philosophical meanderings, which was sort of interesting, but then Sylvie turns into a hypocrite when she meets Abie. I thought this was going to be a romance between her and Robbie the boring lawyer, then her asshole husband, then Abie came out of the blue. I was sold on him being the best choice for her, but I didn't like how he held a monogamy ultimatum over her head. Their happiness happened too quickly. Sylvie learns the boring message that not all men are abusive. Thankfully she did not go back to Jonah- I would have thrown my Kindle out the window if so. I frequently wanted to shake Sylvie for her selfish, shallow decisions and lack of agency. The way to feminism and independence is apparently digging into assholery, it often felt like.
I also hated Dr. Rau, the controlling mentor of her best friend whom Nadia was in love with. There was not one character I was rooting for.
Much of the book was Sylvie philosophizing her way into good treatment, which I just ultimately found kind of boring.
An unconventional piece of women's fiction, but not for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 16, 2026
there’s something about this that touched me; i loved the philosophical aspect, sylvie’s attempts to figure out how to live and what it means to be alive and how to share that life with other people.
thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc!
thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the e-arc!
February 12, 2026
I urge my followers to buy a HARD COPY of this book from your LOCAL BOOKSTORE because you are going to want to read it, share it with friends, and have this gorgeous cover displayed in your home. What I loved about this book is the access we get to the main character’s mind. I think the combination of philosophy, turtle, and sex (you must read it to see what I mean by that) create an incredible, original vehicle for fostering intimacy between me (the reader) and Sylvie (the main character). Sylvie is all of our tendencies - codependent, avoidant, a girls girl, a bad friend, has big feelings, is guarded - but still feels like a singular character all her own. Also, this book is super devour-able, as evidenced by the fact that I devoured it in 1 day.
March 9, 2026
personally attacked by this book! in a good way. a story about the way in which trying to decenter men and love from your (heterosexual) life just leads to ever more fixation on same. and how that can be a trap that keeps you running the same circles.
September 10, 2025
Out February 3rd, 2026
Sylvie’s story kicks off with a gut-punch: she’s stuck in a toxic marriage that’s slowly draining her spirit, despite being raised to chase joy like it’s oxygen. Her family history—rooted in survival and celebration—makes her situation feel even more heartbreaking. But she doesn’t stay down for long. With grit and a sharp mind, she breaks free and dives into grad school, where she hatches a bold theory: straight women can only be truly happy if they ditch romance altogether. It’s radical, it’s messy, and it’s her way of reclaiming control.
She throws herself into this new philosophy with full force—hookups without strings, no cuddling, no repeats. It’s all about separating pleasure from emotional vulnerability. But then Robbie and Abie show up, and everything starts to unravel. Robbie’s gentle and grounding, while Abie’s fiery and unpredictable. Both men challenge her beliefs in different ways, and Sylvie finds herself caught between what she’s sworn off and what her heart might actually want. The tension between her ideals and her feelings makes for a compelling, often funny, and deeply human ride.
What makes this story stand out is how it balances sharp wit with emotional depth. Sylvie isn’t just trying to avoid heartbreak—she’s trying to rewrite the rules of love itself. But as she stumbles through desire, connection, and vulnerability, it becomes clear that even the most carefully constructed theories can’t protect us from the chaos of feeling. It’s a messy, thoughtful, and surprisingly tender journey that reminds us how love—whether we want it or not—has a way of sneaking in through the cracks.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for this ARC!
Sylvie’s story kicks off with a gut-punch: she’s stuck in a toxic marriage that’s slowly draining her spirit, despite being raised to chase joy like it’s oxygen. Her family history—rooted in survival and celebration—makes her situation feel even more heartbreaking. But she doesn’t stay down for long. With grit and a sharp mind, she breaks free and dives into grad school, where she hatches a bold theory: straight women can only be truly happy if they ditch romance altogether. It’s radical, it’s messy, and it’s her way of reclaiming control.
She throws herself into this new philosophy with full force—hookups without strings, no cuddling, no repeats. It’s all about separating pleasure from emotional vulnerability. But then Robbie and Abie show up, and everything starts to unravel. Robbie’s gentle and grounding, while Abie’s fiery and unpredictable. Both men challenge her beliefs in different ways, and Sylvie finds herself caught between what she’s sworn off and what her heart might actually want. The tension between her ideals and her feelings makes for a compelling, often funny, and deeply human ride.
What makes this story stand out is how it balances sharp wit with emotional depth. Sylvie isn’t just trying to avoid heartbreak—she’s trying to rewrite the rules of love itself. But as she stumbles through desire, connection, and vulnerability, it becomes clear that even the most carefully constructed theories can’t protect us from the chaos of feeling. It’s a messy, thoughtful, and surprisingly tender journey that reminds us how love—whether we want it or not—has a way of sneaking in through the cracks.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for this ARC!
February 22, 2026
Literary fiction that absolutely blew me away and will stay with me for a long time.
