sierrabedwell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I thought this book was better than the ones I have read recently. I liked the mix of character personalities and the switch from past to present as you learn more about Miles’ past. This book kind of reminded me of “It Ends with Us” in a way. The cheesy inside jokes between the two characters, and the sad side-plot. I definitely predicted what happened to Miles’ but I liked the ending. It was cheesy, but still was good enough to hold my attention and make me finish 200 pages in a day. Not 5 stars, but still good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, and Grief
lazybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, and Infidelity
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
littleacorn10's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
SPOILER REVIEW:
First Colleen Hoover book. Figured it was time to see what all the hype was about. I certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.
Although the writing itself, minus the explicit content, could be considered YA in dialect and style, I didn’t find myself too distracted by it. I was invested in the story, not the writing.
The switching POVs was enjoyable and kept the plot moving at a good pace as it allowed for time gaps between chapters. I also enjoyed the prose inspired chapters. Some might say it was a tad overdone, but I liked it because it got to the *point* of those moment. It told us exactly what we needed to know without buffering it with unnecessary details.
Finally, I did like the message of the book That part resonated for me and will certainly stick with me.
All in all, I enjoyed my day binge-reading this book. Maybe I will pick up another Hoover book sometime in the future.
First Colleen Hoover book. Figured it was time to see what all the hype was about. I certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.
Although the writing itself, minus the explicit content, could be considered YA in dialect and style, I didn’t find myself too distracted by it. I was invested in the story, not the writing.
The switching POVs was enjoyable and kept the plot moving at a good pace as it allowed for time gaps between chapters. I also enjoyed the prose inspired chapters. Some might say it was a tad overdone, but I liked it because it got to the *point* of those moment. It told us exactly what we needed to know without buffering it with unnecessary details.
Spoiler
The happy ending was a tad corny, but I wouldn’t have liked a non-happy ending. I just personally didn’t think we had to see the proposal or any of that, it could have been open ended.Finally, I did like the message of the book
Spoiler
that love is worth the pain.All in all, I enjoyed my day binge-reading this book. Maybe I will pick up another Hoover book sometime in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Car accident, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion, Cancer, and Alcohol
avie_j's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
For all the "I can change him" girlies. No you can't, this isn't realistic. You deserve better.
Tate was a complete and utter door-mat.
Tate was a complete and utter door-mat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Incest, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Child death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
kaitaylorsversion's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Car accident
Moderate: Incest, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol and Homophobia
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The only word to describe Ugly Love is captivating. I waited more than five months for my turn to borrow a digital copy via @libby.app and I completely understand now why the wait list was so long. Following along with Tate and Miles no-strings-attached relationship is steamy and fun, but as we know, no-strings relationships always have invisible threads that tug at the hearts of those involved. I loved reading about Tate and Miles’ time together, but the history is devastating. Although I won’t say much too avoid spoilers, I also love the reoccurring symbolism of fluidity; just as water changes, so do we as people. Ugly Love is a story of love, growth, and heartbreak.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Child death, and Alcohol
literallysam's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The dialogues and writing style felt so juvenile and forced- It was like a fan fiction or a Wattpad story. It's like a heightened teen infatuation story involving adult characters who behave absolutely immature for the most part except when they're having segs.
What Tate and Miles had was solely based on quick hookups and nothing substantial enough to even come close to legitimate feelings of love. The only kind of chemistry they seem to have is lust.
I didn't like how Rachel's character just took away Miles’s focus on Tate. It would've been nice to know more about Miles's feelings for Tate.
Tate was head over heels for a guy she had just met. I didn't like how Miles wouldn't even admit that he likes her and it made me so angry at times. I get the whole no strings attached thing but I just don't get why Tate was still with him. She had great potential to be a feminist icon and stand up to someone who's clearly using her but her self-respect was crushed so many times.
Also the kind of trauma and depression that Miles was going through was massive and all he needed was therapy and anyone could see that but the craziest part is that Tate, who is a registered nurse, couldn't see that.-
My only favourite character in the book was Cap. The ending was the only part that I liked in the entire book where miles's past was revealed. That was really heartbreaking and I found myself sympathising for him. I also liked it when Miles's poetic self came back to life in the end.
You can go for it if you want but overall I would describe this book as not worth the hype.
However, I will give Colleen Hoover the benefit of the doubt and will definitely read her other novels!
What Tate and Miles had was solely based on quick hookups and nothing substantial enough to even come close to legitimate feelings of love. The only kind of chemistry they seem to have is lust.
I didn't like how Rachel's character just took away Miles’s focus on Tate. It would've been nice to know more about Miles's feelings for Tate.
Tate was head over heels for a guy she had just met. I didn't like how Miles wouldn't even admit that he likes her and it made me so angry at times. I get the whole no strings attached thing but I just don't get why Tate was still with him. She had great potential to be a feminist icon and stand up to someone who's clearly using her but her self-respect was crushed so many times.
Also the kind of trauma and depression that Miles was going through was massive and all he needed was therapy and anyone could see that but the craziest part is that Tate, who is a registered nurse, couldn't see that.-
My only favourite character in the book was Cap. The ending was the only part that I liked in the entire book where miles's past was revealed. That was really heartbreaking and I found myself sympathising for him. I also liked it when Miles's poetic self came back to life in the end.
You can go for it if you want but overall I would describe this book as not worth the hype.
However, I will give Colleen Hoover the benefit of the doubt and will definitely read her other novels!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Child death
modjeskapup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
umarshahzad's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
Ugly Love has got to be one of my fave reads by CoHo. It depicts the themes of PTSD, trauma, and emotional detachment really well. We follow the story fo two characters, Miles and Tate. Tate is a free reign girl that wants to start a fresh life, whilst Miles is an introvert that is very cordoned off from the beginning. Throughout the book, wee the development of both characters and how their lives part and collide with each other. We also get to find out why Miles is always very shy and not as energetic as Tate, and how him and his then wife Rachel had lost their baby in a car crash in water. It shows us the impact of memories and the guilt that Miles had to go through to believe that it was his fault whilst it was the opposite. We also see their personalities going in the reverse direcation to each other. For example, Tate at the start is a very eager girl and when she meets Miles, she feels like her life is going smooth, until we find out that Miles has a lot of trauma behind his past. Furthermore, we see Miles going in to opposite direction. He starts off as being very private and not meddling with anyone else's lives if they don't meddle with his, until he meets Tate and opens up to her about his guilt and his horrific past. We also see Rachel, who was Miles's ex, POV which I felt like was needed in this type of story, and how Miles was very developed and happy during his time with Clayton, their son. It also shows how impactful some post-trauma can be and how Miles blamed himself for the whole accident until he met with Rachel and she consoled him. Ugly Love deals with neglect and shows how even though there are some parts that are bad, it is the happy moments in the book and the lives of Tate and Miles that make up for the ugly love
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Torture, Alcohol, Death, Injury/injury detail, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
brynhayes's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, Child death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Pregnancy, and Sexual content