Books I’ve Read: The Hopeless Series by Colleen Hoover
Title: Hopeless/Losing Hope
Series: Hopeless #1 & #2
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria/Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date:
Source: Bought
Rating: 4.5/5
Synopsis from Goodreads
Hopeless: Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets 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. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.
Losing Hope: In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.
Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…
Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.
I’ve read and re-read both Hopeless and Losing Hope a few times now and have never been able to coherently formulate my thoughts in order to write the review. They are just those kind of books. I’m sure you know what I mean; the type of books that swallow you whole, drown you in emotion then spit you back out as a chewed up, gnarled mess.
Colleen’s trade mark beautiful writing has a lyrical almost poetic feel to it, the beauty of the words belie the horror lurking within the pages. There is a sense of despair that emanates from within the words, a feeling of inevitability you just can’t escape. The feeling of foreboding increases with each page turned. The prologue within Hopeless sets the tone – repetition of the prologue within the main part of the story reinforces the imagery and emotions sharply within the imagination immersing the reader completely.
Very difficult issues are dealt with – as a reader and also as a mother I found myself trying to make sense of the incomprehensible. The mind is a fantastic thing, protecting itself from trauma. Revelations in the form of dreams/flashbacks pave the way for the brutality of the ultimate exposé as the plot peaks.
Sky is a wonderful character, there are so many facets to her, it’s like peeling the layers of an onion. She has a terrific relationship with her mother and her best friend. Although some of her actions are questionable the reasoning behind them only adds to endear her to the reader.
First impression of Holder make you question his intentions toward Sky. His anger management issues count against him until you scratch away that hard shell of his. I have to say I loved seeing his point of view in Losing Hope, however, there was an incident at the start of that book which really altered my opinion of him. I didn’t like it one bit and it took quite a while for me to get over it. Yes, I am aware that grief causes people to do things they normally wouldnt’ but still, really didn’t like that incident :*(
The chemistry between Sky and Holder is electric but it is the tenderness and emotion they share which makes their relationship tug at even the hardest of hearts. Best non-kissing scene EVER ♥
At the risk of being pedestrian, the thing that stands out in these books is that sense of HOPE. While events in our lives, especially the traumatic ones, shape the people we become, they do not define us.
NEVER LOSE HOPE♥
