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.

It took me a few days to finish Losing Hope because life kept getting all up in my damn way. And then I had to take a few more days to reflect. It's one of those books that need reflection, because you just have to find one thing that isn't beautifully perfect. Which I couldn't do, by the way. This was definitely a Hoover book. Not only does it completely suck you in, but the words are absolute magic. Somehow, once again, Colleen takes these simple letters and rearranges, bends, and fits them into something that is nothing less than a piece of art. I'm sort of a self-proclaimed Will lover, or just Slammed in general. I know, you're probably wondering what the hell Will has to do with this. Well, when I read Hopeless I definitely liked it. It was well written, I liked the story, and I could see a few rereads in the future. Losing Hope? Holy crap. Sorry Will, you've been moved. Holder has pushed Will out, sat his ass down, and taken camp in that spot. As Holder cracks open his beer and gets comfortable, he's giving Will the "Better luck next time, buddy." look. I can't wait to finish these next few books I have to read just so I can get back to Holder for another read. Losing Hope begins with us meeting Holder pre-Sky. It's actually Les who we initially learn about, and Colleen does not waste any time in taking us down a notch. Oh no, this book does not begin on a high note at all. We knew it was going to happen, but damn, woman. Go big or go home, right? We watch the fallout, and why Holder becomes the person he is. How he was forced to handle the situation, and choices he made, which all lead up to meeting Sky. This isn't short, Colleen takes her time giving us the base to Holder. And those letters? I could not think of a better way to express what needed to be said to the reader. It was heartbreaking, the pain and different stages of coping were evident, and we got the information we needed. I adored Daniel, Holder's BFF. The way he supported Holder upon returning to school was the best. The students and teachers were unpleasant and Daniel made me laugh. A lot. So did Holder. "Every single shelf is stuffed with Les's jeans. They're all folded neatly on the shelves of the refrigerator and it pisses me off because this is where the food should be and I'm ducking hungry." Okay, so Holder finally meets Sky. I think seeing it all from his perspective actually made the story better. The way he so thoroughly loves her. Takes care of her. Even while dealing with his own steamy pile of crap, he makes hers better. There are important parts throughout Hopeless that I was dying to see from Holder's POV. Dramatic moments that I can't really put out there without spoiling, but seeing them through Holder? Ohmigod, emotions. Normally, I'd say that is a bad thing, but I couldn't stop reading. Even the parts that weren't so vital or climatic were better through Holder. "Right now. She said right now. That's nice because I conveniently don't have any prior engagements right now. I can do right now." I loved seeing Sky through Holder's eyes. The way he adored and accepted her. Accepted her crazy lifestyle, and no-pregnancy requests by Sky's mom. I think Sky was even funnier from Holder's side, "Laugh out loud. She actually typed laugh out loud. I really do lol, then I put my phone in my pocket and head to my car." The ending to Losing Hope far exceeds Hopeless, but for a reason. This is Holder's ending, not Sky's. We needed more for Holder to be settled because his story was more deeply tangled. It was brought together beautifully, and ended in the most perfect way. I wanted to go more in-depth with the story, but I can't without spoiling either Hopeless or Losing Hope. So you'll have to trust me when I say this book is the best yet from Colleen-ducking-Hoover. Oh, and Colleen? Nice product placement. Laugh out loud.

Either read Hopeless or Losing Hope but NOT both. As what others have said, it’s duplicate story so you already know all the twists in the second book. I usually love her books but this was disappointing.

