Monday, August 19, 2013

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover


Title:  Losing Hope

Author: Colleen Hoover

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle


Synopsis: In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs
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My thoughts:


Before I say anything about this book, I want to preface by saying THIS IS HOPELESS FROM HOLDER'S POINT OF VIEW. I have seen too many reviews complaining about this so in case you don't follow Colleen on any social networking sites or have been living under a rock, please realize this before reading it.

Now, just because this was Hopeless from Holder's POV, did not at all take away from the fact that Colleen is a brilliant writer and able to tell you the same story, from a different POV and make it almost seem like you were reading it for the first time. I have always wanted to have book amnesia and read some of my favorite books for the first time over again and I can honestly say that this is as close as I have gotten so far.

There were new details, new characters and new plot lines that you were not introduced to in Hopeless. And there was a whole new set of feelings while reading it. For me, it was almost as emotional as the first book and while I "lived" Dean Holder in the first book, I "LOVED" him in this book. But as with any rewrite, and as brilliant as even Colleen is, you just can't erase from my memory what happened in Hopeless so I don't feel that this book affected me as much.

To summarize my feelings...I loved Dean Holder...I loved hearing Les's story...I loved Daniel...I love LOSING HOPE...and I love Colleen. And although this book is not necessary to read if you've already read Hopeless because it was such a wonderful story with it's own HEA, I truly do recommend it as a way to fill in some of the pieces that you didn't know were even missing.

Uncharted: An On The Island Novella


Title:  Uncharted: An On The Island Novella

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

My Rating: 4 Stars

Purchase: Amazon Kindle


Synopsis: Tracey Garvis Graves - and Anna and T.J. - return in this companion novella to the New York Times bestseller On the Island

When twenty-three-year-old dot-com millionaire Owen Sparks walked away from his charmed life, he had one goal in mind: get as far away as possible from the people who resented his success, or had their hand out for a piece of it. A remote uncharted island halfway around the world seemed like a perfectly logical place to get away from it all.

Calia Reed wasn't part of Owen's plans. The beautiful British girl - on holiday in the Maldives with her brother, James - made Owen wonder if getting away from it all might be a lot more enjoyable with a carefree girl who didn't know anything about the life he left behind.

But Owen had no idea how much his carefully detailed plans would go awry. Nor did he realize that a decision he made would have such a catastrophic effect on two passengers who boarded a plane in Chicago.

And when Owen shows up at Anna and T.J.'s door with an incredible story to tell, everyone involved will learn just how much their lives are intertwined.


My thoughts:


Uncharted is a Novella that takes place years AFTER On the Island and should be read only after you have already enjoyed OTI.

I LOVED On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves.  I was really excited to get to read this novella and get the true story behind 'Bones.'  In all honesty, it wasn't what I expected though, which necessarily isn't a bad thing. I really expected this to be a depressing story...I mean...Bones was obviously dead, the outcome couldn't have been good.

Instead it ended up being a sweet love story with it's own HEA. I also really like getting a glimpse into what life is like for Anna and TJ.

I think the only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was that I didn't feel as connected to the characters in this story as I did in On The Island. Aside from that, this held the same beautiful writing as from Tracey as On The Island did and I cannot wait to read more from her.