Party of Five

This was the second book I have read by Colleen Hoover. (The first was a novella, Finding Cinderella, and while it was ok, it is not my cup of tea reading about teenagers having sex.) I came across an article about Ugly Love being turned into a movie, and the actor pictures is just beautiful, so I read the book blurb and bought the book on a whim.

Tate moves in with her brother to attend school to get her Masters in Nursing and to work part time as an RN at the local hospital. Her brother Corbin is very much the protective older brother, but as a pilot, he is gone a lot. On move in day, Tate runs into Miles, the across-the-hall neighbor in the most undignified set of circumstances. Tate gives Miles a hand, which sets them on a path towards...something. There is an instant attraction between Tate and Miles, and while there are definite issues with Miles (he's closed off, guarded, abrupt, brusque) Tate finds herself unable to stop staring at his masculine beauty. The feeling is mutual. And so begins a benefits only relationship. They were never friends, so it was never a "friends with benefits" arrangement. There are only two rules Miles has going in...Never ask about his past, and never expect a future. Tate thinks this is a simple request to agree to, but quickly finds herself falling, and falling hard, and the secrets Miles has weigh them down and hold them back from ever being the "more" Tate has quickly found herself wanting. Very close to the beginning of the relationship Tate begins selling herself short, lying to Miles about being ok with the relationship, and taking only what he can give, all because of the all-to-brief flashes of the the fantastic man-of-her-dreams that Miles is holding within.

This book was so emotionally charged that there was some dialogue that just slayed me. Ugly Love brought out the Ugly Tears on more than one occasion. Something about a grown man crying, just heartsick for what can never be, it was difficult as a reader to witness. This book has some minor flaws. I kept waiting for Dillon to be a bigger issue, or Cap to cause some event to bring the two closer, but the book developed in its own time-frame on its own terms and was a beautiful read as it unfurled. These are strongly developed characters and Ms. Hoover did a fantastic job making me feel what they felt.

Lexi Ryan has always been my go-to author for the emotional books that can just slay the reader in half and bringing out the empathetic tears. (Check out her New Hope series!) However, I believe this book to be just as awesome and now have a tie for the tear-jerker award. I will definitely check out more of Ms. Hoover's books, and can't wait to find out if they are so well developed.