Have you ever witnessed something in life that just had you stuck? Like watching a train go merrily down the tracks until CRASH, it hits something and flies off track? Or maybe like watching a building become engulfed in flames. The fire is blazing, smoke and ashes fill the air, but yet you stand there intrigued to see more. You know there's an explosion ahead, so you wait with your hands covering your eyes, peaking through your fingers, until BOOM! Everything is scattered, everything is crashing down, and you're standing there like " what in the hell just happened?"
No? Well me either, but that's exactly what my reading experience with Ugly Love felt like.
Ugly Love | Colleen Hoover
Pages: 337
Genre(s): New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Published: Aug 5, 2014 | Atria Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Get It Here | Goodreads
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so 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.
Hey fANGIRL readers,
Back in August, I came up with a brillant idea to host a buddy read. I had just purchased some new books, and wanted to share my reading experience for two of the ebook copies I obtained. The two books I made available for other bloggers to choose from were, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover and Random by Tom Leveen. If you're reading this review then I'm pretty sure you know which book was chosen. So, I set a couple of ground rules:
Must be ready to dive in by such and such date.
Must reside in the States or Canada.
Yea those rules definitely went out the window.
What started off as a buddy read, turned into a read along with 3 other bloggers. Jennie- from the UK, Mallory- from the States like myself, and Blessie- from the Philippines. I know exactly what you're thinking, and you know what? I'm glad I decided to change my mind about doing this buddy read with just bloggers in the States. I've met some amazing bloggers outside of my country, especially Jennie and Blessie, and this read along definitely bought us closer together.
Okay now moving on to why you're actually here.
Ugly Love is an interesting novel that follows our two main characters, Tate Collins and Miles Archer. The story is actually told in alternating chapters, Tate's being the present day, and Miles, being told from his younger self 6 years ago. His POV does move up to date, but only towards the end. There's alot going on with these two, so let's get the ball rolling shall we? Ladies first?
We begin the story with the lovely Tate, an RN who's moving in with her older brother, to save up money for her own apartment while she's in school. On her actual move in day, she encounters some rather interesting characters. First we meet Cap, the 80 year old man who monitors the elevator within the high rise building, Dillion some creep that makes a couple of appearances within the story, and Miles, another creep who she finds passed out drunk, leaning against her brother's apartment door. Yep, day one was pretty eventful. It turns out that Miles is actually a good friend of her brother Corbin that resides across the hall, and as a favor for him, she helps creeper Miles through his drunken episode. This is where the story eventually takes off.
We begin the story with the lovely Tate, an RN who's moving in with her older brother, to save up money for her own apartment while she's in school. On her actual move in day, she encounters some rather interesting characters. First we meet Cap, the 80 year old man who monitors the elevator within the high rise building, Dillion some creep that makes a couple of appearances within the story, and Miles, another creep who she finds passed out drunk, leaning against her brother's apartment door. Yep, day one was pretty eventful. It turns out that Miles is actually a good friend of her brother Corbin that resides across the hall, and as a favor for him, she helps creeper Miles through his drunken episode. This is where the story eventually takes off.
In the beginning I remember not really caring for Tate too much. It was something about her that just threw me off, and since I couldn't pin point a legitimate reason, I just sucked it up and hoped that she would grow on me, and she did indeed. Tate reminded me of what having a little sister would be like. A little annoying, and a Whole lot of frustrating. I eventually grew to like her and even though I had a hard time agreeing with some of her decisions, I still believe her character was relatable for both young and older women.
Now Miles. Oh Miles. Where the hell do I even begin with you?
See, the thing about doing these spoiler-free reviews, is that you can't elaborate on certain things. I don't want to spoil anyone, so I don't want to go into great detail about Miles's character. As I stated before in this here "confession," for about 95% of the story, his POV is told 6 years ago, when he was 18. As you dive deeper into the story, and bounce between the past and present, you begin to understand the reasoning behind Mile's actions when it comes to Tate. To say this guy has issues is an understatement. His head is all types of screwed, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why Tate put herself through such embarrassment, in situations that caused her so much stress. Well, I do but . . . look is complicated. Very, Very, complicated.
