Well written & touching, this is in part a tale of first love, part twisty mystery & part exploration of grief & guilt. So much to think about/discuss, all wrapped up in a pacy, gripping thriller. I couldn't put it down and absolutely loved it. Very good indeed.

Trigger Warnings: Death, grief, loss, cancer, mental and physical assault, rape, sexual assault, drug use.

When Dylan’s secret relationship with Ellis is exposed via Social Media, Dylan is forced to come out and is met with a surprisingly positive reaction, especially at their Easter dance at school. Dylan’s happiness doesn’t last long as on their drive home, Ellis starts to become withdrawn and secretive and loses control of the car, sending it into a nearby lake. Dylan is pulled free, but Ellis is left to drown. Consumed by guilt and grief Dylan vows to uncover what happened to Ellis, but doing so reveals secrets about Ellis that Dylan never knew.

WOW! This book was everything I needed and blew me away. I was so in awe of it that I found it very hard to put down, and even when I had to put it down I was still thinking about it and longing for the time when I could pick it up again. I haven’t had a book do this to me in such a long time, so I knew Hideous Beauty was going to end up being one of my new favourite books of all time. You could say it was something special, which yes it was.

The plot was well executed and from the very start set things up so well. The mystery within the story was so gripping and honestly, I didn’t have the slightest idea what was going to happen next. Also, unlike many YA mysteries, the story was more focused on the characters and their relationships than having an angle of crime. Yes, it was plot-driven in a way, but yet the characters drove the story in the direction it was taking. Also, the way it was written was perfect. The story is told in alternating chapters ‘then’ and ‘now’ and this, in turn, revealed the answers to the mystery slowly, but not in a way as to bore you. This, also made me completely invested in our main protagonists as I felt that I got to know them on such a personal level through learning about their past and present.

Dylan and Ellis..oh I adored them! They were the cutest couple and I just wanted them to live happily ever after. Their relationship was just so pure and you could tell how much they loved each other, which did reduce me to tears just a few times throughout my reading. You could say that their love was a Romeo and Romeo affair, which is just heart-wrenching. These two, as individuals, also had a big impact on me. Dylan is seen as your typical nerdy, awkward teenage boy, but if you look a bit deeper he was so much more. He was passionate, he was determined and he wanted justice for his boyfriend. Ellis was also such a well thought out character in his own right. He’s flirtatious, bold and out and proud, but behind all that is a complex character, who tries his best to battle with the pain he’s suffered throughout his life. In a way, they both help each other. Ellis helps Dylan become stronger and Dylan helps Ellis become more grounded. I also want to mention Mike, Dylan’s best friend. In the LGBTQ+ YA that I’ve read previously, I don’t recall seeing any of the protagonists have a straight best friend, and I admire William for putting this in. It goes to show that just because someone is gay, doesn’t mean that they can’t have a straight male friend.

Hideous Beauty touches on a lot of important issues including LGBTQ+, loss, sexual assault, mental and physical assault, rape and drug use, all of which were dealt with in a sensitive, mindful way. I also want to point out that there is a trigger warning at the beginning of the book, which stood out to me. You don’t see that much, even though it should be happening, so I commend the author and publisher for putting that in the book. The queer representation in Hideous Beauty was next to none, also, and I loved how much thought went into it. Take Ellis for example, he wore pearls, loved art but also played football and could chug a beer. It did break all those queer stereotypes and I absolutely loved that.

Hideous Beauty was such an incredible, thrilling, beautiful read that I didn’t want to finish. It’s captivating but will also break your heart and I, for one, am not going to forget it in a hurry.

Hideous Beauty is, simply put, absolutely phenomenal. I just fell in love with the entire story and these wonderful characters so much. It moved me to genuine sobs several times; something which I do not do.

I connected so much with Dylan, El and Mike. They were an amazing trio and Hussey really showed off Mike and Dylan’s amazing friendship, while also giving El and Dylan’s relationship space to breathe. Fro, the first couple of chapters, I was heavily invested in both of these bonds, which makes the shift in narrative only that much more devastating. You root for Dylan from the first page, feeling all the micro aggressions that are like ‘death by a thousand Bat-cuts’.

Hussey’s writing is just incredible: whip-smart, packed with emotion and he throws in some knowing cultural references that I loved picking up. It pulsates with power and delicacy as he deals with some really tough issues. The characters also feel like real teens that I may have seen in my school corridors. Also, his portrayal of grief is stunning. It’s nuanced and all-consuming and Hussey shows this perfectly.

