An Ugly Love

Once Upon a Time #2

by Maya Alden

Once upon a time, there was an ugly duckling named Hansa Raj, hidden in the shadows of the dazzling lights of Everwood's vineyards, overshadowed by her radiant sister Naina, an ex-supermodel turned media empress. Hansa harbors dreams as fragrant and deep as the wines of Everwood, of crafting her own signature wine with an Indian touch, paying homage to her heritage.

Orion Callahan, who once tried to woo the brilliant Naina, has now risen as the wine prince of Everwood. But this festive season, amidst the cascading golden lights and melodies of Christmas carols, his eyes aren’t on Naina. Instead, they are captivated by the unexpected charm and genuine passion of Hansa, the girl in his tasting room, the duckling that no one noticed.

As Everwood sparkles under the festive lights, a complex dance of past affections, silent dreams, and family expectations ensues. Orion, enchanted by both the powerful allure of Naina's world and the genuine dreams of Hansa, finds himself at life's crossroads.

I am Seraphina Vine, the fairy godmother of Everwood and against the backdrop of frost-kissed vineyards and yuletide celebrations I sprinkle some fairy dust so a prince can learn that some ducklings are perfect as they are and don't need to become swans to be loved. Step into the fairytale town of Everwood and dive deep into a story that talks of ambition, love, and the enchanting magic when two contrasting worlds collide.

Publisher's An Ugly Love is the second book in the Once Upon A Time series and is based on the H.C. Andersen fairytale, The Ugly Duckling . This is a standalone book with a very happy fairytale ending.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Workplace Romance, Contemporary, Disability, Family Drama, Found Family

Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2023

About the author

A top 20 Amazon Bestselling Author, Maya Alden pens angsty contemporary romances.

Reviews

[Mairi Swan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm feeling quite generous giving it 3 stars and let me explain. I found the heroine irritating. She was always whining "why me?" "I'm ugly" "I'm fat". And yes I understand that she was treated poorly from her family from the moment she was born but she had quite the accomplishments to not feel that way, or at least as much.
Also all the talking about the wine. I like my wine and in no way am I any expert that's why I felt overwhelmed with so much detailed talking about it. I wondered too many times "Should I at least knew that? Is it like some common knowledge?". I felt dumb and I believe if any detailed wine talking was removed the book would be half its size.

[Vintage]

The hero is so mean!

[Yvonne Qin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rate：3🌟-3.5🌟

Review：

Tbh its better than the first book i read by her..But still the storyline is similar and the development of MCs is strange.

For example，MMC‘s one-eighty change of his attitude of FMC and FMC always says she is fat/dark/short…

One good thing that makes me give it an almost 3.5🌟 is that the gut-wrenching moment when MMC finds out FMC is dyslexia…

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like wine. I like drinking wine. I like the way it tastes.

I don't like endless descriptions and discussions about the wine though, apparently.

But if you do; this is definitely the book for you.

I wanted more angst.

Not more wine notes.

But whatever. The book was ok.

[Marilla ☘︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5✨

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK or decent reads
========================

[VoraciousReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. At 51%, Orion apologized to Hansa for the way he had treated her and she asked him why he had been that way. He thought to himself that his answer might hurt her but he believed that they couldn’t have a genuine friendship if they didn’t have honesty. Except he wasn’t honest. He told her that he was mean to her because he didn’t want to encourage her crush on him. But, he admitted to himself that he was so hard on her because he was embarrassed to be attracted to someone so unattractive and “slow”.
2. It made me RAGE when Orion got angry at Hansa for putting herself down. In his thoughts, he would admit that it was HIS fault that she was this insecure because of the way that he treated her but he would still get angry at her for feeling that way.
3. Did everyone lie to Hansa? Eli swore to her that no one asked him to ask her on a date, that he did it because he wanted to get to know her. But later, he admitted to Orion that he had only asked her out because Seraphina told him that it would annoy Orion.

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the angsty beginning of this book. My husband and son have Dyslexia, so I appreciated how the author writes that people with this trait should be empowered and that they’re anything but stupid.


