Book Talk Review; Slammed

 The first book in The Slammed Series by The Amazingly Talented Colleen Hoover

 

 

 Falling in love can feel like poetry. Or it can feel like a slam to the heart.

 Colleen Hoover’s romantic, emotion-packed debut novel unforgettably captures all the magic and confusion of first love, as two young people forge an unlikely bond before discovering that fate has other plans for them.

 Following the unexpected death of her father, eighteen-year-old Layken becomes the rock for both her mother and younger brother. She appears resilient and tenacious, but inside, she's losing hope. Then she meets her new neighbor Will, a handsome twenty-one-year-old whose mere presence leaves her flustered and whose passion for poetry slams thrills her.

 Not long after a heart-stopping first date during which each recognizes something profound and familiar in the other, they are slammed to the core when a shocking discovery brings 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 forces that tear them apart. Only through the poetry they share are they able to speak the truth that is in their hearts and imagine a future where love is cause for celebration, not regret.

 

 This book is so good. So Good. I can't stress that enough. 

 

  When we first Meet Layken, her family is moving from Texas to Michigan, due to financial issues after the death of her father. 

 

  It is there that she meets Will. Will is an amazing guy. He just is so caring and so swoon worthy.

  Now I know a lot of us like the bad boys. The ones with the piercings and the tats and that whole bad boy look. But Will is the type of character that will get you sweet on a good boy. 

  That's what Will is, he is a good boy, a nice guy. And he is so hot because of it. He is definitely on my never ending list of swoon worthy Book Boyfriends.

 So Will and Lake meet and they feel this instant connection. And while some instant connections are kinda cheesy and unbelievable, this doesn't feel that way.

 

 Both these characters have dealt with loss. They both understand each other on and emotional level that no one else can. But that is not what makes them easily connected. 

 

 Because they aren't there are some many factors working against them, I am surprised by how strong the two characters are in the end. 

 I am not going to say anything to give too much away but I will say that...

 There is a lot in this book that I didn't expect there to be. I cried in this book. 

 It was an emotional read and Colleen is brilliant at what she does. The Slams in this book are amazing. 

 Here is one of Will's Slams

 

 Expectations, evaluations, internal evasions

Fly out of me like puddles of blood from a wound

A fetus from the womb of a corpse in a tomb

Withered and strewn like red sheets on the bed

Of an immaculate room

I can't breathe, 

I can't win,

From this indelible position I'm in

It controls the only piece of my unfortunate soul 

Left to fend for itself in this hollowed-out hole

That I dug from within, like a prisoner in

An unlocked cell sitting in the deepest pits of hell

Unencumbered he's not in his sweltering spot

He could open the door 'cause he don't need  

a damn key

But then again, 

Why would he?

Circumlocution is his revolution

 Will introduces Lake into the world of Slam Poetry. The way that the characters are able to express themselves through their love of poetry, the emotions that get poured into the poetry. It is all amazing and so well done.

 *Quote- "Push your boundaries Lake. That's what they're there for."- Julia Cohen

                  "It wasn't death that punched you, Layken. It was life. It was life. Life happens. Shit happens. and it happens a lot. To a lot of people."- Eddie

Tune in Thursday for The Book Talk on Point Of Retreat Book Two in the Slammed Series

 Go Here for Colleen's Author Talk: http://realtalkbooktalk.blogspot.com/2014/04/book-talk-colleen-hoover.html