Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover♥

Slammed by Colleen Hoover
Release Date: September 18, 2012
Format: Paperback, 317 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Series: Slammed #1
Source: Library

Description from Goodreads:
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.

"Sometimes life gets in your way.

It gets all up in your damn way."

 

THAT QUOTE. It is my favorite thing I've seen in a book in a while. Great enough to quote at the beginning of this review. And you know what, it is perfect for this book, too. Because that's what this book IS. Two people, trying to be happy as they live their lives, but life keeps getting in the way. Goodness gracious, this book.

 

I'm just going to declare it here and now: Colleen Hoover is the Queen of Feels.

 

Honestly, I will never know how she does it, but she writes the most beautiful stories. And you wanna know the kicker? I should have HATED this book. I should have despised how quickly Will and Lake's relationship grew, and I should have been bored as heck during all the times Will wasn't around. But you know what? Colleen Hoover rock this beach. (Imagine the curse word that would fit there...that's what I WANTED to say.)

 

Layken. Well, hmm. She wasn't perfect. But she WAS responsible and I liked that. I'm not going to say she never got on my nerves, because she definitely did, but it wasn't to the point that made me hate her. I didn't just tolerate her in this book. I think I kind of liked her. WHOA.

 

And then there is Will. Who I should have not liked. If he were to be in almost any other book, I'd be so bored with him. But Colleen Hoover...she wrote him right. He's responsible, but not a saint, either. But he is still a gentleman. He's nice, but not exactly a goody-goody. Wonderful balance going on with this character, and I adore him.

 

I can't think of a better author to have written this book. Aside from the I-should-have-hated-it thing, the POETRY in this book. It plays a big part, and Colleen Hoover...dang, y'all. She rocked it. So beautiful, but it didn't feel TOO fancy, either. I loved the poetry. And a lot of the time, the poetry in stories doesn't fly with me. It just doesn't work. But here.... It made the story better. It was well-written, but not to the point of seeming pretentious. It simply FIT into this story.

 

**Oh, and Lake's poem, "Schooled"? Yeah, well. It may or may not have made me cry. A little. Just saying.**

 

The awesome thing about this book is that it wasn't too surprising in plot, but I still devoured this thing as fast as I could in my free time. Which brings me back--again--to Colleen's writing. She has serious skill. I can't even describe it to you; it's something you have to experience yourself. But let me tell you THIS now: it is gorgeous.

 

Overall, this is another book by Colleen Hoover I ended up loving. She's turning into one of those authors I doubt has the ability to write a bad book. Seriously. She has SKILLS, people. You should check them out.

 

♥Jessica(:

Stacking the Shelves #1 ♥ Colleen Hoover is a badass!

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we share with y'all all the books we got this week!

