Losing Hope: A Novel (Hopeless)

"Thirteen years. I've been looking for her for thirteen years and I very well may have just found her. Alive." When I was a little girl, every single year on my birthday, my parents would take me to my favourite toy store which happened to be in a city a few hours away from ours. Those day trips were some of the happiest moments in my life because I could always take that joy for granted. I never knew what toy I would pick, the anticipation was half the fun, but I always knew I would be returning home with a huge grin on my face. Well, fast forward "a few" years and I have found the equivalent of those childhood toy store expeditions. It is called a Colleen Hoover book. Hopeless was hands down one of the best books I have ever read. It touched me so profoundly and so irrevocably that I walked away a different reader. The story of Sky and Holder is not something that you ever forget - its uniqueness lies in the deep emotions that it makes us feel and in its inimitable writing style. It is truly the perfect book. Losing Hope is its sequel, written entirely from Holder's point of view, but following the same storyline. It is not a book, however, that could or should be read without reading Hopeless first as several scenes are better understood with prior knowledge of Sky's story, allowing this book to simply fill the gaps in the timeline and for Holder to finally tell his side of this timeless tale of love, courage and human endurance. Revisiting such an emotional story from a different point of view was no small task, especially since we were left believing that no stone was left unturned in the storyline, but it truly deserved to be told again. From the first moment we hear Holder's voice, we become aware that to truly understand the complexity of Sky's reactions, we needed to witness Holder's too. All the final puzzle pieces are set in place, making this story even more flawless. Holder has had more loss in his life than any young man should ever have to overcome. Losing his childhood friend left him burdened with guilt and regret, but losing his twin sister shattered his heart. "What are the chances that the only two girls in my life I've ever loved ... I've lost?" The moment he first sees Sky is the embodiment of thirteen years of hope. When Holder meets her, he wishes with all his heart for her to be his long lost friend, but the more he gets to know her, the more he needs her not to be that little girl. We watch them fall in love, slowly, gently, cautiously, knowing the truth this time around and aware that it is a ticking bomb waiting to explode. "I don't know what will be more painful. Staying away from her so she doesn't find out, or telling her the truth and ruining her life all over again." While we suspected Holder's feelings to be strong, we now find out how overwhelmingly intense they were from the moment he laid eyes on Sky. They love story is epic - it is the story of two young people who have cared for each other for over a decade and who are now drawn to each other all over again, like two magnets unable to fight the pull, the growing love between them healing their hearts and giving them the courage to face the impending truth. They are kindred spirits who might be falling in love with one another for the first time, but their hearts have known each other and have been connected for a very long time. "I've loved Hope since we were kids. But tonight? Tonight I fell in love with Sky." Nothing in this book is accidental or without purpose. Ms Hoover uses her words with intent and with impeccable skill. Even the simplest of sentences make us feel so much, fortuitously manoeuvring our emotions from one direction to another. What left me speechless once again is the author's ability to use humour to lighten even the heaviest of subjects. Holder's letters to his dead sister are an unexpected highlight of this story, equally heartbreaking as they are comical at times, often making me genuinely laugh through tears of sadness. "Why would you leave your jeans on the floor if you knew what you were about to do? Wouldn't you at least throw them in the hamper? ... Well, I'm not picking them up." I must stress again the importance of reading Hopeless first as this book is in effect a companion novel. Several very important scenes are rushed over this time around as they were told in detail previously and nothing needed to be added. This being Holder's story, the focus is not only on his relationship with Sky but also on overcoming his feelings of grief and guilt stemming from the untimely loss of his sister. I have said so much about this book and I still consider myself speechless over it. I believed Hopeless to be a complete story but I am now convinced that neither book should be read without the other one. I am doing a standing ovation to Ms Hoover, once again, and I get a feeling I should be used to it by now. A truly spectacular read. "I don't want her to feel nothing when I kiss her. I want her to feel everything."

Losing Hope is an emotionally intense and beautifully written companion to Hopeless that dives deep into Dean Holder’s perspective. Colleen Hoover does a fantastic job peeling back the layers of his grief, guilt, and healing, making this more than just a retelling — it’s a powerful expansion of the original story. Getting inside Holder’s mind adds so much depth to the events we already know, especially his internal struggles with losing his sister and reconnecting with Sky. The journal entries to his sister are heartbreaking and raw, giving the book a more introspective tone. While some parts felt familiar since it mirrors Hopeless, the added emotion and new scenes made it worth the read. It’s not quite as shocking or twist-filled as the first book, but it still packs an emotional punch and gives closure in a meaningful way. If you loved Hopeless, this is the perfect companion — honest, emotional, and full of heart.

