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From the 1 New York Times bestselling author of Reminders of Him, It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, and All Your Perfects comes the beginning of Sky and Dean’s passionate love story—where well-kept secrets threaten to opens wounds of a dark past. Would you rather know a truth that makes you feel hopeless, or keep believing the lies? Beloved and bestselling author Colleen Hoover returns with the spellbinding story of two young people with devastating pasts who embark on a passionate, intriguing journey to discover the lessons of life, love, trust—and above all, the healing power that only truth can bring. Sky, a senior in high school, meets Dean Holder, a guy with a promiscuous reputation that rivals her own. From their very first encounter, he terrifies and captivates her. Something about him sparks memories of her deeply troubled past, a time she’s tried so hard to bury. Though Sky is determined to stay far away from him, his unwavering pursuit and enigmatic smile break down her defenses and the intensity of the bond between them grows. But the mysterious Holder has been keeping secrets of his own, and once they are revealed, Sky is changed forever and her ability to trust may be a casualty of the truth. Only by courageously facing the stark revelations can Sky and Holder hope to heal their emotional scars and find a way to live and love without boundaries. Hopeless is a novel that will leave you breathless, entranced, and remembering your own first love. Read more
Publisher : Atria Books
Publication date : May 7, 2013
Edition : Original
Language : English
Print length : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 147674355X
ISBN-13 : 54
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Dimensions : 5.31 x 1.1 x 8.25 inches
Book 1 of 5 : Hopeless
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Top Amazon Reviews
REVIEWED BY SUNNY I was nervous to read HOPELESS as I hadn't had the best experience with my only read to date in the New Adult genre. However, in the genres that I typically love, I have also read some books I haven't liked, so I had to give this genre another chance. The summary for HOPELESS had me thinking this would be a good one to try. When I started this book, I immediately thought, Oh no, here we go again! The issues I had with the other book I'd read in this genre were in the forefront of this book too, and I assumed I wasn't going to like it at all. In fact, I almost gave up on it. But because I was reviewing it for the blog, I decided to read a little bit more before giving up completely. Boy, am I glad I did! Once I got further into the book, it was nothing like my other experience with New Adult and I couldn't put it down! Let me tell you why... Colleen Hoover has an incredible talent with character development. The complex characters in HOPELESS have unbelievable stories to tell. Their past and present are very intriguing, and with the details Hoover uses in her writing, I was really able to get to know them all intimately. When first introduced to Sky, she was difficult to like. The book was written from her point of view, and her thoughts and feelings were well developed throughout the story, but she seemed to lack self-confidence. She allowed people to think things about her that weren't true and didn't stick up for herself. This was hard for me to relate to. However, her sense of humor started to take over. Then, she went on a journey of rediscovery and it became hard not to fall completely in love with her! In this journey, she started to see herself differently and experienced many firsts as she found herself and a new love. Dean Holder (who goes by Holder) was the handsome, dark, and mysterious hero. He was NOT your typical eighteen-year-old! He has had an emotional past that causes his temper to flare. When his temper was in check, he was an incredible young man. Hoover created a passionate, thoughtful character in Holder, and he proved himself time and time again throughout the story. It became apparent why he had a temper, but at the same time, I related to his soft side and understood why he could be the complete opposite--a young man in control of his emotions and capable of so much love! Sky and Holder had issues that needed to be dealt with, as did the secondary characters, which added to the depth of the story. Sky's mom, Brenda, and her best friend, Six, each bring different elements to the plot that helped me see the main characters fully. These characters are going to stay with me for a long time, and I have already started reading LOSING HOPE, the second book in this series, because I wanted more of Sky and Holder! Speaking of more, I am thrilled to be getting it, as both books have been optioned for film. I am not going to miss them! As much as I disliked how the book started, it actually led to absolute brilliance! I loved how everything came together in the end. Hoover couldn't have surprised me more with her plotting. The story was driven by a timeline that was mostly in the present, but took some important glimpses into the past. The cadence created by these visits between the past and present was excellent. It was what got me excited to continue to turn the pages to learn more. I also loved how the story involved suspense. I kept wondering what all of the details meant; meanwhile, Hoover would introduce another element that would get me one step closer to the clarity desired. As one of my fellow bloggers says, it was amazeballs! I loved the symbolism utilized throughout the book. It added such a nice touch to this beautiful story of young love and self-discovery! I was thankful for the journey Hoover took me on to understand why there is such a sense of hopelessness for everyone involved. And finally, I loved how she concluded the journey with incredible discoveries. I am so thankful I didn't give up on this one early on just because I had a bad experience with a different New Adult book. HOPELESS ended up being nothing like my former read. Instead, it gave me a fresh perspective on this genre that will keep me hoping for more just like it. As a matter of fact, HOPELESS may rank up there as one of my top reads of 2013! BOTTOM LINE HOPELESS is a journey into self-discovery and young love with a beautifully characterized heroine and hero. If you are like me and haven't enjoyed the New Adult genre in the past, this one may change your mind. It is a beautiful romantic and suspenseful story that had me turning the pages to get the clarity I needed to fully understand these amazing characters. RATING: A
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Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2013 by Kindles and Wine Book Blog
Let me start out by saying this one blew my mind. I was skeptical, but oh goodness am I glad I bought this. My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. An Overview of the Novel: (I really worry I won't be able to adequately summarize the awesomeness of this novel. It was so complex and so deep, but oh well here I go.) Sky has been home-schooled for her entire life and has lived a very sheltered life. No TV, no computers, no electronics. She hasn't minded, but she's going to go to college soon and she wants to go to school her senior year and finally her mom agrees. But Sky has a little bit of a reputation going into school. She's been the make-out queen and has gone through more guys than she can name. She's never done more than make-out, but if you believe the rumors, then she's the school slut. Sky has never felt anything with any of the guys she's made out. It helps her be numb and to stop thinking, because whether they are dreams or her past, the moment Sky closes her eyes she sees awful images. Thinking is sometimes overrated. Then she meets Dean Holder and he makes her feel. The only problem is he is nothing but trouble and he infuriates her more than anybody she meets. She doesn't understand him. All she knows is he has serious issues. Sky's just not sure if she can handle him and when he comes clean, it might just be the thing that will tear them apart for forever. My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I can't begin to name how many people told me I'd love this one. I'll admit to being skeptical. I wasn't sure if I'd like it, but so many people kept raving over it that I gave it a shot because it was cheap book. I was hesitant to read this book because there were certain aspects to the novel that I thought I'd find offensive. However, I gave it a shot and I wasn't offended; I was blown away by the book. I read five pages and I was feeling pretty hooked and then by two chapters in I knew I was going to have a long night ahead of me because there was no way I was going to stop reading until I turned the very last page. I loved Hoover's writing style. It's been a LONG LONG time since I've enjoyed a writing style this much. And then there were characters, dang her characters felt so real to me. I loved getting into Sky's head and watching her deal with unknown horrors that she had dealt with in her past. And then there was Dean Holder. Okay, I think I just found my fictional bad boy love. Dean Holder was everything I like in a bad boy--a boy who had a rough exterior and a bad reputation, but was really a sweet, sensitive, and oh so hot guy. Seriously, where can I find a Dean? He is easily one of my favorite characters of all time. Watching Sky and Dean interact was also mesmerizing. I was rooting for them from the get-go, but Dean and Sky both had a lot going on underneath the surface and the whole time I was worried they wouldn't get together. The chemistry between these two characters. This isn't giving anything away so don't panic. But one of my favorite scenes was when Sky confesses to Dean that she's never felt anything while being kissed. He then says she hasn't been kissed right because when he kisses her, she's going to feel it. I'm not a huge romantic and romantic scenes are never my favorite, but let me tell you that scene where he doesn't kiss her because he wants her to really feel it when he does kiss her....if you only read the novel for that scene, then that's a good enough reason. Trust me though this novel had depth to it. It's not a shallow romance like I so often read. Sky was an extremely developed character and she had a lot to overcome. The romance really wasn't the center of the story. And I loved that. That would have been enough to make me love this novel, but then came that ending. Don't worry I'm not going to give anything away. After finishing the novel, I had entered