I was hoping this would be a four or five star read but I felt so disconnected from the characters and story that it's a three star. The very last few chapters kept me fully engaged and feeling emotional, but I had very little feeling towards the rest of the novel. If I had seen TWs for this story, I probably wouldn't have picked up the book.

Will not be reading or giving feedback due to controversy over Hussey’s newest release. I do not feel comfortable reading and reviewing his work, but will update this review should that change in the future.

I loved this book! Spending time with these characters has been a wonderful lockdown distraction and I have found myself more fully absorbed in a book than has been the case for months. The narrative construction is partially responsible for this – starting near the end and offering alternate chapters of ‘then’ and ‘now’ as Dylan pieces together what happened, we as readers are also offered more insight into the boys’ past. This was brilliantly handled and ensured that there was always something I wanted to follow up and keep reading.

The characters themselves were also vividly drawn. Not just the two mains, but also side characters. I (like many other readers) really liked Mike, Dylan’s best friend, and his family in particular. This believable characterisation helped the novel’s main message that acceptance needs to be full, not conditional, to be clear and fully supported.

I also really appreciated the resources offered alongside the book – both the trigger warnings* at the front, which will be useful to some readers, and the multiple support resources at the end. These go beyond the simple list of organisations to contact (although that is present also), with a great written contribution from a relevant professional. If I were in a position to use this novel in class, I would definitely want to talk about this as well as the text itself.

I haven’t read a gay romance/thriller before, so this has set the bar pretty high! I’m definitely recommending it…

This is one of those books that leaves a lasting impression and takes you through the full range of emotions. It's a moving, own-voices story of grief and love.

I usually struggle with books about grief but the past/present structure allowed for plenty of happiness and levity in between the heartbreaking scenes of loss. It allows the reader to see the loveliness of El and Dylan's relationship in the past, as well as following the story of grief and the intriguing mystery in the present.

The first-person narrative is incredibly raw and believable. It draws you right in and feels like you experience everything alongside Dylan.

The whole book deals with really difficult subject matters, but it does it with real compassion and warmth. This is a brilliant, thought-provoking novel that feels like a snapshot of a real life.

This is a book that’s going to be important to a lot of teens. A sweet romance, a look at acceptance and how fully it ever really is, a haunting portrait of grief and a thriller. Brilliant writing, great plotting and a sensitive approach to dark subject matter.

Absolutely loved this. The writing is so assured and witty, and really drew me into what is a fantasy story with a really important message. Can't wait to see what William Hussey writes next.

Hideous Beauty was many things - beautifully written, with characters I wholly believed in - but first and foremost it was deeply sad. You're told in the blurb that Dylan's boyfriend, El, will die in an accident, which makes reading the opening chapters so much more difficult. Hussey perfectly captures the magic and pain of queer first love, and I desperately wanted things to work out for the pair. But alas, it was not to be and, after El's death, Dylan feels compelled to discover what exactly happened to lead to their accident... and who saved him, but left El to die. As a mystery it works extremely well, but it's as an examination of grief, loss (and many other difficult themes, which would be spoiler-y to mention) that it works best.

You didn’t warn me I’d need tissues!
I don’t know what I can say about Hideous Beauty without spoiling it. Read it, buy it, love it.
I’ve had to buy a physical copy for my shelf too.

Dylan is in love. But as it is with another boy he is reluctant to announce to the world, afraid of what that may mean. Ellis, his boyfriend, is not afraid. But their hands are forced after a social media posting persuading Dylan he needs to first come out to his parents, then the whole school.
Everything goes smoothly and everyone takes it well. Or do they? After a drive, an accident then propels Dylan into a dark place, from which he needs answers. Does he know Ellis as well as he thought he did?
Helped by his best friend and straight guy Mike, Dylan discovers, via Ellis’ drawings, more of Ellis’ past than he anticipated. But only by looking at the past can Dylan move onto the future.
This is a love story, but also that of friendship between straight and gay friends who look out for one another to the last. The relationships of parents are realistic, and although there are some devastating discoveries, ultimately this is a book of hope.

Amazing writing - a great thriller and perfect characterisation - you want to know what happens all the time

Wow this book is seriously hard to put down! Told in the now and a time about 6 months previous, this is a crime thriller with a twist. When our main character Dylan and his boyfriend El are outed publicly in social media it looks like it has actually been a good thing. That is until they have an awful accident. The who, what, where and when is suitably difficult to guess and the characters are really engaging. I would really recommend it!

This was a really great read from start to finish. Starting with a terrible accident that leaves Dylan alive but his boyfriend Ellis dead on what should have been one of the best night of their lives this story follows Dylan's subsequent quest to discover what upset his boyfriend so much that night and who saved him , but left Ellis to die. The characters were all convincing and well developed throughout as was the plot. Dylan was particularly good as he struggles with his pain and the discoveries he makes both about Ellis and his friends and family. Ellis comes through as a wonderfully vibrant character although the one I felt was particularly well drawn was Dylan's best friend Mike, struggling with cancer but still there for his friend. The issues of love, loss, guilt, justice and friendship were all handled sensitively. Overall, a really great story, characters and definitely one to recommend.

