I definitely do not think it was as strong as the first book in what it provided, but I need to think about what the experience gave me as to how I'll rate it in the end.

Dean Holder’s pov added several intricate and relevant scenes to story and I can’t think of anything that she could have done more with this book. Plus of course, we really get to see how Holder felt about Sky from the moment he saw her and his developing feelings towards her. It takes a level of complexity to be able to tell a similar story from multiple perspectives, plus give weight to the surrounding players who have stakes in that respective story, without repetition. I didn't think Holder's account was enough to carry this entire novel (maybe if it was a novella, but it would depend on the focal points), and you could tell where Hoover retraced details from the previous novel to the point where it was tediously trying to evoke the same emotions that were so potent from Sky's perspective in the previous novel. Worse, there's one scene where it seems like he's okay with a character making a homophobic statement to him - I didn't understand that at all.It was nice getting to see more of Holder's relationship with Daniel and Breckin and it made me laugh when they were playing Modern Warfare. In Losing Hope we find out how Holder struggles with knowing the truth but being unable to confide in anyone about it. It’s causing my hands to shake and my heart to pound and my chest to ache because all I want to do is wrap my arms around her and hold her and thank God we finally found each other again. Her baking and his cooking, their reading books and "chapter breaks", holding pinkies and looking at the sky when you're sad. He had hoped that he would finally gain closure and be able to rid himself of his guilt the moment they were reconnected.

New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends with Us held readers spellbound with her novel Hopeless, the story of what happened when a troubled girl named Sky encountered a long-lost childhood friend, Dean. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. Everything went from having a meaning, a purpose, and a reason, to simply being a second-rate version of what life was supposed to be like.

There were a few surprises along the way too that were unexpected, unknown, and made me thank Hoover for writing such a beautiful piece of art. Not until you read Losing Hope can a reader sit back and fully absorb the beauty of the full puzzle.