Title: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
Pages: 336
Source: Bought

Overall: 4 Stars

Summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with a new heart-wrenching love story.

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's 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 Thoughts:  
Colleen Hoover's Ugly Love hits you with the emotional intensity of a wrecking ball. I don't think there was anything I could have done to mentally prepare myself for this novel and all the overwhelming feelings it left me. Colleen Hoover continues her streak of writing memorable romances that completely tear your heart apart before slowly piecing the parts back together again. 

What seemed like a simple sexual arrangement at first between Tate Collins and Miles Archer becomes very complicated all too soon. Miles warns Tate from the very beginning not to talk about the past and not to expect a future, but she can't help falling in love with Miles the more time she spends around him. Tate secretly hopes he will one day change his mind, especially in those rare moments when Miles lets his guard down, but her actions also leave her very vulnerable and give him the power to incredibly hurt her. 

The book alternates between the present, told from Tate's perspective, and the past, told from Miles's point of view. Normally, I don't mind this kind of narration, but these chapters are written in such different tones that it was sometimes difficult to put myself in the right frame of mind immediately. Tate's chapters are all-consuming and intense as she continues to fall for a man who is emotionally unavailable, but the Miles we get to know in the past is practically another man, one who was happier and optimistic. I absolutely dreaded learning what kind of life-changing, traumatic event could so alter and haunt a man.

The chemistry between Tate and Miles practically sparks right off the page, but there's also always an underlying tension that leaves you wary of being completely burned if you get too close. There were times when I was so focused on the story that I forgot to breathe. You'll be hard-pressed to find another New Adult contemporary romance like Colleen Hoover's Ugly Love.