Hopeless

By Colleen Hoover

From THE NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author of SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT.

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 one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colleen Hoover
• Release date: Dec 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301949823

Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-three novels, including It Starts with Us, It Ends with Us, All Your Perfects, Ugly Love, and Verity. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. For more information, please visit ColleenHoover.com.

Reviews for Hopeless

[tripsis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

BookNook — Young Adult book reviewsHoly shit sticks. That's honestly all I know what to say at this point because I just finished reading this book and my mind is in a million pieces. I don't know how to convey my thoughts, emotions, or opinions about this book, because I'm still in complete shock. But at the same time, I don't want to wait 24 hours to fully absorb all the awesomeness, because I don't want to wait until I'm more coherent. I want to sit here and write like a blubbering idiot who can't string two words together.. because that makes reviews so much more fun!Hopeless starts off as a knee-weakening, drool-inducing romance. SERIOUSLY. Holder is all kinds of sexy beastie boy. I want to corner him and kiss him and hug him and seduce him and hold pinkies with him. He's hot, kind of dangerous, kind of bad boy-esque, and incredibly thoughtful and attentive."Believe me. I have no idea how to handle you, Holder. I just take you one scene at a time."—Hopeless by Colleen Hoover But one of the things I like most about Holder is that he doesn't act like Sky needs him. He empowers her in an amazing way. He lets her do things on her own, he lets her figure her own shit out, and he knows that she doesn't need him, but sometimes it's just nice to have someone to hold onto."Thank you, holder. So much. I couldn't do this without you." He kisses me softly on the mouth again and smiles back at me. "Yes, babe. You could."—Hopeless by Colleen Hoover Once I settled into the book—at a little over the 50% mark—I decided that Hopeless was a deliciously swoony romance. But then, suddenly, the crazy twist kicked in and I went HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!!!!! And Hopeless warped into this absolutely insane emotional rocket ship with an acceleration upwards of 10 g! I was ripping through the pages, often tempted to jump ahead because I was so mad that I couldn't read faster! But I'd always pull myself back, take a breath, and try to slow down a little... just to be right back where I started 5 minutes later.. heart racing, fingers spazzing out to turn pages on my Kindle, mouth watering (oh my god, Holder, take me now!)..There's no question that the best part of Hopeless was the dialogue. The crazy emotional experience was awesome and amazing and dripping with happiness and heartbreak all in one, but the dialogue is what really made me fall in love with this book. There are so many lines that just had me screaming and giggling with laughter, and had my mom giving me funny looks. Sky and Holder had such amazing chemistry and great back and forth banter! I LOVED IT!Holder reaches the seat next to me and starts to lay his backpack on it at the same time Breckin reaches it and begins to set the coffee cups down. They look up at each other, then they both look back at me.Awkward.I do the only thing I know how to do in awkward situations—infuse with sarcasm."Looks like we have quite the predicament here, boys." I smile at both of them, then eye the coffee in Breckin's hands. "I see the Mormon brought the queen her offering of coffee. Very impressive." I look at Holder and cock my eyebrow. "Do you wish to reveal your offering, hopeless boy, so that I may decide who shall accompany me at the classroom throne today?"—Hopeless by Colleen Hoover I do wish that Six—Sky's best friend—had a larger role in the book, because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED HER!! She was such a fun character, kind of a slut—but an awesome one, and, I mean, her name is Six. That's awesome. She's that super sweet, dirty, sarcastic best friend that I wish was my best friend in real life. But, unfortunately, Six goes away for a few months so after the beginning, she's barely in the book at all. Now that I think of it, I'd totally love to read a Hopeless spinoff about Six having a hot, romantic, international fling with some European hottie!I feel like Colleen Hoover has really grown and developed as an author. I enjoyed Slammed, then I wasn't crazy about Point of Retreat.. but Hopeless blew my mind. It was everything I hoped it would be, and completely deserves the thousands of five star reviews that it has on Goodreads. It was heartbreaking, emotional, HOT, sexy, swoony, sad, happy, hopeless, hopeful, inspiring, and more. I loved all the relationships, all the dialogue, and all the weird little quirks that makes this book Hopeless (holding pinkies, licking dimples—all of it).

