Blog Tour and Reviews: Ugly Love: Colleen Hoover
UGLY LOVE
Colleen Hoover
Release Date August 5, 2014
#1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with a new heart-wrenching love story.
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's 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.
Ugly Love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren't even worth it. Without the beautiful, you'll never risk feeling this. You'll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it up. You give it all up. You never want to love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.
Every time I open a Colleen Hoover book, I expect to be touched, surprised, and many times ruined. It almost intimidates me and makes me afraid to start them since I know I am going to be overwhelmed in some way. This was no exception. The writing was perfection, lyrical, and poetic. The story sucked me in, had me totally invested, kept me wondering, and pulled out every emotion. Yes, she did it again....and in a totally different and unique way than anything she has written before.
Everyone should experience Ugly Love in his or her own way; therefore, I’m not going to talk about the plot or the characters. Just the feelings this story evoked.
Miles and Tate are an intriguing, complex set of characters. On the surface, their relationship appears to be very one-dimensional. Everything is very straightforward as these two decide not to fight their intense attraction—or so it seems. Miles wants Tate, there’s no doubt about that, but what he wants is sex and only sex. There is no room for personal in their encounters. And Tate, well Tate, just wants Miles, so she is willing to accept him any way she can get him.
“Don’t ask about my past. And never expect a future.”
At first glance, Ugly Love doesn’t feel very angsty, and the more I settled down into Miles and Tate’s story the more I thought this definitely doesn't feel like Colleen's normal style. Page by page, I became more and more intrigued as I allowed myself to believe this was going down the road of a nice light angst filled read. Um, yeah Tammy, this is Colleen Hoover, not sure why I ever thought this would be anywhere close to a painless read. Anywho, there I was going along my way, addicted nonetheless, when Colleen hit me hard with that holy hell wreck me moment. I mean, I knew from Mile's POV that she was building up to something important, but I was NOT expecting that. NEVER in a million years had I expected where she took this couple.
Ugly Love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren't even worth it. Without the beautiful, you'll never risk feeling this. You'll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it up. You give it all up. You never want to love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.
Once the puzzle pieces all began to click together regarding Miles' heart-wrenching moment of truth it all began to make sense. Colleen was building us up for that lethal INSTANT where she rips you into a million pieces. This author's stories are always about impact and the past Miles' carries around is no exception to the rule. Colleen Hoover wanted us to live the same aching, devastating carnage as the hero. HUGE kudos to Ms. Hoover, at 2:00 this morning, she did exactly that, flawlessly. My heart was completely and utterly shattered. My mind was completely and utterly shattered. I could barely breathe through the pain I felt radiating so effortlessly through Miles and myself. I was choking back the overwhelming tears threatening to spill in order not to wake my family. Within just a few chapters, Colleen Hoover managed to annihilate me while piecing me back together excruciatingly slow.
Ugly Love is Colleen Hoover at her best!
As always, Ms. Hoover provides us with imperfectly perfection written in such a unique way that you cannot help but become addicted. It is no secret; I have said it in past reviews, I am a Colleen Hoover whore. When it comes to this author, I buy anything stamped CoHo. She is one of the very few authors I will walk into blind. I do not need a blurb to know I will fall head over heels in love with anything she produces. Ms. Hoover you have made a fan for life. After eight books, I have come to the realization that I would read the phone book if it had your name on it. You may very well be my absolute favorite author.
Thank you, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy of Ugly Love.
Ugly Love is beautiful. Or not. But man. After yet another book I’ve read and loved, I’m beginning to think Colleen Hoover could write a grocery list and I’d be moved by it. She is hands down one of my favorite authors.
I thought I wasn’t as emotionally connected to this story, because I hadn’t shed any tears (which for me, is big -- I’m a very emotional reader) but this one snuck up on me. It was reading like any other story about a couple who decide to enter a physical relationship without strings or emotions. But then out of no where (ok, not nowhere...there were definite hints it was coming) it became clear just how invested I was in Miles and Tate.
Tate was the kind of leading lady who settled herself into thinking she can have and do it all. A full time student, part time nurse, and living with her brother seemed like all she could handle.