 

~~~

 

For this, I seriously made a video. My first video ever. You get to, like, hear me SPEAK. And see me FANGIRL. *gasp!* And yes, there is about a minute worth of me telling you that you NEED some Colleen Hoover in your life. ;)

 

 

Books Mentioned:

Chameleon by Kelly Oram

Elsker by S.T. Bende

(Yep, I pronounced that "Elkser." MY BAD.)

Water by Terra Harmony

Façade by Nyrae Dawn

Eden by Janelle Stalder

Manic by J.A. Huss

Shades of the Stars by David James

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken

Reclaim my Heart by Donna Fasano

Collide by Shelly Crane

Fall With Me by Bella Forrest

Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

A Tale of Two Centuries by Rachel Harris

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

The Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf

Flicker & Burn by T.M. Goeglein

Nightspell by Leah Cypess

The Osiris Curse by Paul Crilley

Awoken by Timothy Miller

Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz

Stalked by Death by Kelly Hashway

Perfection by J.L. Spelbring

Resilient by Patricia Vanasse

Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

Frigid by J. Lynn

 

Bloggers Mentioned:

Jessirae @ Words, Pages, and Books

Valerie @ Stuck in Books

Kay @ K-Books

Michelle @ The Passionate Bookworm 

 

Current Giveaways:

(They all happen to be international, by the way...)

Frigid

Losing Hope

Time Between Us & Time After Time

 

 

Tell me stuff!

 

 

♥Jessica(:

Giveaway: Losing Hope♥ by Colleen Hoover!

 

Okay. I have no restraint. Remember how I read Frigid and was all like YOU NEED TO READ THIS and then did that giveaway?

 

Well, I'm doing it again.

 

Because Losing Hope?

 

Well. Okay. I finished this book yesterday. And reviewed it yesterday. (When I write this.) And I kind of wanted to give the book away, but I wasn't going to because I have my giveaway for Frigid happening.

 

But...

 

I CANNOT GET MR. GIGGLE-SWOON OUT OF MY BRAIN.

 

I'm actually having Holder withdrawal right now.

 

So to at least HELP myself move on with my life, and get over this book hangover, I'm going to give away Losing Hope. Because you NEED Giggle-Swoon in your life.

 

If you don't understand why I keep saying "Giggle-Swoon," it is explained in my review ;)

 

I call Colleen Hoover a badass in my review, too. Just thought I'd say it again since it's SO FREAKING TRUE, obviously. How else would I be this stuck on a book? There is definitely some badassery going on here.

 

This giveaway is going to be identical to my Frigid giveaway, since the paperback of Losing Hope isn't available yet. I was going to make this one US only, but...I REALLY want it to be international. So it is!

 

Don't you just love lookin' at it?

 

Details:

- This giveaway is international

- ONE winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter to receive an ebook of Losing Hope to read NOW! THEN, when it releases in paperback, I will also send that winner a print copy

- If you do NOT have a way for me to gift you the ebook, you can still enter and just get the paperback copy in November

- My giveaway policy applies, so please make sure you've at least pretended to read it in the policies tab at the top of my blog

- If you have any questions about the giveaway, feel free to contact me via email (makesmeworse12@gmail.com) or Twitter (@makesmeworse12)

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

♥Jessica(:

Review: Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover♥

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover
Release Date: July 8, 2013
Format: eARC, 336 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Series: Hopeless #2
Source: NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
In the follow-up to Colleen Hoover’s #1 New York Times bestseller Hopeless, the charming and irresistible Dean Holder tells the passionate story that has melted thousands of hearts.

In Hopeless, Sky left no secret unearthed, no feeling unshared, and no memory forgotten, but Holder’s past remained a mystery.

Still haunted by the little girl he let walk away, Holder has spent his entire life searching for her in an attempt to finally rid himself of the crushing guilt he has felt for years. But he could not have anticipated that the moment they reconnect, even greater remorse would overwhelm him…

Sometimes in life, if we wish to move forward, we must first dig deep into our past and make amends. In Losing Hope, bestselling author Colleen Hoover reveals what was going on inside Holder’s head during all those hopeless moments—and whether he can gain the peace he desperately needs.

OH HOLY MOTHER OF ALL THAT IS HOLY.

I don't even know where to start right now. I'm considering ditching this review and just running in circles. But that wouldn't really help anything, because this review NEEDS to be written. Or else I'll never sleep.

OHMYGOD.

Okay, so, before I get into this, you may or may not want to check out my review of Hopeless. It was somewhat scattered, but it got my opinion across. You might want to know what that was. Then again, maybe you won't. I can't tell you what to do. So yeah. Yeah.

Now, Losing Hope. Hopeless from Holder's POV. Honestly, this could have gone bad in so many ways. Goodness knows not everyone should try to write whole books in the male's POV. But, you know what? Colleen Hoover is a freaking badass. Not only did she write the PERFECT male POV companion, but she wrote it even better than the first book.

YEAH I SAID IT.

And I speak the truth.

Character Rundown:
Sky: I was so conflicted with her in this book. I still liked her (which makes sense, considering she is the same person), but I found myself not WANTING to like her sometimes. Because we see everything she did to work through her issues from Holder's eyes now, and it hurt him so much, and I heart the crap out of Holder*, so that made liking her hurt a little. But, gosh darn it, I still do. She's still Sky. And Holder loves her.

Holder:* Never had I ever imagined that I could love this boy more than I did in Hopeless. But, funny thing, I was WRONG. So, so wrong. I should probably stop trying to be right about things considering how NOT RIGHT I was. This boy...oh, man. He makes me giggle-swoon. GIGGLE. SWOON. It's a thing. It's MY thing. And it only happens with Holder.* He still holds his place as one of my top four book boys EVER. That will never ever change. Ever.

Daniel: I can't just let the characters section go by without mentioning him. HE IS SO HILARIOUS. I love his need to think up the randomest nicknames ever, and how he's such a great friend to Holder. And have I mentioned he's hilarious? I swear, I have more lines from him highlighted than any other character. (Well, except for Holder, but I wasn't counting him since he has the unfair advantage of actually being the one, you know, TELLING the story.) But pretty much every time Daniel was in a conversation, I was highlighting something. SO MUCH LAUGHTER. I approve.