into absolute fangirl stage. It didn't end anything like I expected it would. I mean I did guess a few of the twists, but I was unprepared for the beauty of this novel and for its ending. I'm recommending this to anybody and everybody. Go buy this now. You'll want to read it again eventually and it's really cheap. So Why 5 out of 5 stars? In case you couldn't tell because I frickin' love this book. The writing was beautiful, the plot was gripping, the characters were incredibly developed, and the whole novel was mind-blowing. In Summary: Easily one of my favorites of the year. Hoover has created a tale that will capture the hearts and minds of every one who gets lost in its pages. Warnings/Side-notes: Sexual references and interactions. For 16 and up. The Wrap-up: Readers will be sucked into this world of beauty, pain, tragedy, love, redemption, and forgiveness and won't want to leave the book. However, when they turn the last page, they'll be satisfied and that's a mark of a great book. As much as I'd like to read more about Dean and Sky, I'm perfectly satisfied and don't need a sequel. There aren't many books I can say that about.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2013 by Danica
I purchased this book because of the reviews and overall, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I felt it was, for the most part, well written with enough humor and touching moments to keep me interested. It was great...almost perfect. Here are a few reasons why I loved it: 1. I loved the humor between the characters. It takes a LOT for a book to make me laugh right out loud and I did this time and again with Hopeless. There were hilarious moments and beautiful, touching moments. 2. I loved the plot development and unexpected twists. For readers like myself, who read a lot of books, too often I see what's coming before I get there. Although I could sense the twists and turns along this 'ride', I didn't feel like I'd been on the ride before. 3. I love a happy ending. I think the main characters are going to need some serious therapy (some of the situations were just a bit unbelievable) but it still ended great. I felt the story resolved itself well. With a little editing, I think this book could have been the perfect novel. Here are a few of the reasons why I struggled with it (and they're minor): (**Spoiler Alert**) 1. I had trouble getting past the first chapter. It didn't grab me and keep me interested. I literally started reading this book three times before I FORCED myself to just keep going. Once I got into it a bit, I liked it. A lot. But it took a bit of force. 2. I felt like Hoover shoved a whole lot of topics into one book. Parenting issues, rumors and reputations, hate crimes, sexual abuse, suicide, kidnapping, first love...and on and on. I wasn't sure where she was headed at any one time and it made it a little...crowded at points. I felt it needed a bit of editing, a little bit of focus. Fewer dramatic events or subjects with more time to deal with each one. 3. I enjoy a book with a good moral as much as the next reader, but there were several occasions where I felt Hoover was trying too hard to express that moral using character dialog which seemed long-winded and forced. Most of the time, the dialog was fresh and funny or sweet and wonderful. I just wish that, in her desire to reach out and let the reader understand the "moral of the story", Hoover had done it in a less obvious, less wordy manner, especially during the final chapters of the book. Every time one of her characters started to lecture the other about one of these morals, it felt like I was getting kicked out of the book. Like the story was taking a commercial break for a public service announcement or something. I felt like the point was getting slapped in my face when really, all I needed was a gentle nudge. This is when "show, don't tell" and "less is more" really come into play. Something easily solved with editing. Despite my few struggles (which again, were quite minor), I really liked this book and would recommend it.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2013 by S. Harris
This review and others can be found at [...]- Jointly reviewed for totallybooked Jenny: Gitte, is it possible to fall in love with a book and its characters from the first few pages, because if it is then that is exactly what happened to me in Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. I fell in love with this book instantly and my feelings didn't waiver until I read "the end" and even then I've spent the past few weeks thinking about this book and how it affected me. To say I have loved everything this author has written is an understatement. Every word she writes is flawless and every word demands to be read. This story took me completely by surprise. I didn't know what to expect and what I got was so much more than I could have ever hoped for. This story touched me, moved me, humoured me and devastated me and I loved every minute of it. Hopeless is a darker read than Slammed and Point of Retreat and I was absolutely enthralled with the places this author took me throughout this book. Gitte: I am speechless Jenny, after I had finished this book I felt faint; every word this Author wrote squeezed my heart tight; made me dizzy and light headed....my eyes hurt as did my