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nyx0s's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Death, Alcohol, Suicide, and Self harm
bubcat's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jana1's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
the_gare_bear's review
5.0
Anyone who has experienced loss in their life will be able to understand the feelings from this book.
This hit me incredibly hard and I cried multiple times throughout the journey. Thinking of the characters and also my own experiences. It can be a hard read with the heavy tone but I think that it ultimately achieved it's purpose with dealing with live and loss.
This hit me incredibly hard and I cried multiple times throughout the journey. Thinking of the characters and also my own experiences. It can be a hard read with the heavy tone but I think that it ultimately achieved it's purpose with dealing with live and loss.
jsncnrd's review
5.0
This book was not hideous, but it sure was beautiful.
I cannot get over how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve had a few days to sit with it and to formulate my thoughts around it.
Hideous Beauty was filled to the brim with so many elements. Tragedy, trauma, pain, and grief. But it was also filled with heart, love, romance, optimism, hope, and healing. Not only that, but it also had suspense and mystery intertwined into the plot. All of these elements were perfectly balanced, which made it an excellent reading experience.
The book kept me guessing, and I was proud of myself for calling one enormous plot point ahead of time. Time for me to open a detective agency.
Dylan was an incredible protagonist. I just wanted to give the poor kid a hug. As he learned to put his life together again in the aftermath of unspeakable tragedy, he is left with more questions than answers, and more ambiguity than closure. Watching him navigate that and grow as a human in that process got me so attached to him, and I truly cared about what ending we would get.
I truly appreciated the book’s exploration of PTSD, survivor’s guilt, shame, and the pain that accompanies those things. The trauma that both Dylan and Ellis went through was excruciating, and you could feel those emotions radiating off the pages. And with every revelation that occurred, those emotions became even more intense.
I have to mention how much I loved Mike and Ellis. Everyone deserves a friend as strong and supportive as Mike. Everyone deserves someone like Ellis in their life as well. They were wonderful supporting characters, and did nothing but elevate the book.
Hideous Beauty touches on some heavy topics, and I would recommend taking note of the trigger warnings on the page before the novel starts. There are quite a few.
The book was not available in my region – good old USA – and it was worth tracking down a copy, because it is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I will be recommending it to so many people.
It had me in tears, it had me laughing, and it had me thrilled. William Hussey has created something so special with this book. Go read it.
Also, that cover – I mean come ON, it is beautiful. (No pun intended, but it does work.)
"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye - you were bigger than the whole sky. You were more than just a short time. I've got a lot to pine about, I've got a lot to live without. I'm never going to meet what could've been, would've been, what should've been you.
- Bigger Than the Whole Sky // Taylor Swift
I cannot get over how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve had a few days to sit with it and to formulate my thoughts around it.
Hideous Beauty was filled to the brim with so many elements. Tragedy, trauma, pain, and grief. But it was also filled with heart, love, romance, optimism, hope, and healing. Not only that, but it also had suspense and mystery intertwined into the plot. All of these elements were perfectly balanced, which made it an excellent reading experience.
The book kept me guessing, and I was proud of myself for calling one enormous plot point ahead of time. Time for me to open a detective agency.
Dylan was an incredible protagonist. I just wanted to give the poor kid a hug. As he learned to put his life together again in the aftermath of unspeakable tragedy, he is left with more questions than answers, and more ambiguity than closure. Watching him navigate that and grow as a human in that process got me so attached to him, and I truly cared about what ending we would get.
I truly appreciated the book’s exploration of PTSD, survivor’s guilt, shame, and the pain that accompanies those things. The trauma that both Dylan and Ellis went through was excruciating, and you could feel those emotions radiating off the pages. And with every revelation that occurred, those emotions became even more intense.
I have to mention how much I loved Mike and Ellis. Everyone deserves a friend as strong and supportive as Mike. Everyone deserves someone like Ellis in their life as well. They were wonderful supporting characters, and did nothing but elevate the book.
Hideous Beauty touches on some heavy topics, and I would recommend taking note of the trigger warnings on the page before the novel starts. There are quite a few.
The book was not available in my region – good old USA – and it was worth tracking down a copy, because it is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. I will be recommending it to so many people.
It had me in tears, it had me laughing, and it had me thrilled. William Hussey has created something so special with this book. Go read it.
Also, that cover – I mean come ON, it is beautiful. (No pun intended, but it does work.)
"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye - you were bigger than the whole sky. You were more than just a short time. I've got a lot to pine about, I've got a lot to live without. I'm never going to meet what could've been, would've been, what should've been you.
- Bigger Than the Whole Sky // Taylor Swift
georgia_jaycee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
quinniantheduck's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death and Rape
sarahcharlie's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
pewterwolf's review
5.0
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf
***Book given by UK publisher, Usborne, in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
After his secret relationship with Ellis is exposed on social media, Dylan has the come out. But, to his surprise, everyone is really kind and supportive. Or at least, seem to be. So when Ellis’s car loses control and things take a tragic turn, Dylan begins to realise that he knows very little about the boy he love and the people around him. But Dylan knows he has to figure out the truth… no matter how painful and heartbreaking it could be…
This is heartbreakingly good. As in, even though it took me a few weeks to read (real life kept getting in the way), once I sat down to read, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going, even though I didn’t want to as it would mean staying up WAY past my bedtime!
The friendships, the romance, the mystery, the humour, the relatability, all worked and made this such fun to read, even though this book is quite dark and does contain triggers. For some, unknown reason, I always compared this to Tanya Byrne’s Follow Me Down and I’m not sure why, but I always put these two together.
Speaking of triggers, the copy I read from had a trigger warning at the very start of the book warning about drug use, assault, homophobia, cancer, mental health, grief and other issues. Why aren’t more publishers doing this? This would be really helpful.
Ok, I do have a tiny nit-pick and the reason for this is because I read thrillers and crime, and because of this, I saw some twists coming. Not all - there was one I didn’t see coming that knocked me for six. But some of you thriller readers might see it coming faster than I did.
But I really liked this book, and I really want you to put this on your radar when it comes out in June. Great for you guys, not so much for me as I now have to wait OVER A YEAR for William’s next thriller and I’m not I can be that patient…
***Book given by UK publisher, Usborne, in exchange for an honest review/reaction***
After his secret relationship with Ellis is exposed on social media, Dylan has the come out. But, to his surprise, everyone is really kind and supportive. Or at least, seem to be. So when Ellis’s car loses control and things take a tragic turn, Dylan begins to realise that he knows very little about the boy he love and the people around him. But Dylan knows he has to figure out the truth… no matter how painful and heartbreaking it could be…
This is heartbreakingly good. As in, even though it took me a few weeks to read (real life kept getting in the way), once I sat down to read, I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going, even though I didn’t want to as it would mean staying up WAY past my bedtime!
The friendships, the romance, the mystery, the humour, the relatability, all worked and made this such fun to read, even though this book is quite dark and does contain triggers. For some, unknown reason, I always compared this to Tanya Byrne’s Follow Me Down and I’m not sure why, but I always put these two together.
Speaking of triggers, the copy I read from had a trigger warning at the very start of the book warning about drug use, assault, homophobia, cancer, mental health, grief and other issues. Why aren’t more publishers doing this? This would be really helpful.
Ok, I do have a tiny nit-pick and the reason for this is because I read thrillers and crime, and because of this, I saw some twists coming. Not all - there was one I didn’t see coming that knocked me for six. But some of you thriller readers might see it coming faster than I did.
But I really liked this book, and I really want you to put this on your radar when it comes out in June. Great for you guys, not so much for me as I now have to wait OVER A YEAR for William’s next thriller and I’m not I can be that patient…