Miles is so emotionally closed off that he had me in knots early on. He wasn’t angry or hostile, but it was clear that he was blocking something huge from his past. As bits of his past come to light through flashback chapters, the enormity of what he is avoiding becomes clear.
When Tate and Miles begin sleeping together, Miles sets two rules for their relationship. No talk of the past, and no talk of a future. He is not able to give Tate either, and doesn’t want to even discuss the possibility.
As the story unfolded, I was so torn. Either I stopped reading for the night, or I kept going and wouldn’t be able to put it down. I also figured at some point Colleen would have me in tears and it would be a late, late night. I ended up not putting the book down when it would have been prudent and reading until late into the night. But man, was it ever worth it. I reached a point about three quarters of the way through where I was afraid to keep reading because the writing was on the wall.
And reaching that emotional wall was absolutely worth it. Both for me as a reader, and Miles as a character. Who knew he had so much to deal with?
Once again, Colleen Hoover has put out a book that has real characters, high intensity emotion, and natural development. As I began to predict exactly what had ruined Miles’s happiness (and I was close, but not exactly right) it became clear that of the characters she has written, Miles and Tate had perhaps the biggest obstacles to overcome to find their beautiful moments. And that’s saying a lot when you consider the characters she’s written.
It’s all worth it. It’s the beautiful moments like these that make up for the ugly love.
Thank you, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy of Ugly Love.
UGLY LOVE by Colleen Hoover
Atria Books | 336 pages | Paperback | ISBN 9781476753188 | eBook ISBN: ISBN 9781476753195 | August 5, 2014
Ugly Love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren't even worth it. Without the beautiful, you'll never risk feeling this. You'll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it up. You give it all up. You never want to love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again. Every time I open a Colleen Hoover book, I expect to be touched, surprised, and many times ruined. It almost intimidates me and makes me afraid to start them since I know I am going to be overwhelmed in some way. This was no exception. The writing was perfection, lyrical, and poetic. The story sucked me in, had me totally invested, kept me wondering, and pulled out every emotion. Yes, she did it again....and in a totally different and unique way than anything she has written before.
Tate Collins is starting a new life as she moves to San Francisco for school to advance her nursing career. She is going to stay with her brother, Corbin during the transition. Upon arrival, she literally cannot miss the presence of Miles Archer, who is passed out just outside of her brother's door. She soon sees that this man is harboring pain that he cannot hide while he is drunk. Not the best first impression. In the new light of day, Miles is quiet, guarded, and stoic. He is her brother's good friend and fellow pilot.
I have no idea what's going through his head. He never smiles. He never laughs. He doesn't flirt. His face appears as if he keeps a constant veil of armor between his expressions and the rest of the world.
But as they are around each other more, an attraction begins to boil under the surface. And they both think they are strong enough to pursue the physical without complications. She is busy and career oriented. He has vowed to never fall in love again. There only two rules are: Don't ask about his past and never expect a future. Simple, right? Not so much.
"I just don't want to like you. I don't want to like anyone. I don't want to date anyone, I don't want to love anyone..."
Their chemistry is volatile, their passion consuming, they can't keep each other off their minds even during separations, and they even like being around each other. But Miles is going to fight anything more with everything he has. He never wants to be hurt again so has strong walls built around his heart.
They are complicated not only by his past, fears and avoidance. But also by the fact they are keeping it a secret from her overprotective big brother that adds a forbidden aspect to the whole situation.
They struggle, contradict themselves, hide their true feelings, and avoid reality just to have moments together. It's not supposed to be something real or more. He can't and won't let it be. His past demons have such a hold on him that he can't move on unless he can let go. But after six years of pain, guilt, loss, and heartbreak is that even possible?
It's as if the pieces of the guy he used to be bleed over the guy he's trying to be.