Let me preface these complaints by saying Alden is my favorite romance author currently. Her books are getting better and better. This book is VERY MUCH worth a read as this author’s storytelling is so talented.

Spoiler alert 🚨





I didn’t like the heroine’s constant negative self talk and how she constantly needed reassurance about her appearance. It was clear from reading that she wasn’t ugly, just not supermodel material. As for her terrible family, they didn’t deserve redeeming imho.

[Van nee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This had promise. But it was beyond vanilla. There's exactly 1 spicy time and event that was meh. There was potential for a good story but the style was all telling and not enough showing. The characters all have ott epiphanies that seem to be more finger wagging about bad behavior rather than an actual plot. The h and H had no chemistry and were so very vanilla except for when the H was treating the h badly. This just flopped.

[Tamara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf 66%
Premise was good, but I just got bored.

[vanne 🌸 · Rating 1 out of 5]

why do i keep doing this lmfaooo

[Kathleen Lemke (Kathy Page) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating: 3 1/2 stars

What I loved: I liked that once Orion(H) got his head out of his ass and dumped the sister, he was all in with Hansa(h). The way he was patient and sweet with her made me forgive him faster. Loved when he told her parents and sister that he wasn’t going to tolerate them being mean to Hansa anymore. The way his family all stood up for her was beautiful to read.

What I didn’t like: I wished we got to read the parents coming to apologize to Hansa. After reading all the horrible things they said to her and had her be “a servant” it would have been nice to read the apology. Also, the same with the sister. She was such a bitch all the way until the end and I really wanted to read the conversation between the sisters.

***Major Spoilers/ Details/Triggers: OW Drama (h’s sister), h is treated horribly by her family, h has dyslexia, overhears the H talking badly about the h to the sister. h is working for H’s family winery. h has had a crush on the H since school but he had never noticed the h. h is plain were as her sister is beautiful. H had a crush on the h’s sister in school. When the H’s winery gets featured in a magazine the sister decides to give the H a chance. H and the sister go on a couple of dates. h upset but puts a smile on her face. h’s family treats her horrible and like a servant. They constantly put her down and call her slow and lazy. h has dyslexia and is very hard working. H thinks the h is slow and yells at her when she makes a mistake. h overhears her sister and him talking badly about her. That just makes the h try harder to do a better job. The H’s family love the h and help her out. The H knows he is rude to the h but can’t seem to help it. When he sees the h on a date with his friend he knows he has feelings for her and decides to stop seeing the sister. H also finally sees how her family treats her and hates that he was one of them that didn’t treat her right. H after telling the sister they are done goes after the h. He spends the rest of the book making sure the h knows how beautiful and smart she is. He finds out about her dyslexia and helps make things easier for her. They start dating and together they make a new wine. h moves in with the H. h also finally stands up to her family. Later in the book, the H tells her family that they are no longer allowed in her life unless they start treating her with respect. The sister finally comes to her senses when one of her dates calls her out on it after he hears the H tells the sister she is no longer allowed there and sees the way she treated the h. HEA with the H and h engaged, the sister throwing an engagement party for them and her parents there treating her better.

Final thoughts: I enjoyed this book and definitely will read more from this author.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant take on an old fairytale

There are so many good things about this book - how it describes winemaking and tasting, its depiction of Indian culture, the representation of individuals with dyslexia - but by far my favourite aspect of the book is the subversion of the message of the original fairytale.

Across the whole book, the message is not that the ugly duckling has to change to become beautiful and lovable. On the contrary, it is the people around her who need to reevaluate their views and realise what has been in front of them the whole time. This message needs to be yelled out from the rooftops and this book hammers it home repeatedly.

[nayezi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only aspect he really appreciated about her was that she liked and knew about wine...

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favourite part was about the wine!!!! Love the descriptions! The books was ehhh but the wine!!!!

