Ugly Love

This story is the most tender, heartbreaking, beautiful love story I have ever read. I think the reason I fell so in love with it, is because of how the dual POV is written. Miles has an unbelievably horrible past that causes him to not really want love in his future. So his POV goes through that tragic part of his life. Tate's POV is in the present and goes through her time with Miles. Who she has agreed to a casual hook-up with.
Tate is a smart, caring, and loving character. She realizes Miles has a painful past that he refuses to tell her about, but she wants to try to get him to reevaluate his future. Miles can be very intense, so she knows that it may not happen, but she hopes that it will because she has fallen in love with him. show more And I think it's great that she still doesn't give up hope because deep down she knows that something is happening between her and Miles and that she isn't the only one who has feelings for the other.
I love how you slowly got to learn more about Miles through his past as opposed to his present. His POV is normally just a few pages long, but it makes you want to keep reading because you really want to know this big secret that has caused him such horrendous pain. Miles is different, and quite a remarkable character, to me. Nowadays, in most recent romance/ new adult books I've read, the male character with hardships in his past has either turned to drugs, alcohol, or sex to make him forget his past. And since Miles' past scars him so much that he doesn't seem to care for much in his future, I'm kinda surprised suicide wasn't in his cards. Yet, he turned to none of these things. He deals with all that pain crushing him every minute of every day. I think that's a grand testament to his character. The fact that he doesn't trade pain for an unhealthy habit that can cause him or others harm. He truly is one of the best male characters I have read in a while. Even if he can be a little douchy to Tate while he gets his stuff figured out.
Everything about this story is remarkable. If you are one to cry or cry easily, you may shed a tear or two. I nearly did and I'm not one to cry often. But I would recommend this book to everyone, even if romance isn't your genre, this will not disappoint. It will just truly melt your heart. show less

Romance? Did I just read romance? Well, to be fair, I did want to broaden my boundaries and not be stuck in any sort of lit rut, and then I read lit rutting.

Honestly, I liked this book. It had story, deep emotions, a history and a future. So what if I sometimes have a hard time swallowing how completely some characters can ignore all of their best interests, it's not me, but who's to say its not a significant portion of the rest of the world? I read primarily science fiction and fantasy. If I can't put aside my disbelief for a novel like this, then how in the hell could I get through practically everything I've read?

Because it's people. All their messed up living and loving has a common background, and if you mess with that, you mess show more with everything that makes a good novel a good novel. Fortunately, I was moved by this novel. It tooks some time and it sure didn't hit until near the end when we finally got our big reveals, but I was moved.

I can't even rightly call this a romance novel, despite the obvious bits. I'm just going to call this a delightful tale with some wisdom sprinkled in, and call it a day. show less

If you haven’t laid hands on the book yet, here’s your clue to stop reading. This review has spoilers.

“Love isn’t always pretty, Tate. 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.”

This book has been something I will continue to possess as a treasure, for the rest of my life. How the emotional failures of one person can hurt another with wounds deeper than a sword, and how past trauma can ruin the best of us, is something that the book exceptionally discovers, scarring every reader with an ugly love for it.

“That’s how it is when a person develops an attraction show more toward someone. He’s nowhere, then suddenly he’s everywhere, whether you want him to be or not.”

When Tate moves in with her brother Corbin, she isn’t looking for love, she’s just preparing for her master’s. And the day Tate moves in, Miles isn’t looking for love either, he’s just drunk, heavily drunk, Miles-never-ever-drinks-so-much drunk because his past with Rachel and the loss of Clayton is eating at him. The kind of loss you don’t wish on anyone, especially not a teen.

“Don’t ask about my past. And never expect a future.”

The two rules that as per the complex mind of Miles, define their relationship. It’s not a common arrangement, you can’t even call them friends with benefits because they weren’t friends in the first place. Despite Miles’ want and Tate’s compliance, they fall in love, hard, harder than they’ve ever felt. But that’s not the happy ending for them, because Miles is a master of denying his emotions, and in the process of what he thinks is saving Tate’s heart, he shatters her ever so more than he would if he were with her.

“Some people, they grow wiser as they grow older. Unfortunately, most people just grow older.”

Miles however, grows wise in other terms than his heart. He thinks he is protecting himself and others from his past when all he needs to do is face his past. Sometimes, the only way to escape a stance is to face it, and Miles’ predicament is an unparalleled one.

The story alternates between present experiences between Miles and Tate and his past with Rachel, peeking ever so carefully into the different sides of Max and the walls he has built around himself after all the time. The book is filled to the brim with emotions and remorse, memories and experiences, and all along the journey of reading the book, I cried, not once but numerous times, because even though I don’t know much about love, I knew about Tate and Miles. I don’t believe in soulmates but it was hard not to believe in them, even harder to think they didn’t deserve each other, because they did, they deserved the love, the new experiences and they deserved a fresh start at life. And so they got. show less

Disclaimer: Romance is not my genre. Not even a little bit. Romance between characters tends to be my least favorite aspect of regular fictional novels. I don't really have ships in fandoms I follow. I read this book because it was on sale at a bookstore I visited while on vacation and because it had been all over my Tumblr for awhile with very positive reviews.

I didn't like that it focused solely on the relationship between the main couple with very few details of Tate's life outside of her relationship with Miles. Her school didn't matter and her work didn't matter and she didn't really have friends other than the eighty-year-old man who worked in the building pushing the elevator button for people. Her everything was Miles and not show more only is that unhealthy but it made her seem kind of one dimensional. She seemed like a tool for Miles to work through his issues.

The story - both the present one we follow through Tate and Miles and the past one about Rachel and Miles - basically follows people getting into relationships that they know from the beginning they can't handle with both the reader and them knowing they're going to cause a lot of pain.

