Thursday, May 2, 2013

Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title: Hopeless
Author: Colleen Hoover
Pages: 486 pages
Format acquired: eBook (Kindle)
Publisher: Atria Books (May 7th 2013)
Published on: December 17th 2012
Source: Purchased from Amazon
Pre-order the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble



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.

(Image and summary taken from Goodreads)

Review:

If there's one thing I learned growing up, it's to always listen to my mother. And when my mother tells me to read a book (she recommended) when I have the time, she actually means "you better read this book before I disown you". You think I'm kidding? I'm not. So obviously me being the obedient child I am, I read Hopeless as soon as my mom told me to. Add the fact that I absolutely love Colleen Hoover, it didn't take that much convincing for me to read Hopeless. When I say that I love Colleen Hoover, I literally mean, I love her. If she wasn't already married to Tina Reber, I'd totally tweet her everyday until she gave into my creepiness.

Hopeless exceeded my expectations and more. The story, the characters, everything latched onto my heart until all I became was a hopeless little mess. I laughed guffawed, I cried bawled and I felt experienced with the characters. While I was in Colleen Hoover's world, I was no longer Louisse, stalker and blogger extraordinaire, I became Sky, a home-schooled, technologically disabled teen girl. (I , unfortunately, didn't actually get to hook up Holder along the way, that was all in my head. Lucky Sky.) To say that this book was intense would be the biggest understatement of the year. I honestly didn't even see half the book coming, I felt like The Hulk threw a fourteen-wheeler truck at my head when the story started unraveling. If someone were to ever receive an award for the best/most plot twists in a book, it would have to be Colleen Hoover. You won't see anything coming.

Sky is definitely one of the best heroines I have ever read about. She's not your typical witty/snarky prtoag, Sky's is the type of girl who's mastered the art of deadpan. Being inside her mind was both fun and really painful. Sky is such an expressive person... on the inside. On the outside, she seems really closed off and pretty suspicious, most likely because she was raised by only her mom, Karen and no one else. She's been cooped up in her home for the last few years (and yes, she's home-schooled.) Sky is the perfect example of a teenager in the twenty-first century who can live without technology. I repeat, without technology. Nada. Non. El zip-o. I'm sure that you're all pretty suspicious yourselves as to what goes on at the Davis household but I assure you, nothing nefarious. I think that the only time I actually saw Sky get flustered was when she met Holder. You could just tell that a little something-something was going on between them but as I have said, Sky is the type of person who's always calm and collected. She's not the kind of girl who inwardly flails over a guy because of his extreme hotness, which is a relief. There's a consistency to Sky's personality that is really good and the way Colleen Hoover fleshes her out, she really does turn into a real human. A person that you can relate to and appreciate (and squee over Holder with.) Sky definitely has a lot of comical moments, moments where you will find yourself laughing out loud, like, legit LOL-ing. As the book goes on though, you'll definitely see different sides of Sky (no, she does not have a multiple personality disorder.) It was hard seeing such a strong person so vulnerable and I actually felt my chest ache for her. The way Colleen Hoover creates characters that you'll invest yourself in really amazes me. I got attached to every single one of the people in this book, and Sky isn't the only one who fell in love with Holder...

I'm the type of reader who falls in love with practically every fictional guy I read about but with Holder, I didn't just fall for him, I think I imprinted on him too. *cue Twilight music* But joking aside, Holder has to be one of the most complex male characters I have ever read about. He is so invested in Sky's life that you can actually see that he'd literally do anything for her. Most people judge Holder because of his past misbehaviors but I feel like people misunderstood him. He's been through so much, he's lost important people in his life and he just needed an outlet for all that anger. My heart broke for him reading about all the things he went through, all the pain and anguish he felt. You can clearly see that Sky was the only shooting star in his everlasting night, that she was his salvation. Holder treasured Sky and treated her with outmost care, but not too much to be doting. I love their chemistry together, they went so smoothly together that you can see how much they truly belong together. Sky and Holder's moments together never failed to warm my heart.

As I'm typing this, I'm actually recollecting everything that happened in Hopeless and there are literally tears in my eyes right now. Hopeless is easily the best standalone novel I have read (and is currently my favorite of Colleen Hoover's books. I'm still waiting for Losing Hope though.) I can still remember all those intense emotions I felt reading Hopeless, I felt hopeless myself while reading the latter parts of the book. I felt helpless and quite honestly, useless. I wanted so badly to be able to help Sky in her ordeal but I just knew that I couldn't. All I could do was read on and see what would happen next. I worried and worried but I knew that everything would be okay as long as Holder and Sky were together. I don't think Sky would've been able to to make it through without Holder to hold her hand throughout the whole thing, he was her rock and guide. Her very own guardian angel.

