Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

Losing Hope is the companion novel to Colleen Hoover's Hopeless (review here), one of my favorite books of all time. Hopeless is the story of Sky, a sheltered 17 year old, whose world is changed forever after an encounter with Dean Holder at the grocery store. While Sky and Dean fall for each other, the secrets of their pasts unfold, shattering everything they know. Together they will have to find the strength to confront the past and find hope again.

"I've never looked forward before. I've always looked back. I think about the past way too much and I think about what I should have done and everything I did wrong and I've never once looked forward in my life. Being with her had me thinking about tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and next year and forever."

Losing Hope is Dean's side of the story and we get to see the events of Hopeless through his perspective, as well as learn more about Dean's life before he finds Sky. This book is not a straight retelling of Hopeless and truly is a companion novel. You NEED to read Hopeless before you read Losing Hope. Questions will be answered like where Dean went for a year and why he returned, how he felt when he saw the bracelet, why he stayed away for a month, and more.

I love Dean Holder. He is one of my favorite book boyfriends, but I fell in love with him all over again in Losing Hope. This book adds so much dimension to his character and the emotion in the story was both heartbreaking and heart swelling. As much as Dean helps Sky to heal in Hopeless, it wasn't until reading Losing Hope that I realized the depth of Dean's suffering and how much Sky helps to heal him in return. This book was perfection for me and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. It was everything I expected and then some. It added so much more clarity and understanding to the story and didn't once feel like fluff. Colleen Hoover is amazing and I am so grateful that she wrote it. After reading Losing Hope, I'm left with the feeling that Sky and Dean's story has come full circle and I feel hopeful, very hopeful.

"Time has completely stopped, and all I'm thinking about while we kiss is how this is what saves people. Moments like these with people like her are what make all the suffering worth it. It's moments like these that keep people looking forward and I can't believe I've let them slip by for an entire month. I know I told her that she's never really been kissed before, but until this moment I had no idea that I had never really been kissed before. Not like this. Every kiss, every moment, every moan, every touch of her hand on against my skin. She's my saving grace. My Hope. And I'm never walking away from her again."