Slammed by Colleen Hoover

3 Stars

 To sum it up: After the unexpected death of her father forces eighteen year old Layken and her family to move across the country, away from everyone and everything she knows, her outlook on life is anything but hopeful.

Enter Will Cooper: the attractive twenty-one year old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry. After a night together that turns out to be everything but the expected, both Layken and Will are left with feelings they never knew they could have. Unfortunately in Layken's life, things are never what they seem. Just as quickly as it develops, their relationship is derailed by a shocking revelation, sparking a tumultuous battle between their hearts and their ethics.

As if the dramatic turn of events in her life isn't enough, Layken is slammed again when her mother reveals a secret of her own. A secret so intense, all of Layken's current problems pale in comparison to her seemingly insurmountable future. Unable to confront the changes that lie ahead of her, Layken ignores her conscience as she turns to Will for solace. Struggles ensue as both Layken and Will search for a balance between that which keeps them apart and the feelings that pull them together...


Be right back. Crying right now.


I've yet to read a book, (that comes to mind) that has literally made me cry my eyes out. All I can say, is be ready to have some tissues handy. This isn't what I would call your typical romance- it goes much deeper than that. It would take me days to write a list of all the emotions that I felt while reading this story... feelings of shock. Feelings of grief. Feelings of sadness. ...and of course, feelings of happiness. The fact that Colleen Hoover can so thoroughly evoke these strong emotions out of me, is definitely talent in my eyes, because it doesn't happen too often.

I will say that I was a little apprehensive about the "slam poetry" aspect of the story- I had no idea what it was, or what to expect! Who knew that such poems could have such meaning, and bring out so much emotion? (I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at a pink balloon the same way again, without thinking about that heart wrenching scene- wow!)

There isn't much more that I can really say, without giving away plot points that really need to be discovered by the reader- I think one thing that made this book that much more enjoyable and emotional for me, was the fact that I didn't read many reviews before diving into this book, and the reviews that I did read, didn't give away any plot details. I'm beyond thankful for that, because I was able to read this story with an open mind, and with no expectations.

I don't have much of anything negative to say about Slammed, aside from a few things here and there that prevented me from giving it a four or five star rating: For me, the biggest issue was that there were a few scenes that seemed a bit rushed. I just felt that Will and Lake connected at such a deep level in a VERY short time span. For me, I prefer a very slow build up of tension, as well as a slow developed relationship, between both my heroes and heroines, and I felt that it was lacking a bit in this story, because of the whole rushing issue. However... with that being said though, the "slams" made up for more than enough with the few issues that I did have. Colleen Hoover is most certainly talented in her creation of characters, plot, and DEFINITELY emotion... and let's not forget, most importantly: her poetry! :)