Losing Hope (Hopeless #2) by Colleen Hoover

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.

Holly's Review

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!! I MEAN ABSOLUTELY HEART WRENCHING, MAKE YOU UGLY CRY, AMAZING!!

Colleen Hoover does this to me with every one of the fan-fucking-tastic books that she writes, and I can't devour them fast enough!!

You know, even though I have read Hopeless (and needless to say ugly cried my eyes out there too) and knew the story it still wrecked me all over again!!

I love when a really good author writes a phenomenal story from the other persons POV - It is simply amazing! It's one thing to feel this story unfold with Sky in Hopeless, that was heartbreaking enough, but to now feel it unfold with Holder, who knew things all along that were just destroying him inside, OMG, I am getting teary just thinking about it again! 

Amazing Story Telling, did I say that already!! :)

Holder is just this incredible guy that is carrying so much baggage around with him you just ache for him. I loved the letters to Les and being with him while he worked his way through all of his guilt and anger and sadness. When you read Hopeless you are so caught up in the pain that Sky has you never really think about Holder since he was there to help her through it! But seriously, how can you not love and feel for a guy who says shit like this...

“I wonder if it's possible for people to fall in love with a person one characteristic at a time, or if you fall for the entire person at once.”

Right???

Oh, and I have to add that I LOVED the sweet little piece of Will and Layken that was slightly hidden in there!! Totally loved that!!!

Ok, for you newbies, you CANNOT read this without reading Hopeless first and if you haven't read Hopeless, well, I can't imagine what the hell you are waiting for!! GO GET IT!! 

I am not kidding when I say Collen Hoover stole my heart with Slammed and she has been an auto-buy for me ever since and I have not given even one of her books less than 5 stars!! YES!! THEY ROCK THAT HARD!!!


*****Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to Netgalley for providing me this ARC(Even though my hard copy has already been pre-ordered!!)

This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover

There are two sides to every love story. Now hear Will’s.

Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache. 

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

Holly's Review

YEP! IT WAS AS AWESOME AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE!! BUTTERFLYING WONDERFUL!! 5+++ STARS!!!!

I totally fell head over heels in love with Will and Layken last year when I read both Slammed and Point of Retreat in less than 24 hours! Yes, these books are THAT GOOD!! In fact I will go so far as to say this is one of my all time favorite series!

What I loved most about This Girl is that it wasn't necessary. What I mean by that is that the story concluded with a wonderful HEA in the previous book! This Girl is just proof that Colleen Hoover loves us and wants us to be insanely happy!!

We find Will and Lake on their honeymoon, thoroughly enjoying themselves, and Lake begins to ask Will questions about his life before they met which leads to him giving his side of when they first met, which leads to her asking him to tell her about certain events that they experienced together. I think this is so beautiful. She wants to relive those beautiful some painful times through his eyes.

I love stories like this because inevitably when reading an emotional story I always wonder "My God, why would he do that?" or "Wow, that must have broken his heart!" or things along those lines. So getting to feel what Will went through was amazing. I loved that this was not just the same story told from another POV but it's own story with the characters reliving it through each other. And just when I thought I couldn't love Will more he would go and say something like this....

This girl completely shatters the window to my soul and crawls inside. 

or

Out of all the reasons I can come up with for her to go, there's only one reason I can come up with for her to stay. I love her. 


If you are a fan of this series, please don't miss out on This Girl!! It is a beautiful way to wrap the series up and again I thank Colleen Hoover for loving us enough to give us more Will and Lake!!

Will and Lake playing on their honeymoon....

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

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.

Thessa's Review

FIVE BUTTERFLYINGLY BEAUTIFUL STARS!!! 

“I want to tell you exactly how I feel but there isn’t a single goddamned word in the entire dictionary that can describe this point between liking you and lovingyou, but I need that word. I need it because I need you to hear me say it.” …
“Live. If you mix the letters up in the words like and love, you get live. You can use that word.”
He laughs again, but this time it’s a laugh of relief. He wraps his arms around me and he kisses me with nothing but a hell of a lot of relief. “I live you, Sky,” he says against my lips. “I live you so much.” 