I felt some empathy for Miles because of what he had been through. It was awful. No one should have to go through something like that. But no matter what we've been through in the past, it doesn't give us the right to treat the people in our lives cruelly. And I don't believe it's admirable or romantic for a woman to stay with someone because she believes in him or thinks he will change when his behavior borders on abusive.

Also, I think it's good when there's a moral to a story. Something the author wants the reader to learn from their story and there was in this novel. I don't think it's necessary to actually state the moral of the story though and spell it out for the reader. Have a little faith in your readers.

Now, the positives. I liked the actual writing style. I liked how concise it was and the impact that the shorter sentences made. I also really liked Cap - the previously mentioned eighty-year-old elevator button pusher - who Tate often confides in and makes good friends with. He's a very likable character and I enjoyed reading the parts that involved him. I also liked the consistent use of water as a descriptor throughout the novel and how it tied into the end of the story.

So, Goodreads says that two stars means that 'it was okay' and that's actually a very good description of how I felt about this book though I might have enjoyed it more if I didn't find their relationship so problematic or if I was a romance fan. It seems to have very good reviews on here so obviously fans of the genre thought it was doing something right. show less

These characters need therapy and A relationship with Jesus! 3.5 and well written though

Ugly Love is a rollercoaster of emotion, and Colleen Hoover definitely knows how to tug on the heartstrings. The writing is engaging, and the chemistry between Tate and Miles is intense. The alternating timelines give a deeper insight into Miles’ backstory, which is heartbreaking and adds depth to his character.

However, the book leans heavily into emotional trauma without offering much balance or growth for the characters, especially Tate. Her passivity and constant acceptance of Miles’ cold treatment made it hard to root for the relationship at times. The "friends with benefits" setup felt more damaging than romantic, and the ending wrapped show more things up a little too neatly given all the pain that preceded it.

Overall, it's a compelling read if you're into angsty, emotionally heavy romances, but it might leave you feeling a bit hollow rather than hopeful. show less

Four hours. That’s how long it took me to consume every word of “Ugly Love”. I poured out every emotion I think I’ve ever felt in my whole life into tears and my ugly crying face. Four hours that had me feeling like I’ve lived an entire lifetime in between the pages of that book. I met Tate and fell in love with her snarky personality and sarcasm. I followed along on Miles’ journey, begging to know his secrets. I begged him and begged him to share his life with us. I yearned to see a relationship form, for hearts NOT to get broken and for a happily ever after. However, it’s called “Ugly Love” for a reason. Sometimes love isn’t pretty and all sunshine and flowers. In fact, more often than not, it’s ugly. It’s also show more what we do with the ugly that matters. It has a certain beauty about it when you can show the ugly parts of who you are not only to the ones you love, but also to yourself. If you hide away the ugly, you’ll never be able to fix it. You’ll live forever in a state of denial and frustration. You owe it to yourself to be honest, to love and to communicate. You owe it to yourself to have an Ugly Love.

I leave you with this; go read “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover. Then I want you to analyze what might be ugly in your life. Think about it long and hard and then work on it. You owe it to yourself. show less

Actual Rating: 3.75/5
There ARE MAJOR SPOILERS throughout most of this review! Take heed.

Let me start out by saying that this was SO FUN to read! I had started and been in the process of reading three other books before this one, but I put those on hold for a couple days so I could keep reading "Ugly Love". I was just completely engaged and curious to see a) what happened between Miles and Tate, and b) what had happened in Mile's past. In my opinion, that's one of the strongest parts of the book: it's fun, it's different, and the urge to find out "What happens next??" is very prevalent, both with the secrets and the sex.
Another very notable aspect of "Ugly Love" is the array of emotions that saturate the novel. There are, of course, a show more plethora of "loving" moments: the sibling love between Tate and Corbin; the sexual love/desire between Tate and Miles; the brotherly love between Miles and Ian; the family love in both Tate and Miles' families; and the heartbreaking love between Rachel, Miles, and their lost baby. It was super interesting to look at all these kinds of love and see how each character suffered and grew through them. Hoover has done a great job of taking the audience through an exploration of what love means to different people. Then there are the funny moments (read: any scene Cap is in!), the tense emotions (Miles and Rachel telling their parents), and the shattering, rip-my-heart-out emotions (the car crash D: ). Hoover takes readers on a complete emotional rollercoaster in "Ugly Love".

These were the things I think Hoover could have worked on a bit more:
Throughout the whole book, Tate and Miles would be in a "happy" state for a bit, but almost immediately after, something would be brought up about Mile's past that would send their relationship into a headspin again. I felt like this constant back-and-forth was a bit tiresome, and the emotions from this just kept getting too angsty. These instances happened enough through the middle of the novel that I felt it was lagging a bit, or just getting a little repetitive.
In addition, I felt like I didn't get to KNOW the characters as deeply as I could have. Readers learn about Miles and Tate's jobs, schooling, and some family stuff, but it felt a bit superficial. I wanted to know more about them as people, and I feel like readers only get to know them through their sexual relationship and how they percieve each other.
Lastly (and I believe I said this about "Slammed", too), I really wish there was more creative imagery in Hoover's novels. Sometimes I feel like the characters are just floating around because the reader has been given little if none scene building or descriptions of areas, room, cities, or even just the people! I think that if there had been more imagery and description, this would have been a solid 4/5 for me.

I am a sucker for a happy ending, so the last couple chapters of the book (from Rachel and Miles finally meeting after 6 years, to Cap flying for the first time, and finally the proposal EEP!), really made my mushy gushy heart happy. I was worried Hoover would leave the ending too ambiguous, but she pulled through and wrapped it up nicely. show less