Book Review: Hopeless

Sky has been raised by her mom in a house without technology – no television, no cellphone, no internet. Her only hobby is to read and sometimes fool around with boys, just like what her best friend does. Because of this, she has a bad reputation in school, though rumors about her isn’t completely true - she never engages in sex, contrary to what boys whom she rejected are saying. Then, Holder suddenly enters her life and makes her feel like she never felt before; her heart feels ready for him, but her body isn’t. She slowly recalls memories she never knew existed and finds out that Holder knows her more than she does. Big secrets about her past life unravels, until she realizes she barely knows who she is.

Truth is, romance novels aren’t my preferred genre, except when there’s more to it – perhaps suspense or thriller. The last book I read was Verity by Colleen Hoover and after this book, I had such a hard time enjoying other novels because it was so good and in fact, the best book I’ve read this year so far. After switching from one story to another without being able to finish them, I decided to look for another Colleen Hoover book and ended up reading Hopeless because of its good reviews.

Hopeless is a romantic and psychological drama that has moved me to tears, disgust and hatred. When I started reading this book, I had a hard time because it wasn’t my genre. It started as a run-of-the-mill coming of age story about a 17-year-old tech-deprived teenager. As I kept on reading and Holder gets into the picture, it started to get interesting. When I got a hint that there was a big reason behind the no-technology-rule, the story got better. From a romantic teenage story, it turned into a mystery novel that’s full of twists. The characters were well-developed and would keep you guessing whether they’re on Sky’s side or not - who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. The storyline was incredibly written with different emotions that would either make you whole or break you.

Overall, I’m giving this 5 out of 5 stars. It started very light then chapter by chapter, the story escalated to gripping moments until it became very disturbing. Colleen Hoover has a knack for damaging souls – she effectively instills sorrow, hatred, and fear. The good thing about it, is that all of those moments that could break you, will also leave you satisfied in the end. I recommend this book to ALL MATURE READERS who love romance and psychological drama with surprising twists. After reading this, you’ll want to read more of Colleen’s works.