[eevee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this had a nice message but it just fell flat for me. It’s not just that Hansa is ugly as the title implies; the main “problem” with her seems to be that everyone around her seems to think she’s dumb. Except her close friends. But literally everyone else says she is slow. And the reason behind it? Because she’s… she’s… DYSLEXIC. Except wait, that’s not even uncommon or unusual at all. It would’ve been different if Hansa learned in the novel that she was dyslexic all along. But she already knew and so she keeps struggling with things that she doesn’t ask accommodations for. So on one hand I understood why it would be frustrating to work with her, because you don’t know why she keeps making all these mistakes, you just know it keeps happening. And people will assume it’s laziness or carelessness or yes, incompetence. But I just think it’s crazy everyone in the novel is acting like dyslexia is a disease or something. Relax.

I also didn’t feel the romance from the hero’s side. He just kind of realizes that he doesn’t want to be shallow anymore. But he still describes Hansa with qualifiers, like comparing her to her sister. Sure he says that Hansa is nicer and a hard worker, but her sister is still always prettier. I just felt sad. Hansa is very insecure and sad and beaten down, which makes her personality kind of mainly just that. Anytime she interacts with the hero after he admits feelings for her she basically keeps saying ‘really? You do like me? Why?’ over and over and over.

I guess my biggest gripe was just the writing. I don’t get it. It sounded too much like an essay. Not like a real stream of consciousness person thinking/talking. For Hansa or any of the characters.

[Tina Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugly Love is a story about Hansa and Orion. Hansa’s family always reminds her she was not her sister who is a beautiful supermodel. Hansa’s also has dyslexia. Hansa works for Atlas and finds a family and support that she didn’t realize she needed but desperately wanted with Atlas, his family, and Seraphina. Hansa has a crush on Orion, Atlas’s brother, but he seems to only have eyes for her sister. The story has some twists and turns to keep the us turning the pages. Orion finally wakes up and see what has been in front of him. In the end Hansa realizes she really doesn’t need to change anything to find her happily ever after. She just had to find herself. This book was well written as are all of Maya’s book! I can’t wait for more!!

[Sabs ✨️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 🌟

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Il brutto anatroccolo non deve per forza trasformarsi in cigno per ricevere un po' di amore e rispetto. Questa è, in breve, la morale di questo libro, il secondo dedicato alle avventure sentimentali di casa Callahan, in particolare a quelle del fratello minore.
A differenza del fratello Atlas, che si occupa principalmente degli aspetti imprenditoriali dell'azienda di famiglia, Orion è colui che cura le vigne, le fasi di raccolta e di imbottigliamento, che testa ed analizza tutti i vini, che sviluppa nuovi prodotti combinando vari tipi di uva. Fondamentalmente, è l'uomo del vino. Poco amante delle formalità e dei vestiti eleganti, si trova più a suo agio in mezzo alle vigne o nelle cantine. Tra i suoi compiti, c'è anche la gestione delle sale di degustazione, a cui fanno visita non solo i clienti abituali, ma anche quelli nuovi e amanti del vino. In queste sale di degustazione, lavora la nostra protagonista, Hansa, ragazza nata negli Stati Uniti ma di origini indiane che, contro il volere della famiglia, ha deciso di seguire la sua passione con l'obiettivo di diventare un giorno una produttrice di vino.

