I decided to write my column for October on Colleen Hoover, the publishing phenome who recently has had five of the 10 best-selling novels in the United States. I never realized how big a hole I had potentially dug for myself.

First, Hoover has published 22 novels and novellas, and I was not about to read at least five of them, which would provide some insightful bragging rights. Second, her books do not fit in a comfortable genre. In my bookstore, they are bought by women of all ages with a sprinkling of men thrown in. Third, should I be writing about books just because they are trendy? Fourth, does Hoover have a story to tell all of the struggling writers? Was it a story about hanging in there while accumulating a stack of rejections, having to self-publish her books, then catching a game-changing break? So, I just plunged ahead.

Usually, an author comes to our attention by having a book published by a well-known publishing company that will promote the author by sending them on tours, appearing on morning national TV programs and identifying their book by genre to national audiences. In recent years, however, that model has been fractured many times.

For starters, publishing is not just in print form; it is audio and electronic. Once upon a time, books would usually start as hardcovers, then after several months to a year, they would be republished in mass market paperback.

When I first started reading, these mass market paperbacks cost 25 to 35 cents. Once in a while, a book, usually a novel, would take off like a jet plane; in recent years, "Where the Crawdads Sing" has come to mind.

In the case of Colleen Hoover, most of her current best-selling books were self-published five to 15 years ago. When one of her novels became a best-seller among self-published books, all of her novels were bought up by major publishers, resulting in a unique situation.

On a weekly basis, between four and six of her novels are on the National Best Seller list. In the Sept. 19 issue of Publisher's Weekly, the guru of the book industry, Hoover, had five best-selling novels, including:

The question is, are these novels any good or just high-flying trash? The answer is somewhere in between. Although the novels are not traditional romances, they explore the concept of love from various angles.

This leads me to where I started, a short review of "Ugly Love," but it has been as high as number two.

The two main characters in the novel are Miles Archer and Tate Collins. They meet when Miles passes out from too much alcohol in front of her apartment. Miles is a friend of her brother Corbin. Both Miles and Corbin are airline pilots for a national airline company.

Miles is a very friendly guy but equally secretive. Large segments of his persona are off-limits.Miles has no interest in starting a relationship with Tate, and she has no time because of her pursuit of a nursing degree. Unfortunately, they have one bond in common: a powerful physical attraction to each other.

If you think you know where this relationship is headed, you may be right, but more likely, you will be wrong.

To not mess up the book for prospective readers, I will close with this quotation from the book:

"Ugly love becomes you. Consumes you. Makes you hate it all. Makes you realize that all the beautiful parts aren't even worth it. Without the beautiful, you'll never risk feeling the ugly. So, you give it all up. You never want to love again, no matter what kind it is, because no type of love will ever be worth living through the ugly love again."

What did I think of the book? Not my cup of tea, but I thought the concept behind the characters, their motives and their dilemmas were solid. In the end, I am glad I read it.

One final anecdote. Two years ago in the summer, a young lady came into the bookstore, looked up and down the current best-seller rack and the young adult rack, then asked if I had any Colleen Hoover books. I said no, I had never heard of her. After a pained look crossed her face, she said quietly but firmly, "I'd get some if I were you." I did and always wanted to thank that girl.

"Ugly Love" by Colleen Hoover, Atria Publishing, 322 pages, $16.99.

Next month I will review “The Divorce Colony” by April White, an exciting story about South Dakota’s history.

Donus Roberts is a former teacher, an avid reader/collector of books, owner of ddrbooks, and he encourages readers to connect at ddrbooks@wat.midco.net.