Official Review: Losing Hope by Heidi Lis

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 09 May 2017, 14:27

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Losing Hope" by Heidi Lis.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Losing Hope by Heidi Lis is a romance about love, loss, and the road to recovery. On her birthday, Hope receives a call from her ex. The two have a turbulent past and her ex claims to have evidence of a night Hope would rather not remember. Anxious to get rid of this so called evidence, Hope heads to her ex's house. A fateful car accident later leaves Hope in shambles as she is riddled with guilt over the death of her mother. Luckily, her close-knit family and her best friend will be there with Hope as she begins the long road to recovery. As Hope's journey continues, she finds love in some unlikely places.

The narrative is told from Hope’s first person perspective. For the most part, the point of view enhanced the story by allowing the reader to get to know Hope on an intimate level. Her thoughts and feelings, amplified by the narrative perspective, were easy to relate to and sympathize with. However, halfway through the book the author introduces a male narrator, one of Hope’s love interests. Although he only narrates a few chapters, these chapters felt meaningless and failed to further the story. Additionally, the second narrator’s voice sounded very similar to Hope’s, making his chapters actually detract from the tone of Hope’s narration.

The author wonderfully creates a narrator that shows realistic growth over time. Hope’s recovery isn’t merely focused on her complicated, romantic relationships; her difficulties returning to work, maintaining familial relationships and friendships, as well as her exploration of therapy are all major parts of this story as well. Moreover, Hope’s mental pain and physical pain are two distinct entities. As her physical wounds heal, her mental scars remain and continue to transform and reappear throughout the narrative. Hope’s narration realistically represents the emotional state of a trauma victim.

While Hope is a great narrator, the secondary characters are the most enjoyable aspects of this book. Hope’s best friend, Ireland, has a fiery and unpredictable personality that made for humorous and engaging scenes. Similarly, Hunter, Hope’s spitfire brother, quickly becomes endearing because of his love for Hope and his desire to protect her. On the other hand, Hope’s main love interests, Ian and Damien, felt rather flat and stereotypical; both men failed to have any unique personality traits, making them blend in with the story rather than stand out.

Unfortunately, the novel is in need of additional editing. Prepositions and articles are consistently missing throughout the narrative. Though the errors were not major, they occur too often and interrupt the overall flow of the author’s writing. The grammatical errors, lackluster love interests and seemingly pointless change in narrator all lead me to rate Losing Hope 3 out of 4 stars. However, Hope’s engaging narration and her road to recovery make for an endearing story that fans of light romance will easily enjoy. Please note, there are some graphic sexual scenes in this book that are only suitable for a mature audience.

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Losing Hope
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Azeline Arcenal · Post by **Azeline Arcenal** » 17 May 2017, 00:33

This seems like an interesting read even though I usually don't read romance novels. I like how Hope's narration realistically depicts what any trauma victim could go through. Great job on the review!

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 17 May 2017, 05:37

ZenaLei7 wrote:This seems like an interesting read even though I usually don't read romance novels. I like how Hope's narration realistically depicts what any trauma victim could go through. Great job on the review!

Thank you! Hope's voice was a great part of this book!

hottensiah · Post by **hottensiah** » 17 May 2017, 09:13

Its a good book depicting the struggles of trauma. It is self engaging and interesting to get the story from the one passing through all the hassle. Its awesome

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 17 May 2017, 09:17

hottensiah wrote:Its a good book depicting the struggles of trauma. It is self engaging and interesting to get the story from the one passing through all the hassle. Its awesome

Yes, the author does a great job using the main character's own voice to show the true struggles of one who has been through great physical and emotional trauma.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 17 May 2017, 10:21

This isn't a genre that I usually read. It does sound like an intriguing plot, though. I enjoy seeing characters grow throughout the novel. Thanks for the great review.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 17 May 2017, 10:22

kandscreeley wrote:This isn't a genre that I usually read. It does sound like an intriguing plot, though. I enjoy seeing characters grow throughout the novel. Thanks for the great review.

Thank you for the kind words

I'm not typically a romance fan either, but every once in a while I like to switch it up.

godreaujea · Post by **godreaujea** » 17 May 2017, 20:04

Man, if only it had better editing! It always takes me out of the story when I notice errors. But this story does sound lovely. I am not a big romance fan, so I like how when working on her issues, Hope isn't just focused on her boyfriend. I think that alone shows that she is a well-developed character. Awesome review!

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 18 May 2017, 07:14

godreaujea wrote:Man, if only it had better editing! It always takes me out of the story when I notice errors. But this story does sound lovely. I am not a big romance fan, so I like how when working on her issues, Hope isn't just focused on her boyfriend. I think that alone shows that she is a well-developed character. Awesome review!

Thank you for the kind words! I agree, editing can be such a hindrance to the reading experience. But I really enjoyed Hope's character, and recommend reading the book for her perspective if nothing else

Bengotz0208 · Post by **Bengotz0208** » 19 May 2017, 02:55

This book sounds interesting. I like reading this type of genre, I relate to them. And sometimes I get to think of ways to cope with my own problems. Adding this one on my must-reads!

Amagine · Post by **Amagine** » 21 May 2017, 22:23

I love how you said that there is some realistic growth to the character. It makes the story more relatable. Also it's great that the secondary characters are well written as well.

Great Review! ?

Post by **bookowlie** » 31 May 2017, 16:38

I particularly enjoyed your well written review, as I considered choosing this book for review recently. The themes and characters all sound interesting. Glad you were able to appreciate the positive parts of the book, despite the obvious need for a thorough editing.

Echukule · Post by **Echukule** » 18 Jun 2017, 00:00

Guys, I really loved reading the book. It really portrays what happens in the real world. You really want to solve a problem and you end up in big trouble- worse than the first problem. Hope a great author. I rate high with 5 stars.