I have a huge freaking grin on my face. 
Like. 
HUGE.

Colleen Hoover is a writing genius. I don’t know how she does it. Time and time again, she has the ability to weave an unbelievable story. I was blown away with Slammed and Point of Return, but this newest creation she has written has left me just speechless. I’m in utter awe at her talent for writing a beautiful story. Oh. My. God. I just don’t know what to say. This story was just butterflyingly beautiful. I smiled, I cried and I just loved. This made my exclusive crack-book shelf and for that, I will be adding the paperback to my “real life” bookshelf when it becomes available. Just effing amazing!

“We won’t go any further than this, I promise. But please don’t ask me to stop where we already are. I need to watch you and I need to hear you because the fact that I know you’re actually feeling this right now is so fucking amazing. You feel incredible and this feels incredible and please. Just…please.” 

Sky’s life thus far is comprised of her BFF, Six, and her mother, Karen. She’ll be starting her Senior year in High School soon, but this time it’ll be different. She's been home schooled for all of her life and Karen prohibits anything electronic in the house: TVs, cell phones, internet, etc. When it comes to boys, she hasn’t really had any emotional connection to any of them. All the guys she’s been with, she feels absolutely nothing towards them, both physically and emotionally. Sky is damaged. She’s not the type to feel…anything. She doesn’t truly understand why, but the numbness she experiences time and time again isn’t anything new. She’s felt this way for a very long time, but there has to be a reason why she feels like this, right? It’s not until she runs into Dean Holder at the grocery store, she starts to feelbutterflies. What is this foreign feeling? What makes this guy sodifferent?

He reacts the way he does because there’s only one side to Dean Holder.
Passionate

There are parts of him I love, parts of him I hate, parts that terrify me and parts that amaze me. 

Holder didn’t plan on going back to school. He’s been gone for a year, dealing with his sister, Lesslie’s, suicide. He’s damaged, too. His Hopeless tattoo reminds him of those who he let down in his life. He doesn’t want to feel anything toward this girl he just met, but there’s just something oddly familiar about her. When he notices her at the store, he practically demands her name. Unfortunately she is not who he thinks she is, but it doesn’t stop him from finding out whatever he can about her. The more time the two spend with each other, the more intense things become. The little things they start to learn about each other begin to add up to an even bigger picture. These two are connected in a way that neither of them ever imagined. When their secrets are revealed, both their lives are changed forever. 

“When you become mine, it’ll be a forever thing. I’ve told you before that the only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers, and I mean that.” ~ Holder 

Holder is AMAZING. I just fell in love with him. He's so passionate and intense. When he realizes his feelings for Sky, it blows my mind at how caring and supportive he is to her. He never gives up on her. Ever. I LOVE HIM! For me, he made the story what it is: Beautiful and highly emotional. You can’t help but be enamored by him and by the story. There were so many things I highlighted and re-read just because it made me feels all kinds of tingly goodness. Like I said, Colleen Hoover has such a knack for writing and storytelling. Just do me a favor and read this gorgeous story. Oh! Before I go, just one more quote for the road:

He could kiss me for the first time, or the twentieth time, or the millionth time and I wouldn’t care if it was a first or not, because I’m pretty sure we just broke the record for the best first kiss in the history of first kisses – without even kissing. 

SWOON. JUST. SWOON.

Point Of Retreat (#2) By Collen Hoover

 

Hardships and heartache brought them together…now it will tear them apart.

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.

 

Holly's Review:

  This is book 2 in the Slammed series and if you read my review for book 1, the warning about PMS still stands. Steer clear until your hormones are under control because if it's possible this one was even more emotional than the first installment! :)

But, again, I have to say in all seriousness that I love this book too!!
When we begin, we pick approximately 1 year after the beautiful end of Slammed where Lake and Will get their HEA, but now real life intrudes and we spend this story making sure that their amazing love can withstand the the obstacles.