One of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much is that it reminded me of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. If you've been following my blog for the past two months, then you know this is one of my all-time favorite books. I wouldn't say I could compare the writing, because let's admit it, Forbidden's story is so beautiful, so poetic. But, what they do share in comparison, is the intensity the words deliver. Yall this book . . . . is so painful to read at certain moments. I can't tell you how often I wanted to cry for Tate. How often I wanted to give her the biggest hug and tell her everything was going to be okay.
" I let him use me to get rid of his pain."
I also can't tell how often I wanted to kick Miles's ass. To shake him, yell at him, curse him out, cry and beg for him to tell me what happened, to tell me where everything went wrong. It was an emotional rollercoaster I clearly wasn't prepared to ride.
" I grab her face and she grabs my arms, and our guilt collides when our mouths collide. We lie to ourselves about the truth. We tell ourselves we've got this... when we don't have it at all "
Out of all the books I've read so far this year, Ugly Love has one of the best plot twists, and set of characters. Reading UL was like shaking up a soda bottle in every chapter, and with every twist, you unscrew the top to witness the soda explode, leaving a complete mess behind.
I still haven't recovered from chapter 32, or 34, 35, 36, 37, I haven't recovered at all ! * Insert crying face emoji here*
But on a lighter note, the characters were such a pleasure to read. I absolutely loved Corbin, Tate's older brother, and Cap the apartment building's . . . attendant? (What was Cap's job description again? lol) I definitely could relate to Corbin's and Tate's relationship. He was soo overprotective over her, which was exactly how my brother was when I was younger. He wouldn't let me talk to any boys and vice versa, and if he felt like one his friends were trying to make a move, he would beat them up and disown them. Harsh I know lol. Even when I reached an appropriate dating age for my parents, he still didn't accept any of my baes. This is exactly how it was for Tate, and even though it seemed like he was being a bit dramatic at times, I still knew from experience that he only had her best interest in heart. Now Cap was so adorable and hilarious. I loved reading his dialogue because it felt like a breath of fresh air. It was the break I needed from all the crying, from all those intense and awkward moments. I liked how he was open and honest with Tate about her relationship with Miles. He gave her advice, but was also a listening ear for her to vent, he was even her shoulder to cry on when things began to be too much to handle in her relationship. I would befriend Cap any day, even if he was 80 years old lol.
" Cap turns away from me and begins shuffling in the direction of the lobby bathrooms. " I think I just pissed on myself."
I could NOT stop laughing at that !
" Sometimes a man's spirit just aint strong enough to withstand the ghost from his past . . . Maybe that boy just lost his spirit somewhere along the way. "
You ain't lying Cap !
I must begin wrapping this up because it's already the length of a college essay, but I just have so much to say. Ugly Love is just one of those books that break you, and believe me readers you will be broken. I remember telling myself that towards the middle of the book, I was going to rate this 4 stars. I hadn't connected with the characters just yet, I didn't understand why Miles was being such an ass, and I didn't understand why Tate was being so naive, so easy to be controlled. But then shit hit the fan and I was left in a million and one pieces, with nobody to sweep me up and put me back together again. I cried. Not as hard as I did while reading Forbidden, but I still cried. From chapter 32 to 37, I found myself tearing up in every chapter, unable to stop, unable to control what was happening. It was horrible! How dare Colleen do that to me after knowing how much of an emotional baby I am after having my child. She knew what she was doing. She wanted us to cry. She wanted us to curse out the characters in frustration. She wanted us to throw our books or e-readers across the room when shit got real.
And guess what people? She succeeded.
Till Next Time,
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Now Miles. Oh Miles. Where the hell do I even begin with you?
See, the thing about doing these spoiler-free reviews, is that you can't elaborate on certain things. I don't want to spoil anyone, so I don't want to go into great detail about Miles's character. As I stated before in this here "confession," for about 95% of the story, his POV is told 6 years ago, when he was 18. As you dive deeper into the story, and bounce between the past and present, you begin to understand the reasoning behind Mile's actions when it comes to Tate. To say this guy has issues is an understatement. His head is all types of screwed, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why Tate put herself through such embarrassment, in situations that caused her so much stress. Well, I do but . . . look is complicated. Very, Very, complicated.
