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

Goodreads - Amazon.co.uk/.com

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

Book Review: Slammed (Slammed #1) by Colleen Hoover

Title: Slammed (Slammed #1)
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: 18th September 2012
Read In: Janruary 2013

Goodreads - Amazon.co.uk/.com - Book Depository

*This is a review from the Netgalley. Quote from Netgalley*

Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.
Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.
Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.
Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together and the forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.

For the first few chapters of this book I was murmuring, “no, oh, no, no, no. Don’t do this.” I had heard some really good things about this book but at the beginning it seemed like it was going to be another really rushed contemporary. I half forgot that blurb says that something will force them apart but they had only known each other a few days. Love at first sight alright.

When this shocking discovery happened, which was a shock because I didn’t even think of it, the fact that they had only known each other a few days went right out of the window. Back to “oh no, oh no, they were so cute together.” Maybe if they had a longer period of time together before hand it would have been more dramatic but from that moment on the story picked up and I breezed through. 

“And what’s a slam?” I ask.
“It’s poetry.” He smiles at me.
“It’s what I’m all about.”…
“Poetry, huh?” I say. “Do people write their own or do they recite if from other authors?” He leans back in the booth and looks up at the stage. I see the passion in his eyes when he talks about it. “People got up there and pour their hearts out just using their words and the movement of their bodies,” he says. “It’s amazing.”

This is one of those books that I ultimately find hard to review. I finished the book, put down my kindle and just stared at the wall. Why did I really enjoy this book? It was hard to put my finger on it for this review. Everything, from the characters to the plot, just worked together. I couldn’t stop reading. 

They only reason that I can say why I really enjoyed this book was the romantic tension between Will and Layken. When they were just getting to know each other, I thought it was moving a little fast. After the revelation, I was egging them on. I love Will especially, he is 21 and yet so mature. I loved discovering more about him, from the serious situations to his shenanigans in high school. Unfortunately I did not find Layken as intriguing but she complimented Will really well. Together they are amazing.

I am not a poetry person. I have never really thought of it as an enjoyable thing to read, just something I had to do in English class at school. As for slam poetry, I had never heard of it before reading this book. As a person who doesn’t read poetry, I think the slam poetry really fit. It was a novel way of getting to know the characters at a deeper level, to learn characters deeper emotions and backgrounds. Eddie (who is a girl) is your typical bubbly best friend and yet due to the slam poetry we get to know about her past more than best friends in other books without her having to sit down an tell us her life story. It was great fun.

Kel and Clauder, the younger brothers of Layken and Will respectively, stole the book for me. With everything serious and tense going on, you need this dynamic duo to come in and make you smile. When Kel says sentences backward, it is so adorable.

Everybody has been raving about this book and I can see why. While Slammed didn’t hit me on a deep emotional level, it made me smile and I couldn’t put it down.

Becky

Book Review: River's Recruit by Charlotte Abel

Title: River's Recruit (Sanctuary #1)
Author: Charlotte Abel
Publisher: Charlotte Abel
Release Date: 12th November 2012
Read In: December 2012

Goodreads - Amazon.co.uk/.com

*I received this book for review as part of the book tour*

Jonathan McKnight lost everything in Afghanistan. His left hand, his identical twin and his self-respect. He searches for redemption during a solo backpacking trip into the remote Sawatch Mountains of Colorado and discovers a secret tribe of shifters.
River, the beautiful young shifter that rescues Jonathan from certain death, wants to recruit him. He is equally determined to rescue her from her cult-like society — even if he has to kidnap her.

Oh this is just the sort of book I needed; a good society, good characters and a good mystery that I can get my teeth into.

“Something growled.

The sound came from deep inside the mine. Okay, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all Jonathan slid out of the sleeping bad and fumbled around in the dark for his flashlight.

He directed the beam into the tune. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Is that a wolf? The animal was freaking huge; black with a diamond shaped patch of white fur between its glowing, blue eyes. Blue? Didn’t wolves have yellow eyes?”

The main feature of the book, that I love, is the slow unveiling of the story, the discovery. What I enjoy the most when reading any book is following the characters through their story and slowly seeing bits and pieces about their world come together. I had read too many books recently where the character are sat down and told everything all at once. That’s boring. Straight away we got thrown into River’s world. Straight away, I knew I was going to love this one. 

I had read many paranormal societies in my many years of reading paranormal. This was the first time in a while were a close knit shape-shifter society felt real. A few in the past felt a little fluffy, more innocent for a younger audience. This had a darker edge. It was a totalitarian society that didn’t feel too extreme that it became unreal. Yes it was a harsh society but it didn’t feel unbelievable. I wanted to find out more. 

This is an alternating point of view book, changing between River and Jonathan. We also got the occasional Eli. I loved all of the characters. They had their own personality. And none of them were overly stereotypical. I loved all of them but especially Jonathan. I connected with him very quickly. He loses his brother very early on but straight away I felt his pain. I loved his connection to River. Even though fantasy shape-shifting bonding is part of the story, it was not insta-love. It felt real. River and Jonathan’s relationship was set at just at the right pace. I loved seeing it develop.

As for the story, I wasn’t sure where it was going to go once they met. It was exciting and unpredictable. There is more depth to the connections of the characters that I originally thought. It was great. I wanted more. Unfortunately, the story ended too soon. Where I expected the story to reach a climax, a destination where all the events were heading, it didn’t really happen. Tension, tension, tension … where is the rest of it? It wasn’t really a cliff-hanger; it felt like I was just missing the last part at the book. The book didn’t really feel complete. 

Overall, I thought this this was a great start to the series and I am really looking forward to seeing where book 2 takes us. Go check River’s Recruit out. 

Author Info

Charlotte Abel was born and raised in Oklahoma where she met her soulmate, Pete. She chased him to Boulder, Colorado and finally convinced him they were meant to be together forever. They've raised three kids, two ferrets, three dogs and countless hamsters -- and are still happily married.
She's in love with "real" life and paranormal romance. When she's not reading or writing, Charlotte enjoys hiking, bicycling and primitive archery (although she's never shot at anything other than a target!)
The final book of The Channie Series, "Finding Valor," should be available by Christmas.

Website: http://charlotteabel.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: charlotte_abel

This review is part of the blog tour for River's Recruit hosted by Supagurl tours.
Click here to see the other blogs participating.

Becky