Author: Colleen Hoover

Book: Slammed

tl;dr recommendation: Be prepared to be forced to the floor with All The Feels. Five Stars!

Book Summary:

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.

Longer Review:

Colleen’s books never fail to leave me in a cloud. I’m transported into another space in my head that I didn’t know existed, hadn’t even contemplated…and her words nudge that space until it’s forced open and I’m suddenly staring at a brightened room, shielding my eyes from the stark light that’s blinding me and cowering from the feelings that are bombarding me. This is what this book did to me. This is why I’m in mid-major book hangover. This is why I’m re-evaluating my life decisions and what I’ve put first, second or third. This is why her books are so motherfuckingly powerful. This is why I fucking read.

Should I give a brief summary of this book? I could, I suppose, but I’d rather not. Go into this blind, but with your heart open. Get ready to face real truths and harsh life. Be prepared to be forced to the floor with All The Feels.

I was actually shocked that I loved this book as much as I do, because the storyline is something that usually has me grimacing and blanching. But this didn’t make me do that. The writing was so easy that it made me feel like the would-be-uncomfortable parts were natural. Colleen writes emotion better than most and I can’t believe that this was her first ever novel (I also can’t believe it took me so long to read it, but whatevs).

This book is about being okay with what your heart says, living a life without regret, and loving with every piece of yourself even through grief. It’s funny when it’s sad, and sweet when it feels all wrong. I loved every word, every poem and every kiss. Will and Layken are perfectly developed characters whose connection is palpable and whose pain is unbearable.

Slammed is an exceptional heart-breaking and soul-warming novel. I’d say I loved it, but loved isn’t a strong enough word for my feelings right now, but I suppose it conveys they right emotion. So, I fucking loved it.