Author: Colleen Hoover (Page 1 of 2)

Item: Ugly Love
Rating: 4.5
Author: Jen

BOOK REVIEWS: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover & Angels’ Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh

June 11, 2025 / Jen / 1 Comment

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When Tate Collins moves in with her brother, the last thing she expects is to collide with Miles Archer, a brooding pilot with an unrelenting grip on his past. Their attraction is electric, undeniable, and all-consuming—but Miles has rules. No questions. No future. A no-strings arrangement seems simple at first, but a deep, shattering truth lurks just beneath the surface.

Tate soon realizes that Miles is not just guarded but fractured. Torn between desire and self-destruction, his pain bleeds into every part of their dynamic. Miles’s past hides horrors that threaten to rip apart the fragile connection they’ve created, and Tate is forced to make a choice that will change both their lives forever.

With suspense simmering underneath every moment of passion, Ugly Love is a whirlwind of lust, heartbreak, and dark revelations that build to a stunning crescendo. For those drawn to the raw tension and psychological complexities of Verity, this is a riveting story where emotions erupt, secrets fester, and love may not be enough to heal the deep scars etched into the past.

Review:

Ugly Love slowly built me up with hope and love, and then it completely ripped me apart. This was my first Colleen Hoover book, and I get it now. Her stories include all of the messy parts of life. Not only the parts where we struggle, but especially the parts we don’t ever want to think about. So I cried, I raged, and I didn’t think I would ever be able to forgive something that happened. If I read this book 15 years ago, emotionally it would have played out very differently for me. But life changes you. Just like the characters were changed by what happened in their pasts. Forgiveness, grief, and trying to find your new normal were huge elements of this story. And that ending…..it was powerful and left me feeling so happy. Miles and Tate took me on a journey, and I won’t ever forget it. If you’re looking for a story that slowly seeps into your heart and is heavy on the angst and emotions, this is your book. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1)
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Nalini Singh introduces readers to a world of beauty and bloodlust, where angels hold sway over vampires.

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break.

Review:

Angel’s Blood was a fast-paced paranormal romance that swept me away! Elena was a vampire hunter who was brave, fierce, and had me cheering her on. Raphael was an Archangel who was as deadly as he was mysterious. When the two of them intertwined as she hunted down a rogue archangel, I was gripping the edge of my seat. This book was dark, luscious, and I never wanted to put it down. It was an entertaining, steamy, intricately plotted story that was memorable and ended at the perfect stopping spot. I can’t wait to see what happens next! I listened to the audiobook and read a physical copy, and I loved devouring this story in both formats!

BOOK REVIEW: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

August 17, 2016 / Chelsea / 12 Comments

BOOK REVIEW: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

I. Am. DONE.

I do NOT like books that manipulate me. I do NOT like authors who think it teaches life lessons by making everything literally the WORST scenario possible. I do NOT like books that I endorse, tell 100 people to read (when I’m at 47%) because it was so amazing-wonderful-addicting-beautiful, and then have to eat crow because a million dreadful things have to happen to get to the fucking point.

And for those who ADORED this book, do NOT come at me and tell me I am wrong, didn’t understand the message, whatever. I do NOT like being manipulated (SEE ABOVE) when I was already okay with how things would eventually turn out. I didn’t need five more fucking stabs in the stomach to get the fucking message.

For those who keep talking about all their feelings and how they are having trouble writing a review because of all their feeeeeelings…that’s manipulation you’re feeling, people. And I am so mad I don’t care who I’m offending. I loved the idea behind this book. I did. And even though I felt so much love in one way, I was okay with the devastation everyone spoke of. But then-All. That.

SHIT.

I will never forgive Hoover for this. Ever. I think I am FINALLY done this time. I am ALWAYS the black sheep on her books…and I have no fucking clue why I keep coming back for more. Probably because I loved Miles (THE ONLY BOOK I’VE EVER LOVED BY HER, making me the opposite of everyone, yet again) so much and want another win…but there’s only so much bullshit I can ingest per author and she might have just met her quota.

And it’s this author’s twisted sense of life lessons we need to learn. Oh, and PS, I LOVED BOTH GUYS SO MUCH IT HURTS-so don’t even try that one on me.

Sorry, guys. I slept on it, and I was even madder today. And I assume my attitude concerning this novel will only get worse, so it’s best I post today and let it be.

View all my reviews

BOOK REVIEW: Confess by Colleen Hoover

March 12, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

BOOK REVIEW: Confess by Colleen Hoover Confess by Colleen Hoover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a new novel about risking everything for love—and finding your heart somewhere between the truth and lies.

