“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 the ugly. So you give it all up. You give it all up. You never want love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again.” –Colleen Hoover

What starts out as a mutual physical attraction between Tate Collins and Miles Archer turns into an unforgettable love story that breaks all the rules. Colleen Hoover writes this novel in a unique and specifically consistent format that allows the story to progress and flow. The ups and downs at every moment Miles and Tate struggle to deny their feelings for each other are vividly described throughout the novel. The story is about feeling too little and feeling too much. Feeling so much that you shut yourself out from others and feeling not enough that you hurt others. After experiencing the heartbreaking and devastating sides of love, it’s extremely difficult to love someone again; Miles believes it isn't worth loving Tate due to the risk of getting hurt as he did in the past. The entire story alternates between the present and the past, showing readers the different sides of Miles and how a person's traumatic past can drastically interfere with present relationships. It shows that love involves opening up to one another with hope and fear; it’s about trusting and believing in a person enough to not give up and letting go of one’s past in hopes for a brighter future. 

I loved how all the characters felt realistic. While pursuing her education as a nurse, Tate meets Miles, her brother’s close friend, who is a cold-hearted airline pilot. Although Tate Collins, the protagonist, behaved somewhat ignorantly at times, her passion and determination to achieve her goals were very inspiring. Her strengths and flaws made her very distinctive and real. Tate’s brother, Corbin Collins, acted in a protective manner regarding his sister’s relationships. Although I was slightly annoyed at his over-protectiveness and controlling personality, it allowed me to see him as a person rather than just a character in a novel.

At the beginning of the novel, I disliked how predictable the plotlines of the books were. However, after reading the entire story and seeing the twist, I realized it was not just about the character's romantic love life, it was about the tragic romance of Miles Archer and how he struggled to overcome it. 

I would definitely recommend this book to other teen readers. This novel shows how to learn to let go of your past to love again, see the light again, and feel happy again. Colleen Hoover’s descriptive writing and profound quotes inspire readers to look at themselves and others from a fresh perspective. It demonstrates how there are many sides to the love between two very different people, both despicably ugly yet strikingly beautiful in their own way. 

Check out Ugly Love from NBPL!