The scenes between Sky and Holder are absolutely the sweetest things you'll ever read. They are not only swoon-worthy but will also leave you hot and bothered. They're innocent and yet there's an underlying tension as well. Especially the Firsts! Someone fetch me a glass of cold water please! *swoons* So intense. *dreamy sigh*

I think that Sky had a lot of angels surrounding her though. Her mom, Karen, for one. Her best friend, Six and her Mormon friend, Breckin, too. They were all there for her even though they weren't completely in the know, they grounded her and they were her comfort. They were her "normal" when everything was in complete chaos. And some of them also had the answers she was looking for.

I am so completely amazed as to how Colleen Hoover wrote Hopeless. Even the smallest of details were carefully thought out and perfectly executed, you never would've seen it coming. I'm not sure if you've watched Book of Eli (starring Denzel Washington) but if you have, do you remember that moment when you found out in the end that he was actually blind, and you kept trying to remember his tells from the very beginning of the movie? It was exactly like this. As things will start to unravel in this book, you'll keep wondering how you missed those little details. You will be left speechless once you find out all these hidden facts. You'll realize how everything little thing is actually connected and when you find them, you'll wonder how you didn't see it. Colleen Hoover, you are a genius.

Hopeless was, in my opinion, Colleen Hoover's best book so far. I am so relieved that my mom is a complete Colleen Hoover addict that she bought Hopeless as soon as it was published in the Kindle store. There are moments where you will find yourself laughing and enjoying the book and then suddenly have 360-turn and find yourself crying your eyes out. Hopeless is what other books what to be but probably won't ever become, it's dynamic and powerful. It will rock you to your very core and then some. And the way it ended? It was perfect for me. I cried at the ending, btw. Like, literally at the very last page. I was both relieved and saddened with how it all went down, but I was completely satisfied. I cannot recommend Hopeless to people enough. This book will change you as much as it changed Sky's life. I lived this book and I will live it for many years to come.

Rating:

(This is the second book that ever gotten a 6/5 Star rating from me. It is so well-deserved and I feel honored to be giving this rating to Colleen Hoover and her book. Also, Hopeless is our 100th review on the blog! Yes, I totally planned this. Haha!)


79 comments:

  1. Hopeless is by far my favorite read this year!! GREAT review!

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  2. All of Colleen Hoover's books are really good. Gonna start to read This Girl (Slammed 3) tomorrow and I am excited!

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  3. I love Colleen Hoover and all her books :)

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  4. <3 <3 <3
    Hopeless is my top 3 books this year!
    Amazing!
    and love everything from Colleen Hoover!

    Thank you for sharing this great review!

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  5. Such a brilliant review! I'm even more excited to read it now! It's been on my to-read list waiting for me to finish my dissertation so I can read it. You've got me all excited to read it now. So thank you! :) x

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  6. Hopeless is my favorite book of all time! Colleen Hoover is a phenomenal writer :)

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  7. Hopeless was the best book I ever read, I mean it. I loved it, I felt I was in the book. I laughed, cried, yearned, hoped, was gutted, happy EVERYTHING! I got my mum, bessie, work colleagues everyone reading it and we all loved it!

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  8. Colleen Hoover is the only author I pay over $5 for a book. She is amazing. Hopeless is probably her best work, in my opinion. You couldn't help but be drawn to her characters. After you read it, you thought about them for days!!!

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  9. Wonderful review! Oh that best first kiss without the actual kissing, scorching hot!!!! I agree with those little details that you never see coming until the very end part, I kept scratching my head until around halfway through since I was still so clueless with what was going on and why Holder was acting the way he was. I think Colleen did a brilliant job with writing about the "issue" that could've easily been off-putting if not handled well.

    I just wish that there was more Breckin haha

    I'm so thrilled that Holder will be getting a book as well and I'm super excited to read Losing Hope :)

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  10. Hopeless was the first book I've read by Colleen Hoover and I loved it! Being in my 30s I was nervous that I wouldn't like a book about teenagers but it pulled me in right from the start. Can't wait to read more of her work!

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  11. This book was HEAVY, but written in such a tender way! I can't wait until I get Holder's POV. I can't count how many times I've recommended this book! I have to completely agree with you that this is a well deserved rating of 6/5! So much love, emotion and heartache in 400 pages!