I absolutely adored this book. I don’t think this review will give it justice but I’ll try and put some words together about this. I feel sad to have finished this book, I want to keep the characters with me for longer.
It was such a different read, a very unique novel. I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything quite like it but I loved it!
It’s set in three parts, I enjoyed the first part but I absolutely loved the second and third part. Sylvie, our protagonist, leaves a stifling and abusive marriage and finds herself trying to prove that romance should end for people to live a free and happy life. She tries to live by her own philosophy; how that goes the book will tell!
Sylvie was such a unique main character, you got to understand her thinking whilst also learning so much about her theories and general feminist thinking. She was complex and multi-layered, I kind of miss her now. And I loved the other characters in this book. It’s unapologetic, honest, with a lot of depth but leaving space to think.
I also cried. I love a book that makes me feel deeply, and this one certainly did!
“She admired him, now and always, for his ability to see himself clearly, without shame or ego interceding. A lot of women would say this was a rare trait in a man. Sylvie thought it was a rare trait in human beings.”
“It was how she imagined early motherhood: a form of waiting that mixed calm with watchfulness, relief that an evening was over with sorrow that it was gone.”
Pick this up for a unique literary fiction read with depth, love, friendship, wit and honesty. I highly recommend!
I absolutely adored this book. I don’t think this review will give it justice but I’ll try and put some words together about this. I feel sad to have finished this book, I want to keep the characters with me for longer.
It was such a different read, a very unique novel. I’m not sure I’ve ever read anything quite like it but I loved it!
It’s set in three parts, I enjoyed the first part but I absolutely loved the second and third part. Sylvie, our protagonist, leaves a stifling and abusive marriage and finds herself trying to prove that romance should end for people to live a free and happy life. She tries to live by her own philosophy; how that goes the book will tell!
Sylvie was such a unique main character, you got to understand her thinking whilst also learning so much about her theories and general feminist thinking. She was complex and multi-layered, I kind of miss her now. And I loved the other characters in this book. It’s unapologetic, honest, with a lot of depth but leaving space to think.
I also cried. I love a book that makes me feel deeply, and this one certainly did!
“She admired him, now and always, for his ability to see himself clearly, without shame or ego interceding. A lot of women would say this was a rare trait in a man. Sylvie thought it was a rare trait in human beings.”
“It was how she imagined early motherhood: a form of waiting that mixed calm with watchfulness, relief that an evening was over with sorrow that it was gone.”
Pick this up for a unique literary fiction read with depth, love, friendship, wit and honesty. I highly recommend!
February 23, 2026
1.5 stars
It read very much like a stream of narration with no real happenings if that makes sense. The dialogue is a bit stiff and abstract, so while the characters might've had real personality, it didn't really come through. It was also too pessimistic for my liking, but I guess that's what you get for reading a novel titled The End of Romance. Sadly, this just wasn't for me.
But thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!
It read very much like a stream of narration with no real happenings if that makes sense. The dialogue is a bit stiff and abstract, so while the characters might've had real personality, it didn't really come through. It was also too pessimistic for my liking, but I guess that's what you get for reading a novel titled The End of Romance. Sadly, this just wasn't for me.
But thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!
February 27, 2026
major hater review incoming so this is a fair warning.....
this book actively infuriated me. when i first started, i was SO on board. the writing pulled me in (how was i to know, so early on, that it would be the only thing i enjoyed about the book after finishing), the premise seemed promising, so i waited for the story to get good and i naively kept going. if i'm being honest, it did get good...... but then it philosophized itself into a merry-go-round of sycophantic behavior by none other than the main character we're supposed to root for!
which brings me to my first and perhaps largest problem with the book-- sylvie. sure, she represents real women, real feelings, real circumstances, but she made me want to bash my head into a wall. she constantly had some ground-breaking revelation, only to go back on her word and betray herself in the process. i enjoyed being inside her head and understanding her motivations and struggles, but we didn't need 300 pages of her whining and being a terrible partner (would she have liked me to use this word here?) and friend to everyone else in the book. adding the fact she knew was being shitty to everyone in her life (and herself), and talked about it ad nauseam--making the entire thing that much more inane.
to get into slyvie's relationships in the book (which the book centers the entire premise on); i didn't believe her happiness with abie at all, considering it came too quickly and was exactly the type of thing she set out on the premise of never wanting. she claimed to be in the head-over-heels kind of love, but yet it didn't feel grounded in anything concrete. why did she love abie? i truly couldn't tell you. robbie seemed like the logical choice for her, but of course you can't expect sylvie to do anything that makes a modicum of sense. robbie deserved better, but in the end he got away from sylvie so he won, tbh. biggest ew moment was at the end when slyvie meets up with jonah again in the hotel room. that part made me want to physically throw my book across the room. no way, just ew. gross and weird for the author to write a character, one who was a victim of abuse, to do that.
lots of sex in this book and besides the instances with jonah, i did enjoyed the book's exploration and celebration of having sex as a woman. it was nice to read about women not being shamed or perceived a specific way for liking sex. with all it's flaws, the book was very sex-positive which was only a good thing.