Allora, un po' come nel caso del fratello maggiore, pure Orion si comporta da idiota per buona parte del romanzo. Non è uno stronzo per divertimento, però il modo in cui tratta Hansa è davvero inqualificabile - non si fa problemi a sminuirla, ad umiliarla, a trattarla con condiscendenza. Il problema è che lui sarebbe pure interessato a lei, ma la ragazza non corrisponde a quelli che, dal suo punto di vista, sono gli standard che la sua partner dovrebbe possedere: bellezza fisica, una carriera di successo, risultati accademici di successo. Tutte cose che Hansa non possiede e che invece non mancano alla sorella maggiore....sorella maggiore che è sì bellissima (d'altra parte stiamo parlando di una che ha fatto per anni la modella), che ha una carriera da urlo e che ha frequentato con successo università prestigiose, ma che, alla fine della fiera, è una stronza patentata, soprattutto nei confronti di Hansa. Bellezza e successo, ma solo a livello superficiale, perché la cattiveria che si nasconde dietro questa facciata è tutto fuorché affascinante. Orion ha sbavato dietro questa tizia fin dai tempi della scuola e ora che il suo nome sta diventando famoso nel modo dei produttori di vino, la modella inizia a considerarlo un partner degno di stare al suo fianco. Ma una volta che iniziano ad uscire insieme, l'illusione viene meno piuttosto velocemente. Non c'è alcuna chimica, alcuna attrazione. Senza contare che Orion è circondato da gente (fratello, sorella e cognata in primis) che non è per niente contenta di questa relazione, che gli ripete fino allo sfinimento che sta perdendo tempo con una stronza patentata. Fortunatamente, a un certo ha un momento di illuminazione e farà pace col cervello, iniziando a trattare la povera Hansa con il rispetto che merita e a darle tutto il sostegno di cui ha bisogno. Però ecco, all'inizio gli avrei sinceramente mollato un cartone in faccia...

Hansa, dal canto suo, è il nostro brutto anattroccolo. Anche se qui bisogna un attimo elaborare sul concetto di "brutto": paragonata constamente alla sorella maggiore - ricordiamolo, modella, superfiga, ricca, laureata con il massimo dei voti, ammirata e venerata da tutti -, la povera Hansa finisce per essere trattata come la figlia della serva. Agli occhi dei genitori, è la figlia grassa (in realtà ha un fisico normale, non da modella), brutta e stupida, dai risultati scolastici mediocri. Risultati che sono legati a doppio filo alla dislessia che i genitori si rifiutano di accettare e che la ragazza tiene segreta per a) non essere compatita e b) non essere trattata come una povera scema. Già perché esiste ancora uno stigma legato a questo tipo di disturbo - di fatto le persone dislessiche vengono spesso etichettate come stupide, svogliate, incapaci di impegnarsi. Hansa ha passato una vita circondata da gente (a paritre dai genitori e dalla sorella) che ha distrutto la sua autostima, che non si è mai fatta problemi a sminuirla, a trattarla come se fosse un'ospite o una cameriera da comandare a bacchetta. Non hanno mai creduto nelle sue capacità, l'hanno sempre trattata come se fosse una causa persa in partenza. A tutto questo, Hansa ha sempre reagito con il sorriso, evitando di fare scenate (io avrei dato di matto dopo due secondi), per amore di una famiglia che non si merita niente, né il suo affetto né il suo rispetto. E ahimé, almeno nella prima metà del libro, Orion si comporta nello stesso modo di genitori e sorella - una ferita non da poco per la ragazza, innamorata di lui da anni e riconoscente anche per il minimo scampolo di gentilezza che lui le dedica. La verità è che Hansa, dopo aver passato anni in questa situazione, si è davvero convinta di essere tutte quelle cose di cui l'accusano i genitori - grassa, brutta, stupida, un fallimento. Quando Orion la pianterà di fare il pirla, per lei sarà difficile accettare la sincerità dei sentimenti dell'uomo o la sua volontà di starle vicino per il resto della sua vita. Orion è bellissimo, potrebbe avere qualsiasi donna, perché proprio lei? Forse è uno scherzo? Lo sta facendo per pietà? Quando si stuferà di avere a che fare con lei? Certe ferite non scompaiono da un giorno con l'altro. Questo romanzo segue il percorso di crescita di Hansa, la presa di coscienza del suo talento e di tutte le sue qualità. Per la prima volta in vita sua, la ragazza si troverà circondata da una vera famiglia che le darà supporto e affetto: i Callahan - prima Liesel, Ariel e Atlas, e poi Orion - la accolgono a braccia aperte, non permettono a nessuno di maltrattarla, la incoraggiano, la aiutano a non farsi schiacciare dal giudizio altrui. Certo, poi alla fine della fiera, sarà Hansa a dover fare il passo avanti decisivo, ma è bello avere qualcuno che ha a cuore i tuoi interessi e la tua felicità, che ti apprezza per quello che sei realmente, no?
Piccolo dettaglio molto interessante legato ad Hansa: come viene ripetuto più volte nel corso del romanzo, il settore vinicolo è profondamente radicato nella tradizione europea, tradizione che si riflette anche nei canoni usati per descrivere un vino e il suo bouquet. Hansa, invece, ha uno stile molto originale che sa combinare la tradizione e le sue radici indiane, portando alla luce aromi davvero particolari e una ventata di novità in un settore in cui prevale ancora la "sensibilità" occidentale. Un talento che si traduce anche nella capacità di abbinare perfettamente il vino più adatto a una data pietanza.