This was a really powerful read, that haunted long after reading. It's the story of a love story, between Dylan and Eli, that ended too soon when a sudden tragic accident ends their short-lived happiness. Searching for answers, Dylan soon seems faced with the truth that maybe he didn't know the love of his life at all.
What follows is a tough story, intense and tragic, packed full of twists and turns. A thriller of a love story.

Even though one of the characters dies early on, this is a love story through and through. It’s the love story of Dylan and Ellis, but it’s also about the love between friends and the love we need to have for ourselves to really live.
The book opens with Ellis and Dylan making a big coming-out statement at their school dance. There’s a very positive vibe - until we learn this situation has been somewhat forced on them after someone anonymously posted a clip of them being intimate online. It seems they’ll overcome this - but as they leave the dance Ellis seems to be acting oddly. Something has upset him. He is distracted. Then, before we know it, they have crashed and plunge into a local lake. Ellis drowns, and Dylan is convinced someone rescued him but nobody seemed to be around when paramedics arrived at the scene.
Dealing with such grief would be awful at any age, but the doctor who treats Ellis makes a comment that shows even though things may still not be quite as accepting as they could be it’s still a huge improvement on the past. Perhaps not unexpectedly, Dylan struggles with his feelings after this - convinced someone left Ellis to die, so he determines to investigate and try to find out why.
Though there is an element of mystery to this, the fact we don’t really know what happened in the aftermath of the crash means we’re never sure what the mystery is to solve. Strange drawings turn up in Dylan’s mail and they seem to offer clues as to who might have played a part in Ellis’s abrupt change of behaviour.
As we watch Dylan piece together what happened I was very glad he had his best friend, Mike, looking out for him. An odd dynamic but, when it counted, they totally had each other’s back.
The last part of the book, where Dylan finally confronts the hideous truth about what happened to Ellis did come slightly out of nowhere. That’s not to say it didn’t ring true, but it was hard to reconcile the image we’d been given up to this point with the truth.
I liked the fact that Dylan was, eventually, able to start looking as if he would look back on his time with Ellis fondly. At times uncomfortable reading, but there was also a lot of positivity that I found quite uplifting.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

Hideous Beauty by William Hussey has been one of my favourite reads of 2020. The love between Dylan and Ellis was so beautiful and emotional and I felt absolutely wrung out after reading this book.

The main premise of the story is that because of a leaked viral sex video, Dylan is forced to come out to his parents about his and El's secret relationship. They decide to go to a school dance to get the awkwardness of seeing their classmates after the video is seen out of the way. Things seem to go well with Dylan's parents and everyone at school seems to accept Dylan and Ellis but even so El becomes distant and withdrawn and as they're driving home, Ellis loses control of the car, they end up in a lake and Dylan is pulled free with Ellis left to drown. When Dylan wakes up in hospital, he vows to find out all the mysteries of Ellis which boils down to the following:

1) Who released the video of Dylan and Ellis?
2) Why was Ellis acting so weird at the dance?
3) Who saved Dylan and left El to die?

Honestly, this book ripped my heart out. It was pretty impressive how quickly I fell for Dylan and El: their relationship is barely introduced in the pages of this book before the car accident but that entire scene had me crying my eyes out. The love between these two boys was so pure and absolute and what happens is devastating. And Dylan's grief is such an intense feeling that I completely believed and felt too. And there's just no let up - following the car accident itself led quickly on to El's funeral which was brutal. The depiction of grief in Hideous Beauty was so intense and palpable.

As Dylan gets more involved in exploring the mysteries that led up to Ellis's death, it was kind of interesting to see how and where the cracks appear in what seems to be acceptance of Dylan and El's relationship. Hideous Beauty is a reference to a special place the two boys go, but it also felt like an excellent description of this book - that the incredible love between these boys (Beauty) exists in a world where parents disown their children, where awful people prey on the vulnerable and where true acceptance is not met (Hideous).

This book was everything. Intense, romantic, emotional, heartbreaking. I urge you to read it and be as swept away in these characters as much as I was.

'Hideous Beauty' is a book that will break you and remake you multiple times as you read. I sobbed more than once - the portrayals of grief and loss are spot on (along with the inevitable feelings of guilt and anger), and the "then and now" narratives just layer up the emotions even more. It also made me smile, and filled my heart with warmth - love, friendship, and those shared moments that really count just shine through in every chapter.
There are plenty of "big issues" tackled in this book, and they are threaded naturally into the ongoing plot and mystery in a really intelligent way.
A brilliant book which manages to be many things and do them all well! Definitely one I will be recommending to all of our older students (and anyone else who'll listen!).

I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK!

Everyone needs to get this and read it. It is so hard to put into words how much I really loved this book. William Hussey literally ripped my heart open, his style of writing is so emotive. Not only that but it also opened my eyes and make me check myself.

The story is superb, the characters are some of my favourites I have read for a long time. I cannot gush about and recommend that you get this book.

