Review: Ugly Love

Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Published: August 5, 2014
Paperback, 337 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn't love at first sight. They wouldn't even go as far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn't want love, she doesn't have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules miles has for her.

Never ask about the past. Don't expect a future. 

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can't handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated. Promises get broken. Rules get shattered. Love gets ugly.

Colleen Hoover is the queen of New Adult. She takes two people, makes them fall quickly head over heels for each other, and then takes it away so quickly we don't have time to understand why. Something unfathomable happens and we hope for a happy ending, but we don't know if we'll get it. If anyone has read any of her books, you'll know she does this well, and Ugly Love is no exception. Tate knows too many pilots, her father and her brother both are, so it's no surprise when Miles is also a pilot. But it is a surprise when he's almost passed out in front of her brother's door, her new door since she's moving in, and she has no idea who he is or why he's calling her Rachel. Their relationship continues just as it started - rough around the edges with a lot of tension. She doesn't have time for him as she's working full time as a nurse as she continues through med school. But she can't help looking at him and she knows he feels it too and the moment they take things further, she knows she's lost.

They agree on sex without strings, but does that ever work out for anyone? They hide it from her brother but Miles soon gets very protective. Tate doesn't mind, except for the fact that he's still hiding his feelings from her and she knows he cares about her but he won't admit it. The further Tate falls, the harder it is to get back up. Tate wants to know everything about Miles, but she knows she can't ask, she knows she can't find out who Rachel is, and maybe it's best if she doesn't. But the truth always comes out and when it does, Tate doesn't know if she can handle it or if it has even made them stronger. She must decide if she'll be sticking by Miles or if it's best to stop their relationship once and for all.

These two tore at my heart. They clearly have feelings for each other but will not admit it at all. The more Tate falls for him, the more we find out about his past. Tate's chapters are in the present, but Miles' are in the past and we slowly become clear as to why he is how he is and what happened between him and Rachel. We find out before Tate does and it's brutal as we watch her struggle to find a way to get him to open up when we know how hard it will be when he does. This book is ugly. It will make you smile on one page and then rip out your heart on the next. I wanted to slap Miles and I wanted to tell Tate to stop sleeping with him, but yet I still wanted them to continue doing it all because I wanted them together.

Hoover is a fantastic writer. She weaves everything together to explode at the climax. Her dual perspectives work in her favour and I fell in love with her characters as I normally do. I seriously can't wait for more from her even though I know I'll be crying by the end of it.

"Love isn't always pretty. Sometimes you spend all your time hoping it'll eventually be something different. Something better. Then, before you know it, you're back to square one, and you lost your heart somewhere along the way."