The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Hoover, Colleen. Ugly Love. Atria Books, August 5. 2014. Kindle.

In the romance novel, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, Miles Archer has two rules for a relationship. Do not ask him about his past, and do not expect a future. Even though Tate Collins senses that Miles really loves her, she agrees to Miles’s terms. Miles’s constant spoken denials of his love still hurt and confuse her. He refuses to tell her about the tragic accident that killed his newborn son and the ugly ending of his relationship with the baby’s mother, Rachel. Before it is too late, Miles’s friends try to convince him that he is making a mistake by closing his heart to Tate.

The majority of this novel is written from two different first-person points of view. In the present, Tate tells the story of her attraction to Miles and her belief that he loves her, too. Her portions of the story are staggered with chapters set six years earlier in which Miles describes his romance with Rachel and the circumstances under which they lost their baby.

The sections narrated by Tate describe her attraction to Miles, though she does not like him when they first meet. Her first experience with Miles is arriving at her brother’s apartment to find him passed out drunk. He is propped up against the door to Corbin’s apartment. In spite of her first impression, Tate slowly gets to know Miles, she sees that he is a nice guy. Tate senses that Miles likes her as well, but he will not commit to a relationship beyond sex. Miles's behavior suggests that he loves Tate, but he will not admit verbally that he misses her when they are not together.

Meanwhile, the reader learns about Rachel, Miles’s first love. Miles fell in love with Rachel when they were seniors in high school. Their relationship became problematic when they discovered Rachel’s mother was dating Miles’s father. They tried to stop their love, but they were unable to do so. The situation became even more difficult when Rachel discovered she was pregnant.

Even though it would make college more difficult, Rachel and Miles decided to have the baby. Miles was proud in the hospital because the new baby seemed to be pulling his family back together. He loved Rachel and his son more than he could imagine. On the way home from the hospital, however, they were involved in a car crash. Their car was pushed off a bridge. Their baby was killed.

In the present, both Miles’s best friend, Ian, and his mentor, Cap, warn him that if he lets Tate go, he will be making a mistake. Cap knows Miles is punishing himself for hurting his baby and Rachel. He tells Miles he needs to visit Rachel and see how she is doing before he makes a decision to end his relationship with Tate.

Miles visits Rachel. She has remarried and has an infant daughter. She tells Miles that she was too afraid to love again until she met Brad, her new husband. She realized that while she was with Brad, the happiness she felt began to outweigh the sadness. Eventually, she came to the point where she still felt sad sometimes. However, the sadness did not overwhelm her. She admits she had feared when she became pregnant that she would not be able to love the baby like she loved Clayton. However, when she saw her baby daughter, she cried tears of joy for the first time.

Back at home, Miles waits outside Tate’s apartment for six hours. When she arrives, he tells her that he misses her. Tate can tell there is something that changed his attitude about their relationship. He tells her that he had a son who died. The day that Tate met Miles was the day his son would have turned six. He promises to tell her what happened as he feels comfortable sharing.

Miles wakes Tate early one morning to take her and Cap on a plane ride. After they land, Miles hands Tate a box that contains a key. He asks her to move in with him. He hands her a second box, which contains a ring. He tells her that wants her to have his future.