Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Book: Ugly Love
Author: Colleen Hoover
File type: Kindle edition
Releasing Date: August 5th 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
My ratings: four out of five

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.


If only you all could see my face when I finally finished the book.

It wasn't one which screamed ecstasy.
It wasn't a face which resounded heartbreak.
It was nothing but mind-boggling, ground-shaking, wind-blowing utter shock and surprise. 

This is a novel about a girl and boy who meet each other, are sexually and physically attracted to each other and decide that they're going to stick with a friends with benefits arrangement because they have no time for love.

We all know how that ends.

But. This. was. actually. quite. surprising. 
There I was, ready to be not so impressed because I've always been presumptuous and judgemental but then suddenly I realised that I'm actually quite into it and that I don't...hate it.
How nice.

This is divided into sections which give you a backstory and simultaneously show you what's going on in the real world. So it's a gradual succession, until you reach a point where you finally get to know what the entire fuss is about. the fuss being the question and its answer to why Miles doesn't want to give into a future with Tate. 
Honestly, such situations annoy the crap out of me. The characters may understand what they're doing but I certainly don't. Also, such situations make donkeys and potatoes of even the best characters. 
But here's me re-establishing my point. I was surprised.

Individually, I don't mind the characters. They may have had stupid reasons for carrying on with their 'arrangement' even if both of them were aware about its obvious consequences, but what can I say? They were horny. Case closed. 

Otherwise, I loved the balance created by the author. Miles past brings into the fore another character and his relationship with that character and even THAT was pretty appealing to me. IF the present got too weird, it was soon followed by the past which countered its weirdness and vice versa. 

I was listening to this while reading the book and it may or may not have influenced my opinion. It's a fantastic song either way. 
Overall, a nice, entertaining novel which keeps you engrossed, and like me, even happy. 

Come Back to Me by Mila Gray

Book: Come Back to Me
Author: Mila Gray
File type: Ebook
Releasing date: June 19th 2014
Publisher: Pan Macmillan

synopsis:
Home on leave in sunny California, Marine and local lothario Kit Ryan finds himself dangerously drawn to his best friend's sister, Jessa - the one girl he can't have.

But Kit's not about to let a few obstacles stand in his way and soon Jessa's falling for his irresistible charms.

What starts out as a summer romance of secret hook-ups and magical first times quickly develops into a passionate love affair that turns both their worlds upside down.

When summer's over and it's time for Kit to redeploy, neither Kit nor Jessa are ready to say goodbye. Jessa's finally following her dreams and Kit's discovered there's someone he'd sacrifice everything for.

Jessa's prepared to wait for Kit no matter what. But when something more than distance and time rips them apart they're forced to decide whether what they have is really worth fighting for.

A breathtaking, scorchingly hot story about love, friendship, family and finding your way back from the edge of heartbreak.


This book reminds me of a cupcake with lots of frosting on it.
On the first bite, it tastes divine. On the second, it's excellent but by the time you're ready to take the third bite, you ask yourself 'Is it just me or is this cupcake a little too sweet?'

There's a lot to like about this love. The romance is genuine and sweet, if not cheesy..which it was on many occasions. The writing was simple, understandable and fluid and that worked well for the novel which was paced well. There was never a dull moment and nothing could take me away from the book until I had finished it. 

I've always loved beginnings. The promise of young love or love of any kind, the uncertain future and what lies ahead. The tentative first glances and stares. The first few steps into the real world. Beginnings are always magical. 
But here, I found myself gravitating towards the journey undertaken by both Jessa and Kit. I was stuck in the middle and I wanted to stay there forever. I didn't care about their past or future, I was living the present through them. This is what I ask of NA. I want love and not some overly tortured characters who want to sex each other up, all the time. But that worked for some novels, so I'm going to stay mum about that now. 