[simplykelina · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I "lived" this! Really! I am not sure if I really liked this or really loved it, so "lived" is the perfect in between (makes sense once you read this).I knew right away that Holder knew Sky from her past. But, as soon as I thought I had everything figured out...so much more came along with it. I did not see some of the twists coming at all and some others were easy to figure out. But the major twists left me in shock and in tears. I loved Holder. Like most young romances, Holder is a teen who actually feels and acts like he is much older. His love for Sky is just crazy, but I still enjoyed it. I was speechless when the his life started to be involved with some of the twists and turns this took. I literally put my hand over my mouth and cried during one plot twist!Overall, I give this book 5 stars. I only am debating on a solid five due to some of the things in the beginning of the book that I just did not appreciate (glorifying the use of slut/whore etc).But, once this book took off there was no turning back. It was intense in a good way and it sucked me right in. I couldn't put it down. Now to decide if I take a chance on book 2 in this series?

[itsbookishme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've uttered about a million and a half oh my gosh's while reading the book. I had to constantly remind myself to keep my reactions at a medium decibel at least. Reading such an intense story I did the typical laughing, yelling, gasping, crying, and trust me it was not in vain. Hopeless was a beautifully written story that as "they" say tugs at your heartstrings and never lets go for a second. This was the most heartwarming, gut wrenching, mind blowing, and sleep depriving thing I've every read(went to sleep at 7am). Damn, Colleen Hoover can weave a story. As I read the story I was so mesmerized by how things kept coming together. Hopeless is one of those books for me that is so good and made me such an emotional wreck that i'm not sure where or how to start reviewing it. I don't think I can do it justice and afraid to give away too much. But I will try. Whatever comes out of my fingers through the keyboard is what I will have to settle for I guess.

Sky is a dream protagonist, no constant whining, straightforward, crazy sense of humor, wasn't caught up on her looks, or was she a push over, being in her head wasn't a pain. She's a good friend and daughter. She gets a kick out of gossip and rumors about her, weird and cool at the same time.

Holder is the guy you want to have by your side when things are rapidly going to shit. Holder is the soul tortured thinker who would lay down is life for the ones he love.

From the first chapter of Hopeless you can tell things are going to get pretty intense and has the chapters go by things start to come together, every out of the ordinary reaction or dislike Sky had had an explanation. The same goes for Holder's supposed split personality. I tried to figure out what was the ultimate plot of the story, but I was very surprised when I found out, no way I could have figured that out. I still can't get over the reactions this book elicited from me, towards the end I was so choked up at the lines Hoover wrote for her characters. There were very sweet lines from the beginning but as the story progressed things got heavier and so did the scenes and dialogue. WOW.

I read Slammed, loved it and Hoover's writing, and had no doubt about reading Hopeless. Yeah there's a lot hype about this book so believe in it. I love Hoover's twists with the title's of her books. This one really surprised me. I really live, live, Hopeless. Trust me, that's not a typo. Read it.

[rozziereads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

wow. This was an amazing book. The whole first kiss moments was perfect and very memorable. I don't think you could forget it. The emotional struggle that they go through is some deep shit... They have great banter between them, all and all, this is a whole and complete book with everything you could want.

Pick this up... worth every penny, maybe even more!

[karenvg3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Slow beginning. Took awhile for me to get into the story, but midway through the book it took off and I enjoyed the rest.

[nessa24flutist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply beautiful.

[banoczi_henrietta · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well, it's not a bad book. It's definitely a rollercoaster and full of heavy stuff, which I thought was mostly well-done. The only problem is that I didn't really care about the characters? Especially about Holder, I didn't like him at all. And most of it is quite predictable, although there were some parts that surprised me.

[angelzinhamia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

10 stars if it were possible.

What an amazing book!

