Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

This is the first novel in the Hopeless series by Colleen Hoover.

Sky has finally gotten her adoptive mother to let her go to public school for the first time in her senior year. She wanted to get used to the public system rather than being home schooled since she is going to college the year after.

Right before she starts school, she meets Dean Holder - the only guy she's ever felt anything and she just saw him. Most guys that she makes out with leave her feeling numb, which she likes because she doesn't have to feel for awhile.

But Holder made her feel so many emotions and he hadn't even touched her - just looked at her and Sky was done for.

When Sky went to school, she already had a reputation as the slut or whore, since she has made out with different guys, even though she's still a virgin. Rumors and lies spread fast in high school, Sky figures out.

Holder fascinates Sky and even though she's hear rumors about him and his past, Sky wants to get to know Holder. But he has many different sides and Sky is not able to understand most of them.

He also gets very jealous around Sky, even though they aren't dating and she's not dating anyone else. But when comments are being made about Sky, Holder will most definitely fight back, unless Sky can talk him out of it.

The chemistry between the two has not gone unnoticed, and with Sky's no filter problem, she blurts out that she wants more with Holder. But he pans it out and let's it linger between the two, keeping their "firsts" spread apart and last longer.

However, things slowly start to go horribly wrong. Sky is having flashes and memories about her life before the adoption. Things she finds out she made herself regret. Things about her best friends when she was 3 and information about her real parents that Sky is now just realizing she wished she never remembered.

Because everything Sky has thought about herself is horribly wrong. She doesn't even know her real self anymore after the secrets get unburied. Now Sky has to deal with what happened, and how Holder is involved in all of her past dark secrets that he knew about before Sky did.

To find out what happened to Sky, and what will happen between Sky and Holder, read Hopeless by Colleen Hoover!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Just a forewarning, this is a NEW ADULT novel, which means that it's a little bit more mature and graphic than a YA novel but not too racy like an adult novel. Mainly, New Adult (NA) novels are set in college and are about characters who are starting to grow up, but still do things that are immature.

I read Hoovers other novel, Slammed, and enjoyed it, but didn't love it. But this novel? I read it in one sitting and wanted more!

I literally laughed out loud (especially when Sky didn't know what "lol" meant), made me gasp, hold my breath, and I cried. Oh, boy, did I cry at the end. I definitely went on an emotional roller coaster ride through this novel and loved every minute of it!

This novel was so intense - even before the big secret was revealed. Holder is an intense guy and Sky actually feels things when he's around, so that alone is intense.

And speaking of the big secret? I most definitely guessed correctly on everything that was revealed long before it happened. But when I guessed it, I didn't want it to be real. It was so horrible and that is why I cried at the end. Because even though I guessed correctly, I really didn't want my guess to be right.

Hoover did an amazing job. Even if all readers guess what happens at the end, it is still emotional and heart breaking - especially when we read about Sky and Holder's reaction and emotions to the revealing.

Even though I heard tons of great reviews from this novel, it took me awhile to spend money on it for the eBook on Amazon, but I finally did and boy am I sure glad I experienced this novel. I will definitely not be forgetting this story any time soon, and I'm curious to see what Hoover is going to write about for the sequel of this novel. I will, however, be waiting to find out the minute any information about the sequel comes out, because I need to read more about Sky and Holder.

I would most definitely recommend this novel to my friends and any older readers, as the content is very graphic in some areas. Go read it. Now. You won't regret it!

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

This is the first novel in the Slammed series by Colleen Hoover.

The move from Texas to Michigan - Layken can deal. The new school, she can handle, even though it's senior year and she has no friends to speak of. But the fact that the move happened because her father died from a heart attack is not something she ever wanted to happen.

However, everything does happen and now she's in Michigan, where it's suddenly a lot colder than Texas. But the plus side? Her brother's new best friend after knowing one another for 1 minute and who lives right across the street has a very hot older brother. Just a few years older than Lake.

And the chemistry between them is out of this world.

But something horrible happens. It turns out that Will is her poetry teacher at school. So they cannot be together, even though they are insanely attracted to each other.

Now they have to pretend they don't feel anything for each other. And when Lake goes to the slamming nights - where volunteers recite poetry that they feel very emotional about to the point of yelling, screaming, crying, etc. - Lake gets another viewpoint of Will.

Things go from bad to worse, though, when Lake finds out a secret about her mother. A secret that could either destroy her family or bring them closer together.

And Lake wants to go to Will for a shoulder to lean on, but their relationship needs to be non-existent because of the teacher/student thing.

Can Lake make it past this stage in her life and come out in the end a better version, or will everything that happens between her family and her relationship with Will destroy her? Read Slammed by Colleen Hoover to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Also, just a forewarning, this is a NEW ADULT novel, which means that it's a little bit more mature and graphic than a YA novel but not too racy like an adult novel. Mainly, New Age (NA) novels are set in college and are about characters who are starting to grow up, but still do things that are immature.

I've been hearing great things about this novel and found myself with a gift card, so I purchased it having high expectations.

But for some reason I found it a little bit lacking. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the story and was very sympathetic toward both Lake and Will. Their lives and tragic events are what made them who they are and I am very admirable of how they are. So grown up and mature.

I think what might have turned me off from part of this book was the slamming. I'm not a poetry person nor a big public speaker, though I have gotten better at that, so I wasn't able to relate to that aspect of the book. And it's a big part of the book because that's one form of communication to one another.

However, I did enjoy this book. I especially liked the relationship between Lake and her brother Kel, along with the relationship between Will and his younger brother Caulden. If anyone has any siblings, one knows it's hard to get along with them all of the time and both Will and Lake are like another parent to their brothers instead of an older sibling. And both Will and Lake are good at being a parent to their sibling.

This is the first in a series and after reading the synopsis for the second book, I'm not sure if I'm mental prepared to go through the rollercoaster ride of Will and Lake's relationship again just yet. Reading a book with snippets of kissing, only to be let down because of the "grown-up" situation occurring between them was very time and emotion consuming. I may have to wait a little longer before picking up the second one. But I will, eventually!

So while this wasn't my favorite NA novel, I'm glad I read about it after all of the hype I've heard about it. I would recommend this for any female reader since the narration is through Lake.