head; I just could not put it down! I am in complete awe and utter admiration....Reading Sky and Holder's story left me breathless, made me cry. This Author captures a reader in a tight hold carries you with words that each takes their rightful place in your heart and doesn't let you go until the story has been told. Long after, every single word still stays with you. This story just flowed so naturally. The relationship between the characters was inspiring their relationship and story intense. "The sky is always beautiful. Even when it's dark or rainy or cloudy, it's still beautiful to look at....it'll be there no matter what...and I know it'll always be beautiful." Jenny: I know how immersed you were in this story, you wouldn't even answer your phone until you finished it. Sky is heading off to High School (and school in general) for the first time after being home schooled by her Mum for her school life. Unfortunately, she is forced to do this on her own as her best friend Six is moving away for six months and leaving Sky to face her first year of school alone. Her introduction to school isn't a pleasant one with the other students already having a preconceived opinion of who Sky is - they couldn't be more off the mark where Sky is concerned, but Sky takes it all in her stride and she is lucky enough to make a friend in Breckin. This friendship is just so warm and funny! I just loved these two. They were kindred spirits and I absolutely cracked up at the banter between these two. I have to say GG that I just ADORED Sky. She was strong, independent, yet vulnerable in some ways, funny and when her story starts to develop my heart just ached for her and the sorrow and sadness I felt for her was all encompassing. Gitte: LOVED Sky; she was an amazing character. She is up front and doesn't suffer fools gladly. She is honest, genuine, funny, adorable, naïve yet knows more than a person should know. The somewhat sheltered life she has had, for reasons which become clear, has left her with this endearing quality an tangible innocence. Yet at the same time she had a spot on sense of humour and a sarcasm which yeah made me fall in love with her even more! Jenny: Sky has never "felt" before. She has kissed a few boys, but she has not felt anything with them...nothing. That all changes when she meet Holder. Dean Holder has a troubled past and a reputation and temper that precedes him. Dean Holder......Wow! Be still my beating heart! I LOVED this guy! He stole my heart from the outset. There is an instant attraction between these two but it's not just an attraction - it's something deeper, something instant, a connection. They both feel it and the chemistry between these two was palpable. You absolutely felt their connection and you immediately needd to know why Holder especially is so drawn to Sky. Sky is wary of her feelings for Holder but she confides in him. In Holder she sees something, she begins to open up to him and express her feelings of "nothing" -. Holder assures her that with him she will "feel" - "the moment my lips touch yours, it will be your first kiss. Because if you've never felt anything when someone's kissed you, then then no one's ever really kissed you. Not the way I plan on kissing you" - and how true this was! Not only did Sky feel that first kiss but I swear I did too GG! Gitte: If anyone could make Sky feel again it had to be Holder. Seriously Jenny, what can I say about Holder. He was pretty damn perfect! I LOVE this guy. He was perfectly imperfect!! And yeah Jenny I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand up because I felt it too! Jenny: I felt exactly the same GG! To watch the relationship between Sky and Holder develop and flourish was something I devoured! These characters entered my heart....they nestled deep down in it and have found a place there forever. The intimacy these two shared could be felt, with every word, with every touch and with every breath you feel it. This author really does have a way of bringing her characters to life and in this story they are brought to life so realistically that at times I actually found myself clutching my heart. You really do care what happens to these characters. Gitte: This is where I have to bring the intensity up again. This Author just has this amazing talent that completely draws a reader in. Her words have a hard impact yet they soothe too; making each established word count in a way that it gets absorbed and doesn't leave, instead burrowing itself into the heart of the reader thereby creating a scene, an atmosphere, a picture, a feeling, a memory a smell even a perception or judgement. The characters in this story...I loved them. Both of them. Their story... was beyond heartbreaking, amazing, touching, beautiful and emotional even funny at times. Hopeless is without doubt one of the best books I have read this year. What an amazingly talented Author Colleen Hoover is, Sky and Holder will always have a piece of my heart! Jenny: Couldn't agree more GG. This is definitely going to be up there as one of my best reads for this year that's for sure! As each piece of the story was peeled away and their pasts revisited, my heart broke one piece at a time. It initially broke for Sky but in the end it shattered for both of them. There were twists and turns all through this