NEW ADULT
Ugly Love - Colleen Hoover (2014)
Tate Collins first meets Miles Archer slumped in a drunken stupor outside the door of her brother's apartment where she's just moving in. It's hardly the best of starts. But Miles is not only her new neighbour but one of her brother's best friends so she's going to be seeing a lot of him. The two agree to start over and soon they've skipped being friends and gone straight to being lovers. Miles though is clear that there's no more to this than a casual set-up and Tate shouldn't expect more. Try telling that to her heart though. Tate's convinced that Miles is holding back on his feelings because of a girl from his past - Rachel - and there's no way she can have his future when he's still stuck on her. Once again Colleen Hoover delivers a first-class New Adult novel. She's a writer at the top of her game, who consistently gives readers unique and beautiful experiences and has the talent and skill to do so. There's always something different, unexpected and fresh with her novels whilst she always manages to create passionate, memorable and beautiful characters and love stories. If I'm being picky, I wanted Tate to take a stance earlier on and not accept Miles' parameters for their relationship but this is part of their journey and struggle. Miles' history is painful and heart-breaking but his redemption is beautiful. Another extraordinary, first-rate read from Hoover - surely one of the leading lights in NA, she's setting the standards and offering a perfect exemplar of what the genre should be and how it should be done. (JC)
