Slammed by Colleen Hoover Series: Slammed
Published by Atria Books on June 2016
Pages: 354
Format: eBook
Source: Amazon
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Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.
Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.
Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.
If you enjoyed Colleen Hoover’s Slammed series, you will obsess over Georgina Guthrie’s Words series.
From Power Poetry (dot) com:
Slam Poetry is a type of competition where people read their poems without props, costumes, or music. After performing, they receive scores (0-10) from 5 randomly selected judges. … Scores are awarded based on how much each judge likes a poem.
I never thought that I would end up reading a Colleen Hoover book. I am not sure why, but there are a handful of immensely popular authors that I always hear about and end up thinking nah, they’re not for me. Colleen Hoover, in addition to others like Sarah Dessen, Cora Cormack, and Tammara Webber, is one of those authors. My aversion to these authors is pretty shallow, really. I just see these authors and their books hyped up all over the blogosphere, and I immediately think that I will not be into them. Well, I proved myself utterly and wonderfully wrong by reading Colleen Hoover’s, Slammed. It was great, and I one-clicked the next book in the series, downloading it to my e-reader as soon as I finished the last page of Slammed, #1.
Here is a non-competitive version of a fantastic stand-up poetry performance:
I am going to start with the things I did not like about the story. I deliberately put aside the issues I had with Slammed in order to enjoy the story in its entirety. I have a suspicion that those who read this book and did not care for it were unable to overlook these issues, so it’s worth mentioning them. I will keep it brief.
Will (Mr. Cooper) is kinda creepy and kind of an a-hole.
The intense romantic feels happen WAY TOO FAST.
The “unique” character names GET OLD FAST.
I wish the author had focused more on the relationship development between Will and Layken than on the subplot issues and characters.
I will not expand on the aforementioned details because they will jump off the page once you start reading the book. But trust me, put them aside and keep reading. It will be worth it.
Okay, now onto the things I enjoyed about this book.
It’s hot. The plot, the conflict, the two main characters-it’s all HOT. It’s probably hot in a controversial way, but still hot nonetheless. If the female MC, Layken, was not 18 years-old in the story, I would have had a problem with this book. The male MC, Will, is only 21, so there is no ick factor about the romance/lust that blossoms between them. How can anyone resist a teacher-student romance when both are beyond the age of consent?! I can’t!
Will and Layken meet when Layken’s family moves to Michigan from Texas after her father’s unexpected death. This sets the tone for a book that is filled with multiple unexpected moments that are funny, seductive, and heavy. I think the moment that Layken and Will discover that they are in a teacher-student situation could have been written with more intensity and awkwardness, but I digress.
Eddie and Gavin, Layken’s insta-friends at her new high-school, are as likeable and cheesy as Alice and Jasper from Twilight.
This book deals with some heavy, heart-wrenching issues in such a beautiful way. It had me in tears multiple times. The author uses song lyrics and poetry throughout the book to reinforce the theme of each chaper, and it was not annoying or cliche but lovely, and it added depth to an otherwise fast and fun romance novel.
I know this book has probably been reviewed a kazillion times by now, so I will end it there. Have you read Slammed by Colleen Hoover? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Just for Fun:
About Colleen Hoover
Colleen Hoover’s love for writing began in 1985 when she was five years old. Her first story was titled “Mystery Bob” and was a huge hit with her mother, who was really good at faking interest.
Colleen continued to write short stories for friends and family until December of 2011, when she decided to write a long story she titled, “Slammed.” She self-published SLAMMED to Amazon in January, 2012 and it hit the NYT’s bestsellers list in May, 2012. She has since signed with Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, and now has six NYT’s bestsellers. Colleen prefers to be called a writer, as the term “author” still terrifies her and makes this feel like a job with expectations. She doesn’t work well under pressure and hopes writing will always remain fun and exciting.
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