Colleen Hoover wrote the epitome of feeling mind-numbing, acute heartache. And for those who fortunately don’t know the feeling, Colleen Hoover illustrates the most heart wrenching, complicated, addictive hurt someone can feel like a picture book. She calls it Ugly Love. 

The words written page after page create such a strong illustration that forces readers to live through Miles’ and Tate’s infatuation. A simple affair in theory, but physical and emotional love introduce feelings and reintroduce tragedy far more complicated than their agreement covers. While reading through their thoughts and actions I lost track of time. Unable to put the book down, waiting with Tate for Miles to come home was agony after 5 pages. The crafted sentence structure and word choice throws all the lust, crave, and resentment at the reader to feel as deeply as Miles and Tate. Switching between perspectives as Tate and Miles narrate life through the same tragedy six years apart, expressed through emotional word choice, takes you through their anomalous physical relationship, until for the first time in six years, Miles talks about what ended his mysterious romantic tragedy. Tate and Miles push their limits, even while they both know how it will end. 

The parallels in the novel between Miles’ story six years earlier, and Tate’s story in the present day are perfectly described with each chapter alternating their thoughts and experiences. Miles can’t seem to look farther than his concealed past, leaving readers and Tate lost in a forest of red flags and feelings. Battling internal conflicts together and simultaneously pushing each other away prescribes undeniable lust and feelings that become too much. Denying what was so intense cracked Tate and Miles, revealing an inadvertent ultimatum on both of them that broke them. 

Within the mesmerizing writing, intense feelings, and tragedy, Colleen Hoover fabricated an exceptional story of hope. Masterful storytelling combined with stunning writing breeds heightened emotions within the reader that sets the stage for them to find solace with Tate and Miles. After experiencing raw feelings of every sort, the ending feels like the most tragic reward one can be. The comfort level of readers is pushed with the unpredictability between Tate and Miles, and Ugly Love perfectly depicts all the ugly parts of feeling and the tender bitter-sweet positives of pain.