Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

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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.

Ugly Love ascended to the top of my TBR pile after many glowing recommendations I’d read in a forum. I couldn’t resist the idea of a complicated hero falling in love. And honestly, I was expecting the complicated hero to be an arrogant one since that’s how it usually goes with these types of stories. That so wasn’t the case.

Tate's moving in with her brother temporarily while she begins her studies to receive her Masters in Nursing. On the day she's moving in, she comes across some guy passed out in front of their apartment. She assumes this drunk guy is some vagrant but he’s actually Miles, Corbin’s neighbour and fellow airline pilot. Nice start. As a favour to her brother, she lets Miles stay overnight on the couch. Not exactly the way she had imagined things going on her movie-in day. The next morning doesn't go any better thanks to their unusual start. However, she can pause to appreciate Miles' physical attributes which spark all kinds of lusty thoughts in her mind. As fun as these thoughts are, they’re also a pesky distraction from working towards the future she has mapped out. Miles’ personality is baffling, turning hot and cold within minutes. Trouble is that despite his hard-to-read demeanor, there’s no mistaking the growing attraction between them.  They go back and forth with the awkwardess until they can’t take it anymore. When they finally decide on an arrangement, Miles’ only rules are that she not ask him about his past and that she not expect a future from him.

At the time it seemed like an easy request. They’re both consenting adults who supposedly know what they’re doing. Even with rules in place, they do begin to have an affect on each other. Miles starts to loosen up somewhat while Tate falls just a little farther for the guy who won’t say much but feels intensely. She can’t help but wonder what tragedy could have occurred in his past to make him be so sad and unwilling to fall in love. She promised that she wouldn’t ask so she tries hard not to force the issue.

Miles’ story is told in almost dreamlike flashbacks. It feels ominous from the get go because you're anticipating that moment when it all falls apart. It’s hard to not be heartbroken for this decent guy who has experienced some unimaginable pain in his young life. His emotional isolation has prevented him from feeling pure happiness and love.

Their arrangement can’t keep going this way and at some point they have to admit that they feel more for each other than they let on. It’s scary for both of them especially Miles who is so terrified of wrecking the lives of the people he cares about, but this is where they’ll have to decide if what they have together is worth the fight.

I was all over the place emotionally as I read Ugly Love. The story tugged at me many times as I got to the sadder parts. But the sadness was balanced by the lighthearted elements in the story like the friendships between the guys, their apartment building's elevator guy who had all the funny quips, and the chemistry between Tate and Miles which was incredible! I admired Tate’s patience and kindness towards Miles and she did this without compromising her own needs. She gave him the reassurance and encouragement he desperately needed to resurface from the depths of his own despair. And Miles, the grief-stricken man with the weight of all that guilt… yeah, you’ll fall in love with him. You'll also want to give him the longest hug ever.

~ Bel