Review: This Girl (Slammed #3) by Colleen Hoover

Firstly, thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for this review copy <3

Date Read: April 30 - May 1 2013
Release Date: August 13th 2013
Publisher: Atria Books (Simon & Schuster Australia)
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 

Synopsis:

"There are two sides to every love story. Now hear Will’s.

Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling Slammed series has brought countless readers to their knees with a whirlwind of love, passion, and heartache.

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 hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series."

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“Remember the first time we didn’t call point of retreat?”

The conclusion to the Slammed series is one that may not be necessary, but one that complements and finishes the series wonderfully. Told completely from Will’s perspective whilst on their honeymoon, Will recounts his side of the story from Slammed onwards. If you’re thinking this is going to be boring because it’s just a retelling of Slammed and Point of Retreat, well you’ve got another thing coming for you! And don’t despair, it’s not just a story of the past, there are bits of their honeymoon interspersed throughout.

I’ll be honest I’m a complete sucker for Hoover’s books and I’ve pretty much read all of them but even I had my doubts about how Will’s perspective could take up a whole book and I really only read it for the honeymoon. I’m happy to say I got a lovely surprise reading Will’s story despite half of Point of Retreat being from his POV – This Girl was actually quite different.

“It’s my honeymoon… I should get to watch what I want.”

“Your honeymoon? What am I? An afterthought?”

Firstly, Will’s voice. Fantastic. Hoover has made Will’s voice distinct from Lake’s – as soon as I read the first page I could immediately tell I was reading from his point of view. I think there was something distinctly more mature and sophisticated to his voice compared to Layken’s, which made perfect sense because not only is Will 3 years older than Lake, but he’s also an English teacher who excels at poetry. I could also tell that the voice was male, I’m not sure how – there’s no profanity or swearing (ok there were some “shits” but I swear more than Will) which is great because the amount of new adult books that use vulgar language to differentiate between the male and female voice pisses me off. It’s possibly because Will’s thoughts are more straightforward whilst I remember Lake pondering everything and being almost whiny at times. Either way, his voice remained strong throughout and for the whole book I never faltered in wondering who I was reading.

I loved how Will wasn’t afraid to express his emotions. His inner turmoil was just as painful as Lake’s. The moment when she walks into his classroom for the first time? He is absolutely devastated and so conflicted because he sees her hurt and it causes him pain too – gah the feels! Throughout the book I could clearly see his frustrations, internal battle with himself and undeniable love for Lake. Certain situations I finally got clarity around from Will’s point of view really explained his actions; in Slammed and Point of Retreat (especially Slammed), many of Will’s words and actions were hurtful but I can see why they were necessary.

“I’d almost rather her be pissed right now than feel the way she’s feeling.”

Seeing Lake through Will is a real eye opener. Remember how the beginning of Slammed was a tad on the insta-love side? Well through Will’s eyes I could see how that could have happened. He sees only her, she shines so brightly in his eyes that he can’t help but notice her. He notices the little things about her, her actions and habits that make her Lake. She is so beautiful to him, her seemingly ordinary appearance standing out to him.

“No, I didn’t think you were cute. I thought you were absolutely beautiful.”

Hoover must again be commended on her beautiful writing. She has such a way with words and the way she incorporated poetry into this again was stunning, so many of the character’s deepest feelings were brought to the surface.

Plot-wise, the majority is Slammed and Point of Retreat but with lots of gaps filled in as we finally see what Will got up to during the times he was absent in Lake’s story. As the story progresses though, I could see Will and Lake facing the first hurdle of marriage: trust. For every feeling and secret Will shared, he had to face Layken’s potential hurt and varying emotions/reactions. In those 24 hours or so, the two face many memories – a lot of them being painful and it brought me to tears seeing old wounds ripped open. And that epilogue? Something to look out for. One of the sweetest books I’ve ever read, this is one conclusion I definitely needed.

“It was the best night of my life. I want you to tell me all about it.”

Review: Point of Retreat (Slammed #2) by Colleen Hoover

Date Read: November 8 - 11 2012
Release Date: September 18th 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Bought
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 

Synopsis:

"Hardships and heartache brought them together… now it will tear them apart.

Layken and Will have proved their love can get them through anything; until someone from Will’s past re-emerges, leaving Layken questioning the very foundation on which their relationship was built. Will is forced to face the ultimate challenge…how to prove his love for a girl who refuses to stop ‘carving pumpkins.’"

