Guest Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Ames’ review of Slammed by Colleen Hoover.

Main Character:  Layken Cohen
Love Interest:  Will Cooper
Series:  Slammed #1
Author: Facebook|Twitter|Goodreads

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.

I forget where I saw this book mentioned, but when I saw it was available on Netgalley, I was curious enough to request it.  And for those wondering, this was a self-published book that got picked up by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Layken, or Lake to her family, has recently moved to Michigan from Texas with her mother and 9 year old brother following the sudden death of her father.  Her mother claims she couldn’t afford to stay in Texas and that a good job is waiting for her in Michigan, where one of her close friends lives.  Lake hates that they had to move.  But things begin looking up when she meets her neighbour, Will.  He’s a little bit older and right from the get go, there’s a connection.  At first Lake doesn’t like the way he makes her feel, she never thought of herself as the kind of girl to go gaga over a guy, but Will is special.  And we find out how special over the course of the book (I’m not giving that away!).  And things go fine on their very first date, things are definitely left on a very promising note.  But then a few days pass and Lake begins classes at her new school and suddenly her and Will’s budding relationship has to come to a screaming stop.  Lake didn’t think she could fall in love so quickly, but how else can you explain how hard it is to put Will behind her?

Overall, I enjoyed Slammed.  I want to be non-spoilery here so I’m not going to tell you what it is about Will that makes their relationship off-limits…although it can be deduced from my quick summary.

I believed that Lake and Will would feel as close as they did so quickly.  And that’s a key part to this novel, because if you don’t believe it, all their yearning and angst over their not being together will not wash.  It may have  been fast, but I felt it.  I can see why Lake fell for Will and how even though they couldn’t be with each other, he was still a rock for her to lean on.  You see, things are not quite settled in Lake’s world, because her mother has a secret she’s keeping.  And since Will does live across the street, it’s not that easy to stay apart.

I thought the beginning was a bit slow, maybe I’m just tired of the dead parent trope in YAs I’ve read recently.  But once Will is introduced, the story definitely picks up.  And the characters!  I loved them.  There’s Will of course, but also his younger brother who befriends Lake’s younger brother as well.  Those young boys had me cracking up.  There’s also the friends Lake makes at school.  Two of the characters made me cry, in a good way.

I cannot leave out the slamming.  I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but the poems in this book were interesting.  The emphasis was helpful.  And it did not overtake the story.  It was used appropriately.

My one complaint was the ending.  I found it a bit abrupt and it definitely left me with some questions.  Looks like I’m going to have to read the sequel, Point of Retreat.

Slammed gets a B- from me.

..and that’s your scoop!

Buy the book: B&N|Amazon|Books on Board|Kobo
Book cover and blurb credit: http://www.goodreads.com

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