this entire book for me was a testament to my ability to keep reading even when things get really fucking bad. even when the book has said the same thing 30 different ways and the main character is flip-flopping between two men none of whom she should be with. it was the same sentiment described over and over again and literally nothing else happened that was even remotely interesting. there could've been a character study in there somewhere, but the author never let the mc get out of her own head enough to discover it. it was such a waste of pages to read.
unfortunately, slyvie suffers from what i like to call 'was never single for any moment in their life and therefore needs to be to garner some much needed personal development'. she needs to stay away from men and learn to be alone.
maybe it's a triumph on the author's part that she was able to make me feel so strongly towards these characters, but i just wish i could've enjoyed the story or characters even a little bit.
this book actively infuriated me. when i first started, i was SO on board. the writing pulled me in (how was i to know, so early on, that it would be the only thing i enjoyed about the book after finishing), the premise seemed promising, so i waited for the story to get good and i naively kept going. if i'm being honest, it did get good...... but then it philosophized itself into a merry-go-round of sycophantic behavior by none other than the main character we're supposed to root for!
which brings me to my first and perhaps largest problem with the book-- sylvie. sure, she represents real women, real feelings, real circumstances, but she made me want to bash my head into a wall. she constantly had some ground-breaking revelation, only to go back on her word and betray herself in the process. i enjoyed being inside her head and understanding her motivations and struggles, but we didn't need 300 pages of her whining and being a terrible partner (would she have liked me to use this word here?) and friend to everyone else in the book. adding the fact she knew was being shitty to everyone in her life (and herself), and talked about it ad nauseam--making the entire thing that much more inane.
to get into slyvie's relationships in the book (which the book centers the entire premise on); i didn't believe her happiness with abie at all, considering it came too quickly and was exactly the type of thing she set out on the premise of never wanting. she claimed to be in the head-over-heels kind of love, but yet it didn't feel grounded in anything concrete. why did she love abie? i truly couldn't tell you. robbie seemed like the logical choice for her, but of course you can't expect sylvie to do anything that makes a modicum of sense. robbie deserved better, but in the end he got away from sylvie so he won, tbh. biggest ew moment was at the end when slyvie meets up with jonah again in the hotel room. that part made me want to physically throw my book across the room. no way, just ew. gross and weird for the author to write a character, one who was a victim of abuse, to do that.
lots of sex in this book and besides the instances with jonah, i did enjoyed the book's exploration and celebration of having sex as a woman. it was nice to read about women not being shamed or perceived a specific way for liking sex. with all it's flaws, the book was very sex-positive which was only a good thing.
this entire book for me was a testament to my ability to keep reading even when things get really fucking bad. even when the book has said the same thing 30 different ways and the main character is flip-flopping between two men none of whom she should be with. it was the same sentiment described over and over again and literally nothing else happened that was even remotely interesting. there could've been a character study in there somewhere, but the author never let the mc get out of her own head enough to discover it. it was such a waste of pages to read.
unfortunately, slyvie suffers from what i like to call 'was never single for any moment in their life and therefore needs to be to garner some much needed personal development'. she needs to stay away from men and learn to be alone.
maybe it's a triumph on the author's part that she was able to make me feel so strongly towards these characters, but i just wish i could've enjoyed the story or characters even a little bit.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The End Of Romance by Lily Meyer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5 stars
I devoured this book, so huge thanks to Verve books for an eARC version via NetGalley.
Sylvie Broder has survived an abusive marriage and decides that from now on, any encounter will be on her terms and within the strict rules of separating love from sex: she will enjoy men, enjoy sex but she will not be tagged as anyone's wife/girlfriend/partner. So what happens if she meets people that might just make her challenge these rules...
Sylvie is a great character. She's flawed; at times she is unlikeable, but ultimately she's a woman who has been hurt, not just by an ex partner but by family members too and she is trying to deal with that as best she can. Some people drink, some people go to therapy. Sylvie develops a PhD thesis on the construction of a society where relationships, sexuality and love are private things, hidden from your public life so as not to get in the way of your career, goals or hobbies. Then proceeds to use her life to try to prove this could be a viable option. Simple 😂 So when she meets not one, but two people who make her feel like maybe love isn't that bad, she has to ask herself if it's worth challenging everything she has worked so hard to create.
It was such an emotional read for me. I times I was devastated by what Sylvie was going through and at times I was absolutely screaming at her to make better decisions. The moments where she is attempting a conversarion with another character, e.g her mum, and you just know that each one wants the other to say it's ok, I know what you're going through, but for some reason can't. The surrounding characters were amazing and really felt three dimensional. I could undersrand how her background and upbringing led her to the choices she made. On a side note, I loved the characters of her grandparents. Literally the warmest, most fun people who truly believe in making the most of life and everything about it.
