From Z to A: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Dear Aly,

I’m back! I was in such a reading slump for the past few weeks, a little lost on what to read, but Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover brought me out of that slump!

Ugly Love is about a girl named Tate who moves in with her brother Corbin in San Francisco. She meets her brother’s next door neighbor Miles while moving in; he’s laying inebriated in front of the apartment door. She carries him in while he’s mumbling about someone named Rachel. As the days go on, Miles and Tate realize they have a mutual attraction and no desire to enter a relationship. They try to have casual sex without getting their feelings involved, but obviously that doesn’t really work. The book is written from two perspectives: Tate’s in present day and Miles’ from 6 years ago when he was 18. We get Miles’ backstory as to why he is the way he is, and we see Tate struggle with her feelings for Miles.

I enjoyed Ugly Love. It didn’t masquerade as what it’s not. This was my first New Adult read, so I really didn’t have expectations, but I had heard that Colleen Hoover was a fantastic author. I agree: her characters are real and believable, they make mistakes but they aren’t totally clueless. I loved Tate because of how aware of her feeling she was. Miles was mysterious and brooding but with his chapters, more and more of his past unravelled.

There were some lines that made me roll my eyes, particularly when Tate and Miles meet for the first time, or one of the first times Miles is with Rachel, but I think as the book went on the writing got better… or I just became more invested in the story haha.

Overall, Ugly Love was a really fun read. If you’re looking for a contemporary that’s a step up from Young Adult, try Colleen Hoover’s books. She creates relatable characters and I thoroughly enjoyed Ugly Love.

Happy reading,

Zoe

 

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From A to Z: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Dear Z,

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is technically an adult book however the amount of teens and YA lovers I’ve met who love it is immense. Why just this week while at work a teenage girl came into the office and told me how much she loved the book, she wasn’t older than 17. In fact I think I would classify this as a New Adult Book. Now I don’t know where to begin with describing this book. On the whole I absolutely adored reading it. It was quirky and fun and kept you on your toes. Author Robin Sloan showcases the modern technological world merging with a world of paper and ink thousands of years old. And he does so through one marketing major out of a job in San Francisco during the Recession.

In the book we follow Clay as he stumbles upon this odd all night bookstore while in search of job. And we also meet the eccentric cast of characters, from immortality and Google obsessed Kat, whom I didn’t particularly enjoy, to Clay’s childhood best friend/ entrepreneur. Then of course there’s the quirky, Dumbledore-like Mr. Penumbra himself. Through this book you see bookish cults, the creepy amazing capabilities of technology in our world, and how a passion for something can get you everywhere in life.

This book will take you on the weirdest journey. And I’m serious, this is probably the weirdest book I have ever read, however it is very very addicting as well. You want to know what the big mystery behind this store is exactly. Also the writing is phenomenal, Sloan does not shy away from using his talent to the max pulling out Latin terms, coding terms, technological as well as book making terms. This book will need your full attention and you will want to give it. Not to mention the cover is glow in the dark.

So if you like books that take place in San Francisco, fun mysteries, books about our modern changing world told from the rising generation, or old episodes of Twilight Zone then please pick up a copy of this book! It is a genuinely fun read and I can’t thank you enough for recommending it to me Zoe.

Until the Next Read,

A

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