OMG! Once more Colleen Hoover brings us a great story. I have no words to express my feelings right now.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This took a while to get going and I probably wouldn't have pushed on if someone hadn't told me to try it. The first 80-90 pages I was thinking it was just typical high school teenager angst and romance and to be honest if it had of continued for much longer I would of put it away as not worth the time. But then it started to get interesting. And then it got good. And then it was 1.30am and the battery on my iPad died!! Finally finished it on my phone out of need to know what happened.
That's not to say that there weren't some corny moments after things started to get interesting. ("I live you" urk!) but that became less annoying as time went on.
My other criticism is simply that the male character just did not read like an 18 year old boy. I know he's been through a few things but honestly couldn't the author have set this at university in stead of high school? To me the character just felt like some one in their early twenties not teens. Unless teenage boys are more mature in the states then in Australia? Some how I just doubt it. Other wise a good read. Recommend to 16 and up. Nicolas sparks fans will love it.

[dawnlovesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

your typical love at first sight, i have to have you type book. a little steamy for a teenaged book. a twist in the middle kept me interested.

[dms8502 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Depp read but absolutely phenomenal!

[romansgirl-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this story. The characters were well developed. The story line was believable. The author did a great job of making the reader feel the depth of the emotion and what the characters were going through. I also felt the author did a fantastic job at revealing information at just the right time impacting the reader in a tangible way. I truly felt what the characters were feeling and going through.

[yogiboo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't understand the hype of this book. It's so touchy feely, it makes you feel slightly nauseous. It's predictable and far too drawn out. I've read some crap books this year and this is another one I'd throw onto the steaming heap of turdish books.Holder is constantly touching Sky's face. Now I don't really understand face groping, Personally I'd be worried about spots. Next he has reddish hair, nice! Multiple personalities ranging from deranged to sickeningly sweet. But that's ok because he's "passionate"! The other problem (believe me I had lots of problems with this book) was how easily it was for Sky to accept being raped night after night. She still had love for the person that did that to her without therapy because she's oh so strong. She forgave him because she remembered one let me repeat ONE memory of affection from the age of 0 to 3 yrs! What utter bollocks!Why are so many people giving this a high rating? It doesn't make any sense! The only thing it could possibly be is the idea of Holder who had sex with Sky the very same day she realised she had been molested repeatedly as a child. Go Holder!

[claudy73 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Unemotional story

[laura.w.douglas · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful book. I love her writing style; it's amazing. Heartbreaking, but amazing

[Shirin Jarwan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Never in my life have I cried reading a book, I'm not much of a reader to begin with. I read it in two days, and that says something! It's heartbreakingly beautiful.

[amandanan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars. Pretty decent story and I flew through it. It reminds me of THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON, which I LOVED as a kid. Just with more sex and sad abuse stories.

[juniestars · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Intense

Intense story. Total page turner. I thought I knew what was going on and then the story took a couple of unexpected turns.

[ishmeen-899995 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it - the second half of the novel took me by surprise!

[kayis813-163108 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It was good but too dark for my tastes. I liked certain parts of it but towards the end I just wanted it to be over

[punkfarie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So I’m a little late to the party with this book and it was damn hard for me to figure out what rating I wanted to give it. Sky and her best friend, Six, have been sneaking guys into their rooms at night for months. She hasn’t been sleeping with all these boys, but she still has a pretty nasty reputation around town, even though she’s been homeschooled her whole life. She doesn’t feel anything for these guys. As in, literally, she feels nothing. Whenever they are doing what they are doing, she just stares up at the stars on her bedroom ceiling and kind of blanks out. There’s no lust, no chemistry, no horniness, nothing.....Read full review HERE

[gigisiriereads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've uttered about a million and a half oh my gosh's while reading the book. I had to constantly remind myself to keep my reactions at a medium decibel at least. Reading such an intense story I did the typical laughing, yelling, gasping, crying, and trust me it was not in vain. Hopeless was a beautifully written story that as "they" say tugs at your heartstrings and never lets go for a second. This was the most heartwarming, gut wrenching, mind blowing, and sleep depriving thing I've every read(went to sleep at 7am). Damn, Colleen Hoover can weave a story. As I read the story I was so mesmerized by how things kept coming together. Hopeless is one of those books for me that is so good and made me such an emotional wreck that i'm not sure where or how to start reviewing it. I don't think I can do it justice and afraid to give away too much. But I will try. Whatever comes out of my fingers through the keyboard is what I will have to settle for I guess.