Shout out to the quote I've picked out because literally, I felt this line. Men DO love nothing more than to interrupt a woman with a book 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. 5 stars
I devoured this book, so huge thanks to Verve books for an eARC version via NetGalley.
Sylvie Broder has survived an abusive marriage and decides that from now on, any encounter will be on her terms and within the strict rules of separating love from sex: she will enjoy men, enjoy sex but she will not be tagged as anyone's wife/girlfriend/partner. So what happens if she meets people that might just make her challenge these rules...
Sylvie is a great character. She's flawed; at times she is unlikeable, but ultimately she's a woman who has been hurt, not just by an ex partner but by family members too and she is trying to deal with that as best she can. Some people drink, some people go to therapy. Sylvie develops a PhD thesis on the construction of a society where relationships, sexuality and love are private things, hidden from your public life so as not to get in the way of your career, goals or hobbies. Then proceeds to use her life to try to prove this could be a viable option. Simple 😂 So when she meets not one, but two people who make her feel like maybe love isn't that bad, she has to ask herself if it's worth challenging everything she has worked so hard to create.
It was such an emotional read for me. I times I was devastated by what Sylvie was going through and at times I was absolutely screaming at her to make better decisions. The moments where she is attempting a conversarion with another character, e.g her mum, and you just know that each one wants the other to say it's ok, I know what you're going through, but for some reason can't. The surrounding characters were amazing and really felt three dimensional. I could undersrand how her background and upbringing led her to the choices she made. On a side note, I loved the characters of her grandparents. Literally the warmest, most fun people who truly believe in making the most of life and everything about it.
Shout out to the quote I've picked out because literally, I felt this line. Men DO love nothing more than to interrupt a woman with a book 😂
February 5, 2026
I have not read another book that switched from maybe i'll DNF to being hooked as fast as this one. In part one, I really disliked Sylvie and could not see where this book was going to go. You're almost detached from Sylvie as a character and the story moves so quickly! Part 2 reads almost like an entirely new novel. We get more insight into Sylvie's character and her head and the plot slows down drastically. This is where the story picks up and where I found myself getting sucked in.
It's odd, part 1 is almost like a prolonged introduction, but it's necessary to have all this backstory for the rest of the novel to make sense and have the emotional impact that it does. But the story really shines, for me in the back half of the book. There's so much to chew on, and the philosophy element really leaves you in your thoughts long after putting the book down. This is a book where, once I finished it I gave it a star rating but the more I reflect on the book the more I realize that I need to rethink my rating.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an eArc in exchange for my review.
It's odd, part 1 is almost like a prolonged introduction, but it's necessary to have all this backstory for the rest of the novel to make sense and have the emotional impact that it does. But the story really shines, for me in the back half of the book. There's so much to chew on, and the philosophy element really leaves you in your thoughts long after putting the book down. This is a book where, once I finished it I gave it a star rating but the more I reflect on the book the more I realize that I need to rethink my rating.
Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an eArc in exchange for my review.
February 16, 2026
The End of Romance is a slow burn semi-romance as a woman finds herself intellectually and sexually after fleeing an abusive marriage... and eventually finds love and romance in a quieter more mature form. I had difficulty relating to Sylvie just based on different life experiences. Others may feel a different connection. I found the aspect of her conversations with her childhood imaginary turtle friend/conscience the most intriguing but wanted a lot more of it.
Thank you to Viking Penguin | Viking and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
Thank you to Viking Penguin | Viking and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
February 25, 2026
This is such a unique story and executed in such a great way.
Sylvie leaves a horrible marriage, reconstructs her life and falls in love with Robbie and Abie.
Is this story messy? Absolutely, but in a way that makes you ponder what love should be.
Loved how Sylvie’s friendship with Nadia played such a huge role in this story.
Only thing that prevented me from giving this a 5⭐️ was I felt that it dragged a bit at the end.
Read this!
Thank you to Viking Penguin and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
Sylvie leaves a horrible marriage, reconstructs her life and falls in love with Robbie and Abie.
Is this story messy? Absolutely, but in a way that makes you ponder what love should be.
Loved how Sylvie’s friendship with Nadia played such a huge role in this story.
Only thing that prevented me from giving this a 5⭐️ was I felt that it dragged a bit at the end.
Read this!
Thank you to Viking Penguin and the author for providing a free copy of this book through NetGalley.
February 28, 2026
I had growing frustration with Sylvie through the whole book. And don’t get me started on her “turtle”. Although, I think the turtle is symbolic. It also allows the reader to see a more in depth analysis of her inner thoughts/struggles. The war within herself. The emotional roller coaster was worth it at the end.
February 6, 2026
I just want to hug this book and the main character!
The End of Romance follows Sylvie Broder, a sharp-witted philosophy graduate student determined to dismantle the idea of romantic love after escaping an emotionally abusive relationship. Raised to embrace joy as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Sylvie crafts a radical thesis: that straight women can only find freedom by eliminating romance from their lives. However, when this philosophy is challenged by two very different men, she must confront her carefully constructed beliefs and the relationship that gave rise to them.