Auburn Reed has her entire life mapped out. Her goals are in sight and there’s no room for mistakes. But when she walks into a Dallas art studio in search of a job, she doesn’t expect to find a deep attraction to the enigmatic artist who works there, Owen Gentry.

For once, Auburn takes a risk and puts her heart in control, only to discover Owen is keeping major secrets from coming out. The magnitude of his past threatens to destroy everything important to Auburn, and the only way to get her life back on track is to cut Owen out of it.

The last thing Owen wants is to lose Auburn, but he can’t seem to convince her that truth is sometimes as subjective as art. All he would have to do to save their relationship is confess. But in this case, the confession could be much more destructive than the actual sin…

“Are you here to save me?”

Hmmmm…it appears I’m on a roll this week. I’m not rating ANYTHING as I had expected. Me and Hoover have had a tremulous relationship, I’m the first to admit that. But after the epicness of Ugly Love (oh shhh) and the extreme fangirling that commenced after I fell in love with my dear Miles, I figured this next one would be the same in a lot of ways. Meaning, maybe I’d finally bridged that hurdle with her writing and I could maybe finally start connecting to all her books. I mean, I LOVE ART. I OBSESS over drawing and painting and what have you. What could possibly go wrong with a story that has a pretty decent female lead, an adorable good guy, and lots of beautiful artwork?? Apparently a lot, it seems.

I continue to stare at my feet, not wanting her to see in my face that I think she’s crazy for agreeing to spend the weekend with me, because she deserves better than what I can give her. I don’t however, think she deserves better than me.

Colleen Hoover seeps, if nothing else, passion into every one of her works. You feel her physically pushing love, adoration, energy, heart into her stories no matter the content. I may not love all the music, poetry, lyrical type writing, but many of you adore it-so why not keep doing it, if it works for her? She’s an artist, in her own way, so she SHOULD keep expressing her passion in her books. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The problem for me? It was broken. I didn’t feel an ounce of the passion I’ve felt in her other stories. I’m not saying she didn’t put effort into her story, I’m just saying it was missing something. Something that was a vital pulse this story lacked. I can’t put my finger on it, but it wasn’t there. And I think that’s my problem-I just felt disconnected.

He pulls my legs until they’re wrapped around his waist, and then he lifts me off the bar and directs us toward the living room without stopping our kiss. I try to ignore the smell of pizza being overcooked in the oven, because I don’t want him to stop. But I’m also really, really hungry and don’t want the pizza to burn.

The first 12% of this story I was very happy. I loved Owen and his cute little facial expressions and his optimistic attitude. I liked the mystery shrouding Auburn and her secret lawyer meetings and the loneliness that exuded from her with each of her walks to and from work. But for some reason, around 20%, something didn’t feel right. I wasn’t getting any butterflies I had gotten in the beginning and I was losing the tentative connection I’d had earlier. There were parts in the middle I loved-drunk scene, Target scene, etc. But as that passion, for me, started to fizzle, so did my interest. I’m not going to lie, I was going to DNF this at 55%. I knew all the little twists I needed to know and I just wasn’t feeling it. But then I skimmed, a little, to get past a lot of the blah blah blah parts. I got past them and I moved on. I was still considering DNFing. Then something happened-I stopped skimming (almost completely! 😉 ) and started to become connected again around, oh, 65-70%? I can’t be sure. And the story totally exploded for me. I got super into it and I was so glad I pushed myself to stick it out. If the rest of the story had half of that intensity, I’d have never been bored. The last 30% was by far my favorite, and I can’t help but to be sad the rest of the story didn’t grip me as deeply.

It’s amazing how much distance one truth can create between two people.

To give you guys an idea of the characters, I’m just guna say a little about each. Owen was a sweetheart-if that isn’t your thing, then pass on by. He was adorable, self-sacrificing, and sweet as candy. He had his sexy, protective moments, believe me-but more often than not he was very kind and funny. (It’s funny that that isn’t a huge turn on, book wise, for a lot of people) I love a break from the intense boys, every now and then, so I definitely did not mind. Auburn I really liked. She was funny (especially when drunk) and very hopeful. She had her own issues we don’t find out about until later in the story, and normally I’m not into these kinds of twists, but this one kind of worked for me. And Trey. That dumbass. He was like those old time villains who twist their mustache while laughing maniacally. He was a little too…err…fake villain-ish for me. Almost unrealistic-but what do I know??