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  12. Love this book and all of Colleen Hoover's books!!! Great review. One of my all time favorite books. If you haven't read Hopeless, definitely add it to your TBR list!!!

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  13. One of my all time favorite books, by an amazing Author! Super Review! All my friends have read this book and loved it too!

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  14. I have this book, just sitting in my kindle waiting to be read. Alas, I am finally finished with my semester (as of today!!) and now can enjoy every single book that I have been neglecting for the last few months. I fell in love with Colleen Hoover while I was reading Slammed & then immediately bought Point of Retreat. I'm even MORE excited to read Hopeless now, even though I had NO idea that was even possible, lol!!

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  15. Hopeless was awesome! Actually all of her books are great. Can't wait to read the new one.

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  16. I absolutely loved Hopeless. It was just amazing! Your review is awesome by the way :) Everyone needs to read this book, now!

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  17. Hopeless was an awesome book. I loved Holder and all the twist and turns.

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  18. WOW. I'm speechless.

    One of the best reviews on Hopeless.

    Thank you. Thank you.

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  19. I absolutely agree with your review. Hopeless is simply Exquisite :-)

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  20. An Amazing book. Loved Hopeless and would love a signed copy even more. Thanks for the opportunity.

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  21. Great review!! This is my favorite book ever.

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  22. I loved Hopeless so much, It was a heartbreaking book but at the same time so warming to the soul, I cried my eyes out like fifty times.
    Colleen Hoover is a genius, WOW!!!

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  23. Hopeless was amazing, and Holder is forever my book boyfriend. <3

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  24. I couldn't have said it better myself! Absolutely fell in live (love) with Holder and Sky! This is the best book I have ever read! But the Slammed series is right up there too! Love Colleen Hoover!

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  25. ugh the first non-kiss! *fans self*
    great review! :D

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  26. You are one of the best bloggers/book reviewers I have come across. Thank you for your wonderful and heartfelt review. After reading it I will HAVE to go read Hopeless...again! I cannot wait.

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  27. I was hooked on Hopeless from the very first page. I absolutely loved this book and am eagerly awaiting for Losing Hope knowing it is going to keep my emotions on a whirlwind, just like Hopeless did and I loved that feeling and can't wait to feel that way again.

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  28. This is one of my favorites. I think of this book every time I hear the song Stars by Grace Potter and when I text too fast and type live instead of love.

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  29. I will never forget his tattoo and what it stands for;). My heart literally melted at that part in the story. Colleen Hoover sure knows how to get my heart beating! Just can't get enough of Holder!

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  30. Hopeless is one of my all time favorite reads! Love your review! Thanks for sharing :)

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  31. I loved Hopeless so much!! Definitely one of my favorites for the year!!

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  32. I loved this book as well!! Whenever I try to type "love" on my phone and it autocorrects to "live", I smile and think of this book. :)

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  33. I have raved and raved about this book since I read it last year. I have made all of my friends read it and they loved it as much as I did! Definitely one of my all time favorites!!!

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  34. Amazing review! I love Colleen Hoover! Hopeless is an amazing story!

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  35. I absolutely LOVED this book! I finished it in one sitting and then text my best friend in the middle of the night to let her know this was the next book she needed to read! It was a beautiful story and I can't wait for more!!

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  36. One of my FAVORITE books!!! Can't wait to read it AGAIN!!!!

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  37. I love Colleen Hoover and Hopeless was one of the fastest books I've read, couldn't put the kindle down. This is probably the best review I've read on a book in awhile mostly bc its like she was in my head, couldn't have said it better. Colleen Hoover books are some of my favorites! Faith Godard

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  38. Haven't read it yet, paperback isn't out for another week but I absolutely CANNOT WAIT! So thank you (and sticking my tongue out at you) for the review which just adds to my anticipation! :)

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  39. I can't wait to read this! I so don't want this beautiful story to end! Al I keep hearing is how wonderful it is and I'm getting so excited!!!! I'm waiting to read on my girls trip next week but I'm having a hard time holding out:( would love a signed copy:):) thanks Tina rappa

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  40. Louisse!!! Congrats, you awesome person, you. ;)
    Great review, I don't know why I've been putting off reading hopeless for so long despite the awesome reviews.

    I should really get to it. :)

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  41. Louisse!!!! what have you done here?! You are killing me right now. I want to read the book so bad. I'm so damn! I just finished reading Slammed and Point of Retreat late this morning and almost hating myself for not owning yet a copy of the third book. I'm still waiting for a call from book store about y reservation, and now after reading your review I almost hated myself for not buying this one instead when I saw copies earlier. *sigh* I really need to read any Colleen Hoover books right now!

