Review: Hopeless

Hopeless (Hopeless #1)
by Colleen Hoover
Published December 19th 2012

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads

This is one of the great Indie success stories. I love to see an author do so well, especially when it is hard earned. I have been meaning to read this for a long time, but it wasn't until I saw Losing Hope on Netgalley that I really had the incentive to move!

The story blew me away, no other way to say it. It starts off lighthearted, and slow. I was pulled into Sky's life with no resistance, even when it seemed pretty average. She's just a regular girl with some regular aspirations. But right off the bat, you can tell that something just doesn't feel right, like you have a pile of puzzle pieces, but they may not all be for the same puzzle. Slowly, as Sky starts to remember her past, some very clear pictures begin to emerge.

Let me start off with the best part about this book: the dialogue. AWESOME! It was so perfect! First between Sky and her best friend, and then between her and Holder, I was giggling constantly at the little jabs and one-liners. It was very clever, and very real. Beautiful. 
What I didn't like: it was predictable. I saw all the "twists" coming from a mile away. That was okay though, because I loved watching it all play out. I do wish, though, that there had been something to surprise me.

I don't think I could have anticipated how brutal this story would be. As happy and bright the story was at the beginning, by the end it can't get much darker. Gut-wrenching, tear-jerking, vomit-inducing; all the critical elements of a great contemporary romance. Be warned, be prepared. But definitely read it.