But here's the thing, to add complexity, there were several different elements that ran from Army boys to psychological desires to lusty thoughts and finally, back stories among many back stories. (yes, I'm exaggerating and not exaggerating)
All of this added together was a little too much. The cupcake was dense and the frosting sweet.
There were some tiny unnecessary bits, like that epilogue which I believe we could have lived without and the characters individually weren't as appealing as they were when they were together. 

On the whole, Come back to Me, is an entertaining read. If you're in need of some cupcakes and sweetness, then this is it guys.

Sins and Needles by Karina Halle

Book: Sins and Needles
Author: Karina Halle.
File type: E-book
Publisher: Metal Blonde books
Release Date: 25th January 2013
My rating: 3 out of 5.

synopsis:
Ellie Watt is used to starting over. The daughter of a grifting team, Ellie spent her childhood being used as a pawn in her parents' latest scam. Now she’s much older, wiser and ready to give her con artist life a rest. But returning to the dry desert town of Palm Valley, California means one more temptation than she bargained for – Camden McQueen. Once known as the high school weirdo, Camden is bigger and badder than the boy he used to be and a talented tattoo artist with his own thriving business. Ellie’s counting on Camden still being in love with her but what she’s not counting on is how easily unrequited love can turn into obsession over time. When Camden discovers Ellie’s plan to con him, he makes her a deal she doesn’t dare refuse, but her freedom comes with a price and it’s one that takes both Ellie and Camden down a dangerous road.


***The Artists Trilogy is a dark and sexy contemporary ride about three flawed individuals caught in a world where it's so easy to justify the bad things we do. This is a pure adult read (Not YA or NA).


Now, where do I even start.

I like Karina Halle. I absolutely adore her writing. She takes the most messed up characters, puts them in a situation where you have to either fight or run away. Then she makes them do things which completely flies over my head, which frankly speaking messes with my ridonkulous brain a bit and then finally, she ends it with a cliffhanger. 
Nice. 

I think the best thing about Karina Halle, is that she introduces characters who have problems that I can't relate with, but I sort of understand why or what led them to do whatever they did. It's like saying that you maybe the weirdest and the most ridiculously brave adventure junkie on the planet or you may be a person who loves to smoke weed, but in both the cases there is only one fact that motivates you: Your need to feel that rush. A person, a spectator, who isn't either one of those people, would still understand what led the others to be an adrenaline or you know, weed junkie, because he or she understands what it feels like to be suspended in a rush, even if he doesn't relate to any of the situations.
So it was something like that for me. 

Ellie Watt, Camden McQueen and Javier.. (I don't remember his surname. oops.) are three characters who are people who do what they want to do and I don't get why. Like for example, there were several situations where I thought that hmmm, maybe I'd do that differently, but you know what, it was okay. 
I wasn't too sold out when it came down to the plot. Initially, yes I was, but 100 pages in and I realised that maybe, just maybe, I know exactly how this would play out and eventually, it did.
But I like how it was built upon. There were these tiny yet powerful complex elements that jumped right at me through the pages and it made the lack of direction, okay.For instance, the part where we get to see this entirely new side of Camden and you realise that beneath his tattooed and sexy exterior there is a restrained animal, waiting to be unleashed onto the world. Now, that really excited me. 

Maybe my accusation of this book being directionless isn't the best way to describe the book, but I do believe that there was something terribly incomplete. Although, it is a trilogy and I see the purpose of a cliffhanger, I just felt so unsatisfied by the end of it that I wanted to pounce on the next one immediately. On second thought, maybe this is a tactic to lure me into buying the second one. WELL, GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE IT DID THE TRICK.

Another flaw, a very major one, in my opinion was the relationship between Camden and Ellie. Honestly, I don't buy it. In fact it's funny how Javier attracted my attention much more than Camden ever did. While I couldn't understand Camden and Ellie, I was excited by the prospect of Javier and Ellie and that is precisely why I intend to devour the novella, 'On every Street', with happinesss.

Overall, even with its flaws, Sins and Needles proved to be a nice start of my journey to devour Karina's books. It was very promising and I can't wait to get over with this review and jump onto the next one. Which is now. Ta-ta!