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.
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This is easily one of my favorites of 2012. I read it twice in the same week. Yeah… one of those kinds of books. It’s a story of love, devastating heartbreak, and poetry. Yes, poetry. I consider myself to be someone who is open to all kinds of book ideas, but I was a little hesitant when I saw that poetry played into the plotline. It’s not really something that I’d think to have a book center around, but it. just. works.
Layken
(You’ll find out the story behind her name in the book.) She’s just an incredibly real person. She has a tough exterior, but inside, she feels a lot of pain. She’s not overly outgoing, and I feel like we have similar personalities. She’s expressive, and I really enjoyed following the story through her eyes.
Will
Yum. Excellent book boyfriend. There will be moments in the story where you want to kick him, but when you find out his motives, it’s easy to forgive him. ☺ He’s unusually responsible for a guy in his early 20’s, but for good reason. (We all know girls mature first, so it was nice to read about a guy who’s got a grip on his life.)
The character list gets a little long (about 5 other important secondary players), but each one is so well developed! I can’t even tell you how awesome they all are.
Layken and her family have just moved across the country, after the unexpected death of her father. Layken’s little brother immediately meets his new best friend from across the street, who happens to have an attractive older brother, Will. In his own special way, Will invites Layken out on a date after she’s had a little while to settle in to their new house. (Best first date ever, in my opinion.) Only days later, their relationship is flipped upside down. Hardcore. I audibly gasped. And then re-read it to make sure it really happened. Ms. Hoover is the master of plot-twisting. You have been warned. It happens more than once.
Another warning: this is a pretty heavy book. I did a fair amount of crying. Weeping would be another word to describe the precipitation. I got really attached and took it all personally. Reminds me of that e-card that says, “That moment when you finish a book, look around, and realize everyone is carrying on with their lives as though you didn’t just experience emotional trauma at the hands of a paperback.” This story will do that to you.
It was an emotional rollercoaster, and I loved all of it. There is a second book, which I haven’t gotten to read yet, but Slammed can stand on its own – there’s no huge cliffhanger. So, I’d recommend it for anyone who is okay with a serious read and isn’t looking for a multi-book commitment. Slammed is categorized as New Adult, but I wouldn’t shy away from recommending it to YA readers as well.
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Author: Colleen Hoover
Title: Slammed
Series: Slammed (Book #1)
Published: September 18, 2012 by Atria Books
Format: Paperback, 352 pages; Kindle;Nook
Website: www.colleenhoover.com
Source: Purchased
My rating: 
Happy Reading!
Oh Ashley, you must start Point of Retreat right away! It might be even more heartbreaking! Slammed was absolutely phenomenal and such a wonderful and heartbreaking story!!! Totally among my favorite reads this year as well!!
Sorry, I meant Aly and not Ashley;((
It’s on my TBR list!! I’ll have to wait until I’m ready to cry over these guys again.
LOVED this book so much! Wait until you read Point of Retreat! I didn’t think it was possible to get any better but it does.
This book is DEFINITELY on my list of favorites of 2012. I also LOVED Point of Retreat! I hope you love it too! Great review
Ally, your review makes me want to pick it up and read it right away, however, your reference to it being a “heavy book” just isn’t what I need right now. I cry at freaking TV commercials, and no, I’m not pregnant, haha. I’ve been dying to read Colleen’s books and hopefully I’ll get there soon.
Thanks for including the warning about it being emotional. There are times that’s exactly what I need and times I need light and fluffy!
~Kristin
I’ve seen this book around. I think I’m going to have to check it out.
This sounds like a book which I will enjoy! Wonderful review! Just added it to my TBR list. Thanks for sharing!
Great review! I really enjoyed this one. I loved the poetry aspect, even though I don’t read much poetry, I have to agree with you that it just works.
Thank you for sharing, Aly!
This WAS my favorite of 2012. Point of Retreat is JUST as amazing and her new standalone, Hopeless was beautiful!
I loved Slammed. The Lake poem at the end was so beautiful!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it too!!
mmmmm..from the cover- it doesn’t look interesting..
But I trust you ALy,,so maybe I should read this! 😀
Emotional rollercoaster is the perfect description. I loved this book. Make me cry so much.
I have to read this one!! I read snippets from quotes people posted, and I LOVED them!!
What I like is that there’s a sequel – love sequels to romance! This seems like a really emotional one and the poetry will rock!!
Lovely review:)
I have been reading a lot of contemporary YA recently and loving it. I need to read Slammed and Hopeless by Colleen Hoover ASAP. I’ve been hearing such great things about them.
thanks for the review! This book comes highly recommended and I’m definitely going to have to add it to my wishlist 😉
A friend of mine recommended this to me and I just completely fell in love with this book:) I am so excited for the 3rd one!:)
After I read this book, I just had to go grab the 2nd in the series! What an amazing, emotional journey to go on! Colleen Hoover is incredible!!
This is seriously one of my all-time favorites. I was just like you and I re-read it immediately after finishing it because I didn’t want to let go of the characters and the world yet. Thank goodness she wrote the sequel to satisfy my undying hunger for more of the world she created. And I completely agree that Colleen Hoover is the master of plot twists and executing them so, so well. While her twist with Layken and Will is one that normally turns me off (thankfully it wasn’t in the description, or else I probably would have passed over this beautiful book for that reason alone), I was completely enthralled by her version of it. She made the situation so heartbreaking and romantic and just…ugh, so perfect. LOVE this book and Point of Retreat!! 😀
Loved this book! Colleen Hoover is the bomb! This is one of my favorites ever!