gabbi88's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
rahulcr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
4.0
toraeggleston09's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hwendo's review against another edition
emotional
4.0
I really liked the flashbacks/stories of her past.
bookswrye's review against another edition
5.0
i thought i was ready for this book. spoiler alert: i will never be..
i am broken.
no book has made me cry. none. and i've read plenty of pretty sad ones. and this one book made me cry three times.
first & foremost, this book should probably have a TW written right on top of it for sexual assault. in red bold. so that you can see it. it was not personally triggering to me, but the contents of this book were disturbingly heartbreaking and unfortunately oh so real for many. my heart goes out to anyone who can relate. (probably only a minor TW since it doesn't go into detail)
sky is one of the strongest, most brave characters i have ever read about. my heart chipped away while reading her story as she actively experienced the pain of being lied to for so long. the struggle of not knowing who she was. i wish i could rip out 90% of this book and make her a perfect, happy fairytale life with rainbows & kittens because im just sad
dean holder <3 oh how much i absolutely adore this boy is outrageous. he is so the cute boy next door type and that is so not me but i would marry him in two seconds. he seems a little clinically bipolar. or crazy. but i could put up with his passionate highs and lows just to experience how strongly he loves; the way he pours his entire heart & soul out into the people he cares about is just.. yeah. wow. proof of: fuck rumors and high schoolers.
"Not everyone gets a happily ever after. Life is real and sometimes it's ugly and you just have to learn how to cope."
-- NO AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS A FUCKING SERIES? THAT'S WHAT I KEPT THINKING ABOUT WHILE READING. JESUS. HBGLDIFUSOE;AJPWK[Do
i am broken.
no book has made me cry. none. and i've read plenty of pretty sad ones. and this one book made me cry three times.
first & foremost, this book should probably have a TW written right on top of it for sexual assault. in red bold. so that you can see it. it was not personally triggering to me, but the contents of this book were disturbingly heartbreaking and unfortunately oh so real for many. my heart goes out to anyone who can relate. (probably only a minor TW since it doesn't go into detail)
sky is one of the strongest, most brave characters i have ever read about. my heart chipped away while reading her story as she actively experienced the pain of being lied to for so long. the struggle of not knowing who she was. i wish i could rip out 90% of this book and make her a perfect, happy fairytale life with rainbows & kittens because im just sad
dean holder <3 oh how much i absolutely adore this boy is outrageous. he is so the cute boy next door type and that is so not me but i would marry him in two seconds. he seems a little clinically bipolar. or crazy. but i could put up with his passionate highs and lows just to experience how strongly he loves; the way he pours his entire heart & soul out into the people he cares about is just.. yeah. wow. proof of: fuck rumors and high schoolers.
"Not everyone gets a happily ever after. Life is real and sometimes it's ugly and you just have to learn how to cope."
-- NO AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS A FUCKING SERIES? THAT'S WHAT I KEPT THINKING ABOUT WHILE READING. JESUS. HBGLDIFUSOE;AJPWK[Do
bakerkathryn13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
caitlyncloud's review against another edition
5.0
Did Holder tell Breckin why he was upset about the bracelet? If not, then what did he tell him?
I’m struggling with Sky and Holder’s first few times. I can understand Sky’s motivation, while being pissed at her for doing that to Holder. I have a hard time believing someone who just got smacked with the memories she got smacked with, would be able to separate from that so quickly for her and Holder’s round 2. But then I can understand connecting under heartbreaking circumstances. Buuut how she could possibly set that aside so quickly just doesn’t seem realistic or possible. But again, everyone copes differently. Back and forth I go.
I had a hard time with Holder in the first half of the book. He exhibited so many red flags of an abuser. Being overly protective, kinda controlling, demanding, violent. Some cringy, potentially coercion-type moments. I trusted Colleen though, I tried to withhold judgment of Holder. Of course she made me love him in the end. Not like I’ve loved Miles or Atlas, but Holder is still good.
I also had a hard time with how adult they were as kids. Like you’re telling me a 6 or 7 year old has the conscious thought that the sky is comforting because no matter how he feels it’s always there and beautiful? That’s a mature as child, especially for one that wasn’t living in a traumatic situation.
Words of affirmation love types will love this book.
This is a really difficult read for sexual assault/trauma survivors. I cried many times. Even if I can’t relate to the specific story, I can relate to the pain. The numbing. Especially the numbing. This should have a trigger warning though, I’m sure this would be unbearable to read for some survivors.
The past self/parts work scene had me bawling. This is such a helpful technique and I hope readers who don’t have access to therapy have tried this for themselves. It’s a hard thing to do without a therapist guiding you into the meditative state but it’s the most helpful tactic I’ve learned.
Colleen kills it again though. The way she writes always takes me through every emotion. I get goosebumps. I would reread this one to catch all of the moments Holder says or does things because she’s Hope. I always question plot points in Colleen’s books but I do think she does things very intentionally. Things don’t usually get wrapped up in a perfect bow at the end of her books because that’s not life. So the same logic can go for the rest of the book, not everything has an answer. Not everything makes perfect sense. But I always love love love her books because of how the writing makes you feel.
I definitely thought he called her Hope in his sleep because he was hopeless before her and now he has hope, so that was like his nickname for her in his head. But of course it was not that simple.
I’m struggling with Sky and Holder’s first few times. I can understand Sky’s motivation, while being pissed at her for doing that to Holder. I have a hard time believing someone who just got smacked with the memories she got smacked with, would be able to separate from that so quickly for her and Holder’s round 2. But then I can understand connecting under heartbreaking circumstances. Buuut how she could possibly set that aside so quickly just doesn’t seem realistic or possible. But again, everyone copes differently. Back and forth I go.
I had a hard time with Holder in the first half of the book. He exhibited so many red flags of an abuser. Being overly protective, kinda controlling, demanding, violent. Some cringy, potentially coercion-type moments. I trusted Colleen though, I tried to withhold judgment of Holder. Of course she made me love him in the end. Not like I’ve loved Miles or Atlas, but Holder is still good.
I also had a hard time with how adult they were as kids. Like you’re telling me a 6 or 7 year old has the conscious thought that the sky is comforting because no matter how he feels it’s always there and beautiful? That’s a mature as child, especially for one that wasn’t living in a traumatic situation.
Words of affirmation love types will love this book.
This is a really difficult read for sexual assault/trauma survivors. I cried many times. Even if I can’t relate to the specific story, I can relate to the pain. The numbing. Especially the numbing. This should have a trigger warning though, I’m sure this would be unbearable to read for some survivors.
The past self/parts work scene had me bawling. This is such a helpful technique and I hope readers who don’t have access to therapy have tried this for themselves. It’s a hard thing to do without a therapist guiding you into the meditative state but it’s the most helpful tactic I’ve learned.
Colleen kills it again though. The way she writes always takes me through every emotion. I get goosebumps. I would reread this one to catch all of the moments Holder says or does things because she’s Hope. I always question plot points in Colleen’s books but I do think she does things very intentionally. Things don’t usually get wrapped up in a perfect bow at the end of her books because that’s not life. So the same logic can go for the rest of the book, not everything has an answer. Not everything makes perfect sense. But I always love love love her books because of how the writing makes you feel.
I definitely thought he called her Hope in his sleep because he was hopeless before her and now he has hope, so that was like his nickname for her in his head. But of course it was not that simple.
anab02's review against another edition
5.0
I think coho killed it with this book. The twist is crazy and the love story is cute. I sat staring at the wall for minutes after finishing the book lol.