Holder's grief is palpable. A pulsing entity of pain and sadness from page one. Hoover with an unrelenting pace drags us along with Holder through his sister's suicide, his guilt at not being able to save her, his heart's momentarily leap of optimism when he first meets Sky and believes she is his childhood friend, the doubt that creeps in as he gets to know her and his joy at falling for Sky, his wish that Hope is at peace and that this exceptional young woman is someone he can forge a future with, a future with Sky filled with anticipation and belief in good and not a reminder of HopeLess - a life of regret.

There aren't enough adjectives to describe the roller-coaster of emotional turmoil, happiness, fleeting joy, crushing blows and eventual peace that one experiences reading this book.

The story is familiar but there are small moments, moments where Sky's perception of Holder's actions shaped her story only for us as the readers to discover they were something completely different. At all times his goal was to protect Sky from a pain so immense surely no-one could survive it. Her strength coupled with his love formed a bond stronger than titanium and together they were able to face the horrifying events that tainted their combined pasts. Holder's self-blame is heartbreaking to read and you can't help but sympathise and rejoice as he discovers his own personal form of therapy, writing in his sister's notebook, sharing his thoughts, paving his path to healing with moments of joy mingled with crushing pain. It's gut punching at its best.

The chemistry between Sky and Holder is almost overwhelming when combined with his colliding wishes that she is indeed the friend he has never forgiven himself for losing and his desire that she really is Sky so he can protect her from the inevitable pain of coming to terms with a stolen childhood. It is beyond upsetting as the memories from Hopeless come flooding back and the feeling of helplessness as you watch two people desperately try to survive a pain that cuts deeper than the sharpest knife edge and struggle to endure it and come out the other side with scars that hopefully will heal.

There are moments of light relief which are a welcome distraction but never quite ease the heavy ache in the pit of your stomach. As the book progresses my role as curious observer became a struggle to maintain and then Chapter Forty-seven-and-a-half happened...

Holder says that Devastation is something that should only be allowed to refer to mothers who have lost children - by the end of this chapter I can honestly say that it can be used by readers of this book too. The past that we think we have finally got a grip on, the story we think we know is ripped from our trusting souls and turned completely on its head. ( )

I love this book way too much. Now excuse me while I drown in all my feels. ( )

Colleen Hoover is a must read author for me. Her books are nearly always perfection and even those I have not enjoyed were still wonderful books they were just not right for me. Her stories and characters are painfully real and I always become invested in the outcome. She is truly an author everyone should read at least once. ( )

'My whole world turned from a place full of vibrant colors to a dull,lifeless gray. The sky, the grass, the trees...all the things that were once beautiful were stripped of their magnificence the moment I realized I was responsible for our best friend Hope's disappearance.'

Plot

In this sequel to Hopeless, Dean Holder reveals his innermost thoughts and feelings. Holder has spent his entire life looking for the little girl that he let walk away all those years ago to finally free himself from the guilt he's carried since that day.

What Holder doesn't know, is that when they do reconnect, he'll feel more guilt than he ever knew was possible. This is the story of Hopeless, told from Dean Holder's point of view; revealing everything that he felt during those painful moments.

My thoughts

Once again, I have Colleen Hoover to blame for my lack of sleep. I read this book in two days, each time staying up until the early hours of the morning. It's yet another one of Colleen's books that I just couldn't bring myself to put down. Whilst I can't say that I enjoyed it as much as Hopeless, seeing the story from Holder's point of view was amazing,and it made me fall in love with the story all over again.

The only reason I didn't enjoy it as much as Hopeless, is purely because Hopeless had the elements of shock and mystery surrounding it, as the truth about Sky was revealed piece by piece. But as Hopeless was more a six-star book than a five-star book, I was still able to give Losing Hope a huge five stars.

I loved reading the letters that Holder writes to his sister Les. He opened up his heart in those letters and allowed us to really see what was going on in his head, and his heart, during Hopeless. Whilst Hopeless would have worked as a stand-alone anyway, the addition of Holder's point of view tied up everything nicely. Everything that happened in Hopeless made even more sense after reading this book, even down to small details which I won't go into so I don't spoil it for anyone else.

Whilst this is essentially the same story as Hopeless from Holder's point of view, it's also different in so many ways. We get more of an insight into Holder's past, and the effect that Hope's disappearance, and the death of his sister Les had on him. In this book, we get to know the real Dean Holder with no holding back.

This is the third book by Colleen Hoover that I've read now, and she has very quickly become one of my favourite Authors. After reading Hopeless, I moved on to the Slammed series, which I also fell in love with. Now that I've read Losing Hope, I plan on reading Finding Cinderella, a novella about Sky's friend Six. And of course, I'll be continuing with the Slammed series. ( )

Alternate POV.

For those who only want to see their Hero be intimate with the heroine be aware that although the Hero and heroine are not reconnected yet there is a scene where he is with someone else and there is some detail.