Title: Losing Hope
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless, book #2
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 8, 2013 for ebook, October 15, 2013 for PB
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon |
Barnes & Noble
In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.
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 wonder if it's possible for people to fall in love with a person one characteristic at a time, or if you fall for the entire person at once.”
I am in complete awe that an author could take the same exact story, write it from another character's point-of-view and
still make me fall in love with it all over again. And even though I knew the story, knew how it would end, I still found the novel thoroughly engaging. Reading this book was just as addictive as reading
Hopeless...maybe even more so since I was seeing everything through new eyes.
I'm having a hard time with this review. I kind of just want to say everything I said in my
review of
Hopeless again. I think I did a good job of reviewing the actual story in that review, so I'll concentrate on some of my favorite aspects of
Losing Hope in this one. Besides Holder, I mean. ;0)
Like Daniel. The guy initially comes off as a tool, but he's the equivalent of Six to Sky for Holder, and he does seem to mean well. Even with those obnoxious nicknames. He calls Holder all manner of vial things, including but not limited to
dickweed,
cunt nugget (me and my sis actually thought we coined this phrase years ago, but a quick Google search tells me it is more widespread than we ever thought), and
whisker biscuit. This kid takes insulting his best friend to a whole new level, but it's all in good fun. And the more he was in the picture, the more he grew on me. He provided the comic relief that Holder definitely needed during some rough patches.
Dean Holder is everything I expected, after seeing him from Sky's perspective for so long. Except there's even more depth to him than even Sky could perceive. His pain over losing Hope and Les is raw and real, and it's led him to make some poor decisions, but even so, those same decisions make his character feel genuine. And immensely likable. And swoon-worthy.
And those letters to Les! They broke my heart a thousand times over! I think those painted the best picture of what Holder was going through, how he was dealing (or not dealing) with everything. It almost felt like I was spying on him because the thoughts in that notebook were so intimate...there's no way he would have uttered things like that to anyone but Les or Sky. But it does help to show that maybe he's not so
hopeless afterall.
The story from Holder's perspective is still just as poignant and gut-wrenching and emotionally-charged as it was from Sky's point-of-view. It's still not a PG story. And I'd have a very difficult time trying to decide which of these books is my favorite. Especially since the romance is essentially the same in both books, but it's still very different seeing it from both sides. The love story is still my favorite aspect because of how it evolves, but I'd still be hard-pressed to determine which perspective I prefer seeing it from.
The thing is, this book isn't just
Hopeless retold from Holder's point-of-view. There are a lot of the same scenes from his perspective, yes, and those are just as phenomenal as they were in the first book. Maybe even more heartrending because seeing Sky's world fall apart from the outside is
painful, and Holder's heartbreak for Sky is palpable. But like I said, there is more to Dean Holder, and in this companion novel, you get to see just how much more, from beginning to end and everything in between.
“If I could pre-order a girl, I wouldn't even come close to the version standing in front of me right now.”
Rating: 
the Hopeless books
I believe I shared this when I reviewed
Hopeless, but it still captures some of the best parts of these books, so I'm sharing
April's book trailer again:
About the author:
Colleen Hoover is the New York Times bestselling author of
Slammed,
Point of Retreat,
Hopeless, and
This Girl. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.
Find Colleen:
Website |
Twitter |
Facebook |
Goodreads
Sunday, July 28, 2013
{Short Story Sunday} {New Adult} Review: Keeping Her by Cora Carmack
And so, every Sunday for the foreseeable future, I would like to highlight short stories and novellas set in worlds I've already come to love and learn a little more about some of the secondary characters in my favorite novels. I'll be underscoring some of my favorite aspects of these short works of fiction, in addition to offering up a mini review of each work.
This week I'm featuring an alternate perspective from the Losing It series:
Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Losing It, book #1.5
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication Date: August 13, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.
As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it.
Oh, Garrick. What is there not to love about this guy? He's sweet, totally enamored with the klutzy, blushing Bliss, and then there's the accent. *sigh* And now we get to read from his point-of-view! Well, technically, *I* already read several of the pivotal scenes in Losing It from Garrick's POV, as well as the first chapter of Keeping Her, so I already knew what I was getting myself into with this one. Or so I thought.
But Keeping Her isn't just from Garrick's perspective. It's also split with Bliss's as she freaks out at the mere thought of meeting Garrick's mother. It's actually hilarious to go back-and-forth between Garrick's seemingly calm facade and Bliss's anxiety. At first, I was kinda sad that it wasn't all from Garrick's POV, but I think it worked out better this way.