Due sono le cose che non mi sono piaciute:
- i genitori e la sorella che, dopo anni di maltrattamenti, cadono dal pero quando Orion non gliele manda a dire. E così, da un momento all'altro, si rendono conto di essersi comportati da stronzi e cambiano atteggiamento. Poco credibile. Questi hanno passato la bellezza di 24 anni a fare i bulletti, tre contro uno, trattando Hansa come se fosse una pezza da piede, facendo dei danni incalcolabili all'autostima della ragazza, ma tutto viene dimenticato nel giro di due secondi? Ma anche no. Questo aspetto è stato risolto in maniera troppo sbrigativa;
- il comportamento di Orion che, dopo vari esempi di atteggiamenti allucinanti, ha una sorta di illuminazione, tipo San Paolo sulla strada per Damasco. Il fratello, la sorella e la cognata continuano a fargli notare che forse, e sottolineo, forse, si sta comportando un po' da stronzo, ma lui tira dritto. Poi, a un certo punto, si sveglia e corregge il tiro, ma questo non giustifica le sua azioni e le sue parole nella prima metà del romanzo. Stiamo parlando di un uomo di 30 anni: se a quell'età non capisci che bellezza fisica non è sinonimo di bellezza interiore, allora è lui quello con un problema.

Bene, adesso aspettiamo aprile per il terzo libro della serie, dedicato alla sorella di Atlas e Orion, (interessante anche la scelta dei nomi dei personaggi) Ariel - un second chance romance ispirato alla favola della Sirenetta.

[Rebmay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an enthralling retelling of the Ugly Duckling story. I’ll just admit it now….. I needed more than a few tissues while I read this book. It is a moving, emotional story that happily left me with a great big smile on my face and a little teary-eyed.

Hansa is a woman that has been undervalued, ridiculed and disrespected by family and strangers alike. She doesn’t fit into the mould of her family, the standards that they have set for themselves. Darker, shorter, more curvy than her sister, and unfortunately not as good of a student. She is treated more like a servant than a member of the family. Her dyslexia is a secret she struggles to hide for fear of even more ridicule. While her sister may have an outer beauty that others notice and admire, Hansa’s inner beauty far surpasses it. She has a strength of character, kindness and generosity of spirit that transcends any outer beauty, though her shallow family fails to recognize it. For that matter, so does that man that has claimed her heart, at least at first.

Orion, the handsome and rather arrogant winemaker, tried to win the love Hansa’s beautiful sister, but failed to do so. Hansa works in the tasting room at his family’s winery. His tendency to be a perfectionist may be part of the reason he has overlooked Hansa before, criticized her work and failed to notice her true passion for wine and her natural charm. Or perhaps it is his knowledge of her crush on him that makes him downright surly and unpleasant with her. Something finally sparks within him to make him see that she is wonderful as she is….outside the norm for certain, but also hardworking, determined to find her own way, learning to stand up for herself and seeing her own worth. Their story is one of redemption, personal growth and self-worth, and following one’s heart.