Clever, funny, and deeply thoughtful, the novel blends intellectual inquiry with emotional vulnerability as Sylvie’s journey toward self-understanding ultimately forces her to confront what it really means to love and be loved.
I was instantly hooked by Sylvie’s voice. Meyers expertly blends philosophical references as Sylvie uses Arendt, Weil, Hegel, to understand and work through the trauma of past relationships. I hope readers don’t find Sylvie pretentious for such contemplations, but see her heart as she struggles to construct her own world view. A favorite moment was when the reader realizes why there is a Turtle on the front cover!
Thank you Viking Penguin and Net Galley for the ARC!
The End of Romance follows Sylvie Broder, a sharp-witted philosophy graduate student determined to dismantle the idea of romantic love after escaping an emotionally abusive relationship. Raised to embrace joy as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, Sylvie crafts a radical thesis: that straight women can only find freedom by eliminating romance from their lives. However, when this philosophy is challenged by two very different men, she must confront her carefully constructed beliefs and the relationship that gave rise to them.
Clever, funny, and deeply thoughtful, the novel blends intellectual inquiry with emotional vulnerability as Sylvie’s journey toward self-understanding ultimately forces her to confront what it really means to love and be loved.
I was instantly hooked by Sylvie’s voice. Meyers expertly blends philosophical references as Sylvie uses Arendt, Weil, Hegel, to understand and work through the trauma of past relationships. I hope readers don’t find Sylvie pretentious for such contemplations, but see her heart as she struggles to construct her own world view. A favorite moment was when the reader realizes why there is a Turtle on the front cover!
Thank you Viking Penguin and Net Galley for the ARC!
December 30, 2025
I finished this book in three days. I found Sylvie’s story heartbreaking, frustrating, and also so relatable. One aspect I really enjoyed is that Sylvie felt very real to me, which led to me feeling so strongly about some of the decisions she makes. This narrative is VIVID and I encourage others to be enveloped by this thought provoking story.
January 26, 2026
Something happens when you read a book that explores human emotions/experiences/behaviours this way, it forces you to take stock, to reflect on your own feelings and experiences. There was so much about Sylvie’s story that mirrored my own, there were times I understood her and times I wanted to shake her, but the more I sit with it, the more I realize it’s because I’ve probably made a similar decision.
This book isn’t afraid to go all the way, the things we’d rather not talk about, the decisions we actually make but usually think we’re too smart or moral to make, etc. This was such a truthful book, and ultimately that’s my favorite thing about it. This is what it feels like, to be alone, to go unseen for so long, to be betrayed, to heal, to go through the process of healing, to grow, to evolve, to love and be loved. None of it is pretty or straightforward or simple or logical, it’s a mess of feelings and mistakes, and choices, and people.
I’m so grateful to have received an ARC for this, I really enjoyed it. The writing was absolutely wonderful, there was a natural flow to it. This is a book I’m definitely going to read more than once.
This book isn’t afraid to go all the way, the things we’d rather not talk about, the decisions we actually make but usually think we’re too smart or moral to make, etc. This was such a truthful book, and ultimately that’s my favorite thing about it. This is what it feels like, to be alone, to go unseen for so long, to be betrayed, to heal, to go through the process of healing, to grow, to evolve, to love and be loved. None of it is pretty or straightforward or simple or logical, it’s a mess of feelings and mistakes, and choices, and people.
I’m so grateful to have received an ARC for this, I really enjoyed it. The writing was absolutely wonderful, there was a natural flow to it. This is a book I’m definitely going to read more than once.
December 3, 2025
This is a book about a woman who, after extricating herself from an abusive relationship, turns to philosophy to intellectualize her relationship, in the hopes of rationalizing it. I found the constant philosophizing and intellectualizing a little draining!
March 4, 2026
I fell head over heels for this book. Tore through it, forced my friend to read it with me so we could do book club, was already expecting it to be one of my best of the year, and then the ending INFURIATED ME so much now I don know what to think
This book has the propulsive, voicey writing style I associate with many of my favorite sex and love books, and it differentiated itself by allowing real, immediate change within the narrator. As in, we see her make horrific thinking mistakes in love at the top of the book, and just as soon as I finished rolling my eyes and declaring I couldn’t deal with ideas this wrong the whole novel, she leaves her abusive partner and starts a philosophy PhD on the question — can a straight woman be in love and still be free
How fascinating! A sex and love book that beloved those topics to be worthy of rigorous academic inquiry! I love the middle 75% of this book so much! We talk Arendt, we talk Adrienne rich, we grapple with non monogamy and the private sphere and whether you share your full self wit someone you’re allowing to dominate you. We have intense female friendship, we have big, serious ideas about sex, I loved it!!! Truly. When I wasn’t reading this book, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Unfortunately,,,, lily meyers is clearly in conversation with the modern romance novel with this book, and for that reason the back, 15-20% becomes so jarring and thematically disjointed. We go from intense, academically centric ideas about love to,,, suddenly desiring a trad existence? Meeting a guy and suddenly wanting to be monogamous with him, suddenly turning your back on all of the ideas of your thesis. She doesn’t even finish her thesis! This book ends with her just running into a man’s arms. And the heart of this book goes from “can you be a straight woman and remain free” to, “can you fall into head over hella love after abuse”. Which is an interesting question, but not the one the bulk of the book is concerned with
And it makes me sad, as a non trad, occasionally non monogamous person, to have this book end with the general idea of “once you meet the right guy, all of a sudden all your counter cultural ideas will go away and you’ll want to have his babies and hang out with his family and f*** only him forever.
