“Hoover builds a terrific new-adult world here with two people growing in their careers and discovering mature love.” -- Booklist (starred review)
"A must-read book of the year! I loved every word, I felt every moment, and I will never forget this story. I don’t give out a lot of 6 star ratings (in fact this will be the first one I’ve given this year) but the truth is that this book went above and beyond. The story was powerful, the writing was stunning, and the way every single piece of it was woven together was simply breathtaking.” -- Aestas, blog review
“By the end of this book, my heart was aching and rejoicing at the same time from the countless emotions it had been exposed to. This is the sexiest, most heart-wrenching Colleen Hoover book to date—a book that shows us a brand new side of this author’s writing genius, and it is in my humble opinion, her best work thus far.” -- Natasha is a Book Junkie, blog review
“Colleen Hoover once again proves she’s a master storyteller in her best and boldest work to date.” -- Vilma Iris' Blog
“She's done it again, my friends. And to be honest I didn't think she was ever going to write something I loved more than MAYBE SOMEDAY, but I was book hung over for 2 full days after UGLY LOVE.” -- Me, My Shelf, & I, blog review
“I fell in love with this book from the very first chapter.” -- Owl Always be Reading, blog review
"Ugly Love is another hit from Colleen Hoover that will leave your heart open and exposed to the myriad of emotions Tate and Miles' story will inflict upon it.” -- Lovin Los Libros, blog review
“ Colleen Hoover has given us a story that is full of emotion.... she stayed true to her reputation of writing characters that are real and a story that is both compelling and powerful.” -- A Literary Perusal, blog review
"Colleen Hoover just demolished me. Completely and 100% blew me away…not that I’m surprised or anything because she never ceases to amaze me.... I was pulled in from the beginning…and I loved every second of it!” -- True Story Book Blog, blog tour review
"Thank you for another 'rip my heart out' excursion ... and with Ugly Love you somehow managed to do it TWICE! And I loved every bit of it!” -- The Real Housewives of Romance, blog tour review
“If you were to only read one book this year, make that book Ugly Love.... It's definitely my favorite book of all time, and that's not a phrase that I use lightly.” -- Kayla’s Reads & Reviews, blog tour review
“I LOVED this book. I stayed up until 1:00 a.m. to finish it, something I haven’t done in ages.... Ugly Love was a riveting page-turner that I couldn’t put down.” -- Reading Books like a Boss, blog review
“Colleen is an artist. She has this uncanny ability to take normal, everyday words and somehow turn them into the most beautiful poetry I’ve ever read. The beauty of her lyrical writing style made me teary-eyed countless times. She can take something so simple and make it so powerful.” -- Nestled in a Book, blog review
“Colleen Hoover does it again. She always creates a story that gets under your skin and hits you right in the heart. Ugly Love was no exception. Miles and Tate have a very intense story to be told and only Colleen Hoover could do it justice.” -- Readers Live a 1000 Lives, blog tour review
“I’m not sure my heart will ever forget this book. Incredible read!!!” -- Flirty and Dirty Book Blog, blog tour review
“Colleen Hoover has done it again. Her words have wholly altered me, mind, body, and spirit. I can’t explain what I’ve done or where I’ve been the past few hours, and the only thing that is in my mind is WOW.” -- The Scarlet Siren, blog tour review
"Ugly Love carries the kinship of stellar writing, (poetry, really), searing emotion, and a story that hits you in your very core.” ― I Heart Big Books, blog tour review
"I LOVE everything and anything that this woman writes…This is everything we come to expect from Ms. Hoover and SO MUCH more! You know when you come across a book and you don’t know what to say about it other than that you loved it and it was amazing?! Well thats how I feel about Ugly Love. JUST READ IT! TRUST ME!” ― Shh Mom’s Reading, blog tour review
When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she doesn't think it's 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.
Über den Autor und weitere Mitwirkende
Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-three novels, including It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, All Your Perfects, Ugly Love, and Verity. In 2015, Colleen and her family founded a nonprofit called The Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly book subscription service. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. For more information, please visit ColleenHoover.com.
Leseprobe. Abdruck erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
Chapter One: Tate chapter one TATE
“Somebody stabbed you in the neck, young lady.”
My eyes widen, and I slowly turn toward the elderly gentleman standing at my side. He presses the up button on the elevator and faces me. He smiles and points to my neck.
“Your birthmark,” he says.
My hand instinctively goes up to my neck, and I touch the dime-sized mark just below my ear.
“My grandfather used to say the placement of a birthmark was the story of how a person lost the battle in their past life. I guess you got stabbed in the neck. Bet it was a quick death, though.”
I smile, but I can’t tell if I should be afraid or entertained. Despite his somewhat morbid opening conversation, he can’t be that dangerous. His curved posture and shaky stance give away that he isn’t a day less than eighty years old. He takes a few slow steps toward one of two velvet red chairs that are positioned against the wall next to the elevator. He grunts as he sinks into the chair and then looks up at me again.
“You going up to floor eighteen?”