Sky is a dream protagonist, no constant whining, straightforward, crazy sense of humor, wasn't caught up on her looks, or was she a push over, being in her head wasn't a pain. She's a good friend and daughter. She gets a kick out of gossip and rumors about her, weird and cool at the same time.

Holder is the guy you want to have by your side when things are rapidly going to shit. Holder is the soul tortured thinker who would lay down is life for the ones he love.

From the first chapter of Hopeless you can tell things are going to get pretty intense and has the chapters go by things start to come together, every out of the ordinary reaction or dislike Sky had had an explanation. The same goes for Holder's supposed split personality. I tried to figure out what was the ultimate plot of the story, but I was very surprised when I found out, no way I could have figured that out. I still can't get over the reactions this book elicited from me, towards the end I was so choked up at the lines Hoover wrote for her characters. There were very sweet lines from the beginning but as the story progressed things got heavier and so did the scenes and dialogue. WOW.

I read Slammed, loved it and Hoover's writing, and had no doubt about reading Hopeless. Yeah there's a lot hype about this book so believe in it. I love Hoover's twists with the title's of her books. This one really surprised me. I really live, live, Hopeless. Trust me, that's not a typo. Read it.

[olongbourn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This has been on my to-read list ever since reading Slammed and Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover this past Christmas. I've just been approved to read Losing Hope from NetGalley and, so, dived into this book headfirst before reading Losing Hope.

WOW!! What a complex story with an interesting moral dilemna; twists you just do not see coming! Another moral-questioning story... a "what would you do?" kind of story. If you have any remote interest in reading this book, DO NOT read any spoilers.

The first 200-ish pages went along just fine with a page-turning love story between a 17 and 18 year olds. The two are trying to figure out each other and what sort of relationship they can/will have with each other. THEN.... Ms Hoover adds unpredictable, mildly unforeshadowed information relating to each of the two, throwing this story into a much deeper, personal, plot line. Not only is this a must-read, but a keeper for rereading!

If you have the chance to read this, if you've read anything else by Colleen Hoover, if you like YA books at all, then hurry to your nearest copy of Hopeless!!! ASAP

[hetcm6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was good although, I can't say it was the best book I've read. I personally didn't fall for Dean Holder easily. I only liked him do to his childhood past. I'm hoping that losing hope will change my mind. I thought sky was a little to forgiving. I foreseen sky's past before it was revealed which kind of ruined the book for me. I didn't cry for hope as much as I did for les. I would have liked to seen more of Les side. I didn't like that Les part of the story was never explained, I mean how did she ever get hurt? Where was her parents or Dean? I don't see how that part fit in the book.

[bookishthings · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jenna, one of our awesome cobloggers, bugged me for ages to read Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. I'm not exactly sure why I waited so long to read this book. I sent her a text as soon as I finished telling her this book killed my heart, and made it beat again.

I absolutely love Sky. She's very admirable, and a great girl to look up to. Sky doesn't let her fears take her over completely, and tries her best to keep things with Holder in check. After all the craziness, Sky manages to handle things well. I would have completely broken down in her situation. Holder is absolutely adorable. I love him and that he's also so protective of Sky after just meeting her. He did come off a bit stalkerish at the beginning. But we later find out why.

The book flowed perfectly. While it seems like things are fast paced, the timeline is actually pretty spread out. There were parts where I was cracking up. I loved Holder's texts to Sky. I also love Sky's best friend Six. Things really begin to start rolling as things start coming together. As I started piecing the puzzle together, I was horrified. I don't see how there can be such awful people in the world. I did love the family dynamic Sky had with her mom. They joked and just had a good time.

I highly suggest everyone read this book. It has all the feels!!!

[deleine-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAV. From Colleen Hoover

[pennma05-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not my favorite Colleen Hoover novel but I loved all of the twists! And there were a lot of them!