I received a copy of this wonderful book and I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just ok, but this author is not for me.
It deals with dyslexia. The heroine is dyslexic and her family is ashamed of it and treats her as a dumb, useless person, while her sister is the beautiful, accomplished and smart one. The hero was infatuated with sister for years, until eventually, when he gets rich, he is able to date her. You know, she has standard. There is a fairy godmother who basically forces the hero to hire the heroine in his winery. He produces wines, and the heroine has specialized in it, but since she dyslexic and he does not know her, he treats her as if she is simply slow, lazy and dumb.
He is nasty and rude, and thinks of her as if she’s not in his league, and keeps comparing her to her more beautiful and smarter sister.
Of course the heroine has a crush on him since forever but he doesn’t care and is nasty anyway.
Actually he feels he’s attracted to her more than he’s attracted to her sister, and this makes him angry because he thinks she’s not enough for him and so he treats her even more poorly.
When another sexy man is interested in her, he’s jealous and mean.
Her sister is nasty too, her family treats her as a servant and in the end she has enough and break every contact with them.
The hero changes his behavior eventually, and he is kind and repentant but I hated him anyway.
He was shallow and stupid, who did he think he was.
And the heroine was too much a doormat imo.
Ok, he defends her and becomes her savior, and he never had sex with her sister, which is why I rated it two instead of one, because I don’t like how the hero was in the beginning.
Even if she was not dyslexic it was not a reason to be rude and gross to her just because he resented the fact that he was attracted to the ugly duckling of the family.

[Reading Raccoon]

Im 70% and think I may just read the epilogue and call it a day.
I absolutely love maya alden books, I do! I think the dynamic in this particular story just honestly wasn't for me, and I dont hold that against the author at all.

hansas' relationship with her family was really hard to swallow, and that went beyond the fact they were absolutely abusive and neglectful her entire life. Refusing Hansa, a medical diagnosis to help her through life, is literal child abuse. not to mention all the verbal abuse. good grief.
Naina was feral, I scoffed so hard when Seraphina said she doesn't think she is a mean person but just spoilt... umm excise me? how is Naina not "mean" as a human being when all she has ever done her entire life is be selfish and disgustingly degrading to her sister. just revolting, that's MEAN, mean spirited, just not a good person.
i think what made me give up on this book and damn near throw my Kindle was when the sister Naina had a temper tantrum in Hansas place of work like a toddler and Hansa then COMFORTS HER.... sorry but thats just so not what a reader wants in that moment, the reader wants the sister to learn a lesson about being horrible to Hansa, instead hansa is consoling her and saying "dont cry". Naina then tells hansa to tell orion not to be MEAN to HER while she is wailing as if she is hard done by.. omg, it made me sick. just... wtf.. im probably not even making sense, Hansa held too much value for her family, who has ZERO respect for her it was too much for me to read how highly she values these people.
then in the car afterwards she's telling orion that family is so important to her as I said it was just all together too much for me to swallow.

[quillsandpages · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I was not expecting the story to be this good. I got this book from Booksirens. The concept of the story is awesome. It was not heavy on the plot. If you are looking for a lightweight romantic read to cheer up your mood this is the book for you. It has an ugly duckling and a disability trope. So the reason I did not give it 5 stars is because I think there were repetitions about Naina's character. Hansa kept thinking the same thing over and over again whenever Naina's character came up. It could have been much better. I also think there should have been a little depth to Naina's character but on the whole, the book was amazing.

The book threw light on Hansa's struggle of accepting herself as she is and this is the best part of the book. Like author did not try to change Hansa into something else. Hansa is beautiful in her own way which was the message of the book to accept your flaws and consider your imperfection as your beauty.

Some ducklings never become swans..because they are beautiful and perfect as they are. The right person will always see them.

My Rating
Overall: ★★★★| 4 Stars
Plot: ★★★★★ | 5 Stars
Characters: ★★★★| 4 Stars
Ending: ★★★★★| 5 Stars
Fun: ★★★★ | 4 Stars
Spice Level: nah...it was not spicy...it was cute, light and romantic

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[Swetha · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Look, I know what I'm getting into when it comes to Maya Alden books. I expect messy drama, red flag male leads, angsty grovelling, unhealthy relationships, etc. But in the end, I'm usually alright when the female lead gets together with the male lead and not dump his sorry ass. It's for the fun of all the crazy drama that I read these books.