One of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much is that it reminded me of Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. If you've been following my blog for the past two months, then you know this is one of my all-time favorite books. I wouldn't say I could compare the writing, because let's admit it, Forbidden's story is so beautiful, so poetic. But, what they do share in comparison, is the intensity the words deliver. Yall this book . . . . is so painful to read at certain moments. I can't tell you how often I wanted to cry for Tate. How often I wanted to give her the biggest hug and tell her everything was going to be okay.
" I let him use me to get rid of his pain."
I also can't tell how often I wanted to kick Miles's ass. To shake him, yell at him, curse him out, cry and beg for him to tell me what happened, to tell me where everything went wrong. It was an emotional rollercoaster I clearly wasn't prepared to ride.
" I grab her face and she grabs my arms, and our guilt collides when our mouths collide. We lie to ourselves about the truth. We tell ourselves we've got this... when we don't have it at all "
Out of all the books I've read so far this year, Ugly Love has one of the best plot twists, and set of characters. Reading UL was like shaking up a soda bottle in every chapter, and with every twist, you unscrew the top to witness the soda explode, leaving a complete mess behind.
I still haven't recovered from chapter 32, or 34, 35, 36, 37, I haven't recovered at all ! * Insert crying face emoji here*
But on a lighter note, the characters were such a pleasure to read. I absolutely loved Corbin, Tate's older brother, and Cap the apartment building's . . . attendant? (What was Cap's job description again? lol) I definitely could relate to Corbin's and Tate's relationship. He was soo overprotective over her, which was exactly how my brother was when I was younger. He wouldn't let me talk to any boys and vice versa, and if he felt like one his friends were trying to make a move, he would beat them up and disown them. Harsh I know lol. Even when I reached an appropriate dating age for my parents, he still didn't accept any of my baes. This is exactly how it was for Tate, and even though it seemed like he was being a bit dramatic at times, I still knew from experience that he only had her best interest in heart. Now Cap was so adorable and hilarious. I loved reading his dialogue because it felt like a breath of fresh air. It was the break I needed from all the crying, from all those intense and awkward moments. I liked how he was open and honest with Tate about her relationship with Miles. He gave her advice, but was also a listening ear for her to vent, he was even her shoulder to cry on when things began to be too much to handle in her relationship. I would befriend Cap any day, even if he was 80 years old lol.
" Cap turns away from me and begins shuffling in the direction of the lobby bathrooms. " I think I just pissed on myself."
I could NOT stop laughing at that !
" Sometimes a man's spirit just aint strong enough to withstand the ghost from his past . . . Maybe that boy just lost his spirit somewhere along the way. "
You ain't lying Cap !
I must begin wrapping this up because it's already the length of a college essay, but I just have so much to say. Ugly Love is just one of those books that break you, and believe me readers you will be broken. I remember telling myself that towards the middle of the book, I was going to rate this 4 stars. I hadn't connected with the characters just yet, I didn't understand why Miles was being such an ass, and I didn't understand why Tate was being so naive, so easy to be controlled. But then shit hit the fan and I was left in a million and one pieces, with nobody to sweep me up and put me back together again. I cried. Not as hard as I did while reading Forbidden, but I still cried. From chapter 32 to 37, I found myself tearing up in every chapter, unable to stop, unable to control what was happening. It was horrible! How dare Colleen do that to me after knowing how much of an emotional baby I am after having my child. She knew what she was doing. She wanted us to cry. She wanted us to curse out the characters in frustration. She wanted us to throw our books or e-readers across the room when shit got real.
And guess what people? She succeeded.
Till Next Time,
I AM SO IN LOVE WITH THIS REVIEW, LIKE EVERYTHING IS ON POINT AND GAHHHH--- And not a single spoiler! Girl, this is definitely my favorite review of yours. (Not being biased because I'm featured in this review too) but this review is totally fantastic. Keep it up girl! ;D
ReplyDeleteOHMYGOODNESS, thank you Blessie, I definitely appreciate that! You of all people know how stressful this review was. Like how do I talk about it when I can't give anything away ?! It took 2 days, but I'm sooo proud of the outcome. I'm heading over to read your review now!
DeleteThis is an amzingggggg review Tika! Your blog is on point! ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jennie, that means alot!
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