Release Date: July 8th 2013
Published By: Atria Books
Pages: 336
Goodreads: Add it to your reading list

Rating: 5 out of 5

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I have been not-so-silently and not-so-patiently waiting for Losing Hope to come out ever since Holder told us (yes, he told us) that he was getting his own book. My excitement then escalated when the just-so-perfect cover was revealed. Then, the one morning I found out that Losing Hope was available on Netgalley. I jumped out of bed and ran to my computer. Now you have to know, that I never jump out of bed, and I never run, and I never function in any way without my morning coffee. I was so excited that I couldn’t think straight, which meant that my wonderful co-blogger Melissa found out how erratic I am in the mornings by the texts I was sending her with furious speed. But I got it! Getting this was the highlight of the year for me, so I would like to thank Atria for making this available via Netgalley, Melissa for helping me in my caffine-less state, and Colleen Hoover for writing such extraordinarily amazing books (so amazing that she is able to make me jump, run and function without coffee). So, was all my anxiety and early morning functioning worth it?

Damn straight!!! I loved Losing Hope! It went way past live, it was full-blown love.

Losing Hope is the companion novel of Hopeless, in which we get to find out what was happening in Holder’s head during the events of Hopeless. However don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just an alternate perspective – this is Holders story.

As Hopeless is one of my all-time favourite books (I loved everything about Hopeless, especially Holder), I knew going into this book that Colleen would either add to my adoration of the best contemporary book I have ever read, or totally crush me. Thankfully (but not surprisingly) Colleen weaved her magic and made me fall in love all over again!

The emotions of Losing Hope are just as real as you experience in Hopeless – but you get to experience them in a different way. You get to know and understand Holder as you travel this journey with him; you feel his pain, confusion, joy, regret, shame, courage, anger, despair, desire, hopelessness and hopefulness. You learn more about mind-set, his life, and his sister Lesslie.

The terrible events of Hopeless are just as chilling and heartbreaking when you experience them as Holder does. Even though you know most of what is about to happen, you are still just as anxious about the what is happening, you feel just as sad, just confused and just as heartbroken - as if this is whole new storyline. The story is also told in parts by Holder writing letters to Lesslie– which I thought was a fantastic medium to find out what is going on in Holder’s head rather than long dragged out internal monologue.

I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the some of the secondary characters in this book, as well as meeting some new ones. I adored the interactions between Holder and Breckin. And I utterly loved the addition of Daniel! He was exactly the friend that Holder needed during some of his difficult times, and some of their conversations where hilarious – especially their terms of endearment for each other J And if I didn’t already like Breckin so much, he may have just found himself a rival! (Although I am concerned with some of the nicknames that Daniel came up with lol)

But be warned: there are some new twists in store for you as well, which in true Colleen Hoover style, will rip your heart out.

I didn’t know it was possible, but after reading Losing Hope, I love Holder even more! I have previously screamed from the rooftops that Dean Holder is my one and only fictional crush and this book only reinforced it. I adored finding out more about his past heartaches, the inner turmoil he suffered after that dreadful day in the cafeteria, the utter desperation he felt while Sky’s world crumbled around her and the devastation of learning more about Lesslie. Losing Hope allows you to put the final pieces of the Holder puzzle together – and what a magnificent completed picture it is.

Colleen Hoover’s story-telling ability absolutely astounds me. The way she takes you on a journey rather than just let you witness one, her ability to include comedy in heartbreaking situations, her ability to write the ‘best non-kiss scene ever’ from another person’s point of view and making it the bestest non-kiss scene ever! She will enthral you, crush you, give you hope, make you laugh, make you cry – and everything in-between!

Even though this is companion novel rather than a sequel, I would advise that you read Hopeless first, as you need to travel the tortuous and yet wonderful journey with Sky to gain certain knowledge before travelling this path with Holder.

Losing Hope is:
Breathtaking. Heartbreaking. Stunning. Devastating. Perfect.
And filled with Hope.

Note: Due to the content and language in this book, I suggest this for 17+.

Quotes:

“What are the chances that the only two girls in my life I’ve ever loved… I’ve lost? It’s killing me piece by piece every single day.”

“She’s flat-out rude to me and I love it. She’s stubborn and I love it. She’s a smartass and she’s sarcastic, and every witty thing that comes out of her mouth is like must to my ears because that’s exactly what I want”

“I’m scared if I kiss her too soon, it’ll feel like every other kiss she’s ever received. She’ll feel nothing. I don’t want her to feel nothing when I kiss her. I want her to feel everything.”

“Because I want to kiss her and make love to her and marry her and make her have my babies and I want it all to happen tonight”

“I know I told her that she’s never really been kissed before, but until this moment I had no idea that I had never really been kissed before”

“Does that mean you’re still gonna try to get me pregnant, though?”… “Damn straight”

“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”