Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Synopsis:

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.

Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.

Promises get broken.

Rules get shattered.

Love gets ugly.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book. I had heard a lot of talk about it around the internet, and the general consensus seemed to be that it was well liked. I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the rollercoaster that was this novel though.

First of all, Tate was a very likable protagonist. I thought she had a good personality and she made me laugh quite a few times.

Miles was an interesting co-protagonist. He was a very big mystery through most of the novel. That kept my attention, and I just had to finish the book to figure out why he was the way he was.

The way this book was written also kept it exciting. It switched back and forth from Tate’s point-of-view to Miles’s point-of-view.

Tate’s sections were in the present while Miles’s sections covered the past and slowly revealed how his character came to be. Learning about him slowly throughout the book made the story even stronger.

The story itself was also interesting to me. It was a cute romance book, but it was also deeper than that. Miles dealt with a lot of pain to get to this point. Suffering from abuse and a broken heart.

Then on the other hand, there was Tate. She seemed like she had a pretty decent life and Miles completely threw her off. I was rooting for them from the beginning.

Once I really got going with the book, I could not put it down for anything. I just had to get to the end and nothing else seemed as important. It has a way of really drawing you in and not letting go until you turn the last page.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry.

5/5 Stars

 Click To Purchase!

Like by Bart Hopkins

Synopsis:

LIKE is a selfie of modern times that takes you on a journey through the lives of normal people—the new normal—fully connected in an electronic age.

You’ll meet Greg, a realtor whose success stems from his Internet savvy. His tweets are re-tweeted a hundred times and thousands follow his blog.

Then there’s Paul, who stumbles on an old crush while Facebooking. Through research of her online habits, he arranges a “chance” meeting so they can fall in Like with each other.

Martin is a cancer survivor with renewed purpose in life thanks to a supportive social media family.

It’s a tapestry of people and events woven together with this era’s most abundant thread: social media.

This is a very character driven novel. There are a few different storylines to follow that are all very separate but end up intertwining at different parts of the novel. Their stories are creative but all very, very real.

As I was reading, I thought it was silly how dependent they were on social media, how often they brought it up, and how big it was in their lives. Taking a step back, it wasn’t even an exaggeration. The amount of time the characters in this book spend on social media is comparable to how much real people spend on it in their everyday lives. You can’t go many places without hearing about something on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

I can see this being a book that shows what the norm for what many novels is going to be in the future – probably the near future; Very strong characters with communication driven by social media.

One thing I really enjoy about Like as well as Bart’s other books is his likable characters. Time is put into the planning of his characters and their personalities and how they really fit into the story. They all carry some of the weight, but I found myself thinking of Greg as the main character because he is the first that the reader meets.

The one complain that I have is that I wish this book was longer. I got pretty attached to some of the characters as I was reading it and would have liked to know how their stories turned out a few years down the road. Although, you run the risk of a book getting boring if it does drag on too long.

4/5 stars. Great characters, great stories. A little cheesy at times which is to be expected when it is centered around social media. Overall, it was a fun read that I think readers of all different types can enjoy.

Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse.

Click To Purchase!