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"My sweet is right now"

This was BUTTERFLYING amazing! Absolutely LOVED Will's POV.

I didn't think I'd be able to laugh and cry EVEN MORE than in Slammed... But I did!
I love how the slamming continues on here and extends to the kids too. I thought it was great how the kids matured as well. Kiersten is a great character and I loved her wisdom throughout this book - she was this ball of energy but also a breath of fresh air with her bluntness and knowledge. I loved how we see another side of Kel and Caulder - Kel after the incidents of part 2 and Caulder with his slam and appreciation for Will.

And Will... oh my god how do I even begin to describe Will Cooper? What a kind, loving, fiercely passionate, strong, smart and beautiful guy. As I've said, I wish I had a Will in my life. As this was in his POV we really get to see how reacts to Lake and what he thinks of her. So many of the uncertainty I had about his reactions in the first book were answered here so I got my closure lol (yay!) But gosh his love is so UNCONDITIONAL it made my heart ache. The way he wrote his feelings at the start of each chapter really conveyed his emotions and reading from his POV cemented those words.

What made this book all the more believable was that, amazing as everybody is and how beautiful they are inside, they've all been through shit to put it simply. Nobody in here has had an easy life, is privileged or perfect in any way. Their flaws are what made them stronger, better people and shaped them into the amazing characters I was reading.

Eddie and Gavin: Eddie's been through so much foster care and yet she still maintains that happy demeanour and ability to make others around her smile. Her and Gavin have more obstacles to face as well, and here I could see Gavin isn't the perfect guy - he's indecisive as well but his love for Eddie pulls them through.

Kel and Caulder: despite both losing their parents at such young ages, they can still get up every day. One might say they're too young to understand, but they do and we see that through Caulder's slam and Kel's emotions in part 2.

Kiersten: she's so smart for her age and gives amazing advice. She's a great girl but she gets bullied constantly; she smiles even though it hurts her and her school does nothing about it.
Sherry: this mother figure came in at just the right time but she doesn't appear too much that she's interfering with Will and Lake's parenting. Her heart ache and experiences with love add to everything that happens in this book.

Lake: need I say more? This girl is so strong and she nearly loses Will here but she's still so strong.
Will: Will... oh Will... where do I ever begin? Part 2 nearly killed me. How he managed to make it through I don't know. His undying support and love for Lake made it all the more harder to read the beginning of part 2 as I was left wondering (won't put any spoilers here!) A part of me thinks Lake pulled through because she was fighting for them too. But he's been through so much and SO MUCH MORE to lose than in Slammed. I didn't think it was possible but he did and it killed me inside.

After just finishing this book I can say "My sweet is right now".

Review: Slammed (Slammed #1) by Colleen Hoover

Date Read: November 7 2012
Release Date: January 4th 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Bought
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: 
Synopsis:
"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."

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I need Point of Retreat RIGHT NOW! This was bloody, freaking AMAZING!
I loved how this wasn't just some YA focused on romance - it didn't just delve into issues such as death, family, futures and sacrifices but made those themes what the whole book was about.
And the way it was expressed? Extremely original! The character's stories and feelings were shown through slamming (reading poetry) so everything was really layered. I loved that - you had to strip back the layers which contained hidden meanings and symbolism, to get to the real meaning behind everything.

Lake and Will both have so much to lose through their romance (especially Will) but they also experience pain without it. In a way they were like a balm to each other's wounds - and gosh did they have wounds: gaping, weeping wounds. Poor Lake, after losing her father and moving to a new state and realising she can't be with the guy she's falling in love with, soon finds out that more heartache is coming her way. Will has already lost so much but meeting Lake means he could lose even more, and yet he needs her and she needs him - especially with what she faces from the middle of the book on-wards.

Loss is prevalent throughout this book and really opens the reader's eyes as to how fleeting life is.
- Death is the only inevitable thing in life, that's why we have to live it to its fullest and spend it as much as possible with those we love. Live with no regrets and push our boundaries.

This is a huge eyeopener - it shows how much we take for granted and how much of what we have and think is normal for a teenager, can be ripped away from us in a single moment. As a nineteen year old myself, I'm the same age as Will was when he lost everything and had to give up being a college student for his brother. At nineteen, I can't imagine myself being able to raise a kid and quitting uni, finding a job to feed two mouths AND pay the bills.

I don't think there's anything bad to say about this book - maybe Lake and Will should have had a few more dates to establish their feelings but otherwise this was perfection.