Ugly Love

by Colleen Hoover

[lizarodz]

More like 4.5 stars.

Given my track record with Coleen Hoover’s books, I was expecting to enjoy Ugly Love more than I did. It’s not that I didn’t like it, not at all, but some things in the book bothered me and didn’t allow me to give it the five stared reviewed that I wished for.

To start with, the story is told from the first person by both current-day Tate and 18-year-old Miles. So we are constantly going from the present to the past. The present story is one of an unfeeling Miles that falls in lust with Tate. It just made me wonder what could have happened to make such a joyous, positive, loving and funny Miles turned into such a different person. I kept wishing I could speed the audiobook to the ending, just so I could figure him out.

Tate temporally moves to her brother’s apartment, while she finds a new job and goes to graduate school. Miles is a fellow pilot and lives right across the hall from them. They are attracted to each other and they agree to have a purely physical relationship. Here is where I couldn’t figure out why Tate would agree to such a thing. It was obvious from the beginning that she wasn’t confident that she could keep their “relationship” only physical without any feelings being involved (see the statement below.) I know that Tate knows what she’s doing, but it just rubbed be the wrong way that she kept putting up with Miles. Other than that, I really liked Tate.

“I’m terrified to lose him for good, so I sell myself short and take what I can from him, even though I know I deserve better.”

Miles was a conundrum to me. While I understand why he became so hardened, it was just inexcusable to me the way that he kept treating Tate. He’s successful, handsome, a good friend, BUT he’s also rude, closed up, unbending, and sometimes even cruel. I’m not sure what would happen to me if I were on his shoes, but I would like to believe that it wouldn’t take me that long to get over 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.”

Rachel is Miles girlfriend when he was younger and part of the reason of his self-induced pain, but a lot of it Miles creating himself by now facing what happened. I love Cap! He was such a wise old man and a true friend to both Miles and Tate.

“God gives us the ugliness so we don’t take the beautiful things in life for granted.”

Hoover’s writing is flawless. It’s always a thing of beauty, full of simile, insight, intensity, and felling. The story is contemporary and the plot itself is masterfully executed to keep the reader at the edge of his/her seat trying to figure out what on earth happened to Miles and what will happen to Tate and Miles. Another thing is there is hardly any dialogue in the book. Miles is brooding and closed off and it felt like Tate had to force him to speak. I mean, they don’t even text each other! It is hard to know someone when you don’t talk. I loved the end of the story, where we get a chapter from present Miles POV.

Overall, Ugly Love is a must read for Hoover’s fans (and I’m rapidly becoming one), a powerful read of the ugly and the beautiful parts of love.

About the audiobook – A really good one. I enjoyed both Grace Grant and Deacon Lee’s performances. The voices were distinctive from each other, and the feelings where easy to discern.