Ugly Love 3⭐️/5

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

3⭐️/5

This wasn’t my favorite CoHo, but it was worth a read! I am so glad I did because I enjoyed the intensity and the banter between our two protagonists, Miles & Tate.

I think my biggest critique is informed by a 2021 reading/interpretation of this book rather than even when it was published (2014).

That’s not to say certain tropes don’t exist now, but it’s relevant to examine how our perception of toxic relationships and dynamics have changed since over the last seven years. I don’t want to give much away, but our protagonist has little self-worth, which drives her decision-making.

Things I liked:
1. Miles felt like the main character rather than Tate, and it was his story that kept me engaged.
2. The banter, the intensity, the enemies to lovers trope
3. She captured how it feels when you first like someone, how little moments crackle beneath the surface until they turn into something real, which is so difficult to do without it feeling either obvious or a stretch.

Things I didn’t enjoy
1. Tate’s lack of friends to point out the unhealthy dynamic between Tate & Miles and instances where she was used. Did she really have so little going on???
2. The little sister trope/damsel in distress. She needed more perspective with some depth. Miles got to have depth, why not Tate?
3. I can’t decide if I liked the format of Miles’ perspective in the flashbacks or not. Let me know what you thought!