Y’all this was wild. It felt like getting wine drunk and watching a lifetime movie and you have to yell at the tv. Was it entertaining? Yes. Was it entertaining to me the way I think the creator intended? Ummm……..
So in Ugly Love we have a story in two parts. The first part follows Tate, a woman who moves in with her pilot brother and gets involved in a sexual relationship with the man next door. The man, Myles, tells her he can’t and won’t ever love her and is just looking for a casual thing. The other story follows Myles, six years earlier, basically showing why he won’t get involved in a serious relationship and the time his heart was broken. First, Tate is supposed to be our main character but her emotional journey is basically a flat line. There is nothing that she really DOES. The character evolution is almost entirely about Myles who for some reason is NOT the main character. Tate is not very interesting because she is given almost nothing to do. I have almost nothing else to say about Tate because that’s all there really is. Myles on the other hand, has development, back story, and draaamaaaa. Myles has his own chapters which focus on his relationship with Rachel when they are both 17. Myles meets Rachel at school one day and is immediately in love (and OBSESSED in a really really REALLY unhealthy way). However, it turns out that Rachel is the daughter of the woman that his dad has been involved with for some time. Rachel and Myles are about to be step siblings. Dun DUN DUN. OK so Myles story is more interesting but also written in the most unbelievable and pretentious and honestly concerning way I have ever read. Seriously, if a 17 year old boy thought like this I would be concerned for him. Its also not great to read about how obsessed our main male love interest is with someone else when we are supposed to be cheering for him to be with our main character. We do not get Myles view of his current relationship with Tate until the end when it feels too little too late for me to care about them. Despite all his (obsessive) love for Rachel, the way she is described is almost as an entirely empty shell of a human. What is she like? I have no fucking clue. But I do know the name Rachel stops sounding like a real name after being repeated 5000 times. The story is basically held together with a glue stick made of smut and some tape of curiosity. The conclusion was pretty ridiculous, and I think made us want to ignore the existence of social media and therapy. I listened to this on audiobook narrated by Deacon Lee and Grace Grant. I think they did a great job but really if you ever want to be able to stand the name Rachel ever again maybe don’t listen to the audiobook. Spoilers ahead for some extra thoughts: PS: Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel Rachel |
Wild Ride
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover