Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover 6 STARS

Synopsis: 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.

*Disclaimer-- I receive an ARC of this book in return for an honest opinion and marketing of the book.
** If you havent read Hopeless yet I HIGHLY recommend you read it first, though in all honesty it is not necessary.

Cover: Sweet
Rating: PG 13 
Overall: AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL
Characters: Holder and Sky
Page Turner: Kind of
Recommend: YES!!!
Book Boyfriend: Shane
Genre:  Young Adult Holder
Sex Scenes: Kind of
Setting: Texas- High-school

OVERALL- 

This book is increbably moving, and absolutely breathtaking. It will make you laugh, cry and feel things you never thought possible from reading a book. I was able to be completely immersed into this book. As if I was a fly on the wall in every scene. 

Ive been looking forward to this book for a while now. Ever since I found out it was coming out. And Ms. Hoover did not disappoint!! I am in love. Holder is one of the best characters I have ever read. and Known. EVER. His feelings, reactions, thoughts, and opinions are completely raw and sincere and imperfectly perfect. 

This is much more than an alternative perspective. Its a whole new story. To be honest, when I picked up this book I couldnt recall the details of Hopeless. So I was literally reliving every scene. The great part of an alternative story, is making sure that the reader doesnt have to re-read every scene but instead feels the emotions of the alternative person, and thats exactly how this book read. 

PLOT

This isnt just Holder's POV of Hopeless, this is how he became hopeless, its his story, before hopeless begins, and everything in between, and even a little bit after. I dont just feel every emotion of Holder, I live it with him, I see it from his eyes. There were moments in this book where I had to stop reading I was so overwhelmed with emotions, and towards the end, I was crying so much I couldnt see the words written on the page. I was overjoyed, angry, scared, sad, and peaceful at all the same moments that Holder felt those emotions. I was completely and utterly absorbed in this book. 

The plot in this book moved at such a great speed and every scene felt new, and raw. I was amazed at how different this story read once I knew all of Holders thoughts and feelings.

Certain new scenes also held such meaning. Such Beauty. This story starts with Holder and Les a year before meeting Sky. Learning about Holders pain from what happened with Les was devastating to read. I felt like I was there with him, experience the incident with him. I felt the same way when they went to Skys house and learned the truth about her past. Every emotion, was raw, genuine, sincere and absolutely beautiful. 

I loved the seduction scene with Sky. It was fun to re-experience it from Holders perspective. I would smile and laugh throughout the book, in my own world, completely taken by the book to the point where nothing existed outside of the kindle! 

“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.”

Truth is, I fell in love with this book. and I fell in love all over again with Sky and Holder. 

CHARACTERS--

Holder! Chace Crawford

Holder- I think I've said it enough already but Ill say it again. I love Holder. He is so incredibly sexy. And its noy just how he looks, (in my mind!) but his passion for Sky, the lengths he was willing to go to make sure she was happy, was beautiful, and breathtaking yet heart wrenching and devastating. Understanding his reasons, and his feelings though was the best part of the story. I only got to know Holder and Sky all over again, and relive their love story, I got to know Holder and fell in love with him, more than I thought possible. Recognizing the pain and agony that he went through over the years, made me feel that much closer to him as a character. He couldnt have been more perfect.

Cassie Scerbo as Les

Reading Holders letters to Les was probably the most amazing aspect of this story. Its where his heart bled out for those he loved and lost, he put his everything into it, knowing she was dead. The final letter and the scene with his mother though, thats when I started to cry, thats when I realized how touching the story really was. Hearing Les explain her reasons, her past, her history, and knowing her mother was strong for her, that was my undoing, I felt everything all at once. These two scenes are by far, the unraveling for me. They explain EVERYTHING for Holder. And hold so much meaning. Watching Holder's transformation throughout this book was also breathtaking. He truly matured. And I welcomed  this experience as beautiful and truly warming.

Sky is Lily Collins

Sky- We already know Sky from Hopeless. And the focal point of this novel isnt to get to know her again. The focus is on Holder, and if I had to complain about anything it would be that. I missed her. I missed Sky. But because I recall Hopeless, I understood everything from her already, I knew her. And I felt for her, all those times that I was reading hopeless thinking "how could you Holder!" I recalled now, what she was feeling, and now how Holder felt. Knowing this, made my heart squeeze just a bit more for their story. What I loved though was watching Holder fall in love with her. Hearing how much he watched her and cared for her, made it that much more sweet. Her strength truly showed by the end of the book, and I was pleased with how everything turned out, again. Even though I was re-experiencing everything, hearing it again, from Holders perspective didnt make me feel it any less. This time I watched from Holder and he explained what he saw, while she learned the truth and remembered her past. 

I recommend this series for EVERYONE.