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  42. I loved this book and your review was right on! Here's hoping there's a lot more books from this author in the future!

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  43. I loved Hopeless, I have read it three times...so far. Once I finished it the first time I needed to read more by Colleen Hoover so I began the Slammed series. I just started This Girl. I recommend Colleen Hoover to everyone, she is by far my favorite author.

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  44. I just re-read Hopeless for the 4th time. I never get tired of Sky & Holder. I miss them already.....

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  45. First, congratulations on your 100th review, Louisse! :D
    *belated happy birthday - We know how you flail over Colleen Hoover's tweet, sweetie! :D

    As always, your Mom knows best! I vaguely remember how we swooned over Holder! I read this last January, because I know you're the one who told me to read this (I think?) and I cried my heart out *literally*! I haven't read the Slammed yet since I'm waiting for the last book to be released ;) But I love how Colleen Hoover wrote Hopeless, very real, emotions running wild, characters that are perfectly imperfect. It's just pure-messed up-but-straightout reality.

    I agree with you, the smallest things were perfectly executed! I was awestruck with the story, the plot. A major OMG. And the part where why 'Sky' is her name, such bliss carried my heart *a lil teary-eyed here* And and, about Holder, can I say he's the best?

    I love how you cited Book of Eli, very true *hear hear*!

    I'll cry again if I add more but lastly, I remember how we said that we both wanted our very own Dean Holder...
    Until now, I still wish that same thing!

    *belated happy birthday again, Louisse! More reviews to come! - penguin love -*

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  46. Great book. Great review. Great author. It's that simple.

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  47. Hopeless is not only one of my favorite books in the last year but one of my favorite books EVER!! Colleen Hoover Rocks!!

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  48. This is the best review of Hopeless I have read. Thanks!!!

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  49. Great review!!! I totally agree. I love me some Colleen Hoover!!

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  50. Oh My Sweet Lord! Brilliant review, BRILLIANT!! You completely capture the essense of Hopeless! Your review is the best I have ever read of this book .. better than mine :-O Ha ha ;-)
    Your review gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes, it was so touching! And it is a worthy review of the amazing book that Hopeless is. Great job! :-D

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  51. Colleen Hoover is a blessing in the Authors world, I have am AMAZED by her writing and LOVED all of her books. Just finishing "This Girl" and I am soooooooo looking forward to "Losing Hope". Colleen did an awesome job on Will's POV that I cant wait to see what she will be doing with Holder.

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  52. This is such a wonderful review, Louisse! I need to read this book as soon as possible! The way you described your feelings while reading it was amazing! It was a perfect review. I dont even know how you managed to put up those words! :)

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  53. Awesome review! I could not have worded it any better so detailed but really didn't give anything away if there was someone who hasn't read it. I love all of Colleen's books and can't wait for more. Hopeless was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions with such shock in between and hearing Holder's side of things is going to have that rollercoaster continue I'm sure but I so can't wait to read it. Colleen follows way too many blogs I can't keep up but so glad she sent us to this one =)

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  54. Loved your review! Colleen Hoover is amazing ^_^

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  55. I loved Hopeless, now I just have to Read Losing Hope. Oh! And Herpless!!

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  56. Great review! Colleen Hoover is awesome. I'm currently reading This Girl and it's so amazing.

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  57. Great review! Love Colleen Hoover's books! She is amazing and my favorite author! <3

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  58. In love with both slam series and hopeless! Waiting for Losing Hope eagerly!

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  59. Beautiful review! I agree with every word of it! I am so ready for Losing Hope to be out!!!

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  60. This is one of my favorite books ever... I love the way Colleen describe the details... at least for me it was incredible how I could feel the same way Sky was feelibg all along the story. For me is very important a book can completely stuck you at every single moment, so this books makes me fall for Holder, for every moment, for he story and for every little thing into it. I'm not a fan of that sort of books when "THEY MET. THE FALL IN LOVE INSTEANTLY, THEY ARE HAPPY FOREVER AND ALWAYS"I really think a love story always needs something more and that "more" has to be interesting to make it deifferent, that why I love this book too... Hopeless is one of the most original books with a love story I ever read. I met this book just for something different to read so I saw the cover and I liked it, then I see the synopsis and honestly I thought (just for the synopsis ) it was to be just another read book... but wathever I started to read it and... it definately surprise me, I've never read something like that so when I read the end I had to make that "reader moment" to put the kindle down an say "wow, I loved it". This was the first book I read by Colleen Hoover ( for sure I fell in love with the way she writes) so I read Slammed and then Point of retreat... tomorrow buying This Girl... So I wrote too much but you now, when read a very incredible perfect book... you need to talk about it =)