book and the reveal crushed me. The way it was handled amazed me. The ending satisfied me. It all felt so real, and I felt I was there with them in the moment for every moment. My interest, concern and love for these characters never wavered and I felt every emotion they felt. There is the perfect blend of light and dark in this book so you don't feel weighed under with sadness but you do feel sad, you do feel the hopelessness and the hopefulness of Sky and Holder. Just as it becomes too much and you think you won't recover, the author injects humour and warmth and brings you back from the brink. It was perfectly crafted, wonderfully told and Hopeless forever has a special place in my heart. J&G: This book is a departure from Slammed and Point of Retreat and we're so glad this author took the plunge and wrote this story. As readers we love and admire any author who can break the mould and produce a story that surprises us and gives us something different and that's exactly what happened with Hopeless. Don't' got into this thinking it's a carbon copy of her previous books. It isn't, and it is for this reason that this books so excited us. Colleen Hoover is one storyteller who we feel could write just about anything and it would be captivating. :
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Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2012 by TotallyBookedBlog
Colleen Hoover is seriously a genius with words; in my humble opinion, a wizard who can break my heart and mend it back together with just the flow of her writing on the page. The manner in which she spins her stories captivate me. Her heroines and heroes pull me in, capture my breath and hold me there until the very end when I am able to slow my heart rate back to normal and breathe again. Colleen was my second introduction into the world of indie authors. For me she is one of those authors who the minute I see a new book title I NEED it, I don't even truly care what the book is about because I know that I will be faithfully taken on a journey filled with passion, intensity, tragedy, and intense love. Everything I adore about her books will be there when I open the book and begin turning the pages. "It's killing me baby because I don't want you to go another day without knowing how I feel about you. And I'm not ready to tell you I'm in love with you, because I'm not. Not yet. But whatever this is I'm feeling--it's so much more than just like. It's so much more. And for the past few weeks I've been trying to figure it out. I've been trying to figure out why there isn't some other word to describe it. I want to tell you exactly how I feel but there isn't a single goddamned word in the entire dictionary that can describe this point between liking you and loving you, but I need that word. I need it because I need you to hear me say it." (quote from e-version) Hopeless was not an exception. I found myself so engrossed and emotionally invested in Holder and Sky; their story is so beautifully tragic and brilliant. My emotions ran the course with theirs. I felt their pain, their happiness, their love, and at times their defeat. My heart broke right along with theirs, it shattered as secrets began to unravel and all I could think was no please tell me it isn't going where I think it is. Then there were the moments when my heart absolutely melted at the sweet intimacy that flowed so effortlessly between them, (I felt there were more of these moments then the heart breaking ones) and I couldn't seem to stop smiling. "Sky, if you're wondering if I have commitment issues, the answer is no. Someday in the far, far, far away future...like post-college future...when I propose to you...which I will be doing one day because you aren't getting rid of me...I won't be marrying you with the hope that our marriage will work out. When you become mine, it'll be a forever thing. I've told you before that the only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers, and I mean that." (quote from e-version) Dean Holder is amazing, and I mean amazing. At times I almost forgot he's only 18-years-old. His personality and actions gave me the impression of an old soul. Maybe this was due to the hand in life he was dealt. Holder was strong, he was passionate, and he was so damn gentle with Sky at times, almost as though he was waiting for the moment she broke. Our hero was damaged, there was no doubt about that. He suffered through not one but two tragedies, so by the time he met Sky he had already lived one hell of a hard knock life. Sky is empty inside. She makes out with boys, but in all honesty she doesn't feel with them. Boys are a way to pass away the time, a way to try and make herself feel something (that is until she comes face to face with Holder). She fascinated me. Collen built Sky to portray strength, heartache, passion, loyalty, and emptiness. Sky was sassy, she had backbone and she had some pretty amazing friends. All of this together made Sky feel so real to me, it made her so beautifully lost and broken, even if she didn't realize it at first. She hadn't know anything else in life except for love, so why was she so empty when it came to intimacy? Her growth in this book as she learned of her past blew me away. Her decisions throughout the story and the way she handled herself showed her inner