So alas, I’m not sure who this book would make happy. Classical romance readers would find the bulk of the book jarring and overly academic and thinky, and people looking for a thinky book will find the ending contradictory and better for a different novel
All that being said, I FLEW through this book (esp once I got past the first 10%) and it was so fun to talk about this book with my girlfriends, so I’d recommend this for a book club pick or to get you out of a reading slump
This book has the propulsive, voicey writing style I associate with many of my favorite sex and love books, and it differentiated itself by allowing real, immediate change within the narrator. As in, we see her make horrific thinking mistakes in love at the top of the book, and just as soon as I finished rolling my eyes and declaring I couldn’t deal with ideas this wrong the whole novel, she leaves her abusive partner and starts a philosophy PhD on the question — can a straight woman be in love and still be free
How fascinating! A sex and love book that beloved those topics to be worthy of rigorous academic inquiry! I love the middle 75% of this book so much! We talk Arendt, we talk Adrienne rich, we grapple with non monogamy and the private sphere and whether you share your full self wit someone you’re allowing to dominate you. We have intense female friendship, we have big, serious ideas about sex, I loved it!!! Truly. When I wasn’t reading this book, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Unfortunately,,,, lily meyers is clearly in conversation with the modern romance novel with this book, and for that reason the back, 15-20% becomes so jarring and thematically disjointed. We go from intense, academically centric ideas about love to,,, suddenly desiring a trad existence? Meeting a guy and suddenly wanting to be monogamous with him, suddenly turning your back on all of the ideas of your thesis. She doesn’t even finish her thesis! This book ends with her just running into a man’s arms. And the heart of this book goes from “can you be a straight woman and remain free” to, “can you fall into head over hella love after abuse”. Which is an interesting question, but not the one the bulk of the book is concerned with
And it makes me sad, as a non trad, occasionally non monogamous person, to have this book end with the general idea of “once you meet the right guy, all of a sudden all your counter cultural ideas will go away and you’ll want to have his babies and hang out with his family and f*** only him forever.
So alas, I’m not sure who this book would make happy. Classical romance readers would find the bulk of the book jarring and overly academic and thinky, and people looking for a thinky book will find the ending contradictory and better for a different novel
All that being said, I FLEW through this book (esp once I got past the first 10%) and it was so fun to talk about this book with my girlfriends, so I’d recommend this for a book club pick or to get you out of a reading slump
February 24, 2026
The End of Romance is a modern literary fiction novel about a young woman who embraces a philosophy of eschewing romantic love to try and recover from the damage done by an emotionally abusive husband, only to find herself loving two very different men. I was invited to read an Advanced Review Copy by the publisher, and thought it sounded interesting, even if it’s not one of my usual genres. I’ll confess that around the 15% mark I was about to abandon it - Sylvie, the main character, had done nothing but obsess about orgasms with her awful boyfriend/husband, and there didn’t appear to be any plot to speak of. I decided to finish the chapter at least - they are disconcertingly long, and once she finally grows up and gets up the courage to leave him, it got more interesting, so I did continue to the end. She becomes a graduate student in philosophy, and does her best to justify her life choices by theorising a new style of feminism.
Did I like it? Hard to say - I have no knowledge of nor interest in philosophy, the only appealing characters were the two love interests, Robbie and Abie, and Sylvie treats them both appallingly. I spent much of the book trying to figure out what made her so very appealing to the countless men she sleeps with and then discards according to her whims, other than her sky high sex drive. The writing is good but unlike some reviewers, I didn’t find it remotely humorous, and the plot moves painfully slowly. There are many social and political references that won’t mean much to non-American readers, and a lot of navel-gazing about how hard life is as the spoiled only daughter of successful Jewish immigrants that she runs away from as readily as from her husband. She rejects religion as fervently as she rejects love, but only seems to interact with other Jewish characters.
I was going to give this three stars but rereading my comments and thoughts has made me revise this to 2.5 rounded down. I think it would appeal more to those who actively enjoy literary fiction and have an interest in philosophy. Thanks to Viking and NetGalley for the ARC. The End of Romance is available now.
