Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Slammed by Colleen Hoover
Series: Slammed #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date: August 10th 2012
Source: Bought

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.

After reading Hopeless, I was curious about Colleen Hoover's other series. I'd heard so many great things about her writing that I just decided to start Slammed - also, I was in a NA/Contemporary kind of mood and this seemed perfect.

I totally wasn't prepared for how beautiful and emotional this book was going to be. Hopeless had me crying, but Slammed had me sobbing. The main thing that I loved about this which - which is also the main thing that had me sobbing - was the slam poetry. I'm not really a poetry person, but holy shit were these poems beautiful. Seriously, I can't even read the quotes without tearing up. I never thought I'd enjoy poetry, but Colleen Hoover won me over with her slam poems.

Will and Lake were my second reason for loving this book so much. Layken, her mother and her brother have had to move following the unexpected death of her father. Layken is trying to stay strong for her mother and her brother, but on the inside, she's falling apart. And then she meets Will. Will lives across the road from Layken's family. Within days, Will and Lake have an intense connection and things are starting to look up for Lake. And then on her first day at school everything (including my heart) fell apart. Will and Lake are forced to bring their relationship to a stop and trying to find a way to be around each other.

Lake and Will's relationship was such a beautiful and emotional one. Their connection was obvious from the second that they met when Lake was pretending to be a zombie and Will joined in. And that heart-shattering moment in the school corridor completely destroyed me. Up until the second that Will said "Where... What are you doing here?" I had no idea what was going on. And then it hit me, and my heart broke. But holy hell did these two go through a hell of a lot throughout this book. There were ups, there were downs, there were happy moments and there were soul destroying moments. But these two are so beautiful together and I was rooting for them the whole way. I didn't give one shit about what happened as long as these two found some way to be together because they're perfect.

Caulder and Kel had me laughing my ass off as well. Oh to be young again. These two were the ultimate BFF's. They had their own secret language and were constantly at each other's houses. Kel is extremely observant for a kid and my heart did break for him a few times. He's been through so much at such a young age and he's still got a lot more to go through.

Julie was one of my favourites as well. Julie was just such an awesome mother. She basically pushed Lake to make friends with Will and I love her for that. Julia was keeping something from Lake and Kel and I honestly never expected what her big reveal was. And it killed me. As if there wasn't already enough pain being caused by this book I also had that to deal with. It just seemed cruel and unfair, but it led to some amazing decisions.

Eddie and Gavin were amazing too. They've been together for quite a while and they're so adorable together. Eddie is extremely observant and up front, and is a perfect best friend for Lake. The two of them added a lot to the story.

The storyline of this book revolved mainly around Will and Lake's relationship. It caused me so much emotional pain it was unbelievable. I was almost ripping the hair out of my head because I was so distraught. I don't think I've ever been so emotionally invested in a couple in my entire life like I was with Will and Lake. I think it was probably Colleen Hoover's writing. Her writing is incredible. We also had Julia's big reveal which was also heartbreaking. 

The ending left me with tears streaming down my face, but it also left me smiling. Even though the ending was soul destroying, it was also happy. Julia is one of the most awesome characters ever. 

Overall, Slammed is the most beautiful and emotional book I've ever read. Thank you Colleen Hoover for writing such an amazing book with the most amazing characters ever and for introducing me to slam poetry.