strength and moral character. It was refreshing to see a female character written with such maturity and strength. Even though Sky was 17, her character was wise beyond her years. Seriously, she is one of my favorite heroines. "And while I could sit here and feel sorry for myself, wondering why all of this happened to me..I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to wish for a perfect life. The things that knock you down in life are tests, forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down. I'm choosing to stand taller. I'll probably get kicked down a few more times before this life is through with me, but I can guarantee you I'll never stay on the ground." (quote from e-version) Dean scared her, and excited her all at the same time. Sky gave him hope, and a sense of peace that made the darkness he felt for 13 years inside him ease with each passing day. Their relationship and chemistry was off the charts intense; their interactions emotionally raw. As the past began to unravel it's inconceivable secrets, they stood strong and pushed forward. Their love for each other was strong and it was real. I loved the time Holder took to be gentle and careful with Sky. He wasn't afraid to show her how much she meant to him, his actions sometimes spoke louder than his words. Towards the end, when it all blew to hell Sky totally blew me away with her strength, she pushed her own pain and heartache aside and focused on Holder. She offered everything she had within her to protect him and show him how much her love was for him. She placed his feelings above her own, and in return he did the same. I adored them individually and as a couple, I adored the fact that even at such a young age they knew their relationship was something special, and I adored the way they protected their love of each other the most. "He's proven to me that I'll never feel completely hopeless again, so long as he's in my life." (quote from e-version) Sky and Holder didn't just love each other, they lived each other. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Hopeless in exchange for an honest opinion.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2013 by T. Zautner
Hopeless is as far from hopeless as it could possibly be! Rather courageous, strong, stubborn, beautiful and full of hope! Sky has been home schooled her whole life, but for her senior year in high school, she has managed to persuade her mother to let her go to the local school so she can get ready to go to college later. Just as Sky is getting ready to go to an actual school for the first time, her best friend and next-door-neighbor Six is leaving for a year abroad. Because Six is very friendly with boys, she has quite a reputation in school, and that reputation has kind of trickled down to Sky as well, just because she's been hanging out with guys as well and of course, since she and Six are best friends. Hopeless really isn't about high school drama, though, it is about Sky, and Dean. How they both have to deal with gossip and nasty reputations, and how they fall in love and Sky is finally feeling something when she is with a boy, and about how they both need to deal with the past. At the same time as Sky starts feeling something, she is having dreams as well. About a past she cannot remember. She knows she is adopted, and that she was in the foster system until she was four years old, but she never had any actual memories of what happened before she became Karen's adopted daughter. Sky has not had the same kind of life that Six has had - not only because she was home schooled, but also because Karen has a very strict no-electronics thing going on at home. They have no TV, computers or cell-phones, and while I can appreciate that some people want to be able to be off-line when at home, it did seem a little strange as well. When Six leaves for Europe, her goodbye present for Sky is a cell-phone, that she keeps hidden from Karen. The relationship between Karen and Sky is a very good one, for once, there is a parent who is really present for her teenager, even if she also trusts Sky and lets her make a lot of her own decisions. Apart from her strange and disturbing dreams, Sky seems to be well-adjusted. The writing is extremely well done, it flows easily, the prose is beautiful, and the characters are all fleshed out! Even minor characters are described and showed in a way that made me feel like they were real, and that is a huge plus in my opinion. Dean is a very complex character, and since the readers get to know him through Sky, her judgment of him color our own. I was a little wary of him in the beginning, even with all the warning signs telling me not to listen to gossip, I made the very same mistake that Sky made - I believed the things I learned about him from second or third hand At the same time, Dean is also quite volatile in the beginning, we never know if he is going to be nice or nasty, happy or angry. As things move quickly between Sky and Dean, it is still easy to understand how she gets so caught up in him, because there is a depth to him that is really amazing. Sky and Dean seem to really get each other, they are both outsiders in high school, and they both have to fight against the gossipers who have nothing better to do with their free time than to make stuff up about people they