Series Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Synopsis for Slammed (from Goodreads):
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.

SERIESous’ Top Book Series: New Favourite Author 2015
Series: Slammed Trilogy
Author: Colleen Hoover
# of Books: 3 (Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl)
Book Order: Chronological but This Girl is an alternate POV of Slammed
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Young Adult/New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Drama
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: First Person, Single

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

Despite finishing Hoover’s other series Hopeless before this one, Slammed was the first book I read by Hoover. When I first picked up Slammed from my library, Hopeless had been sitting on my Kobo for probably 2 years unread. I think it’s vague synopsis and all the hype made me hesitant to read it. But I have always heard really good things about Slammed so when they added new eBooks at my library and this series was one, I made sure I was near the top of that holds list. (Afterwards, it encouraged me to pick up Hopeless and I am so thankful that I did!)

My Review:

Slammed started out like any other Young Adult/New Adult where the lead moves to a new town after the death of a parent. Enter the angst-driven heroine and the cute boy who notices her right away and you’ve got the basis of many New Adult novels out there. But this book is nothing like those other books and it quickly sets itself apart through its characters, plot lines and poetry.

Layken is angsty–but not in annoying way. Obviously she is upset about what has happened to her family and it shows. I don’t think anyone can blame her for feeling and thinking the way she does. So this is well-done (read: valid reasons for) angst and I wish all authors did angst like this. However, she isn’t my favourite heroine ever. Her stubbornness bothered me a bit and because I didn’t love her, it stopped me from giving Slammed a 5/5. Will is a great character though: he had me smiling and charmed from the minute we meet him. And I loved watching them together because it was more than a physical attraction that drew them together and I could see why they liked each other. Despite not loving Layken, I really did feel like they were a good pair.

Then comes the “shocking revelation” and it really was shocking! I had no idea what was going to happen and when it did, my attention was grabbed. It’s not often that I get surprised by a plot line: so when I do, the book gets major points and this one does for sure!

As for the poetry aspect, like most people (in my classes at least) it was my least favourite subject in English. That definitely changed when I got to university and studied English and read a variety of poems. I don’t like writing poems but I don’t mind reading them. However, Slam Poetry is something that I have no experience with–just those clichéd bits on sitcoms and I watched a YouTube video one time of a Dad’s message “To the Boys Who One Day May Date My Daughter” (it’s really well done!). Reading this book almost made me wish that I was listening to the audio books because it would really add to the reading experience–though it really isn’t necessary as Hoover bolds/italicizes words so you get the gist of how it would be performed. So while poetry really isn’t my thing, it was refreshing to read (I find most people choose music lyrics instead of poetry) and added to the story in a way I didn’t expect.

I didn’t really think Point of Retreat was a necessary sequel per say, but it sure was icing on top of an already awesome cake. I really felt like Point of Retreat tied up some loose ends from Slammed that weren’t necessarily left dangling but it was nice to have them neatly wrapped up nonetheless. Of course there was a great twist along the way that I didn’t see coming (I should honestly know better by now).

What I love about Hoover’s work is that she doesn’t stretch out her character’s stories by publishing more books than necessary. Two, plus an alternate retelling is the perfect amount for this series. It might be tempting to read This Girl right after Point of Retreat or even congruently with Slammed but I wouldn’t. It actually chronologically follows the events of Point of Retreat and is told like as flashbacks to the past (ie Slammed). So read it as if it were a Book 3 or else you read major spoilers 🙂

(Though I enjoyed reading This Girl and appreciated how it told a different side of the story and provided some insight into Slammed‘s events, it was a little nauseating to read. You know, like that couple that is overly in love and always shows it? It was kinda like reading that at times. BUT, I enjoyed reading it and thought it was a great way to wrap up the series).

Rating: 4/5

It may not be my favourite YA to New Adult series ever but I loved every minute I spent reading these books! They are just so well done with touching characters, amazing plot twists, poetry and great messages about family and love. I laughed, I cried and I smiled throughout the entire series. I will definitely be picking up anything and everything by Colleen Hoover in the future!

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