Ugly Love
by Colleen Hoover
Blurb:
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t 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.
My Reaction (with a slight spoiler):
This was a shared read with Donald. Why? Because 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back chose it for the podcast. (And I hope—and believe—that they feel truly sorry for what they've done, this time.)
Years ago, I didn't mind a good romance—and maybe I could be interested in reading romance again, at some point—but this particular kind of romance novel has never and will never be for me. It's even worse when you're reading it aloud. You really experience that weapons-grade cringe when you're saying it out loud. Of course, I didn't actually speak much of it aloud: I made the executive decision to skim over large sections of this book, summarizing as I went, and I'm not even sorry. It was an essential survival mechanism at work.
Well, I mean, what is there to say about this book? I hated it and the characters in it. Miles is a creep and Tate is pathetic. The two of them together gross me out. Very little of any interest happens, to the point that a brief description of shopping for curtains and a rug was a high point in the novel. And boy, is it ever brief! They literally walk to the store, choose the first things they see in the window, then turn around and leave again. We're denied even the pleasure of vicarious browsing and comparing a few different options. Given the choice between an in-depth description of actual shopping and yet another scene of these two "bumping uglies"—to quote Cap—trust me, I would have loved to have read an awkward squabble over curtain fabric, colors, etc., but it wasn't to be.
Again, Tate is infuriatingly weak, Miles acts like such an utter POS jerk (his tragic backstory is no excuse for using Tate and treating her like crap), and a few scenes seemed borderline abusive and were very uncomfortable to read. Not just the painful sex scenes, either. The roof-top pool scene where he's following her around and pinning her against the side of the pool gave me chills. His actions felt almost threatening to me. He felt more like a potential serial killer than an attentive lover. (Also, is it just me, or isn't it kind of odd that this guy who's so traumatized by something that involved water would suggest they go swimming? It just feels strange and unrealistic to me.)
Then there's the center justification thing, which was annoying, too, of course.
So no, this wasn't a good read for me. I really disliked this book. Still not as bad as Shadow Moon, though. That's probably the worst thing I've ever read.
