It's painful to read all that guilt and pain from Holder's POV, but it's also so powerful how little by little he starts to heal, the incredible way he expresses his feelings by writing to his sister. It's so totally worth it. It's incredible how a man, a monster, can make so much harm and at the same time create as a consequence such a beautiful and perfect story of two people who are meant to be together, even if for a while, they were forced to be apart. Sky: a sheltered former foster child who is entering public school for her senior year after being homeschooled her whole life

As a romance reader, I wish there was even more build up to their connection but really the story wasn’t totally about them in my mind. You knew I would be the one to find you and the fact that you knew that and you still killed yourself? For her senior year she’s enrolled into the public school, and she’s a lamb to the slaughter since her neighbor and best friend Six is going abroad on an exchange program. UtopYA Awards Winners Announced". My Bookopolis. Archived from the original on June 28, 2014 . Retrieved July 10, 2014.I’m pretty sure its too soon to love her, but shit. She’s got to stop doing and saying these things that make me want to fast forward whatever’s going on between us. There were times when I had to just stop and read a single sentence over and over again because it was so beautifully written. There were scenes that gave me full body chills - from head to toe. There were moments where I just closed my eyes and sat there sobbing, letting the emotions sink in. I read Losing Hope as slowly as I could because I just didn't want it to ever end. I was WITH the characters every single step of the way. Totally connected. Totally involved. Totally absorbed in every aspect of the story. My favorite part was Holder's letters he wrote, they were an easy way to show what he was thinking without it being entirely inner monologue. I also got to see Hope/Sky through new eyes and view Holder's struggles with his decisions.

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. The storyline follows Holder as he first spots and meets Sky, falls in love with her almost immediately, and proceeds to learn more about her past, his past, as well as both of their present. We watch both characters learn to heal themselves as they try earnestly to heal the wounds of one another’s past. Hoover, Colleen. "Fourteen Years. :0". Colleen Hoover. Archived from the original on May 10, 2014 . Retrieved July 10, 2014. Hoover’s decision to retell a story she’s already told was undoubtedly a risk, but it certainly was one worth taking. The character development in this story really shines as we meet Holder in a new light — his own light. It's been a while since I read Hopeless, and that went in my favor when reading this book. Because it had been almost 2 years since reading the first book, reading from Holder's point of view was a fresh perspective and didn't feel like a reread of a book I already read.

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It's been a long time since I've read Hopeless and I have actually forgotten how swoony Holder can be. I swear, if you loved him in Hopeless, you will fall in love with him more in this book, if that's even possible. And you get to see his tortured and wounded side, which was just totally heartbreaking. If you had read my review for Hopeless http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... then you’ll get my comparison of the story to a puzzle that came without a box. I thought that it was “complete” by the end of the book but I was wrong. I LOVED HOLDER from Hopeless, but by GOD having Holder’s POV is like drinking a glass of wine… no matter how much you consume… you just want more and get drunk on it What follows is an emotional journey in which Holder has to decide whether Sky should know the truth about what happend all those years ago or if she's better off without those memories of the past. And if she does find out the truth, how I'll it effect her relationship with Holder? In Losing Hope we find out how Holder struggles with knowing the truth but being unable to confide in anyone about it. It's not an easy journey, but we all know that eventually they do get their much deserved happy ending. At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her–and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one. Maybe Not – A Novella (2014) Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. My apprehension sprung from my doubt. Do I need more from Hopeless? Do I even want more from Hopeless? I'm going to start this review with some words on singular stories told from multiple vantage points. In a given scheme of events, despite similarities, no two people have the same interpretation or stakes in a given environment. It takes a level of complexity to be able to tell a similar story from multiple perspectives, plus give weight to the surrounding players who have stakes in that respective story, without repetition. You may have *some* repeating events, but when you repeat a given scenario, it's to highlight details or call attention to things that may not have been seen before or give weight to the measure at hand (usually both). One of the movies I've seen in the past several years that I thought did it well was, aptly titled Vantage Point. And to make a reference of an anime series I also thought did the multi-perspective juggling well, one I've rewatched in recent weeks, was Durarara!! I have to say that in all honesty, even though I knew all the twists from reading Hopeless, each one of them hit me as though it was the first time in Losing Hope. Probably because it wasn't as though I was just re-reading them, I was actually re-experiencing them through Holder's eyes. And I loved that there were new twists too - things that were going on with just him personally that took me by surprise in the most wonderful way.

Hobbies

The reason I didn't rate this as high as Hopeless is actually more about my emotions and less about the writing. I couldn't pretend not to know what I already knew, and though having those experiences from another perspective was amazing, they weren't as strong as they were the first time around. Not because of anything Colleen did. Only because I'd already had those experiences and emotions once, and it didn't hit me as hard the second time around. However, she did find away to create new emotions and allowed me to experience things in a new way. There were also moments where I wished I was feeling more of what Holder was feeling instead of just seeing what he was seeing. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara. So, I'm torn. I don't know whether to give this 1 star or 1.5 stars. I definitely do not think it was as strong as the first book in what it provided, but I need to think about what the experience gave me as to how I'll rate it in the end. Suffice to say, I'm disappointed.