Did I like it? Hard to say - I have no knowledge of nor interest in philosophy, the only appealing characters were the two love interests, Robbie and Abie, and Sylvie treats them both appallingly. I spent much of the book trying to figure out what made her so very appealing to the countless men she sleeps with and then discards according to her whims, other than her sky high sex drive. The writing is good but unlike some reviewers, I didn’t find it remotely humorous, and the plot moves painfully slowly. There are many social and political references that won’t mean much to non-American readers, and a lot of navel-gazing about how hard life is as the spoiled only daughter of successful Jewish immigrants that she runs away from as readily as from her husband. She rejects religion as fervently as she rejects love, but only seems to interact with other Jewish characters.
I was going to give this three stars but rereading my comments and thoughts has made me revise this to 2.5 rounded down. I think it would appeal more to those who actively enjoy literary fiction and have an interest in philosophy. Thanks to Viking and NetGalley for the ARC. The End of Romance is available now.
February 25, 2026
Listened to the audiobook
“Part of ending romance was understanding that no one completes you.”
Sylvie finds herself in a bad, emotionally abusive marriage with her high school/college boyfriend. When she realizes the truth of her situation, she leaves without a word and revisits her passion for philosophy. In grad school, she works on a theory that straight women can only be free and happy if they eliminate romance in their public lives, which she explores both intellectually and in practice.
In her married life and after, Sylvie considers her sex life very frankly - what it takes to get her off, what she needs from a partner, whether she prefers to be in control or to give up control. She explores this in casual relationships as well as in more serious entanglements, first with Robbie, a submissive, anxious swimmer with whom she enjoys a one-sided but consensual open relationship, and then with Abie, a handsome, family-oriented golden retriever who wants her to himself.
Wow, was I interested in this premise. I really enjoyed the tone of the narration, straightforward and almost academic, and I resonated with a lot of Sylvie’s thoughts and attitudes. She lost me a little with her criticism of #metoo, citing her wariness of women leaning into “victimhood,” but even this I somewhat understood came from her conflicting feelings about control.
“For years, she had written and behaved as though she was just mind and body: as if her emotions weren’t their own willful presence… She thought that maybe, if she wasn’t going to swear off philosophy forever, emotion was what she would write about.”
Very readable, very interesting. Loved it.
“Part of ending romance was understanding that no one completes you.”
Sylvie finds herself in a bad, emotionally abusive marriage with her high school/college boyfriend. When she realizes the truth of her situation, she leaves without a word and revisits her passion for philosophy. In grad school, she works on a theory that straight women can only be free and happy if they eliminate romance in their public lives, which she explores both intellectually and in practice.
In her married life and after, Sylvie considers her sex life very frankly - what it takes to get her off, what she needs from a partner, whether she prefers to be in control or to give up control. She explores this in casual relationships as well as in more serious entanglements, first with Robbie, a submissive, anxious swimmer with whom she enjoys a one-sided but consensual open relationship, and then with Abie, a handsome, family-oriented golden retriever who wants her to himself.
Wow, was I interested in this premise. I really enjoyed the tone of the narration, straightforward and almost academic, and I resonated with a lot of Sylvie’s thoughts and attitudes. She lost me a little with her criticism of #metoo, citing her wariness of women leaning into “victimhood,” but even this I somewhat understood came from her conflicting feelings about control.
“For years, she had written and behaved as though she was just mind and body: as if her emotions weren’t their own willful presence… She thought that maybe, if she wasn’t going to swear off philosophy forever, emotion was what she would write about.”
Very readable, very interesting. Loved it.
February 3, 2026
5⭐️
How dare Lily Meyer make me feel so much in one book! I wish I could accurately express my love for this book. The End of Romance is now one of my all time favorite books.
Sylvie is a philosophy student learning who she is and how she interacts with the world. After a damaging marriage, her view of love and romance have become complicated. The End of Romances tells an interesting and thought provoking love story.
The book provides fascinating philosophical takes on victimhood, the me too movement, and other areas focused on women.
It is emotionally taxing (but not in a negative way) and intellectually stimulating.
I love this book. I love the way it is written. I love the way it makes me feel. It’s a book I will be thinking about and analyzing for sometime.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
How dare Lily Meyer make me feel so much in one book! I wish I could accurately express my love for this book. The End of Romance is now one of my all time favorite books.
Sylvie is a philosophy student learning who she is and how she interacts with the world. After a damaging marriage, her view of love and romance have become complicated. The End of Romances tells an interesting and thought provoking love story.
The book provides fascinating philosophical takes on victimhood, the me too movement, and other areas focused on women.
It is emotionally taxing (but not in a negative way) and intellectually stimulating.
I love this book. I love the way it is written. I love the way it makes me feel. It’s a book I will be thinking about and analyzing for sometime.
Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
February 3, 2026
The premise of The End of Romance by Lily Meyer is that once Sylvie Broder leaves her controlling ex, she goes on to study philosophy. Her dissertation will propose that romance has gone the way of the dodo. There is no need for romantic love to be attached to sexual relationships. Her theory is put to the test more than once.
