REVIEW: Hopeless/Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Nearly 18 year old Sky thinks she's had a pretty sheltered life--home-schooled, no phone, no internet. Until her senior year when her life takes a drastic change upon meeting Dean Holder--a guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. She's both terrified and captivated by him, especially since he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried. Soon Sky learns that Holder isn't who he claims to be and that her life holds far more buried secrets than she ever imagined.

Hopeless is as endearing in its romance and it is devastating for readers as the novel's characters learn the full scope of trauma propelling their lives.  This was my first Colleen Hoover book, a recent re-read, and still by far my favorite of her works to date. The characters resonate in not only their hope but hopelessness in a way not often found in typical books.

Final rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Losing Hope is partly Hopeless from Holder's POV; however, there is much more at work here for the characters and the overall reader experience. The narrative starts just after Holder's sister Leslie's suicide continuing as he meets Sky and their relationship blossoms while painful truths are revealed.

I loved Holder in the first book but this solidifies his character and sheds light on his inner pain from his childhood, loosing his sister and struggling whether to tell Sky the truth or wait to see if she remembers her past. I like the chapter structures as well--made me ball my eyes out a few times.

I've read the novella Finding Cinderella and always wondered where David fit it---now I know.

My only fault with this book is the blame and inner dialog and specific memories Holder and the others share from when they were five years old. I see the point to make the plot work but I don't find the level of detail or dialog believable from children that young since I work with kids this young each day.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Follow the author on Twitter: @colleenhoover



#hopeless #losinghope #newadultromance #grief #repressedmemories #suicide #abuse