Hopeless (by Colleen Hoover)

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Book release date: December 19, 2012

Book Rating: 6 STARS

"Hopeless" is book one of the Hopeless series

How are the sex scenes?

Discrete, heart-felt, passionate and real.

How are the story lines?

Overwhelmingly poignant, deep and cleverly mysterious.

Would you read it again?

Absolutely.

Back of the Book

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 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.

Review

I am not really sure how to begin a review for a book that so touched my heart, made me laugh and cry, was so exceptional, that it makes me wonder if my review is actually necessary!

New York Times Best Selling Author (of three books within 12 months); Colleen Hoover, I am in awe. Hopeless, was incredible.

Hopeless ostensibly charts the life-altering journey of 18 year-old, high school senior Sky Davis, whose home-schooled existence to date, had left her bereft of, (yet not saddened by), the nasty antics of immature teenagers, and the social and technological world including the Internet. With the exception of the movies, boy-groping, and eye-opening offerings from her feisty & irreverent neighbor Six, her experience of the real world was limited. She was beautiful, stubborn, intelligent, witty and courageous, but also undeniably broken.

Fate seemed to bring handsome and mysterious Dean (Holder) and Sky together. Her presence was able to spark both life and confusion into Holder's world. This gorgeous young man, tattooed with the word ‘Hopeless’, was anything but. In fact, his maturity, contemplative and generous nature leapt from the pages, procuring my full admiration and love. He was brave, thoughtful, passionate. He was also heart broken. Two girls he loved - he'd lost.

Prior to Holder, Sky had cocooned herself in her safe bubble of numb existence. As Holder pried open her guarded soul with his thought provoking honesty and love, more than just passion and a desire to feel, arose. Disturbing images - long and safely buried - began to surface.

This is not your typical narrative of teenage angst and woe, but a compelling, unraveling of a mystery, so unpredictable, that you will be kept guessing to the very end. It was impeccably elegant in its prose, and refreshingly unique in its tale.

Sky of Holder

"I want him to lock his arms around me and throw away the key, because this is where he belongs..."

"His presence alone works wonders for a wounded soul."

“I know by the way his existence is like a magnetic pull on my heart, that if he ever hurts me again, I'll be far from just 'fine'. I'll be broken.”

Holder to Sky

“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 no one’s ever really kissed you. Not the way I plan on kissing you.”

"I'm not apologizing to you....because I don't want you to forgive me."

"You don't deserve words, Sky. You deserve actions."

Interspersed perfectly amidst the deeply moving story, was incredibly funny and heart warning banter between characters. “Who makes ceramic salt and pepper shakers fashioned out of small and large intestines?” Who indeed?! Every character received their proportionate air-time; their contribution enhancing, not detracting from the story.

There was no choice but to become consumed by Hopeless. Even in the name – it felt as though the cause for its title changed from being about a sad boy to a dedication to lost girls. It was a brilliant story about love, hope, betrayal, sadness, joy, courage, and survival. It's about the strength of two. "It's what happens when two people become one: they no longer only share love. They also share pain, heartache, sorrow, and grief. " Very poignant. Very apt. Very true.

You will laugh, cry, moan and sigh as you read this book. You will fall in love with the characters. You will be affected deeply. You will be silenced by the stunning conclusion. That's the phenomenal strength and caliber of Colleen Hoover's writing.

Should a sequel be written to Hopeless, I will unquestionably buy and devour it.

Learn more about Colleen Hoover and upcoming titles on her website, Facebook and Twitter.

This review provided by

Published by Colleen Hoover

Disclaimer:  No compensation was received for this review.