Hideous Beauty is a book I picked up on a bit of a whim as I hadn't really heard anything about it, but i'm so glad I read this as it truly is one of the best books i've ever read.

This book begins just after Dylan and Ellis' relationship has been outed by an intimate video of them posted online but the general reaction seems positive so their future is looking bright. Then an accident happens and whilst Dylan is saved, Ellis is left to drown. Dylan, struggling with his grief, is determined to uncover the last few months of Ellis' life and discover who would save him but leave Ellis to die.

This book sucked me in straight from the beginning - I was taken in by these characters straight away and desperate to get answers. The mystery was so well done and I loved the little twists we got throughout the story. I had a lot of theories on what could've happened and none of them were quite right.

My absolute favourite thing about this book though were the characters! Dylan is one of my favourite main characters I've read from, he's struggling so much in this book but he's such a realistic character who I couldn't help but fall in love with. Ellis is the character who pushes the boundaries of this small town, he's vivacious and lively and it's easy to see why everyone adored him so. We also have Mike - Dylan's best friend - who was such a well rounded character on his own but his friendship with Dylan was just incredible to read. I loved seeing such a positive, platonic male relationship!

There are so many themes explored here and in such a wonderful way. The way grief is shown was truly wonderful, Dylan is sad and angry whilst also feeling incredibly guilty for Ellis' death and it felt very realistic to me. I also loved the discussions of acceptance that happen in here! There's a part where Dylan talks about how acceptance can't be conditional and that it has to be on the terms of the person you're accepting or it's not acceptance at all, and I just thought it was such an important subject to discuss and really appreciated it being included.

I can't even do justice to what this book meant to me, it truly was beautiful and emotional but also so hopeful, and it was a perfect reminder of why I love to read. I would easily recommend it to everyone.

A romantic and tragic tale of first love, a mystery and true friendship... this is the crux of Hideous Beauty.

I really felt for the characters and Dylan's sense of loss and need for justice was compelling. The first half of the book romped by, before slowing in the middle, but the ending... dramatic doesn't cover it!

This book will appeal to fans of Sex Education - it has an American feel despite its UK setting and deals with issues that sadly affect many young people. Hideous Beauty has a trigger warning at the start and detailed advice and support at the back.

Plot:
A tragic accident cuts short Dylan and Ellis’ relationship just when it seemed everything was going right - they’d come out earlier that day, everyone seemed to accept them and they were more in love than ever. But when Dylan wakes up in hospital to the news that his boyfriend is dead, he’s convinced that it wasn’t an accident but something much more sinister. Afterall, someone had filmed and outed them, someone had scared Ellis the previous night and someone had dragged him from the lake and left Ellis to drown.

My thoughts:
You’d think that if the synopsis told me a character was going to die at the beginning of the book, I wouldn’t be shocked and upset when it happened. You’d be wrong. The way the accident and Dylan’s grief were written had me in tears early on in this book and by the end I’d possibly cried the most times I ever have while reading a book (and I do not cry easily). This story was gorgeous, haunting and raw and I loved every second of it.
This is where I tell you about the positives of this book and I don’t know where to start? So bear with, this could be a bit nonsensical. Having two timelines juxtaposed so neatly was incredibly effective. The past showed Dylan and Ellis’ relationship and really gave the reader a connection to Ellis’ character, while the present explored the mystery of Ellis’ death and his past actions. Their relationship was really sweet and sincere and I loved reading about it. I also loved them as individual characters; they were imperfect and that just made them all the more real. The mystery itself was also really good, I don’t want to say too much and spoil it but it was very fitting and well done. Also, the inclusion of content warnings at the start and resources at the end of the book is so important and I’m glad that they’re becoming more common.

The book touched on a number of important themes and although I’m only going to go into detail with one, I did also appreciate the subtle explorations of class divides, drug abuse and family. However, one of my favourite aspects of this book was the narrative around coming out and acceptance. I think it’s the most realistic and authentic way I’ve ever seen this subject written, and definitely reflects my own experiences to some extent. Often, the reaction to a queer person coming out is portrayed as being firmly at one end of the acceptance spectrum or another. In Hideous Beauty, I finally saw the middle ground represented. The conditional, surface level acceptance that is just not enough but no one wants to question.

The following quote came from the author’s note and I can’t stop thinking about it: ‘I discovered that the old prejudices and their impact hadn’t died. It was just that they now sometimes came with a mask of “acceptance”. A phony mask and a dangerous one because, as Dylan says to Mike, acceptance can’t be conditional.’ This is the reality for too many LGBTQ+ people and I hope this book can help open up this conversation.

I know this review may make it seem as if this book is very dark and sad, but it’s also so much more. Ellis and his relationship with Dylan bring so much light and hope to this book, along with some other lovely, supportive characters that I’ve neglected in this review (sorry, Mike!).

I literally cannot think of any negatives to include here to balance my review, so guess what? I’m not going to!
If you can’t tell from the rest of this gushing review, I’ll state it plainly here. This book was incredible and I truly hope you’ll pick it up.

*eARC received in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley*