The only other novel I've read by Colleen Hoover (so far) was Slammed and honestly, I didn't think it was anything special. It was fine, with some parts that I really enjoyed, but not world-altering. However, the same cannot be said about Hopeless. It was heart-wrenching and complex and so incredible, I'm actually dumbfounded.

Sky was adopted at the age of five and has lived her whole life since being homeschooled and living in a house without technology. But for her senior year, she decides to brave the world and go to public school with her best friend and next-door neighbor, Six. However, Six gets into an exchange program and is bound for Italy, leaving Sky to tread the terrifying waters that are high school by herself. And not only that, but from the first day of school, she is marked with the reputation of a slut; though anyone who actually knows Sky knows that she hasn't done anything with guy except kiss. And it's because of one big issue: she has never felt actual lust. Just numbness.

But all that changes the minute she locks eyes with Dean Holder. He's sexy, passionate, moody and hell-bent on spending time with her. For the first time in her life, Sky feels more than indifference for a guy. In fact, she feels the quite opposite--she starts to fall in love with him. But as things continue to progress in their relationship, she discovers that he has been hiding something big--and it's not about himself. It's about her.

To put it simply, this book screwed with my brain. I was expecting a fluffy, but drama filled, New Adult novel. Instead I got this heart-shredding, pulse-racing, everything hurts novel. But I loved every second. I read it basically in one sitting, pausing only to eat dinner--lunch be damned. It was more real and painful than I had ever imagined, and there were moments when I wanted so badly to curl up into a ball and sob. Though, oddly enough, I never did actually shed a tear. But I wanted to. Sky's story was so incredibly raw and I couldn't stop reading.

I really liked both Holden and Sky, and even more, I loved their relationship. From the beginning, before we knew anything, they were perfect for each other. Both stubborn as hell and completely, utterly unable to deny their feelings for each other. And damn! Their intimate scenes were both lovely and sexy--the perfect mixture of both. They were real; depicted so beautifully.

And a lot of it had to do with Colleen Hoover's writing. It was perfect for the story and the characters. Usually, I'm not a fan of flashbacks, but the couple that were in this novel were woven in so precisely that I didn't care at all. In fact, I quite enjoyed them; the plot of the book wouldn't have been the same without them. But in a lot of novels, flashbacks can be hard to maneuver into the story without looking like unnecessary excess. This was not the case in Hopeless. They were essential and blended in meticulously.

I don't care who you are, if you enjoy contemporary fiction at all, you should read this book. Even though it broke my heart, I could read it again and again and again. And I probably will.