[bookspot · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hopeless is one of the first New Adult books I've read - the Slammed series by the same author, which I"ve also read, is either YA or New Adult - and if it's anything to go by, it's a genre I'm going to have to pay attention to.While there is definitely some content in Hopeless that isn't that appropriate for younger readers, the age of the characters, that they're in high school and what they're experiencing keeps things more relevant and relatable for older teen/young adult readers. New Adult as an idea and a genre is a great bridge between younger teenage characters and situations and adult characters, Hopeless executing it very well.If you've read Slammed, some of the same themes or situations seem to be used in Hopeless (backgrounds of characters, situations). They're used so differently and with such different characters, though, that it doesn't feel like anything's being repeated (ie it may be noticed that this character was in foster care and so was that one). I actually liked how vastly different two stories could be with some of the same elements.If they're present in everything she writes, I may - may - feel differently.Despite the story being from Sky's point-of-view, I had no trouble at all connecting with or relating to Holder's character. His interactions with Sky, what he shares with her, and her observations of him really made him feel like as just a full character as Sky, the narrator.At times the plot seemed to be going somewhere predictable, that the reader was going to be able to guess everything ahead of the characters. I liked that things didn't quite unfold that way. Things weren't simple but they stayed true to the characters, who they were and what they needed. Even when things got darker - or perhaps more so then - the story stayed very real.It's usually more science fiction or dystopian novels that leave me thinking after they're over but sometimes a really good contemporary fiction leaves me thinking about it - and its characters - after I've finished. Hopeless is one of those books. I'm excited to let you know what I think about the follow-up, Losing Hope!

[jrcook1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read this book but I'm still forming words to describe a review for the best book I have read yet!!OK I think we have had enough time to compose myself over this book. This book is a book that takes you there. Its one of he books that you don't read but live right along with the characters. HOPELESS is a book that you want to take the turns with. Definitely a punch in the stomach at times. Colleen I don't know where your inspiration comes from but, I HOPE it keeps on coming but then I really don't expect any thing LESS from you!(

[brandileigh2003 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read Hopeless because I love NA, and I have heard so many great reviews about it. So, when I saw it for free on amazon about a month ago, I knew that I had to get it, and my trip to NJ provided some time in my reading schedule that I could get to it. I was not disappointed. I loved Sky's character even though I was a bit confused by the opening. I was yearning to know what was going on and it took us back so that we could piece together what led her and Holder to that moment. Sky has some unique relationships all around and that kept things interesting. Her adoptive mom Karen is strict on no-technology and then very lenient in others, and I love the way they are together, just accepting but still Karen wanting the best for Sky. Sky and her best friend from next door have this friendship where they love and support each other even if they may not necessarily agree with the other's choices. Six, the above mentioned best friend, sleeps with a lot of guys and has gotten quite a negative name for herself, which makes me so infuriated--guys can do whatever and sleep or say they sleep with all kinds of girls and its okay, but women get judged and I think that its an important issue that they talk about. Holder is infuriating at times, and so sweet, thoughtful and considerate at others. Sky just doesn't blindly accept his mood swings though, she knows that he has a dark past and she knows part of it about his sister. They also share the bond of rumors about them both going around of which, not all of it or none of it is true. They feel this deep connection though and they talk about so much and try to always be honest with each other, but some things are hard to talk about and they cover that well. They have an undeniable chemistry and sexual tension between them, and I love every second of it. Knowing that Sky feels numb when kissing most boys, Holder really takes that aspect slowly. Especially kissing on the lips, kissing other places is def okay, and we see that he makes Sky feel things. Sexy things. Romantic things. Lustful things. But they never really get as explicit as most NA, so I think that makes a good transition if you've never read an NA before and used to just kisses or fade to black in YA. I really appreciate how they don't jump to saying I love you, and admit that they aren't there but still want to acknowledge that its deep and they haven't really felt that before. The more we learn about Holder though and see his actions at times, the more that I want to know about what he hasn't told yet. The secret that finally came out was def unique and shocking, but little clues and some of her dreams and the timing led me to believe something similar. I just couldn't piece together the details and man were they amazing and so well thought out. I can't imagine being in a similar situation for any of them or what I would have done. Bottom Line: Powerful and romantic NA.