Best of all were all of the new characters we get to meet, even if they are fleeting. Garrick's best mates were charming and funny, and I especially liked the razzing they gave Bliss about being "hot for teacher". And then Garrick's mother...she was scary at first. And I was absolutely certain this trip to meet the parents was going to end in disaster, especially when Garrick's exes showed up, but the story ended on the perfect note.
I love Bliss and Garrick and their whole relationship, even if it was a little taboo in the beginning. I was glad to see them turn up in Faking It and I hope we get another glimpse of them in Finding It, though I don't know how likely that is with Kelsey halfway around the world. Which is why I was so glad to get this novella from Cora Carmack. Such a fun series!
Rating:
I'm Cora Carmack, a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. I've done a multitude of things in my life -- boring jobs (like working retail), fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). I enjoy placing my characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. My first book, LOSING IT, was a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller.
Find Cora:
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
{New Adult} Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless, book #2
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 8, 2013 for ebook, October 15, 2013 for PB
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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 am in complete awe that an author could take the same exact story, write it from another character's point-of-view and still make me fall in love with it all over again. And even though I knew the story, knew how it would end, I still found the novel thoroughly engaging. Reading this book was just as addictive as reading Hopeless...maybe even more so since I was seeing everything through new eyes.
I'm having a hard time with this review. I kind of just want to say everything I said in my review of Hopeless again. I think I did a good job of reviewing the actual story in that review, so I'll concentrate on some of my favorite aspects of Losing Hope in this one. Besides Holder, I mean. ;0)
Like Daniel. The guy initially comes off as a tool, but he's the equivalent of Six to Sky for Holder, and he does seem to mean well. Even with those obnoxious nicknames. He calls Holder all manner of vial things, including but not limited to dickweed, cunt nugget (me and my sis actually thought we coined this phrase years ago, but a quick Google search tells me it is more widespread than we ever thought), and whisker biscuit. This kid takes insulting his best friend to a whole new level, but it's all in good fun. And the more he was in the picture, the more he grew on me. He provided the comic relief that Holder definitely needed during some rough patches.
Dean Holder is everything I expected, after seeing him from Sky's perspective for so long. Except there's even more depth to him than even Sky could perceive. His pain over losing Hope and Les is raw and real, and it's led him to make some poor decisions, but even so, those same decisions make his character feel genuine. And immensely likable. And swoon-worthy.
And those letters to Les! They broke my heart a thousand times over! I think those painted the best picture of what Holder was going through, how he was dealing (or not dealing) with everything. It almost felt like I was spying on him because the thoughts in that notebook were so intimate...there's no way he would have uttered things like that to anyone but Les or Sky. But it does help to show that maybe he's not so hopeless afterall.
The story from Holder's perspective is still just as poignant and gut-wrenching and emotionally-charged as it was from Sky's point-of-view. It's still not a PG story. And I'd have a very difficult time trying to decide which of these books is my favorite. Especially since the romance is essentially the same in both books, but it's still very different seeing it from both sides. The love story is still my favorite aspect because of how it evolves, but I'd still be hard-pressed to determine which perspective I prefer seeing it from.
The thing is, this book isn't just Hopeless retold from Holder's point-of-view. There are a lot of the same scenes from his perspective, yes, and those are just as phenomenal as they were in the first book. Maybe even more heartrending because seeing Sky's world fall apart from the outside is painful, and Holder's heartbreak for Sky is palpable. But like I said, there is more to Dean Holder, and in this companion novel, you get to see just how much more, from beginning to end and everything in between.
Rating:
I believe I shared this when I reviewed Hopeless, but it still captures some of the best parts of these books, so I'm sharing April's book trailer again:
Find Colleen:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Teaser Tuesday #64: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Author: Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless, book #2
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: July 8, 2013 for ebook, October 15, 2013 for PB
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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.
It is SO awesome reliving Hopeless through Holder's eyes. Yum. And that's really all I have to say about that because I want to get back to Holder, er...um, the story. =D
What are you teasing this week? Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!
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starryeyedjen
- I work with numbers by day, and I'm a mommy and avid reader by night. I'm a self-proclaimed Spreadsheet Queen, and I'll read anything you put in front of me. I seriously love all the books! And I adore audiobooks, too!
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