Hopeless, by Colleen Houver

- Hopeless #1
Release date: December 19th 2012
Self Published
Find it on: Goodreads, Amazon

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

I don't know if this is public knowledge, but here it goes: I love a good dare. And that's exactly what Hopeless was. After reading The Edge of Never, and feeling traumatized for over a week (that damn quote about "owning you" never left my mind, mind you) I felt compulsed to prove that the New Adult genre wasn't limited to obsessive relationships and scary badboys. So I gave Hopeless a try.

I'm so glad I did it. 

Don't be mistaken, though: Reading this book was like driving through a bumpy road - it wasn't easy, but it was manageable. Our protagonist, Sky, felt flat for me in the beginning, especially because of the way she never feels anything around guys (for example, if she's making out with someone, she just keeps staring at the ceiling, without feeling a thing). That was bizarre, and completely Bella Swan-like. I was afraid Hopeless would be just another book with a teenager romance and zero depth. However, as I got to know Sky better, it was clear she didn't fall under that category. Quotes like this one made me respect the girl:

[...] Despite what this may look like, I am not a slut. Unless, of course, the definition of slut is based on the fact that I make out with lots of people regardless of my lack of attraction for them. In that case, one might have grounds for debate.

Sky just basically didn't care about what people thought of her. And I loved her for it. You hardly see this kind of behavior in books, when it comes to young adults. But with Sky... she was just independent of everyone's opinions.

And then, Dean Holder enters the picture, and things got a lot more... interesting. Despite the fact that he was a breathing, living stereotype, I actually grew quite fond of him. He was charming, cute, and just sexy as hell. 

That is, until allarms started to go off in my head with everything he said:

"Well, I've got another mile and a half return, so I better get started.""Close to two and a half.""Huh?""I said it's more like two and a half. You live over on Conroe, that's over two miles away. That's almost a five mile run around trip.""You know what street I live on?""Yeah."He can see I'm not satisfied with his "yeah", so he sighs. "Linden Sky Davis, born September 29th. 1455 Conroe Street. Five feet three inches. Donor."

When I read this, all I could think about was:

That's right, Sky. RUN. If a boy you only met once comes up at you and says that he knows all about you, you better get the hell out of there. And although this stalker behavior is explained (kind of) I imediately grew suspicious of Holder. This scene almost made me stop reading:

"Where'd you get that?" he says, looking down at my wrist. 
I look down to see what he's referring to and realize I'm still wearing the bracelet I put on this morning. 
"Where'd you get it?" he says again, this time a little more demanding. His grip tightens around my wrist and he's staring at me coldly, expecting an explanation. 
"You think I got it from a guy?"
Holder's expression doesn't change. If anything, it grows even colder. He leans forward a few inches and lowers his voice when he speaks. "Who gave you the damn bracelet, Sky?"

WHAT?

I was freaking scared of him after that scene. How's this guy supposed to be the love interest of a novel? Yeah, his behavior is completely explained to us, and Sky won brownie points over the fact that she stayed the hell away from him after that, but stil. I got the impression that he was very volatile. I loved him by the end of Hopeless, but still didn't completely trust him.

Now that I started talking about the plot of Hopeless, let me tell you this: it is completely unpredictable. I was expecting a sappy romance, not a deep, heartbreaking book envolving rape, abuse, and love. The author surprised me in a good way when she twisted the plot so much. Some elements were left unexplained and without a lot of sense (and that's why this book didn't get five stars - well, that and Holder's behavior) but I was satisfied when I finished reading it. It had character development, romantic development, and as the story went on, I actually started to see Sky as a reliable protagonist (and Holder as an acceptable love interest). 

I'm still not a big fan of the New Adult genre, but Hopeless changed my view of it, in a way. If you're looking for a good romance, with a lot of tension and a great background story, this could very well be you're choice!