However, I just couldn't for the life of me root for the main characters to be together. Orion was a jerk most of the time around Hansa, and I couldn't understand what she found in him to have a crush on him for so many years. I think she just deluded admiration into feelings of love because he didn't have any redeeming qualities around Hansa.

He belittled her, put her down, humiliated her in public, thought she didn't deserve him, that she was too dumb to do anything, and literally bullied her whenever he could. I'm sorry, but I would have slapped his face and checked myself to a hospital to get my brain checked because there's no way I'm having a crush on that monster. He was her freaking employer! If this were in real life, this would have been a disaster for HR since they would have an harassment lawsuit on this desk.

I just felt so bad for Hansa and wanted the best for her because I'm also Indian and I could relate to her. I usually read for escapism, so it was a little uncomfortable to read about something that hit close to home. Maybe that's why I didn't want her to be with shitty Orion and find someone who deserved her.

Overall, the writing was better in this one compared to the first book, but my hatred for Orion ruined my experience

[Sofia Martins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse livro me decepcionou um pouco, por que tinha tudo p ser muito bom, mas acabou pecando no meio.

Era uma relação meio “não odeio a menina, mas tenho pena dela por que ela é meio feia e estranha”. Para mim, esse tipo de livro tem que seguir um modelo meio “certo”. Ela tem que ser humilhada no começo (tadinha) por gostar dele e ele achar ela estranha, depois ele tem que fazer alguma humilhação pública p ela deixar de gostar dele e, no começo p meio, ele perceber que fez besteira.

Pra mim essa é a fórmula perfeita p livros que seguem essa trope. E esse livro tava tudo de bom em relação a isso, mas chegou no meio e acabou com tudo.

Eu ainda tenho a leve impressão de que teve algum erro no meu arquivo do Kindle. Por que em um capítulo ele tava arrependido e ela não queria nem olhar p cara dele e no próximo (sem exagero nenhum) eles já estavam juntos. Eu acho que não teve erro nenhum por que ela deu a entender nesse capítulo que ela pulou mesmo, só deu uma resumida no que aconteceu. Mas tudo que ela resumiu era na verdade a melhor parte do livro!!!!

Confesso que fiquei meio revoltada com esse livro e ainda não me recuperei, esperava muito mais e fiquei meio triste que não teve nada.

Edit:

Depois que eu escrevi isso eu fui ler a outras avaliações e a pessoas reclamando que ele era meio malvado. Mas todo o objetivo da trope que a autora escolheu p livro de baseia nele ser maldoso com ela, senão nem vale a pena.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to ONCE again state, Maya does it again! She has given us another great story with a beautiful message, its multicultural, with a dyslexic representation MFC.

We meet Orion and Hansa in the previous story "The Temporary Wife" where Orion is not very fond of Hansa, while she shows her love for wine and all the knowledge she knows and wishes to keep learning.

Here in "An Ugly Love" we are able to see how they interact with each other and the character development they both undergo.

I LOVED LOVED Hansa! She is a very strong independent women, but sadly is not treated as best as she should and lacks confidence due to her sisters career and how her parents treat her. Love how she loves her culture and how she gives us an insight on it. She is a hard worker both with her work and all the effort she puts into hiding her dyslexia. ♥️

On the other hand Orion (🙄) ... is a hardworking winemaker how is selfish and very much judging on the looks, rude towards Hansa, not to mention hardheaded! While being so irritating he is a family man and loves his family and loved ones like nothing else in the world!

But do not worry Orion does end up having a change of heart and mind throughout the story you just have to read and find out!

