Book Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title: Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Colleen Hoover
Release Date: 17th December 2012
Read In: February 2013

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Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.
Recommended for readers 17+ due to sexual content, harsh language and heavy subject matter.

I went into this book assuming a few things; I read the summary, I read the prologue as a sample on my kindle, I read ‘Abuse’ as one of the genre tags on Goodreads. I put a few things together and I thought I knew where Hopeless was going. I was wrong, completely wrong. Don’t be ashamed if you are wrong too. It wasn't supposed to be obvious.

Sky turned out to be a lot more complex than I initially thought. I loved the added depth to her character, especially her childhood background. I loved finding out things that have happened to her in the past. While I expected this book to be focused on Holder and Sky’s relationship, which, to an extent, it was, in hindsight this is definitely a book about Sky’s journey; she discovers new things and makes some tricky decisions. It made it better than just a romance, as great as Holder is. This is what drove the story forward for me.

Holder surprised me from the get go. All those assumptions earlier … yeah they were mostly about him. In a way, I was glad to be wrong. I want Holder in my life. Come sweep me off my feet. Oh, you’d rather be with Sky. I’ll go sulk. Holder’s approach to life is great. I loved his sarcasm and banter. He would put me totally at ease. A yummy romantic lead.

This book definitely brings up some more sensitive topics, for example suicide. There are a few more in there but I don’t want to spoil. I always enjoy books that explore hard topics and explore them well. Hopeless hits all the right notes.

The only reason this book didn't get the full five stars is because I didn't get completely emotionally involved with the character. However this rarely happens to me. Very few contemporaries get the full five stars from me. The fact that Hopeless got 4.5 stars shows that this book is really good. Trust me, it may be a five star for you.

This book has been getting many amazing reviews and there is a reason for that. This book is self-published but I believe that it has been snapped up by a mainstream publishing company (Simon and Schuster). This book was great. The reviews are right. Go read it. 

Becky