Review: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

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.

RATING: 5 STARS 

“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 .. wauw. I don't really know what I expected before I began reading. I expected heartbreak. I expected to love it, but not much more than that.

However, I got so much more than I expected. I got a beautiful, heartfelt and heartbreaking story of love at its worst but also at its best. It was truly beautiful and it touched something deep inside my soul. The book made my heart try to jump out of my chest because the feeling in my body was too overwhelming. I swear, I was even sweating at one point because my heart, body and mind had just been through the wringer.

She’s absolutely beautiful. Her hope is beautiful. The smile on her face is beautiful. The tears streaming down her cheeks are beautiful. Her love is beautiful.

The writing style was perfect as always. Colleen Hoover has quickly become one of my all-time favorite authors, because she is just magical with words and she has a way of telling stories where you truly connect with the characters and the story. I was so absorbed in this book that I didn't move from my 'reading spot' on the couch during the six hours it took me to read it. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't have bathroom breaks, I totally ignored my boyfriend, but it was all worth it.

Every time I’m with him, he fills my heart up more and more, and the more it’s filled with pieces of him, the more painful it’ll be when he rips it out of my chest as though it never belonged there in the first place.

The story was intense. The book switches between Tate's POV, which tells the story of her and Miles in the present, and Miles' POV, which tells the story of him and Rachel six years earlier. Both stories were heartfelt and heartbreaking. In the beginning I wasn't quite sure how I felt about Miles and Rachel's story, because I didn't get why we had to see everything. I didn't really care how he fell in love with her, because I wanted Miles to be with Tate. However, I quickly fell in love with Rachel too, I mean, how could I not like her. She was a nice girl, and she made Miles happy. I would actually love to read Miles and Rachel's full story, because it was so intense and I feel like there was so much more to it than what we got to see. In the beginning it is revealed that there is definitely something wrong with Miles and it has to do with Rachel, so it wasn't difficult to figure out that somewhere along the way, something went wrong with them, I just didn't know what it was .. and I wouldn't have guessed it in a million years. So when I read their story from Miles' POV, even the happy moments with Rachel were tinged with a bit a sadness because I knew it was going to go wrong. So when I read stuff like this:

”We’ve got this, Rachel.” She smiles in agreement. ”We’ve got this, Miles.” I give her mouth the appreciation it deserves. I’m gonna love you for seven months, Rachel.

.. It completely broke my heart. Even though it wasn't really sad. But I guess that's just a thing that Colleen does. She also makes you sad even when you are supposed to be happy, and she also makes you happy (and sad) when you are supposed to be sad. It's amazing.

It’s a race. It’s Miles and me against everything else. We’re racing our consciences, our pride, our respect, the truth. He’s trying to get inside me before any of the rest of that stuff catches up to us. As soon as he’s back on the bed, he’s over me, against me, then inside me. We win.

Miles and Tate's story was also really intense. Tate moves in with her brother and guess who lives right across the hall? Miles Archer! They can't seem to deny that they are attracted to each other, but Miles refuses to open his heart to love. So there can't ever be anything between them, but they can't fight their attraction, so they agree to have sex. Just sex. However, things quickly become a big mess when Tate realizes that she hopes for more, but Miles will never be able to give her more.

“I’m attracted to you, Tate,” he says, his voice low. “I want you, but I want you without any if the other stuff.” I have no thoughts left. Brain = Liquid. Heart = Butter. I can still sigh, though, so I do.

I liked Tate a lot. She was really relatable. I had read some reviews where people thought she had no backbone because she practically lets Miles walk all over her heart, and she makes excuses for him while doing so. So I was kind of expecting that I wouldn't like her, but of course, I underestimated the Hoover power, and I ended up loving Tate. I completely understood her choices. She is only human afterall. She saw something in Miles that she wanted, and she was very attracted to him, so of course it's difficult for her to stay away, even when she knew their 'relationship' would end badly. Miles is officially my new favorite book boyfriend. He has such a big heart, and he is such a good guy, and he has been through so much. I still feel really bad for him. Poor guy. What Miles experienced with Rachel all those years ago has shaped how he turned out to be six years later. He is closed off and refuses to let people into his heart, because he has convinced himself that the good part of love isn't worth the bad part that inevitably follows. His story made me cry both ugly and happy tears.

He places a palm against my cheek and he presses his lips to my ear. We’re both crying harder now, and I can see that I’m more than this to him. I know I am. I feel how much he wants to love me, but whatever is stopping him is more than I’m able to conquer.

I have highlighted so many quotes, because I loved every single word. Ugly Love has become my favorite book - not one of my favorites, but my favorite. I didn't think it was possible to outdo 'Forbidden' by Tabitha Suzuma, which has been my favorite book for years, but now it has happened. I love this book so much. I loved the relatable and lovable characters, I loved the intense plot, in general I loved all the intensity and all the emotions. I have felt so many different emotions while reading, and this is why I love Colleen's books. They make me feel so much all at once. I also love that she is able to write in subtle life lessons for us without them being moralizing. Her books always make me think about life and love, and that's an amazing quality. Her books entertain, but they also teach you stuff about life and yourself. I would highly recommend the book to everybody!

"If I were capable of loving someone… it would be you.”