This book, at its core, is about feigned acceptance and this really hit home for me. It contains so many important themes (please check the trigger warnings I’ve listed above, which are also on the first page of the book); each of which is dealt with delicately and with obvious research to back it up. There’s a list of resources and a letter from a counsellor to support some of the issues discussed at the end of the book, which I thought was just brilliant to include. This is a dark and twisty tale that made me seethe with rage at times, but these are real issues that my peers deal with everyday.

The central story is a mystery, but it is also a love story. We primarily see Dylan and Ellis’ relationship bloom through flashbacks, before it is tragically cut short. Their relationship felt so natural and lovely, full of a lot of the trials and tribulations of first love, but also darkened by the shadow of ignorance and prejudice. On the mystery side, Hussey can’t be faulted. There are excellent twists and turns throughout the book and they never feel convoluted, rather that they’ve been lurking there the whole time.

Hideous Beauty is a brilliantly plotted, emotional YA thriller with awesome LGBT+ representation that is definitely an early contender for one of my favourite books of the year.

Hideous Beauty is a YA thriller about first love, grief, and why people keep secrets. Dylan's secret relationship with Ellis is exposed right before a school dance, forcing Dylan to come out to his parents. He knows they weren't as okay with it as they acted, but maybe he and Ellis can be happy and openly together. However, a car accident leaves Ellis dead and Dylan trying to work out who saved him but not Ellis and what dark secrets Ellis was keeping from him.

Summarising the novel doesn't really get across either the characters or the way it deals with a lot of intense themes, not only death and sexuality but also cancer and sexual assault (which are all warned about before the novel starts). It is the kind of dark and gripping young adult novel that I would've enjoyed as a teenager, combining mystery elements around what really happened and the pages of Ellis' journal that keep being sent to Dylan with a lot of emotions that need to be dealt with. The love story at its heart features both sweetness and complication, and the ending gives Dylan a chance to deal with the intensity but also grief and the fact he needs to move forward with his life. Plenty of moments in the book are very sad, and Dylan's relationship with many of the characters is complex and often troubled at some point, but there is also the titular 'beauty' to be found, in characters being themselves and in their deep connections (Dylan's friendship with Mike is a good example of both sides of this).

Moving between the present of the narrative and events of the previous six months, Hideous Beauty manages to tell a complex story that touches on guilt, justice, and trauma as well as love and friendship. It is definitely one to be aware of the topics covered inside before reading, but it shows that the classic dark YA thriller (there are hints of some of the more guilt focused Point Horror books in this) can be updated to cover the lives of LGBTQ teenagers and to carry an undercurrent about society and acceptance.

I read this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. Hideous Beauty gripped me from the very first page where you are drawn in to Dylan and Ellis' relationship. There were moments it brought me to tears and moments where I couldn't stop smiling. I loved the story, the various relationships throughout the story (whether good or bad they were portrayed brilliantly), and the ending was brilliant. The difficult experiences of various characters portrayed in this book were dealt with in a very effective way, and it leads you to view the experiences of people you may know in different ways. This will be a book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys mysteries, romance and beautiful stories.

This is *brilliant* @WHusseyAuthor 😭😍😂😭Hideous Beauty really covers every emotion. A mystery mixed with a #LGBTQ romance wrapped in a coming-of-age-importance-of-friendship tale of a grieving teen. Thanks @Usborne for the proof. Lots of thoughts about support & intolerance. https://t.co/gYZv1ytDK5

So I was lucky enough to receive a sampler of the first chapter at YALC last year and I was already hooked on it just from that, so I was so happy I was able to receive a copy of the full ARC. I had high expectations of this book after my friend Tracey (among others) raving about it on social media, it's safe to say I completely understand the need for raving because this book was incredible.

This was a beautiful, but also heartbreaking story of young love, lost love and also friendship. Dylan and Ellis' relationship is revealed by an unknown person and Ellis begins acting unlike himself, like he had done a few months previously. They are then in a tragic car accident which only Dylan survives and Dylan turns detective to try and get justice while greiving for his boyfriend.

Dylan's detective work is so cleverly written; him finding out who revealed his and Ellis' relationship, to then finding out why whoever pulled him out of the car wreck didn't go back for Ellis, all the way to finding out why Ellis had acted so unusually. I sobbed at this book so much, it was hideous.... (see what I did there? I'm hilarious). This book was brillaint and I'll definitely be buying a finished copy when it's out in a few weeks, AND recommending it to people.

Hideous Beauty will make you cry, it will make you laugh, it will draw you in from the first page and not let you go until you finish. It will make you read it in once sitting. It is an absolutely stunning, jaw dropping and relevant book that needs to be read by all.