Miles was such a complex character, he was really like two different people in his past and present. My heart ached for him. Like Tate, I could see him wanting to break free, but trapped and unable to do so. His non spoken communication held such weight and showed things he could not admit to himself or her. His body and heart gravitated towards her, but he felt the need to push away and protect them both. I hurt when he cried. And just the fact that such a strong male character cried and felt such desolation just ripped my heart out. I just wanted to soothe him. But every grin, smile, or small moment of happiness he exhibited began to heal it. And I wanted nothing else but to see him finally crack open, spill his secrets, purge his pain, and begin to move forward.
"If I was capable of loving someone... it would be you."
Tate was a really strong female character. She knew she was continuously walking a dangerous line between enjoyment and heartbreak. She tried so hard to be what he needed while also not losing herself, but she had such a kind and giving heart that it was impossible not to fall for the broken boy. She stood by him at times he did not really deserve it, pushed him when she could, and accepted his flaws and ghosts.
I knew. She was either going to be the death of me...or she was going to be the one who finally brought me back to life. The only problem I had with that was the fact that I didn't want to be brought back to life. I was comfortable.
There is a love story within the love story that was both beautiful and heartbreaking. It was a story of an optimistic loving young man who was gutted and vowed to never put himself in a position to love and lose again. It was painful, intriguing, and gut wrenching. Miles in the present was so closed off emotionally and mysterious, and it took a long time for us and Tate to learn his full story. And then there is the present love story of second chances, finding hope, healing, and learning to live again.
"...God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted."
This book was written in such a beautiful, engaging way that it times it was literally poetic from the phrasing to the way the words were displayed on the page. It was told in Tate's point of view in the present and every other chapter in Mile's voice as we gradually learn about his past 6 years before. Miles in the present is such a broken man. But we also see a younger, sweeter, devoted, in love Miles at eighteen. So we see two love stories building past and present with men who seem totally different. And we know at some point they will converge and it will be something that changes everything. It builds up this layer of mystery of what happened to turn him into this damaged, scared man. And then we finally get into Mile's head in the present for the last twenty percent of the book. I was so ready for that!
This story sucked me in, held me captive, and I could not put it down. I stayed up way too late reading it then went to bed still thinking about it and had a book hangover for a couple of days after it.
I enjoyed some of the side characters. Cap was one of the most unique, sweet and salty side characters I have ever read. I loved his wisdom, humor, and straight forwardness. I really liked her older brother, Corbin and his best friend, Ian. I would actually like to see them get their own stories. Young, personable, hot pilots? Sounds good.
This was yet another amazing, poignant, heartfelt, hopeful read from Colleen Hover with complicated characters, an intriguing unique story line riddled with mysteries that packed a serious emotional impact. I felt so much of everything: pain, frustration, sadness, anger, devastation, fear, trepidation, tension, love, friendship, hope, forgiveness, and happiness all at various times. It broke me, put me back together, and made me believe in the beautiful things in life overcoming the ugly. She always manages to coin some phrases that hold such meaning and leave you in awe. The whole idea of ugly love itself is a theme that runs deep and makes perfect sense in the story. And there is another short phrase (that I do not want to quote here since it could be considered a spoiler perhaps) but it involves falling in love. Brilliant. And she gives us the most touching, breathtaking epilogue that left me both smiling and in tears at the same time. Despite the fact that I have loved every Colleen Hoover book that I have read, I have to say that this one surpassed it. I could not find fault with anything. It was perfection and worth more than 5 stars and becomes one of my very fave reads of 2014.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from advanced reader copy and subject to change in the final draft.
My mind is still reeling...
Everyone should experience Ugly Love in his or her own way; therefore, I’m not going to talk about the plot or the characters. Just the feelings this story evoked.
Miles and Tate are an intriguing, complex set of characters. On the surface, their relationship appears to be very one-dimensional. Everything is very straightforward as these two decide not to fight their intense attraction—or so it seems. Miles wants Tate, there’s no doubt about that, but what he wants is sex and only sex. There is no room for personal in their encounters. And Tate, well Tate, just wants Miles, so she is willing to accept him any way she can get him.
“Don’t ask about my past. And never expect a future.”
