Review: Losing Hope

Losing Hope (Hopeless #2)
by Colleen Hoover
Published July 8th 2013 by Atria Books

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.

Synopsis from Goodreads

I'm assuming that you've already read Hopeless. If not, then make sure to check out my review here. There really isn't a whole lot that I can say about Losing Hope that I haven't already said about the first book. They are, essentially, the same. In fact, when retelling the same story from a different character's POV, it is an almost impossible task for an author to bring something new to the story. Colleen Hoover did her best to do this, but fell a little short of blowing me away.

The synopsis describes the book as a follow up, but it really is more of a do-over. Hopeless was so amazing, that my expectations were high. But the problem is that Holder was pretty much there for the entire first book, in all of the same great scenes with Sky, with all of the same great dialogue, so there wasn't a NEW story to be told. Only the same story, with a different inner monologue. This doesn't need to be a bad thing! In fact, I would have read Hopeless again anyways, right? Just be prepared for lots and LOTS of gasping! Sky seems to constantly be gasping, and Holder seems to love it enough that he mentions it. Repeatedly.

There were a couple new scenes that Hoover's fans will appreciate, as well as the ending being added to. There are also letters from Holder to his sister Les sprinkled throughout, which added a new view into their sibling relationship.

That's about it. Good but not stellar. Or more precisely, good but not different. If you haven't read either of them and you're wondering where to start, then definitely go with Hopeless. OR, I would even recommend reading the two of them side by side. You could read the dialogue once, but get the two monologues for each scene.

A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley.