Slammed

- Colleen Hoover

Albany, WA

July 30, 2022

Goodreads Book Blurb:

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.

Series / Genres:

My Review:

meh, nothing special:

☆☆☆☆☆ 2.5/5

If you take the romance out of Slammed, it’s a four-star read. Unfortunately, the relationship aspects are central to the narrative and make the entire book feel uncomfortable.

Spoiler

The drama, the push and pull tension of this story revolves around Will not realising that Lake is his student when he first meets her. There isn’t a huge age difference here, so I don’t have an issue with the relationship. I have an issue with someone in authority jeopardising a person’s education and essentially blaming them for being forced into an awkward situation. Will could have easily told someone what happened. ‘Hey, I went on a date with this girl, and she showed up today and is in my class – what do you want me to do here?‘ The excuses to keep everything a secret and deny an attraction are ice thin and don’t hold up to scrutiny. Especially when they both clearly continue to pursue this relationship despite repeatedly saying that they aren’t. Too much high school drama.

Now, the family dynamics and the situations these two neighbouring families find themselves in are compelling. Hoover writes many excellent scenes that perfectly encapsulate a sense of loss, grief, and fear. There’s enough here to create a scintillating and captivating story – just cut the dumb relationship drama.

Spoiler

One year. They only had to wait one year. What’s the issue?

I apparently read this series back in 2016, but it doesn’t seem to have left much of a mark. Parts of Slammed were familiar, but I have no idea where this series is going next.

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