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  61. Colleen Hoover is one of my fave authors after reading Slammed. I'm super looking forward in reading this and I just got This Girl from NG last night! So excited. <3

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  62. I swear, I couldn't read ANYTHING for a long time after Hopeless. I just kept insisting that people read it, and didn't take no for a answer, haha! I'm so glad that I was able to get an e-copy--it truly is the best standalone ever. <3 <3 Great review, Louisse! :))

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  63. "you better read this book before I disown you". LOL. Your mom is cool, I'm jealous. Great review! I totally agree to all that you said.
    "Even the smallest of details were carefully thought out and perfectly executed, you never would've seen it coming."
    That's exactly what I thought after reading it and it's why I love Colleen Hoover and her novels. I love her characters too. Her characters are bemazing and swoon-worthy, esp. the guys (heehee <3)

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  64. Freaking lived, loved and adored Hopeless!!! Every once in a while I find a book that just consumes my head and I think about the story long after I have finished reading it. Hopeless was one of those books. Funny, sexy, heartbreaking and just amazing. Can't wait for Losing Hope!!!

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  65. I've read Slammed & PoR before I read Hopeless and it was a different experience. The storyline tackles a sensitive issue and honestly it made me cry. It feels so real while I was reading it. It's like I'm in it and I have to be honest, reading stories like Hopeless will always make me cringe coz I know the feeling. Colleen's writing prowess is definitely a marble and when I found out that there's book 2 which is Losing Hope, it made me sooo happy. :)

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  66. i just love hopeless and can not wait for losing hope! you are amazing! my favorite author! such a way with words! an amazing talent you have! i love you and all your books! :)

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  67. Congratulations, The Soul Sisters! Louisse!! Colleen loved your review!! *squeals* I can't wait to read it. ;)

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  68. Awesome review. Who wouldn't love Hopeless?! Seriously, the angst and twist in the story-line plus fictional characters like Holder and do not forget about Sky and her Mom. Aww. They just perfectly fit for each other. The story, characters and words are all GRAND. :)

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  69. I hope to see more Colleen Hoover book reviews from you. Her novels seems to be very promising! And I hope they will publish a paperback of this here in the Philippines.

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  70. I haven't read any of Colleen Hoover's books before but I'm planning to buy it of them once 'This Girl' is out together with the Slammed series, this review made me want to buy the books now :-).

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  71. How much do I love that you read this after your mom told you to!!:) and I have the same problem you do - I fall for all the fictional guys!! I loved this one and I can't wait to own my very own copy!!

    Thanks for the awesome review Louisse

    xo
    jaime

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  72. Hopeless was an amazing journey. I loved all the things it made me feel, a lot of them unexpected, in a good way. It also connected me with things I felt in the past, some of those a long time ago and it was an incredible feeling. It also made me laugh and cry and inspired me to add some of that intensity to a book I had started writing. It was great and for that, I am so grateful, Coleen.
    I totally give it 5 stars!

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  73. My dad caught me sobbing over this book in the wee hours of the night. He got curious so I made him read it. The next day I caught my dad crying while finishing the book and he hugged me. I never thought I'd see my 30something dad cry over a book before. THAT's what Colleen Hoover's books can do to people. Make them feel the words out of the book :) Such a wonderful read indeed :)

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  74. Colleen has a wonderful way of stringing words together to make a beautifully written book!! Such an amazing journey! Wow, just wow <3

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  75. "you better read this book before I disown you" your mom has earned herself a new fan with those words!! hahahaha, i wonder how my mom would react if I told her the same :)

    An amazing review to an equally amazing book! Colleen Hoover, I am selling you my soul woman :)

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  76. This is by far the longest review I've ever seen :)) you are starstruck by colleen HAHAH
    I've Read hopeless too and I loved every minute of it, the story was scary and dramatic which was inescapable :> Awesome review!

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  77. WOW! IM HOPELESS BUT IM HOPEFUL! OH GOD, SUCH A NICE REVIEW. THIS BOOK, THIS BOOK! ITS CRAZY.! SO BEAUTIFUL AND WELL WRITTEN ♥
    I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

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