Monday, July 15, 2013

Slammed by Colleen Hoover ~ Review

Source:  Purchased the audio book

Book Description:

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.



My Thoughts



5 stars - An emotional roller coaster that I loved every minute of

I'm so sorry I waited to read this book! Really I am.  Been trying to go back and read some of the ones I've missed along the way instead of accepting new review requests.  I recently read Hopeless by this author and that lead to this one.  This author is pretty much an auto-buy now.  A status that is hard to come by but so well deserved.

What I'm not sorry about is that when I purchased this series, I bought it on audiobook.  This story has performance poetry as a part of it's plot.  I'm just not sure that I could have read it as well as it was performed by the narrator.  Hedi Baker narrated the book.  I hadn't ever heard her before but she was good.  Her voices were clear.  I could tell who was speaking.  There is one line that repeated a few times through the book by Will and there was never any doubt who it was.  I like that.  But the very best part was when she performed the poetry for the slams.  A slam is supposed to express how the person feels beyond the words.  There are several characters that perform a slam over the course of the book.  Every one of them was different and expressed the emotion that the poem conveyed.  I was so glad I listened for that part alone.

So I read this over a couple of days but only because I was crazy busy.  Once I really started reading it, it was done in a few hours.  The emotions of the book are intense.  It blindsided me and had me reeling for lots of reasons most of which I can't even talk about because they are too spoilery.  But let me just say that this book is brilliant in it's plot.  It pulls you in and has you wondering how this can every go wrong.  Then it slams you in the gut but doesn't stop there.  The pounding continues as the story unfolds.  I wasn't content until the very end but still friends on twitter for some virtual hand holding to get to the end.  The thing is that I loved every minute of it.  Perfect, just perfect.

The characters are incredible.  This author is so talented when it come to developing characters that I immediately connect with.  Layken is hurting over the sudden death of her father.  She's trying to be supportive of the move for her mother.  She's pretty lost though and finds strength and healing in the company of the neighbor, Will Cooper.  Their relationship is sweet and the chemistry strong.  I loved them together.  I ached for them as the punches from life kept hitting them.  It was so real. So unfair, just like life can be sometimes.  But best of all was the way they worked through them and fought back.  They were better together even when they were apart. 

This is YA and some of the very best I've ever read.  If you love YA, then this book, this author, needs to be on your very very short list of books to read.  You will not regret it.



About the author:

I love music. LOVE music. Namely The Avett Brothers, Lumineers, Pink, Eminem. I have eclectic taste? If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

I'm addicted to diet pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from. It's a serious addiction, I tell you.

I get stoked whenever I get a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request...so request me, dangit!

If you want to know when I have new books out or just want to be inundated by random, pointless blog posts, follow me at www.colleenhoover.com

Avoid my Twitter at all cost. It's propaganda.




10 comments:

  1. Slammed has been on my tbr pile for ages! Maybe I really should find a time to read it! Thanks for a great review! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been wanting to read this for a while, but I'm not really a big poetry person so I haven't. I think the audiobook version would be better for me. I'm glad that you loved it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy - the poetry isn't like any "poetry" I've ever heard. It was so good!

      Delete
  3. Ahhhh, I LOOOOOOVE this book! Point of Retreat was even better. So happy you got to read this and that you loved it :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome review!! I loved this to, and Point of Retreat. I have This Girl, but haven't been able to get to it yet, but I just love Will. I still have to read Hopeless and Losing Hope, and I am sure I am going to regret not doing it sooner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will! Get Hopeless/Losing Hope read! They are SOOO good.

      Delete
  5. This sounds amazing and I'm glad the narrator did so well with the poetry. That must be hard to get just right along with the voices.


    Karen @ For What It's Worth

    ReplyDelete
  6. I adored this book so much. <3

    ReplyDelete
  7. I reeaally need to get started on the series. I love love love this review, Pal!

    ReplyDelete
  8. You know how much I love Colleen. I bet this was amazing in audio!!! I'm so thrilled you loved it.

    ReplyDelete