In Losing Hope, Holder reveals the way in which the events of Sky’s youth affected him and his family, leading him to seek his own redemption in the act of saving her. But it is only in loving Sky that he can finally begin to heal himself. This book was beautiful, and it took me away from my own problems and I was able to hide in Colleen Hoovers world once again. I truly love her books, and her writing alone has given me a love for reading like I never had before, the depth that this story develops to understand Holder is amazing,.. When she doesn’t respond, I sigh and look up at the ceiling. If she’s on the phone with him, I’ll be pissed. But if she’s on the phone with him, it probably means he’s telling her the break-up was all my fault and she’ll be the one who’s pissed. I wipe my palms on my shorts and open the door to her bedroom, preparing for another heated lecture on how I need to mind my own business. Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends with Us held readers spellbound with her novel Hopeless, the story of what happened when a troubled girl named Sky encountered a long-lost childhood friend, Dean. Now, in Losing Hope, we finally learn the truth about Dean Holder.

Holder,” he says, pushing the girl off his lap. He struggles to his feet but can hardly stand up straight. He looks at me pleadingly, pointing at the girl, who’s now adjusting her barely-there skirt. “This isn’t… it’s not what it looks like.” But I LOVE the emphasis on Les in Losing Hope. We learn so much about how Holder struggled with Les’s suicide. Sometimes, that extra element made Losing Hope feel like a completely different book from Hopeless (in a good way). It felt like its own story rather than the same story from a different point of view. Holder writes letters to Les in a journal after her death, and just the way he dealt with it was so interesting to read, but also saddening. So many of those letters (and Holder’s thoughts in general) broke my heart in half! Colleen completely jerked my tears around. Or when he’s remembering a conversation Les had with her friend. Les’s friend says that if you just want to kiss a guy, you wear jeans. If you want something more to happen, you wear a skirt or a dress with easy access. Then when Sky wears a dress, Holder completely over-analyzes it.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared and no memory forgotten, but Holder's past remains a mystery. Personally, my only complaint about this book — and the only thing truly keeping me from giving it a full five stars — is the fact that the male protagonist voice still reads as a female, as it is coming from a female author. Parts of his inner monologues and thought processes don’t sound realistic for a teenage boy. But maybe that’s just me. 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… No, babe,” he says nervously. “I’m at Jaxon’s house.” There’s a long pause while he listens to her speak. “I know that’s what I said, but I lied. That’s why I’m calling. Les, I… I think we need some space.”

While we suspected Holder’s feelings to be strong, we now find out how overwhelmingly intense they were from the moment he laid eyes on Sky. They love story is epic – it is the story of two young people who have cared for each other for over a decade and who are now drawn to each other all over again, like two magnets unable to fight the pull, the growing love between them healing their hearts and giving them the courage to face the impending truth. They are kindred spirits who might be falling in love with one another for the first time, but their hearts have known each other and have been connected for a very long time. “I’ve loved Hope since we were kids. But tonight? Tonight I fell in love with Sky.” New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends with Us held readers spellbound with her novel Hopeless, the story of what happened when a troubled girl named Sky encountered a long-lost childhood friend, Dean. Now, in Losing Hope, we finally learn the truth about Dean Holder. 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.

But other than that, Holder was everything I remembered from Hopeless. Sweet, thoughtful, funny, and intense. I’m actually kind of pissed that his awesomeness was tarnished by that cheating scene at the beginning of the book. It didn’t feel necessary to me at all; it just made me get off on the wrong foot with Holder.

I really like how this one focused more on Les and how Holder dealt with her death. That was definitely a new element that got me interested! Revisiting such an emotional story from a different point of view was no small task, especially since we were left believing that no stone was left unturned in the storyline, but it truly deserved to be told again. From the first moment we hear Holder’s voice, we become aware that to truly understand the complexity of Sky’s reactions, we needed to witness Holder’s too. All the final puzzle pieces are set in place, making this story even more flawless. Holder has had more loss in his life than any young man should ever have to overcome. Losing his childhood friend left him burdened with guilt and regret, but losing his twin sister shattered his heart. “What are the chances that the only two girls in my life I’ve ever loved … I’ve lost?” I must stress again the importance of reading Hopeless first as this book is in effect a companion novel. Several very important scenes are rushed over this time around as they were told in detail previously and nothing needed to be added. This being Holder’s story, the focus is not only on his relationship with Sky but also on overcoming his feelings of grief and guilt stemming from the untimely loss of his sister. Haunted by the little girl he couldn’t save from imminent danger, Holder’s life has been overshadowed by feelings of guilt and remorse. He has never stopped searching for her, believing that finding her would bring him the peace he needs to move on. However, Holder could not have anticipated that he would be faced with even greater pain the moment they reconnected.What if Sky doesn’t know the rules to “make-out” clothes? What if she’s wearing this dress just for the hell of it? What if she’s just wearing this dress because her washing machine broke and all her jeans were dirty? What if she’s wearing this dress because she didn’t have time to change into jeans before I showed up at her house? What if she’s wearing this dress because she went to some sort of random church today that has service on Saturdays? Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. Hey,” I say, attempting to control the trembling anger in my voice when I hear her crying on the other end. “I’m on my way, Les. It’ll be okay, I’m on my way.” I shake my head, letting him know that he needs to make it an absolute break-up. I’m not looking for him to give her space. I’m looking for him to give my sister permanent freedom.

My teeth are clenched, my jaw is tight, and my pulse is pounding in my head. I’ve never hated anyone more than in this moment. The intensity of what I wish I could do to him right now is even scaring me. She doesn’t even tell me it’ll be okay when every single ounce of whatever was left inside my chest is propelled out of me the moment I realize that the very best part of me is dead.The sequel to Hoover’s Hopeless, Losing Hope takes on the same story but from a completely different point of view: Holder’s. In fact, much of the story is repeated from the first book, word for word in regards to the dialogue even. But even still, the story takes on a life of its own and manages to capture at least this reader more than she initially thought possible. Fine,” he grumbles, attempting to free himself from the hold I have on him. I wait until he looks down at the phone and hits send before I release my arm and let go of his shirt. He puts the phone to his ear and never stops looking at me as we both stand still and wait for Les to answer. She doesn’t flinch when I scream her name, and she doesn’t wince when I slap her, and she doesn’t react when I start to cry. Hopeless was hands down one of the best books I have ever read. It touched me so profoundly and so irrevocably that I walked away a different reader. The story of Sky and Holder is not something that you ever forget – its uniqueness lies in the deep emotions that it makes us feel and in its inimitable writing style. It is truly the perfect book. Losing Hope is its sequel, written entirely from Holder’s point of view, but following the same storyline. It is not a book, however, that could or should be read without reading Hopeless first as several scenes are better understood with prior knowledge of Sky’s story, allowing this book to simply fill the gaps in the timeline and for Holder to finally tell his side of this timeless tale of love, courage and human endurance. She’s stronger than I give her credit for, though. She didn’t attempt to call him last night and she’s made no attempt to call him today. She didn’t get much sleep last night, so she went to her room before lunch to nap. However, I’ve been pausing outside her bedroom door throughout the day just to make sure I couldn’t hear her on the phone, so I know she hasn’t made any attempts to call him. At least while I’ve been home. In fact, I’m pretty sure the heartless phone call from him last night was exactly what she needed to finally see him for who he really is.