The Slammed Trilogy
I started off February with a bang reading Colleen Hoover's Slammed trilogy. I must say these may very well be my favorite books by Colleen Hoover yet. This Girl was my least favorite out of all the books because it was just Slammed buy from Wills POV and at this point I am greedy and just really wanted a new book with a fresh story line from the characters that we fall in love with. So let's dive into this while it is still fresh in my mind.
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
I know that many people get annoyed with Colleen Hoover because she has insta love plot lines or what people view as weak female characters but honestly, these books tug at my emotions, they make me smile, they make me cry and if I want a fluffy book once in a while, I have no problem reading them. Colleen never claimed to be Tolstoy so I enjoy her books. A bit too much since I was staying up til two am reading.
I have to confess that I am one of those girls who adores book boyfriends. Edward Cullen, Rhysand.... and now Will Cooper! Ugh he is such a dreamy book boyfriend and it makes me so irritated he is a fictional character! A guy who loves with his whole heart, a guy who enjoys poetry, and knows family is the most important thing! Swoon fan girl here!
Will and Layken are an adorable set of characters that have to deal with a heart breaking time in life. They have a bond over these issues but end up being torn apart and struggle with that on top of everything else! While I gave this book a 5 star rating, there were times where I both related well with Layken and at times just wanted to pull my hair out by her actions! There were times I felt she was just being so immature and then I remembered, she has only been 18 for a couple of years and still 18 in so many ways is still child like. I forgave her for some tantrums because hell I would have tantrums at my age if I went through what she did. This book definitely made me cry several times.
I know the Avvett Brothers play such a large role in this book as well so I will be checking out their music as well.
Layken and Will have managed to overcome the obstacles that threatened to destroy their love, proving that they are destined for one another. What they are about to learn, however, is that the things that have brought them together may be the very things that ruin their connection forever… Layken is left second-guessing the relationship whilst Will is jumping over hurdles to prove his love for her. What the young lovers discover about themselves along this journey may change their entire world and the lives of those who depend upon them the most...
Book two! What a struggle this book was. I enjoyed this but I get why so many people were annoyed with this book. Layken has suffered another hard blow setting her up for this book. She has way more tantrums that she did in book one and Will wasn't as strong as a character as he was in book one even though I still love him I know for a lot of other readers, this was a hard pill to swallow.
I think what really made me love this book as much as I did was the new character Kiersten and also Gavie and Eddie are characters I adored from book one.
Both first two books had incredible poetry slamming that I highly enjoyed. Colleen has some pretty hard core talent with that!
Even though I was annoyed a lot of times but certain scenes in this sequel, I really did adore it and am glad to have spent more time in the world of Layken and Will.
Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met. In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.
This Girl, the final book in this trilogy. I think a song for this book sound track should have been Only Fools Rush In. It is such a cute love song for a cute love story.
I gave this book a 4.5 star rating. I liked it, I really did but as I already said, I am a selfish person and the fact that this was just basically a re-telling, I was some what disappointed. I did enjoying learning new things I didn't realize from Slammed and I enjoyed getting further into Wills mind but I WANT A FRESH NEW STORY COLLEEN! I NEED ONE! How about we get a 4th book from Layken and Will and then we get a book or two from Gavin and Eddie! Ok really I would love a Kiersten book as well.
I highly recommend this trilogy because I truly believe, regardless of liking fluff or not, Colleen is a talented writer and I am proud to be a fan!
Spoiler Alert! Do NOT read further if you have NOT read all of This Girl.
I adored that Layken and Will got married and at the end of the book had a little girl and I feel so much more of their story can still be told! I want to know about how Gavin and Eddie are as parents, what the brothers are like as brothers who get to be teenagers and how Will and Layken parent a child that is actually theirs and not their younger brothers.