✨ Thank you Maya Alden for this lovely ARC! ♥️ ✨

[Mayra Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Ugly Love: An Ugly Duckling Retelling (Once Upon A Time Book 2)
Review: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥/5
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷/ 5
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

💘Unrequited love
💃Other Woman Drama
😔FMC has dyslexia
🍷The hero is a winemaker
❤️‍🔥Slow Burn
💔No Third Act Breakup
🦢Based on "The Ugly Duckling"
💜Multiracial, the FMC is Indian


An ugly love by Maya Alden is a retell of the well known story The Ugly Duckling. After reading this novel by Maya I kept asking myself, how does she do it every single time, her work is pure gold.
In this story we get to see how Orion and Sansa's relationship develops, how Orion goes from hating being attracted to Sansa, to him fighting for a chance to have a life with her. We see how Sansa struggles everyday to be the person she wants to be, and how she doesn’t let life bring her down.
I love how their passion and love for making wine brings them together, and solidifies their union. Also Maya finds the perfect way to show both MC growth through the story. An Ugly love deals with jealousy between siblings, lack of family support, found family in friends, and my most favorite part is that it brings a forever love. The journey of these two characters is just beautiful and heartbreaking, with a twist of passion.
An Ugly love is a most read novel, please give Orion and Sansa a chance to make you fall in love with them!!!

[Asterope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up liking this one moreso than the first. I did like that, while Hansa came to understand she was not as unattractive as she thought, she didn't have a major appearance change/makeover to make her into some model type. And Orion came to love her as she was. He was a jerk and treated her poorly at first, but I do think he made up for his bad behavior.

As for her family. Wow. 🤨 I feel like they did not do enough! The fact that her parents treated her like that is disgusting (for 20-something years, presumably). I am sorry, but they need to take along hard look at their culture and see that it is the shameful, embarrassing, disgusting and toxic thing - not their daughter. They should have been supportive of her and found ways to help her, regarding her dyslexia. They shouldn't have made her feel so ugly because she was darker-skinned and looked less pretty than her sister. They shouldn't have made her feel like a servant and outsider within her own home/family.🤨So while I was willing to forgive Orion, I was less willing to do so for her family, even if they apologized.

I know some didn't like this book, seeing the reviews/stars. I have read 3 of this author's book so far and I understand her trope and type of books she writes. She has a vibe and writes the hero and and heroine's dynamics in similar ways. I guess you either like/love it or not 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Penny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one. Hansa the female is lovely. Kind, considerate and brave. She tolerates the the awful behaviour of her family towards her and has struggled with dyslexia . The male lead Orion is so awful to Hansa at the beginning, I never quite forgive him and disliked him. He did apologise and change and was nice to her in the end but I couldn’t get over how badly he had treated her and I just couldn’t warm to him. There is far too much Technical wine talk. Literally page after page. I ended up skipping so much of that. At times it felt more like a beginners guide to making wine rather than a romance. I’ve read a lot of books where the female lead is treated horribly by her family and they favour the accomplished sibling. This is usually saved by at least one close family member being supportive and understanding (cousin, grandmother etc). In this book, everyone treats Hansa the same including extended family and friends. I Didn’t find that believable. Surely someone would have like Hansa and recognised how badly she was being treated? I was sufficiently engaged in this book to finish it and there are parts of it I really enjoyed. It could’ve been a five star book very easily, but the things I’ve mentioned hold it back.

[Self Besotted · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing!

I’d have to say that this is my most favorite book by Maya Alden! I loved the MFC, Hansa! She was never weak. Yes, she took all the abuse from her family and it tore apart her self-esteem and self-worth. She persisted though, to continue to follow her dreams and meet goals that she set for herself even though her dislexia made things so much harder for her. I love that she had such a supportive group of friends that became her family. I love that the MMC, Orion, started to see how her family was treating her and realized that he was being just as awful as them when he knows that that’s not who he wants to be. He sees Hansa for the amazing woman that she is and knows that getting Hansa to start seeing her self-worth will be a long process. That it’s not a quick fix. He is patient with her and continues to support her and always point out how amazing and capable she is. He fights for her when needed but also stands back to let her stand up for herself.

I will definitely read this again and recommend this to everyone. Even though you feel Hansa’s heartbreak and all the pain she goes through, you will also feel all the pride she feels from her accomplishments and the happiness and love between her, Orion, and his family.