Slammed by Colleen Hoover

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1468161660
• ISBN-13: 978-1468161663

"Slammed' is the first of a two book series.

After the unexpected death of her father forces eighteen year old Layken and her family to move across the country, away from everyone and everything she knows, her outlook on life is anything but hopeful.

Enter Will Cooper: the attractive twenty-one year old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry. After a night together that turns out to be everything but the expected, both Layken and Will are left with feelings they never knew they could have. Unfortunately in Layken's life, things are never what they seem. Just as quickly as it develops, their relationship is derailed by a shocking revelation, sparking a tumultuous battle between their hearts and their ethics.

As if the dramatic turn of events in her life isn't enough, Layken is slammed again when her mother reveals a secret of her own. A secret so intense, all of Layken's current problems pale in comparison to her seemingly insurmountable future. Unable to confront the changes that lie ahead of her, Layken ignores her conscience as she turns to Will for solace. Struggles ensue as both Layken and Will search for a balance between that which keeps them apart and the feelings that pull them together.
Slammed is the first installment of a two-part series. The second installment, Point of Retreat, is available now! {Synopsis taken from Goodreads}

My Thoughts~
Thank you Abbi Glines for posting about this on Facebook, thank you Facebook for just existing so that I was able to get this recommendation, thank you Goodreads for the community that let me dive further to see what all the hype was about this book,  and thank you Colleen Hoover well, for rocking my freaking world with a book, an amazing book that kept me reading all day and night.  I devoured Slammed and Point of Retreat in one day, I've never read two books in a day; well I have now! I read and cried and not just those little sissy tears, no I freakin boohooed crocodile tears. This book is amazing! Let' me tell you why.


Layken or Lake as she is called. I love this girl. She is complex and not your typical teenage girl. She's interesting, feisty and intriguing because she cares about her family deeply. She can be moody and frustrating but that made her so much more real to me. She's so feisty and likeable that I just loved her development as a character.  She brought so much to this story and I really enjoyed reading about her.


Will. Oh Colleen do you ever know how to make a grown woman feel like a cougar.  When you created Will you made a real honest to goodness swoon-worthy character.  He seems flawless but he isn't, he's complex and deep and I just loved him.  His story broke my heart and the situation he is placed in. Too young he is given such a huge responsibility but he really steps up to the plate! Thank you Colleen for Will.


The side characters are enjoyable as well. All of them. They aren't just put there without purpose, Colleen has interwoven them beautifully in this amazing story to add even more flare.

This story is an emotional journey that I just devoured.  This book will stay with me for a long time and I am certain I will reread about Layken and Will again because it is just so good.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book, not just enjoyed, LOVED.  Colleen is an amazing author and I actually feel privileged to be one of her first readers.  This book is going to be a huge hit so I highly recommend you go read this book now! 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; Reprint edition (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062024035
• ISBN-13: 978-0062024039

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the YA scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance. (Synopsis taken from Amazon)

My Thoughts~

WOW! Just, wow! What a book!  I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting. I am still amazed at this story. I am now among all of the crazy Divergent fans anxiously anticipating Insurgent May 1. It cannot come soon enough.

Beatrice or Tris as she wishes to be called was awesome! She's tough and vulnerable and believable. She isn't confused and silly; she's a lot more than that. While she does struggle with her choice she only does because choosing otherwise affects her family.  I loved her bravery that she shows when she chooses.  I actually teared up at the choosing ceremony. It was done so well. One of my favorite parts of the book, but believe me there are so many favorites in this book.

The world that Veronica Roth has created is creative and the concept is so different.  I was very much expecting something close to The Hunger Games and it just isn't that. It is so different! I actually enjoyed this so much better than The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games to me did not have romance, Divergent does and it is soooo good! I love Four. He's so enjoyable to read about and their romance was so good!  It isn't forced or pushed on you or rushed at all, it just happens and as it is  you're pulled into it and you find yourself giggling for Tris and Four.

I did have a few issues with this story that I don't understand why they were put in but I'd have to spoil it so lets just say I'm going to trust the amazing Veronica Roth with this story and I am willing to go into it wherever she may take it! Amazing book, go read it now!