My eyes narrow as I process his question. He somehow knows what floor I’m going to, even though this is the first time I’ve ever set foot in this apartment complex, and it’s definitely the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on this man.
“Yes, sir,” I say cautiously. “Do you work here?”
“I do indeed.”
He nods his head toward the elevator, and my eyes move to the illuminated numbers overhead. Eleven floors to go before it arrives. I pray it gets here quickly.
“I push the button for the elevator,” he says. “I don’t think there’s an official title for my position, but I like to refer to myself as a flight captain, considering I do send people as high as twenty stories up in the air.”
I smile at his words, since my brother and father are both pilots. “How long have you been flight captain of this elevator?” I ask as I wait. I swear this is the slowest damn elevator I’ve ever encountered.
“Since I got too old to do maintenance on this building. Worked here thirty-two years before I became captain. Been sending people on flights now for more than fifteen years, I think. Owner gave me a pity job to keep me busy till I died.” He smiles to himself. “What he didn’t realize is that God gave me a lot of great things to accomplish in my life, and right now, I’m so far behind I ain’t ever gonna die.”
I find myself laughing when the elevator doors finally open. I reach down to grab the handle of my suitcase and turn to him one more time before I step inside. “What’s your name?”
“Samuel, but call me Cap,” he says. “Everybody else does.”
“You got any birthmarks, Cap?”
He grins. “As a matter of fact, I do. Seems in my past life, I was shot right in the ass. Must have bled out.”
I smile and bring my hand to my forehead, giving him a proper captain’s salute. I step into the elevator and turn around to face the open doors, admiring the extravagance of the lobby. This place seems more like a historic hotel than an apartment complex, with its expansive columns and marble floors.
When Corbin said I could stay with him until I found a job, I had no idea he lived like an actual adult. I thought it would be similar to the last time I visited him, right after I graduated from high school, back when he had first started working toward his pilot’s license. That was four years and a two-story sketchy complex ago. That’s kind of what I was expecting.
I certainly wasn’t anticipating a high-rise smack dab in the middle of downtown San Francisco.
I find the panel and press the button for the eighteenth floor, then look up at the mirrored wall of the elevator. I spent all day yesterday and most of this morning packing up everything I own from my apartment back in San Diego. Luckily, I don’t own much. But after making the solo five-hundred-mile drive today, my exhaustion is pretty evident in my reflection. My hair is in a loose knot on top of my head, secured with a pencil, since I couldn’t find a hair tie while I was driving. My eyes are usually as brown as my hazelnut hair, but right now, they look ten shades darker, thanks to the bags under them.
I reach into my purse to find a tube of ChapStick, hoping to salvage my lips before they end up as weary-looking as the rest of me. As soon as the elevator doors begin to close, they open again. A guy is rushing toward the elevators, preparing to walk on as he acknowledges the old man. “Thanks, Cap,” he says.
I can’t see Cap from inside the elevator, but I hear him grunt something in return. He doesn’t sound nearly as eager to make small talk with this guy as he was with me. This man looks to be in his late twenties at most. He grins at me, and I know exactly what’s going through his mind, considering he just slid his left hand into his pocket.
The hand with the wedding ring on it.
“Floor ten,” he says without looking away from me. His eyes fall to what little cleavage is peeking out of my shirt, and then he looks at the suitcase by my side. I press the button for floor ten. I should have worn a sweater.
“Moving in?” he asks, blatantly staring at my shirt again.
I nod, although I doubt he notices, considering his gaze isn’t planted anywhere near my face.
“What floor?”
Oh, no, you don’t. I reach beside me and cover all the buttons on the panel with my hands to hide the illuminated eighteenth-floor button, and then I press every single button between floors ten and eighteen. He glances at the panel, confused.
“None of your business,” I say.
He laughs.
He thinks I’m kidding.
He arches his dark, thick eyebrow. It’s a nice eyebrow. It’s attached to a nice face, which is attached to a nice head, which is attached to a nice body.
A married body.
Asshole.
He grins seductively after seeing me check him out—only I wasn’t checking him out the way he thinks I was. In my mind, I was wondering how many times that body has been pressed against a girl who wasn’t his wife.
I feel sorry for his wife.
He’s looking at my cleavage again when we reach floor ten. “I can help you with that,” he says, nodding toward my suitcase. His voice is nice. I wonder how many girls have fallen for that married voice. He walks toward me and reaches to the panel, bravely pressing the button that closes the doors.
I hold his stare and press the button to open the doors. “I’ve got it.”
He nods as if he understands, but there’s still a wicked gleam in his eyes that reaffirms my immediate dislike of him. He steps out of the elevator and turns to face me before walking away.
“Catch you later, Tate,” he says, just as the doors close.
I frown, not comfortable with the fact that the only two people I’ve interacted with since walking into this apartment building already know who I am.
I remain alone on the elevator as it stops on every single floor until it reaches the eighteenth. I step off, pull my phone out of my pocket, and open up my messages to Corbin. I can’t remember which apartment number he said...