Reviews with content warning for Incest - Hopeless

When I first started the book, I didn't think I was going to like it. It didn't seem like Colleen Hoover and it felt like a cheesy YA without much substance. I had no idea what I was going into. As someone who has experienced trauma and PTSD, this book really spoke to me. Every person's situation is different and everyone deals with their trauma in different ways and I did not experience the exact same thing as Sky. However, there were many moments where I felt so seen. This was probably the most difficult of Hoover's books so far for me to read, but I'm so glad I read it.

Sky is finally going to "real" school her senior year of high school after a life of homeschooling. Dean Holder has returned after a year of being gone from school. When the two of them meet, Holder is instantly captivated by her. Sky doesn't know what to make of him, but something about him intrigues her. Something about him starts to bring back memories of her past that she's spent her whole life burying. She tries to push him away, but they can't seem to stay away from each other. And once they finally give in to one another, they feel closer than ever. However, when Sky finds out that Holder has been keeping something very important from her, she doesn't know if she can ever trust him again. Could Holder know more about her than he's letting on?

{TW: Bullying, Child Sexual Abuse, Death of a parent, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Suicide}

Again, this is not a cheesy romance novel. The romance is a huge part of it, and it's beautifully written, but there's so much more to it.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves CoHo books, anyone who enjoys heavy plot lines or books that will make them cry, and anyone who enjoys plot-heavy romances.

I definitely plan on picking up the sequel.

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milymily22's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sunflower_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Heavy topics.

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soyezjoyeux's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

2.0

This was bad. It certainly made me uncomfortable. How things played out and how it was resolved didn't sit well with me as well. And I feel it's such a typical Colleen book layout. But Holder and Sky are 11/10.

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madyt_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad

4.75

I mean CoHos at it again. Really only taking points off bc I was not expecting such heavy topics, some aspects were hard to follow, and some points felt a little unrelated or needed. Idk. It was so good and I still loved it. She has a way of grabbing and holding onto my attention. Even if the plot didn’t super get going until about a third-ish of the way in. I understand the world building and stuff but I felt like maybe the plot could have been implemented a little more earlier. Might just be me. But obvi still so good.

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