Saturday, November 28, 2015

Ugly Love

Ranking 4 out of 5

Favorite Quote: "But then I met you, and every single day since then, I've wondered how someone could be so beautiful if there wasn't a God. I've wondered how someone could make me so incredibly happy if God didn't exist. And I realized...just now...that God gives us the ugliness so we don't take the beautiful things in life for granted."

Summary: 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. 

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.

Review: I decided to read this book because I've liked every novel I've ever read by Collen Hoover. Plus, this particular story had a pretty high rating on goodreads, and I heard something about it being turned into a movie. I just love being able to go see a movie and tell all of my friends "I read this book." (It makes me feel so smart! My friends also love spoilers so I get to have all the power!!) Before I go into anything about this book, I just wanted to let you all know that it contains some sexual content. It was for this specific reason that I was afraid of reading it, but I told myself "Hey! Got to try something new, right?!...." However, after reading it I can assure you that, if you aren't into that sort of thing, all you have to do is skip over those few pages/parts. (You won't miss anything that connects drastically with the plot.) 

Okay, to move on... This book was surprisingly good. I was kind of shocked by some of the inspirational content. (*My favorite quote.*) At moments, it left me smiling blissfully and other times I was just like...dang.... 

The story switches point of views, but not in the way you would expect. You'll read a chapter from Tate's point of view in the present and then the story-line switches to Miles point of view where he tells the story of his past. I really liked this aspect. In most contemporary romance novels nowadays one or more of the main characters will have suffered from a catastrophic event or set of events, but the reader isn't really made aware of the details of these events/event. That is what is so great about Ugly Love. You get to live through the WHOLE backstory of the darker character (which I appreciated immensely). Honestly, this is what made the book for me.

Besides that, I'd have to say, it was nothing spectacular. It is a typical romance novel without any quirky tidbits or unique plot twists, characters, settings, themes...(*other literary terms*) Even with that said, you should definitely give it a read. It's a good book and it may surprise you. (In a thumbs-up-way not a thumbs-down way!) 

Side Note: I'm taking book recommendations. If you have found an amazing read...or you wrote one. (Even if it is on Wattpad. Because I love Wattpad.) Hit me up! Oh...and also if you have any suggestions for songs I adore listening to music while I read!

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Personal Demons

Rating: 2 out of 5

Favorite Quote: I walk up right behind Frannie, where she's sitting near the door, in time to hear her say, " You know what, Tay? Go to Hell," and I smile, because I think it's cute that she's inviting her friends along.

Summary: If you had to choose between Heaven and Hell, which would it be? Are you sure about that...? Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance--even her closest friends--and it seems her senior year will be more of the same...until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions--for Hell--and she possesses a unique skill set that has the king of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he's as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn't stand a chance. Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn't get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul. But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay...for all of them.

Review: Ugh! The summary of this book sounded so good, and really pumped me up, but I was highly disappointed. The characters were just...bad. Frannie, the mainish character, was so wishy-woshy. By the end of the book I had no idea who she was as a person. At one moment she was this sweet and nice girl, but a paragraph later and she would be a complete princess. Overall, she just was not the solid character needed to lead a good book. Then Gabe, the tempting angel, was completely flat. He was solely the "good force" and was beyond boring which is really sad considering he was supposedly fighting for the affections of a "kick-butt" protagonist female. The only decent character was Luc. Luc, a demon sent to tag Frannie's soul for hell, was pretty hilarious with his bad-boy banter, but towards the end he started to become just as boring as Gabe. If it was that bad why did I give it a two? Well, despite everything, there were parts of the book I enjoyed....and I finished it. (That's got to count for something, right?)