“I’m scared I’ll never feel this again with anyone else,” I whisper.
He squeezes my hands. “I’m scared you will.”

I’m very sad this one wasn’t a complete win for me. I’m always looking for the next great book to obsess and fangirl over, and this one just wasn’t it. I didn’t have HUGE expectations, but I had expectations, all the same. It even had a hint of that insta-love, at first, but it isn’t what you’d ever guess. I think this story will touch many people, some more than most, based on your own personal experiences, but it definitely isn’t for everyone, I don’t think. It’s slower than you’d expect from Hoover and, like I said, not as colorful or passionate as I’m used to seeing-No matter my previous opinions on her other stories, they are always painted so vividly for us and leave little to the imagination. I think a lot of people will feel the same way, but I guess time will tell.

*********************

BOOK REVIEW – Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover

August 20, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

BOOK REVIEW – Hopeless (Hopeless #1) by Colleen Hoover Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
by Colleen Hoover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

I have been struggling for days on what to say about this novel. It’s not because it wasn’t good, because it was, but I felt just..blah after finishing it. I found myself pushing to finish, and struggling to not look at the tv screen as good reruns of Friends were playing…a feat that is not normally so hard for me when I am reading-I would much rather be reading a good book than watching reruns of my favorite television series’!.

When I first started Hopeless, I loved it. I thought, ok wow, I like the start of this, it’s different. It was hard for me to focus at work and not want to hide behind my desk reading. But as the book progressed, I started to see myself drifting to other thoughts and places-and that really blows. It was all great material; I liked the twist, I liked finding out the reasons to why Sky was the way she was, why a certain tattoo was tattoed on Holder’s arm, the romance blossoming throughout…but SOMETHING..was just missing for me. It just missed a beat somewhere, and that’s where it lost a star for me.

For the record-I LOVED Holder the WHOLE way through. He was a great hero for the story. And I also loved Breckin and even Six. Let’s not mistake my sense of something missing for the lack of characters’ chemistry, because it was there. As was lots o’ drama. Maybe people were just making such a big deal out of this book that I thought…Idk what I thought. I was HOPEing (haha) for more.

People who love Colleen Hoover, and even those who don’t know or haven’t heard of her, will love this book; it was just not 100% there for me.

BOOK REVIEW – This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover

August 20, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

BOOK REVIEW – This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover This Girl (Slammed #3)
by Colleen Hoover
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Wow. I devoured This Girl. Probably 6 or 7 months ago I read Slammed and gave it only a 3 or so-I can’t quite remember. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the story, because ultimately I read Point of Retreat and gave it 5 stars. I think I just hated that Will seemed to just be okay with everything or that he kept doing shit that would lead Layken on and then inevitably break her heart all over again. In his side of the story, we get to see how freaking obsessed he is with her and how hard the whole situation is for him.

We see how he would have done anything possible to be with her, even quit his job when that was what was supporting Caulder and himself.

I cannot express how undeniably sweet, and yes, CORNY, this novel was. It was the best kind of corny and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I literally wanted to highlight something on every other page. Seriously-Every. Other. Page. Will’s inner thoughts and turmoil were so adorable that I was second guessing how I ever thought he didn’t care in the first Slammed. The story fills in little blanks that we never even knew existed, and that Will was never for one second a saint when it came to his teaching job or what he felt about the whole situation. I liked this-it was refreshing and it helped me to understand Will better. He is mature for his age, but still, at times, breaks down as a 21 year old with the burdens he carries should.

We get to see the present as well as the past in an alternation of chapters, and this helped us see they still have flaws, but ultimately love each other more than they ever could have imagined. They are so happy and their loving banter was enough to make anyone smile goofily.

Also-I wanted to litter my review with cute quotes but there were just so many I don’t see how I could just do a few. So I decided to skip the quotes, lest my review become ALL about the adorable-ness that is Will.

All in all, I have to say based on Point of Retreat and This Girl, that obviously I like being in Will’s far more than Layken’s. Lake is very likeable, but Will is just something else. Colleen Hoover restored my faith in redoing stories from the male’s POV, because not too long ago I found myself in the middle of a horribly written redo in male POV and it was, quite frankly, dreadful. So thank you Colleen Hoover for restoring my faith in the redone M POV, because I have always been a sucker for a guy’s perspective. 😀

******

Wow. Just…wow. I really connected with this book. Review to come…and thank you Colleen Hoover 🙂