Vent: the beta reader who said my ending was cowardly was right

My book club's beta group loved my last manuscript. Praised the pacing, the banter, said the twist was solid. But one guy, he teaches lit at a community college, called my ending 'cowardly.' He meant I wrapped up every thread neat and tidy, no real cost for the main character. I argued for ten minutes. Then I sat on it for a week and reread the last three chapters. He was right. I changed the ending so the main character loses something permanent, and now the group is split. Half say it feels unfair, half say it's the best part. Has anyone else gotten one piece of harsh feedback that made their book worse before it got better? Or am I the only one who stubbornly ignored it at first?

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