don't really know. As the story moves forward, the mystery of Sky's past becomes more and more present, until her memories almost explode. The aftermath of her remembering everything, and then realizing that someone else knew some of it as well was heartbreaking to read about. What she had to relive made me cry, and in some instances I had goose-bumps seeing how she was sorting through her memories to find some kind of peace within herself. She showed an immense strength, and she only got stronger as she worked through her past. To make sure I don't spoil anything, I will stop here - but I urge you: Get this book and read it! You need a quiet place so you can just read without stopping, and the time to do so as well. You also need a lot of tissues, but know that there are a lot of both happy and romantic moments as well - all is not sad - as I said in the beginning, there truly is hope throughout the whole narrative, and that might be part of what made Hopeless so beautiful to me. *** Favorite quotes *** Everything Six eats is only eaten to compliment her main course of Nutella. Tonight, she's having a cheese and Nutella sandwich. I don't know if I could ever acquire a taste for that. I'm really hoping he's being genuine because I can already tell he isn't the kind of guy a girl gets a simple crush on. He's the kind of guy you fall hard for, and the thought of that terrifies me. "So you get the house to yourself and you spend Friday night baking? Typical teenager," he says mockingly. "What can I say?" I shrug. "I'm a rebel." Passionate. He's passionate about life, about love, about his words, about Les. And I'll be damned if I wasn't just added to his list. The intensity he conveys isn't unnerving... it's beautiful.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2013 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
I really enjoyed this book. I'm a little late to the game in reading Colleen Hoover because I read some of the negative reviews first (which I do), but now I see what I've been missing. This was a really, really, good book. Sky... I liked Sky. I liked being in her head because while I'm far removed from being 17/18 years old, it reminded me of how I was at that age; the angst; the confusion; the lust. At times, though, I felt that Sky was repetitive in her thoughts and the book could have been reduced by 20-30 pages, and I wouldn't have missed out on the storyline. Holder... Holder wasn't dreamy or anything to me. At 17, he probably would have been to me, but at 36 and after experiencing life in the real world, I never would have gotten involved with someone like Holder. He came across as possessive and controlling--to an extent. Granted, as the story came to a close, I understood WHY he came across as those things, but I never understood why Sky put up with it. But, all things said, she is a 17 year old girl and I get it. Good girl, with an undeserved reputation, falls for the gorgeous guy with the bad-boy reputation. Each are undeserved (reputations), but a few misunderstandings keep them from truly falling for each other, and they get back together without Holder really apologizing for acting the jerk that one day in the cafeteria. Later, in the book, his reasoning for NOT apologizing might make sense to someone of Sky's age; but for me I never truly understood why Sky fell hard for him. This also kept the book from becoming a 5-star review. As the book ended, and all was revealed, I found my opinion of Holder changing for the better, and I was glad that Sky had him to lean on. Other characters... Six and Breckin were cool, but mostly 2-dimensional characters. I'm not sure they added much to the story other than to give Sky someone to interact with when she wasn't with Holder, thinking about Holder, being mad at Holder, or dreaming about Holder. Karen... Sky's mom, again, mostly 2-dimensional until the end. Karen was mostly an non-entity since it served as a way for Sky and Holder to be together with out parental supervision. The mother in me disagrees with this totally, but the reader in me understands that the story wouldn't have progressed if Sky and Holder were constantly watched. Technology... (yes, it needs its own paragraph) I think the thing that kept this book from becoming 5 stars was my belief that even though Sky didn't have access to technology, she would have known more about it than she did in the book because of her friends, neighbors, etc. There is even one point, where, as she is at Holder's house and she goes into his sister's room, she points out that she notices an iPod on the dresser, whereas, earlier in the book, she doesn't know what an e-reader was (she thinks it is a mini-TV... which they kind of are, these days). So I felt there was a bit of plot-inconsistencies on this front. It isn't like she lived in a commune or like a hermit up in the mountains. She lived in Texas and her best friend had access to all of these things. Storyline... Since I read the negative reviews first (which I normally do before I buy a book), I already knew many of the spoilers before reading a word. You may wonder why I would buy a book with negative reviews. Every book has negative reviews and I found those reviews to be issues that I wouldn't have, well, issues with. I did notice minor formatting issues, but these were very