Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover made me ugly cry. In public. At the student center of the university to be more specific.
When I first picked up this book, I knew I wasn’t picking up a cute story about soulmates who find each other against all odds. My initial concern was that I had accidentally picked up something that was like Fifty Shades of Grey; since it is an adult book and I tend not to read them as much. I was so worried that I was about to read about an abusive and unhealthy relationship because I was totally not in the mood for that. Or an erotica.
I was very glad to be proven wrong (and relieved).
The premise of the story follows Tate Collins, a nurse pursuing her master’s degree, as she moves in with her brother, Corbin until she finishes school. She then meets her brother’s neighbor and coworker, Miles Archer. Miles is a pilot, a very good looking one to be exact. They meet under inconvenient circumstances while she is moving in and an attraction forms between them. As time passes, their attraction grows and, instead of pursuing a relationship, they come to the conclusion that they don’t have the time to dedicate to a relationship. At least that’s Tate’s excuse, Miles says he can’t love again due to something that happened to him six years ago. Knowing these obstacles, they decide to become friends with benefits.
The book is written in first-person from both Tate and Miles’ perspectives. Tate narrates the present in prose while Miles is written in verse and narrates an important event in his life that took place six years ago that deeply marked who he is in the present.
I honestly thought Miles was going to be a complete jerk, and that I would greatly dislike him. I thought he would turn out to be like Christian Grey minus all the BDSM. I was proven wrong once more. Miles genuinely cares about Tate and let’s her live her life, he doesn’t interfere with her career, doesn’t treat her like she is just a sex toy, and he doesn’t lay any claim over her. He lets her live. The only thing about him is that he doesn’t open up to her and refuses to reveal anything about himself to her—which is frustrating and not good for either of them. As for Tate, she is not blinded by love. She cares a lot about him and wishes to know more about him, but she doesn’t let their arrangement get in the way of what she wants.
They continue this arrangement for months, and they both start developing feelings towards each other. However, Miles represses them, saying that he is unable to love again. We get that a lot; the fact that Miles doesn’t allow himself to love, and we slowly learn why through the chapters from his point of view. I was not expecting what happened, and I did not expect Miles to be that broken and devastated. It broke my heart and made me cry in IUPICOOP. The reader learns about the event, but Tate does not and this causes frustration in all parts.
While the relationship they develop is not something that is considered normal or healthy, they don’t abuse each other and don’t restrict each other. The encounters they have are all consensual and neither of them takes advantage of each other. Could their relationship be better? Yes, of course, but I didn’t find myself rooting for the culmination of the relationship. Of course, this might vary, some people might not like their relationship at all and that is okay.
In the end, we can all agree on something: Chapter 32 took our hearts out of our chests, ran a truck over it, hit it with a hammer and put it back inside our chest.
Rating: 5/5