Reviews with content warning for Grief - Ugly Love

"Tate" he says. He's facing his door, and he doesn't turn around to finish his sentence. "Sometimes a man's spirit just ain't strong enough to withstand the ghost from his past." He opens the apartment door and walks inside. "Maybe that boy just lost his spirit somewhere along the way" He closes his door and leaves me attempt to decipher even more confusion.
— page 227

Moment when he leaves.
Because he always leave.
— page 243

"I don't want to swim anymore," He says, sliding his lips from the base of my throat all the way up to my mouth again. "Well, then, what do you want to do?" I whisper weekly. "You" he says without hesitation "In my shower. From behind" I swallow a huge lump of air and feel it all the way to the pit of my stomach. "Wow. That's very specific."
"And also in my bed" he whispersed. "With you on top, still soaking wet from the shower." I inhale sharply, and we can both hear the tremble of my breath I exhale
"Okay," I tried to say,but his mouth is on mine before the word is even all the way out.
— page 257

"Listen,Tate," I tell her. "I want your mess. I want your clothes in my bedroom floor. I want your toothbrush in my bathroom. I want your shoes in my closet. I want your mediocre leftovers in my fridge." She laughs at that. "Oh, and I almost forgot," I say, pulling the other box for my pocket. I hold it up between us and open it, revealing the ring. "I also want you in my future.Forever."
— page 316

Content Warnings

kayleejanes's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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

3.0

Content Warnings

jbaysinger_1069's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

gabi_w21's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

This is my first CoHo book, and I am completely and ridiculously simultaneously bored, underwhelmed, and disgusted.

Tate was the dumbest, most pathetic main character I've read about. She has no self-worth, self-esteem, or self-respect because, despite knowing how she feels about Miles, she agrees to a casual sex relationship and then turns around and whines about it. Over and over, she tells the audience how she’s a “strong, independent woman who doesn’t let men treat [her] badly,” yet she goes to insane lengths to excuse Miles’s behavior.

No matter what he did, she stuck around even while she acknowledged how her feelings were being hurt. She’s passive to the umpth degree, allowing Miles and Corbin to control her life, and we never learn anything about her. She’s a nurse and she likes orange juice and she’s not a virgin. That’s it. Oh and Miles. I didn’t understand her obsession with this guy who made it clear up front that he didn’t want a relationship. She was so pathetic that she hung around, hoping and wishing he’d change his mind on relationships, so how is she mad that he keeps her at a distance? She agreed to the friends-with-benefits arrangement so she has no room to be angry! Why stay? Is she that desperate for Miles that she lets him walk all over her? The answer is yes.

The amount of double standards and sexism in this book was insane. Corbin being over possessive over Tate left a really bad taste in my mouth especially since he sleeps around. He sees no problem with this yet has a conniption over any man sniffing around Tate. And the one instance that Tate calls this out, we get no response from the idiot. And why are they all warning Tate away from Dillon? If he’s such an awful person, why are you all friends with him? Tate never calls this out either, and the only reason he gets booted out of the group is—gasp!—he touched Tate’s hip. Also Corbin pulling the “you don’t get to tell me not to be mad! You aren’t a brother!” when he finds out about Miles and Tate made me want to VOMIT. Why would be friends with someone you don’t want your sister around? Hmmm.

Colleen Hoover couldn’t write herself out of a paper bag, let alone write something that doesn’t come across as trauma porn with overdramatic reveals thrown in for the sake of drama. Her style is mediocre, simplistic, and really, really childish. I could care less about Rachel and Miles and Tate, and while all the Booktok girlies were bawling their eyes out over oh my god, Rachel, mine were decidedly DRY. The drama was contrived, the characters unlikeable and bland, and the sex scenes were flat-out laughable.

Ugly Love is more like a bad sitcom only there’s no comedy.

Content Warnings