Sylvie is a complex character, and I enjoyed her journey. The problem is that she is the only one in the story to have any sort of arc or development. There was a Goldilocks assortment of men: all bad, all good, and just right.
Her parents were flat, her friends were disposable. The only other characters of interest were her life-grabbing, Holocaust-survivor grandparents, who exist only in Sylvie’s memories and imaginary friends.
Despite my misgivings, The End of Romance is well-written and well-paced. Sylvie’s exploration of the nature of relationships alone makes it worth the read.
Thank you to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book. #TheEndofRomance #NetGalley
Sylvie is a complex character, and I enjoyed her journey. The problem is that she is the only one in the story to have any sort of arc or development. There was a Goldilocks assortment of men: all bad, all good, and just right.
Her parents were flat, her friends were disposable. The only other characters of interest were her life-grabbing, Holocaust-survivor grandparents, who exist only in Sylvie’s memories and imaginary friends.
Despite my misgivings, The End of Romance is well-written and well-paced. Sylvie’s exploration of the nature of relationships alone makes it worth the read.
Thank you to Viking Penguin and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book. #TheEndofRomance #NetGalley
February 3, 2026
this is an anti-romance novel, which feels like a joke until it isn’t. it’s about a woman who grows up believing in joy - real, stubborn joy - and still ends up in a marriage with her high school sweetheart that slowly erases her. leaving is only the beginning. after that comes philosophy, graduate school, and the extremely rude fact that feelings do not care about your theories.
what I didn’t expect is how funny this book can be while still being heavy. how much it lets its ideas argue with themselves. it asks whether romance is freedom or just another thing women are taught to endure, and then complicates its own answer.
and then, annoyingly, there are men, but once I was in it, I didn’t want to put it down. it’s not a comfort read but it is a rewarding one
what I didn’t expect is how funny this book can be while still being heavy. how much it lets its ideas argue with themselves. it asks whether romance is freedom or just another thing women are taught to endure, and then complicates its own answer.
and then, annoyingly, there are men, but once I was in it, I didn’t want to put it down. it’s not a comfort read but it is a rewarding one
January 27, 2026
For me, the End of Romance by Lily Meyer did not seem like I book I would want to finish. Sylvie Broder starts the book as a teenager who falls in love in high school with Jonah, stays with him all through college and marries him, even after he becomes abusive. She is doing what is expected of her, and slowly becoming depressed. Running away is her only option, and she goes back to college to pursue her Phd in philosophy writing a dissertation that asserts that romantic love is headed for extinction. I ended up really enjoying Sylvie’s story, and her healing journey. Thank you to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin Random House for an uncorrected ebook file to review.
February 26, 2026
I found this book difficult to get through, although I think it was generally well done for what it is. The very honest portrayal of an abusive relationship, and one individual's response to it, could be hard to read. And while certainly a very human response to such hurt, it was hard to "watch" the main character cause so much hurt to those around them. The ending didn't feel particularly satisfying (or in line with the character's long-term desires) either.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Sylvie Broder, the main character in The End of Romance, wants to believe that it’s possible, and better for her, to live without romance. It’s not difficult to see why she would feel this way, after an unhappy childhood with emotionless parents and then suffering an abusive marriage. She takes the theories from her PhD research as her guides and endeavours to separate love and sex, public and private.
I didn't find Sylvie likeable at all. She was selfish in all her relationships, both with lovers and with her friends. How she managed to find two men who would put up with her relationship rules is beyond me, it just seemed too good to be true. How you feel about this book will obviously depend on your view of the main character as you are with her, her thoughts, feelings and philosophical reflections throughout.
However, despite that I felt that this was well-written, character-based literary fiction. I don’t know much about philosophy but that didn’t get in the way of following the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Verve Books for the eARC.
I didn't find Sylvie likeable at all. She was selfish in all her relationships, both with lovers and with her friends. How she managed to find two men who would put up with her relationship rules is beyond me, it just seemed too good to be true. How you feel about this book will obviously depend on your view of the main character as you are with her, her thoughts, feelings and philosophical reflections throughout.
However, despite that I felt that this was well-written, character-based literary fiction. I don’t know much about philosophy but that didn’t get in the way of following the story.
Thanks to Netgalley and Verve Books for the eARC.
February 27, 2026
I really liked this book. It’s basically a woman’s meditation on love and privacy and how to have a relationship told through the three important relationships of her life. I found it fascinating but I could definitely see it grating on people bc Sylvie was not a very likeable character and her navel gazing could definitely be annoying, but I liked it. Excellent audiobook.
Read
March 7, 2026An interesting read. As a lesbian who loves vulnerability, I found myself feeling quite smug and frustrated while reading this. (Smug that I don’t have to fear hetero norms and frustrated because dear god just face your emotions and stop being such a hypocritical baby.) Yet I didn’t dislike the book, to my surprise!
March 7, 2026
Enjoyed the feminist theory of this greatly. But it def Could’ve been shorter
February 21, 2026
Anti boys ❌❌❌❌
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