I realize that retellings from an alternate POV are not for everyone. I, however, am one of those people who loves a good retelling that gives me not only a new perspective, but also new content. Cutting and pasting scenes and making minor changes is not a retelling for me. Give me something I didn't know, offer me new emotions, provide a new perspective, and make me fall for the characters all over again and I'm yours. Fortunately for me Colleen Hoover did just that! I purposely did not reread Hopeless before Losing Hope. I'm very glad I didn't. While I was tempted a couple of times to pull out my Hopeless copy and do a side-by-side comparison of a couple of scenes, I decided not to. But that wasn't because I thought it was just a copy-cat scene; it was because the scene actually felt different. But to me that was a good thing, because the scene should feel different because it was from Holder's POV, not Sky's. So I kept on reading and kept on loving this story. I also wanted to see if this would be a book you could read before Hopeless instead of afterwards. While technically you could do it, as there is enough information and story to make it have its own story, I still wouldn't suggest it. What I loved about reading Hopeless was the mystery element of trying to figure out Holder's deal and Sky's past. If you've never read Hopeless, you still get the mystery element of Sky's past, but not Holder's, and I feel like the impact would be so much greater if you read Hopeless first. So that is my opinion: read Hopeless first. What's new in Losing Hope that's not in Hopeless, you ask? Holder! Lots and lot of Holder! He is such a fantastic character, with such depth to his character, but also such humor, compassion, and love that it was a real pleasure reading from his POV. One thing I really enjoyed about Holder's POV was learning more about Lesslie, his relationship with her, and how he handled all that tragedy on his own. There was so much for me to learn, and what he expressed to Less were among my favorite, and emotional, bits of the book. I teared-up twice that I recall, and both involved Holder and Less. We also get more about Holder's friendships, his family, and then, of course, his feelings about Sky. Learning why he reacted to her the way he did, what was behind his actions and motivations, what his true feelings were toward her - all of that I loved and gobbled up. Having Sky's feelings in the back of my head from Hopeless, and then gaining Holder's perspective here, truly rounded out this relationship for me. Holder and Sky are truly a beautiful couple inside and out. Was there anything I didn't like? Honestly, not much. I did miss a couple of secondary characters at the end, and wanted to know more about them, but I realize that this wasn't their story, so I wasn't overly disappointed. Beyond that I have no complaints except, like a greedy child on Halloween who wants to continue to trick-or-treat despite my overflowing bag of candy, I just want more. Bottomline: I loved this retelling from Holder's POV and fell in love with these characters and their heart-breaking but heart-lifting story all over again. Thank you, Colleen Hoover, for giving us more Holder and making this story come alive even more than it already was.

Another piece added from my CoHo haul! I'm excited to spend the night devouring this beauty. BTW, my book came in good condition. Not even a single damage😊

Bokrecension: Losing Hope av Colleen Hoover Handling: Dean Holder har kämpat med skuldkänslor sedan hans bästa vän försvann för tretton år sedan. När han träffar Sky, som påminner om hans förlorade vän, blir han dragen till henne samtidigt som han kämpar med skuldkänslorna. För att gå vidare måste han konfrontera sitt förflutna och hitta frid med Skys hjälp. Recension: Denna bok utgör den andra delen av Hopeless-serien, författad av Colleen Hoover. Denna gång följer vi Dean Holders resa genom barndomen och ungdomen. Jag uppskattar serier som knyter an väl till föregående böcker. På så sätt blir det lättare att komma ihåg handlingen och fördjupa sig ytterligare. Hoovers skrivsätt är både ros och ris. Rosen ligger i att hennes berättande är lätt att följa, vilket lockar läsaren att fortsätta och upptäcka hur historien utvecklas. Hon använder även vackra beskrivningar av miljöerna, med rikliga inslag av bildspråk som gör det lätt att visualisera scenarierna. Risaspekten är att Hoover tenderar att upprepa sig. Även om repetition kan vara effektivt, kan det också göra att berättelsen känns stillastående och svår att följa. Dessutom återkommer ofta liknande teman i hennes berättelser, med karaktärer som har upplevt våld och hot. Trots dessa repetitioner och liknande teman uppskattar jag ändå denna serie och kommer att fortsätta läsa de återstående tre böckerna. Även om berättelserna kan vara repetitiva är de ändå gripande och viktiga att lyfta fram. Jag ger ändå boken 3,5 stjärnor av 5 eftersom jag tycker att den är bra och gripande. Den berör viktiga ämnen och det är vackert att se hur Holder får ett avslut som tillåter honom att gå vidare i livet och lämna sin våldsamma och utsatta barndom bakom sig. Det är en fin bok som jag rekommenderar att ni läser. Boken får: 3,5/5 Sidor: 336 Genre: romance, new adult, contemporary Författare: Colleen Hoover Förlag: Simon and Shuster GoodReads: ArbereshaSabani Instagram: @wandersinbookland #losinghope #colleenhoover #simonandshuster #bookstagram #bookblogger #bookblog #bookphotography #bookreview #bookstagrammer

Top Ware, gerne wieder. Danke.

In this novel, the Dean Holder perspective is seen. The novel becomes interesting from the starting. It is about finding forgiveness in the aftermath of Trauma.

OMG her books are incredible, it is impossible don't 😢 cry. I want so much read all her books, I already read two and I'm going to the third