Losing Hope Review

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Series: Hopeless #2
Published by Atria Books on July 8, 2013
Genres: New Adult
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

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.

   Rose’s Review        

Alright, so I liked this book. I mean, it is written by CoHo herself, so of COURSE its going to be good.  However, I am growing weary of the current trend in which authors basically rewrite a previous novel and retell the story from the male POV.  I will say that Holder’s POV is a slightly different story. There is new material in this retelling. Losing Hope gives the reader more insight into Holder’s thinking and why he reacted the way he did with Sky.  I liked reading Holder’s letters/journal entries to his sister. It is books like Losing Hope that make me wish real-life guys were this intense and emotional. I think this book made me fall harder for Holder. That being said, I do not know if this book can truly stand alone.  It reads more as a companion novel. Anyone who enjoyed Hopeless, will more than likely enjoy Losing Hope. A little side note here: I am totally looking forward to meeting “Holder” Austin, Texas at the Austin Author Event.  Squeeee!!!!

    Julie’s Review      

I’m a bit weary of reading a companion book in the male character’s POV because most of it is still a repeat of the same story and the same situations and conversations that occur in the first book. I was very happy with Losing Hope because there was so much new material! We get Holder’s entire back story, where we knew bits and pieces from what Sky learns, but now we get the details and finally understand our tortured hero so much more.

I gotta say, all the chapters having to do with Les were such a great addition to this story line. They were so emotional and beautifully written, and flowed just as elegantly as Hopeless. I loved the journal entries that Holder writes to his sister Les. We get to understand so much about his reactions and why Holder is the way that he is. I also really enjoyed that there was a surprise in the journal (no spoilers on the details).

I also really enjoyed the guy stuff in the book. I liked the silly friendship Holder has with Daniel with their banter and weird guy antics. Daniel was just as entertaining in Losing Hope as Six was in Hopeless.

It has been a little while since I read Hopeless, so the parts of the book that were a rehashing of the story line I already knew were interesting to me. It was cool to remember some of the details I had forgotten, but there were also some sections that had so much more of an impact on me when I was reading them from Sky’s POV. Overall, this was an enjoyable companion novel I would definitely recommend it to people who loved Hopeless.

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