At first glance, Ugly Love doesn’t feel very angsty, and the more I settled down into Miles and Tate’s story the more I thought this definitely doesn't feel like Colleen's normal style. Page by page, I became more and more intrigued as I allowed myself to believe this was going down the road of a nice light angst filled read. Um, yeah Tammy, this is Colleen Hoover, not sure why I ever thought this would be anywhere close to a painless read. Anywho, there I was going along my way, addicted nonetheless, when Colleen hit me hard with that holy hell wreck me moment. I mean, I knew from Mile's POV that she was building up to something important, but I was NOT expecting that. NEVER in a million years had I expected where she took this couple.
Ugly Love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren't even worth it. Without the beautiful, you'll never risk feeling this. You'll never risk feeling the ugly. So you give it up. You give it all up. You never want to love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.
Once the puzzle pieces all began to click together regarding Miles' heart-wrenching moment of truth it all began to make sense. Colleen was building us up for that lethal INSTANT where she rips you into a million pieces. This author's stories are always about impact and the past Miles' carries around is no exception to the rule. Colleen Hoover wanted us to live the same aching, devastating carnage as the hero. HUGE kudos to Ms. Hoover, at 2:00 this morning, she did exactly that, flawlessly. My heart was completely and utterly shattered. My mind was completely and utterly shattered. I could barely breathe through the pain I felt radiating so effortlessly through Miles and myself. I was choking back the overwhelming tears threatening to spill in order not to wake my family. Within just a few chapters, Colleen Hoover managed to annihilate me while piecing me back together excruciatingly slow.
Ugly Love is Colleen Hoover at her best!
As always, Ms. Hoover provides us with imperfectly perfection written in such a unique way that you cannot help but become addicted. It is no secret; I have said it in past reviews, I am a Colleen Hoover whore. When it comes to this author, I buy anything stamped CoHo. She is one of the very few authors I will walk into blind. I do not need a blurb to know I will fall head over heels in love with anything she produces. Ms. Hoover you have made a fan for life. After eight books, I have come to the realization that I would read the phone book if it had your name on it. You may very well be my absolute favorite author.
Thank you, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy of Ugly Love.
I thought I wasn’t as emotionally connected to this story, because I hadn’t shed any tears (which for me, is big -- I’m a very emotional reader) but this one snuck up on me. It was reading like any other story about a couple who decide to enter a physical relationship without strings or emotions. But then out of no where (ok, not nowhere...there were definite hints it was coming) it became clear just how invested I was in Miles and Tate.
Tate was the kind of leading lady who settled herself into thinking she can have and do it all. A full time student, part time nurse, and living with her brother seemed like all she could handle.
Miles is so emotionally closed off that he had me in knots early on. He wasn’t angry or hostile, but it was clear that he was blocking something huge from his past. As bits of his past come to light through flashback chapters, the enormity of what he is avoiding becomes clear.
When Tate and Miles begin sleeping together, Miles sets two rules for their relationship. No talk of the past, and no talk of a future. He is not able to give Tate either, and doesn’t want to even discuss the possibility.
As the story unfolded, I was so torn. Either I stopped reading for the night, or I kept going and wouldn’t be able to put it down. I also figured at some point Colleen would have me in tears and it would be a late, late night. I ended up not putting the book down when it would have been prudent and reading until late into the night. But man, was it ever worth it. I reached a point about three quarters of the way through where I was afraid to keep reading because the writing was on the wall.
And reaching that emotional wall was absolutely worth it. Both for me as a reader, and Miles as a character. Who knew he had so much to deal with?
Once again, Colleen Hoover has put out a book that has real characters, high intensity emotion, and natural development. As I began to predict exactly what had ruined Miles’s happiness (and I was close, but not exactly right) it became clear that of the characters she has written, Miles and Tate had perhaps the biggest obstacles to overcome to find their beautiful moments. And that’s saying a lot when you consider the characters she’s written.
It’s all worth it. It’s the beautiful moments like these that make up for the ugly love.
Thank you, Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for a complimentary copy of Ugly Love.
Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Maybe Someday, and Finding Cinderella. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Please visit ColleenHoover.com.
0 comments