Slammed (Slammed, #1)

by Colleen Hoover

From #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends With Us, Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.

Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbour Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.

Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings 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 forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.
 

• ISBN10: 147112567X
• ISBN13: 9781471125676
• Publish Date: 25 April 2013 (first published 17 April 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

CoHoed again!

I knew I was going to shed some tears, I mean, this is a book by Colleen Hoover. Sure enough, I was bawling. Both Lake and Will had suffered great losses, and it seemed like the universe wasn't done with beating them down. There were bright spots for them though. The connection they shared, the love from their brothers, and the memories they kept in their hearts helped ease the pain. And, the ending! I shed all sorts of tears, because it was wonderful and a little sad, but still wonderful.

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[boghunden]

Very disappointed :/ Too many cliches, and Will was constantly changing his mind which I didn't like.

[Chelsea]

Quick Thoughts
1. You can tell this was Colleen first book for sure. It just wasn't quite as good as her other books. You can tell she's improved a lot though!
2. My one big problem with this book was the mother and how she was completely for the insta-love that was happening. Like she was saying stuff like they were meant to be and they had only been on one date! It was really awkward for me.
3. I adored the little brothers in this book and how they immediately became best friends. It was adorable and more friendships need to be like theirs.
4. I also had a little bit of an issue with the two situations that the main characters were going through with their families. I don't want to spoil it but it just didn't work for me.
5. Not a bad book but I think I'd recommend to skip over this one.

[Leah]

I've slowly been making my way thought Colleen Hoover's books - all thanks to the absolutely blow-your-socks-off Confess. I've now read three of her books - Confess, this one, and November 9 and I can't believe it's actually taken me so long to get her books read! But on the flipside of that - I have all of her books to read, and still many more to get devoured and that is an awesome feeling. I went back to her debut novel for my next one, so I'm going to work my way through her catalogue in chronological order, as it was intended!

I must confess I know nothing of Slam poetry. And a lot of the poems featured in Slammed actually made zero sense to me, because all I know of poetry is that it's supposed to rhyme. That's all I know! That's all I expect from a poem, so I kinda felt detached from the poems in the book because they didn't rhyme, and yes, I know that's probably silly but there ya go.

Slammed was an awesome read. I genuinely devoured the first 200 pages on a Saturday morning waiting to go to work. It was with genuine sadness, too, that I had to put it down and actually go to work, because I could read about Layken and Will all day long. Because they have the type of relationship that not only consumes them, but you as the reader, too. And boy was I invested in those two crazy kids. Although let me say this now: It was very Aria and Ezra of them. I've got no idea which came first - the book or Pretty Little Liars, but it was very similar but I prefer Layken and Will over Aria and Ezra, as Ezra always seemed a teensy bit weird for my liking.

Layken is one of the strongest characters you'll ever meet. She has so much stuff thrown at her, and she very rarely cracks. If your dad died, and the guy you liked turned out to be your teacher, and your mom was keeping secrets, you'd just want to hide in your room, under your duvet, eating crap food all day, or maybe that's just me? But not Layken, she just powers through and gets on with it and I loved her for that, because it's so refreshing. I mean, remember in New Moon when there were just BLANK PAGES because Edward left? Yeah, Bella was a sap. But Layken wasn't like that. And I liked that because of what happened with Will, she didn't turn on the angst or moon over him, she just knew what the deal was, and got on with it.

It's really the supporting cast who help make this a great read, too. Will was awesome. I loved Will. But Kel and Caulder were a great double act and you've never met two little kids so freaking perfect for each other, and they were amazing. And you can't forget Layken's mom who was pretty sweet, really. And Eddie, who BTW is a girl, was insane. I love girls like that, who overcome so much and still be as perky and fantastic as Eddie was. KUDOS GIRL. Slammed really was a cracking read. And I am stoked to throw myself into Point of Retreat (and also terrified, because I was Will and Layken to ride off into the sunset with no problems to ever befall them again because they've gone through SO MUCH already). This was a stunning book, and if you'll excuse me, Point of Retreat is calling my name!

[Bianca]

Will you love me still
When we awake and you see that
The sanity has gone from my eyes?

[Linda]

Listening to Slammed was an even better experience than reading it myself! The narrator really got into performing the poems, and I was surprised I could still cry, since I already knew the whole story.

[inlibrisveritas]

Slammed was such an unexpected surprised for me. I was expecting a book that simply held my attention and that I could finish while saying that it was pretty good. Instead I got a book that made me smile, laugh, and cry; it’s a book that left me reeling and in serious need of a hug.

Lake, is 18 years old and in her last year of high school. She’s lost her father, but has had a few months to pick up the pieces and now she’s dealing with moving to a new town. She certainly wasn’t expecting to having feelings for a guy so quickly and I think it’s safe to say that neither of us were expecting the whirlwind of emotion that followed after. I can’t even gush and go into detail, because it’s something you need to read for yourself. Will Cooper is sweet and supportive guy with a lot on his plate…and did I mention he’s a poet? Yeah. Are you swooning yet? I am, give me poet any day. If you couldn’t guess part of the book revolves around slam poetry, which revolves around performance as well. So I was uncertain how that was going to translate in book form, but Hoover manages to make it dynamic and emotional just like it’s supposed to be. So emotional that I had pause several times just so I could collect myself. Eddie, who promptly makes herself Lake’s new best friend, is a relaxed ball of fun. At first I was a bit putt off by her personality, because it’s kind of there all at once but she’s hard to dislike. She’s intuitive, a great listener, and she seems like the sort of person who would stick by a person no matter what difficulties.