This story is told from Will's POV whereas the first was was told from Lake's POV. That was one of my favorite things about this one! But watching these two barely adults manage two homes, two 10 year old boys, college and still find time to love each other madly, but not without some bumps along the way, was what I found so incredible. Like I mentioned in my review of the first story, these two people totally make me want to be a better person! They are amazing and brave and flawed and I couldn't stop thinking about them last night when I finally finished and went to bed!! I also really need to mention the poetry again, if possible the slam poetry in this installment is just as amazing if not more so that the first!!

This is as much of an emotional ride as the first installment but holy crap what a ride it was! I can't recommend these books enough! You won't regret it if you take the time to sit down and let these amazing people into your lives! I believe these are Colleen Hoover's debut novels and all I can say is Way to Go! And keep them coming!!

 

Slammed (#1) By Colleen Hoover

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

Thessa's Review:

Five big, enormous, gargantuan, gigantic, huge, mammoth, massive Stars!

I got schooled this year
by
a
Boy.
a boy that I'm seriously,
deeply, madly, incredibly,
and undeniably in love
with.
And he taught me the most
important thing of all...
To put the emphasis
On life.

This book was pure brilliance. Shortly after the death of her father, Layken, her mother, & younger brother, Ky, moved from Texas to Michigan to start a new life. There she meets her neighbor, Will. Will is no stranger to love & loss. He lost his parents when he was only 19 years old and now is caring for his little brother, Caulder. Will & Layken almost immediately are drawn to one another. Their first date involved attending Club N9NE, which on Thursdays close for slam poetry. They have the perfect first date. However, just when Layken & Will were forming a relationship...slam! A serious roadblock emerges and the two cannot move forward in their relationship. Both struggle immensely with keeping their feelings in check, but they cope with it the best they can for the sake of both their little brothers, who are now BFFs. Just as Layken was starting to pick up the pieces...slam! Layken is hit with some devastating news about her mother. She just cannot catch a break.

I simply loved Will & Layken's relationship. They are so similar in so many ways, that you were hoping and praying that they were going to find a way to be together. The use of slam poetry in this book was utter genius. I've never read anything like it before and I effin LOVED it. Some of the pieces written, like the one above, stirred so many emotions in me. I was blown away. Wow.

I feel extremely fortunate to have come across this gem. After reading a strong recommendation from a book blogger, I was compelled to read this immediately. Thank God I did. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Highly recommend :)

 

Holly's Review:

Word of warning, do not read this book if you even think you might have the PMS - you will cry reading this book on a good day but if your like me and might even feel a tab hormonal you will be sobbing like a woman possessed! :)

In all seriousness, this book was amazing! This is a story of love, strength and over coming the odds! These have to be two of the strongest, most amazing people I have ever met. Will and Lake both survive tragedies and obstacles that should destroy them. This is the kind of book that really makes you want to be a better person.

I almost didn't pick this one up but I am so glad that I did, I honestly read this one and the sequel in less than 24 hours! Yep, they are that good! I am also a sucker for books that take place in my state, it's like I feel like I know all about the places in the book and the majority this one takes place in Ypsilanti and Detroit!

I also have to mention the poetry because I am not a huge poetry fan but this book really made me love it, slam poetry at least! I would totally frequent a slam poetry club if there was one near me, it was amazing! I think every time someone in this book slammed I was in tears.

I don't want you all to think that this book was just a total downer and sob fest, because that is not an accurate description at all. I cried, but not always because I was sad but in fact I cried a lot of happy tears too. Sometimes I even found myself snorting like a dork when I was sobbing so hard the words blurred and then I read something hysterical!! hahaha

Do yourself a favor, grab this book, and the sequel too! I guarantee if you do you will be glad that you did!