minor in nature. I suspect Ms. Hoover updated the file after most of these reviews were written. As for the spoilers, I'll admit it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of this story. I kept reading because I had to know what happened next. I think this goes to show that readers, deep down, really want a good story. If the formatting or grammar, etc., get in the way, and if it is a big enough problem to get in the way, then yes, I can understand the low ratings some readers gave. This wasn't an issue for me. For the first 60% of the book, the storyline was fairly simple: girl meets boy, is drawn to boy, but boy doesn't appear to be drawn to girl, and girl is confused why boy acts this way. Then, boy is drawn to the girl, is nice to the girl, then is sort of mean to the girl, and girl is confused, and girl doesn't talk to the boy for a month. It's a good formula. It works for a lot of books and I'm not debating the formula. Spoiler ... [ After the 60% mark, the storyline gets heavier. Sky's abusive past comes into the equation. She starts getting memories. Holder starts acting a bit weird around Karen. Things like that, that weren't present in the first half. This isn't necessarily a big deal to me, but if I hadn't read the reviews, this might have thrown me. At first, the story seems like a love me/love me not plot. Then we get the back story with Sky's adoption, Holder's sister, Karen. It's a deep, thick plot. Again, not an issue specifically because I read the reviews and anticipated it. I really felt for Sky. I even got teary eyed in a few places. Bonus points to Ms. Hoover on that. Holder stepped up to the plate and I don't think Sky could have dealt with anything (after the truth is revealed) without Holder. ... End Spoiler Other than a quick resolution with Sky's father, and the odd-timing that Sky and Holder finally becoming intimate, I felt the ending wrapped up nicely. I admit I skimmed over the sex parts. I never felt comfortable reading about teenagers having sex, but at least Ms. Hoover wasn't graphic. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a romance with meatier issues attached.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2014 by Kelly
Format: Kindle
The writing is of course good, but this circled around a very dark topic. Already, I struggled with Holden’s attitude, which Hoover delves into and explains as the story unfolds. But I feel like the level of intensity with this story was pretty high. I guessed the main reason behind Sky’s habit of distancing herself from feeling things almost immediately and was unsurprised when that finally came to light. I think for me, it was a harder read because it was so dark for so much of the book. I feel like Holden was the glue that kept Sky together, and was very very in tune with himself and his emotions which to a degree, I felt was a little unrealistic for that age. It’s clear he has issues, so it was hard to pair that with his ability to help talk Sky through some tough parts like someone who has received a LOT of counseling. Usually, teenagers are hardly that self aware, especially from broken families and traumatic pasts. They usually don’t know how to handle things that are way difficult. Not to say he’s perfect. We see a bit of that emotional immaturity when he reacts poorly in a couple of instances. But then he bounces back and seems surprisingly stable after that, being a solid figure for Sky to lean on. I don’t mean to say Hoover did a bad job with this story. I get the need to have a means of helping the main character overcome so much in the short span of a singular book. Hoover definitely pulls this all together before it ends, but because of the topics, it does feel a little fast in places, because there’s so much to unpack. And I know, we can’t really explore YEARS and years of getting over certain traumas that come to light in a mere couple of months typically. So in that regard, I get why some things happened the way they did. But this wasn’t my favorite of Hoover’s books. It was a beast of a dilemma to tackle as far as the main issue that drove the plot forward. There was a lot of negative issues that had to get dealt with. It touched on some really dark and difficult topics. I think for me, that was why I couldn’t quite fall into the story as much as I have with some of Hoover’s other stories. I’m not sure if it’s because of those topics or how it was written, but I felt myself more distanced from this story, which is why I wasn’t as emotionally connected to it. I found that by the end, I was really just trying to hurry through it so it could be done with. The writing was good. Hoover is quite gifted with storytelling. But this was one of my least favorite reads. I think for some, who are victims of abuse, this might be good for them to read. I hope it helps people identify possible issues they haven’t been able to be in touch with before, whether it’s facing trauma from their own past or possibly in the lives of people they know. However, for me, I’m just glad to finally have gotten through reading it. There were some good parts I did enjoy. But most of it was too dark that I now need a bit of a break, and maybe something light hearted to read for some self care after this one.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2025 by A.S.G.