The overall story is rather short and also rather addictive. I blazed through this in one sitting. I did have one single complaint and that was how quickly the romance began, it was so close to “insta-love”…but I have to say that compared to the overall plot it’s not that big a deal.

If I’m being honest, I’m having a really hard time even describing how much I enjoyed this book. It’s rare that a book leaves me vulnerable. I’m not a crier, the last time a book left me wanting to bawl was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. There are books that make me choke up slightly, but not very many that bring actual tears. Even though this book broke my heart at times it also had me feeling warm about the relationships in it. If you haven’t read this and you’re looking for a New Adult novel to read I completely recommend it.

[Jyc]

★★★★★ // intense.

[nitzan_schwarz]

For this review and more, pop by my blog - Drugs Called Books

This book was, in one word... a disappointment.
It wasn't that it was really that bad or anything, but I expected so much more since it's gotten such rave reviews and so many 5-star-ratings from all my friends on Goodreads. That ought to teach me; never go into a read expecting it to be more than fine.

Kel and I load the last two boxes into the U-Haul. I slide the door down and pull the latch shut, locking up eighteen years of memories, all of which include my dad.
--First paragpraph of Slammed

There are two things which make a book: characters and plot.
As far as characters go, the two main in this book annoyed me...

The story is told from Layken's POV, and I can't say I was in love with it as the character pissed me off.
All of her wallowing, thinking he's a jerk, dragging things, blaming her mother, not talking, etc... as you can see, I've many complaints on her.
I also think she's got good points; I loved her relationship with Kel, her brother. I loved that she could take care of herself, and I loved her conversations.

As for Will, I liked him a lot more. First, he's a poet. A talented one, too. Then, he's mature, he puts himself last for his family's sake, he's kind, an awesome kisser, and he really accepts everything there is about Layken.
However, at a point he pissed me off too; always saying he's sorry to her, or slipping and then promising it won't happen again.... Dude, make up your mind!

The characters I actually liked best are Kel and Clauder, Layken and Will's younger brothers. Those were a couple of awesome kids! Simply loved the both of them to death. Especailly Kel, whom we've gotten to see a lot more of as this book was told from Layken's POV.


As for the relationship between Lake and Will... Sad to say, as so many people loved it (I mean, the whole book is about it), I wasn't crazy about it.
First of all, they fell too hard and too fast for one another, which is always a big issue for me, especially as I sometimes really couldn't decided what he saw in her. After that first date, she's been acting pretty annoying.

Also, right about the first 10% of the book I got a very Pretty Little Liars vibe. I've only ever seen the first episode of that show, and never managed to finish the first book, but I pretty much guessed what would be the main 'problem' of this couple.

And really, Lake handled it bad. I mean, she refused to see his side of things, even when she said she did. All she could think about, really, is that he didn't chose her and kept looking for him to do so, even though there are more important things.

And to top it all, there is that ending where basically... he did end up putting her first. What of the people who need him? His income? All the things that stopped him before? Really?

Yep, wasn't the biggest fan. But maybe that was because there was only angst and no "relationship" in this book, just trying to get there.

One of the biggest parts about this book that I did like were the poems. I used to (and still do, though much less) write poems like this and read them all the time. Poems written by you and me, not some fancy writers.
So, that part of the book was very enjoyable to me.
Though, for the life of me, I can't imagine them being read! How do they put the emphasizes, show the literary means and all that through their voice? I'm dying to see, though I've never heard of a Slam here :/

I heard Point of Retreat, the second book, is told from Will's POV, so perhaps I'll like that one better? I'll read it and let you know!

For this review and more, pop by my blog - Drugs Called Books

[Romance Schmomance]

I seriously don't know where to begin about this book, I've never been so emotional, while reading a book. I started this book right after my husband went to sleep and I managed to finish it in a few hours. Obviously, I was completely drawn to this book and I couldn't put it down. Trust me, I tried! I tried to close my eyes and sleep, but all I could think about was, what happens next?! This book came out a year ago ... I know, I'm really behind on reading all these awesome books!

The dialogue in this book is just amazing, so much emotion seeping out of every page and it's easy to feel so connected to each of the characters, even the little ones. And I especially loved all the slam poetry, when it came to the main characters reciting their own poetry, I felt like I was always on the edge of my seat, drawn into every word they were saying. And going off of Colleen Hoover's other books, she knows how to pull your heart in all sorts of directions!

Something that I gained from this book are the life lessons, Will and Lake were thrown into some crazy life situations, but that's just how things happened for them. Life just happened. It wasn't like they could have prepared for it; it happened and they had to deal. And it was always one thing after another.

Head here to read the rest of the review! :)