Colleen Hoover is a writing goddess! Her books never fail to captivate and ensnare me. Losing Hope was no exception to this. This is exactly how an alternate point of view novel should be written. This may be the best companion novel I have ever read. The only one I can think of that compares is This Girl, and Colleen wrote that book as well, so does it really matter which I love more? No I do not think it does. All that matters is that I was privileged to read both of those books. Holder's head was a wonderful place to be. It was heartbreaking and I broke down numerous times, but I still loved it. I loved knowing what was going through his head during some of the more pivotal moments from Hopeless. I also loved seeing a lot of new moments. Most of these new moments were truly important moments that made Holder the person we met in Hopeless. I feel like I truly understand Holder now and I can completely understand every single decision he made. I somehow fell even more in love with him over the course of this book. One of the best surprises I got from this book was Daniel, Holder's best friend. He is hysterical. I loved his antics, his never ending drama with his sometimes girlfriend Val, and his inability to call anyone by their real name. I loved getting to meet him. I also enjoyed seeing a different side of Breckin and learning what a fantastic friend he really is. As I mentioned before, this is exactly how a companion novel should be done. I never once felt like I was reading Hopeless all over again. Losing Hope felt like a completely different book and I loved it all the more for that. Colleen managed to take a story I knew and adored and make me see it in a completely different light. I think my absolute favorite thing about Losing Hope, other than the brilliantly fantastic writing, is that some of it is written in the form of letters from Holder. I don't want to say who he is writing to because I think that would take something away from how the story is experienced, but just know that it is perfection. I felt like I really knew Holder because of these letters and I could feel his pain seeping through the words. Holder is much more lost than we ever dared to guess in Hopeless. He found hope just when he needed to most. All in all, Losing Hope was a beautiful read that I will not be shaking any time soon. Colleen continues to blow me away with her writing and ability to tell a heartbreaking and wonderful story. She always raises the bar for all other books and I have no clue what to read next that will even compare in the slightest. For me, she sets the standard that I compare most other contemporaries to. Do yourself a favor and meet Holder

I have not been able to put down most of Hoover's books until this one. Most of her books take me only a couple of days to read but this one took me nearly a week because I felt like I already knew what was going to happen next. I really enjoyed Hopeless and was not sure where Losing Hope would pick up. Unfortunately, it was almost the same story from the beginning, sometimes word for word, all over again. There was about 30% new material that kept me interested but skipping to parts that I feel like I had not just read in Hopeless. I like the idea of a story from Holder's POV but it was not different enough compared to how Midnight Sun was for Twilight. I enjoyed reading about events that I would not have otherwise known in Hopeless and do look forward to the story hopefully progressing in the next book in this series. If you have not read Hopeless in a while, this is a good refresh. It just was not as enjoyable to read immediately after Hopeless.

I soooo love Author Colleen Hoover, she managed again to keep me entretiended, and again not your cookie cutter POV, In the awaited book two of this series, Author Colleen Hoover give me a first look of that devastated day when Holder finds His beloved tween, also taking me into a sad place full of questions. And the feeling that Creeps out of me. When In a intense read, silent tears and the heart rate to a max. Yup and that's just on the friest chapters, this book is a mix of all feelings from the quote. I'm not kissing you tonight, to the he's not here for my gay parts, author Colleen Hoover keeps you reading, and wanting to get to the next chapter, the essence of the darkness of the crime from book one. But also the love, and this last one plays a bigger part on book two, Losing Hope, Still that feeling taht book one gave me "I have never want it to kill a fictional character soooo bad", until this book, the innocence of two young kids, the life of hope shuddered to the point of passing out, the life of a tender teenage, so damaged that it did affected her into making a dessition to find freedom. And the love of a young man, that makes you have respect for him, on so many levels, the answer to so many questions that were unanswer on book one, yes a completion that left me kind of with an empty feeling. I did read the first chapters one by one enjoying them, knowing that I was going to miss one of my fav. Fictional couples, by te end of this book, but then the weekend came around and the read came to the all too familiar place when I just couldn't stop reading yes I took a couple of chapters breaks. Again it affected me, I cried, I laughed and by the end of this read, I was a beautiful mess with feelings hard to defined, sadness, grief, happiness, and emptiness, I do love my fictional characters and the stories the live in, and is hard for me to part from them. The wonderful feeling of my friends reading along with me keept me going and yes I have giving book one to many of my friends and today I have got another copy of book one paper bag format to give to a friend today. I recommend this book. Do miss out on the completion of a wonderful well writing love story of sacrifice, emptiness and the most important, LOVE....Losing Hope is a most read