Plot.* This is 100% without a doubt the best alternative POV retelling EVER. That I've read, anyway, but I'd sure be hard pressed to find a better one. This book...it wasn't JUST Hopeless in Holder's POV. It was Holder's story. In Hopeless, we watched Sky and went through everything with her. But in Losing Hope, we went through things with Holder. We saw how HE worked through everything and the moments that were significant to HIM. It is NOT just all the scenes of Hopeless in Holder's POV. Goodness, no.* This book...it's just HOLDER. And it was magnificent. Amazeballs. Giggle-swoon-worthy.

Also, I* didn't cry while reading Hopeless. Like, at all. I may have teared up a time or two, but I did not CRY. However, I am inserting foot in mouth now, because HOLY CRAP THIS BOOK MADE ME BALL. There was crying. Like, tears-everywhere-oh-my-God-Holder-I-freaking-love-you kind of crying.* Not during the WHOLE book. I mean, the middle wasn't very tear-inducing. But...well, you know. There are PARTS that were. And those were the parts I fell apart.

Romance. Usually the romance is less...romantic from the guy's POV. I don't know why. Probably because guys don't swoon like girls do. But Holder is the exception to the rule.

WAIT. You know what? I don't know if I'm cool with calling him Holder anymore. Then again...it's really hard to call him Dean after this book because that part was one of the parts that was tear-inducing...maybe I'll just refer to him as Giggle-swoon...

So, Mr. Giggle-Swoon is the exception. He is so sweet and caring and...all he freaking wants to do is help. He wants Sky to be happy and for her to not have to have a hard time with life. And he is still so gosh darn swoon-worthy it should be illegal.

The ending.* Colleen Hoover, I love you for this. You are receiving a virtual hug right now because you deserve ALL OF THE VIRTUAL HUGS. For real. This ending...and Giggle-Swoon...I needed this. Almost happy-tear-inducing, ya know. Almost.

Overall, Colleen Hoover blew me away with Hopeless, but she blew me off the freaking PLANET with Losing Hope. I didn't think it was possible, but this book is even better than Hopeless was. I have such fond feelings for this book AHHHHH. Seriously, Losing Hope has effectively secured a spot in my top ten books of 2013, which is insanely awesome because it's only JULY. Yeah. This book is that great. And yes, you should read it. Actually, I'm not sure how I can be friends with you if you DON'T read it...you need Giggle-Swoon in your life. I promise you this. Don't deprive yourself.

*I wasn't going to do this again, because I thought it'd be overkill, plus there wasn't any platypus birthing, so I didn't think it'd be as fun. But I'm doing it because I did it for Hopeless, so...why the heck not? DURING THESE SPOTS IN THIS REVIEW I STOPPED TO: empty the dishwasher, open my mail (Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines, WOOT!), tell my dad to stop talking so I could think, fangirl over PERKS with my friend Dolly, write a terrible haiku that I'm not even sure IS a haiku, check my Twitter, laugh at SpongeBob, and simultaneously curse out and thank Colleen Hoover verbally for making me cry and giving me Giggle-Swoon.

I didn't, like, thank her/curse her out in person, though. It was in my head. If it were to be in person, I'd probably leave out the cursing part because I like her a lot.

Then again, maybe I wouldn't.

(I actually would, since I don't actually curse. I say things like "freaking" or "crap." TRUE STORY.)

♥Jessica(:

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop!

 

Yay! A giveaway hop! I seriously adore these things.

 

Now, what shall I give away this time? Something summer-y, probably...

 

Or maybe something I'm excited for?

 

Oh, I got it!

 

(I legit just thought of this two seconds ago)

 

This time, I'm giving away a copy of...

 

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover!

 

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU.

 

I don't even own this book, y'all. And I'm going to give one of you lucky ducks a paperback copy. WOOT!

 

Losing Hope is releasing super soon, too, so for those of you who have not read this one, now you can. (Trust me, you want to.)

 

And, here is the link to my review. Maybe that'll convince you how much you want this book. Or why I probably shouldn't try to review books when Mulan is on. But whatever. You'll need the link ;)

 

Detaaaaailsssss!

- ONE winner will be randomly selected to receive ONE paperback copy of the Hopeless by the lovely Colleen Hoover.

- This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL. Because...um...because I freaking can, that's why.

- My giveaway policy obviously applies. Please at least pretend to read it.

- Enter through the Rafflecopter below!
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Hop along, friends! There is still much bookish goodness to try for :)

 

 

♥Jessica(:

Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover♥

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Format: ebook, 406 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Series: Losing Hope #1
Source: Borrowed

Description from Goodreads:
Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies.In this #1 New York Times bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, author of Slammed and Point of Retreat, Sky meets Dean Holder, a guy with a reputation that rivals her own. Holder has the ability to invoke feelings in Sky she's never had before. In just one encounter he leaves her terrified yet captivated and something about him brings up a rush of memories from the past that she’s worked so hard to bury away.

Sky knows Holder is nothing but trouble and tries to keep him at a distance, but he is adamant about learning everything he can about her. Sky finally caves to his unwavering pursuit, but she soon finds out that Holder isn't the person he's been claiming to be. When the secrets he's been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky's life changes forever.

I wasn't going to review this book, because I didn't read it TO review, but I'm going to be reviewing Losing Hope sometime in the near future, so I wanted to have this one under my belt, too. I read Hopeless something like forever and a half ago. (That's actually a lie. It was like February/March. That's only a few months ago. So yeah.)

I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again because I can. (And in case you missed it, but mostly because I can.) I didn't read Hopeless with any expectation to actually like it. I only read this book because I couldn't find any spoilers that told me why the freak people were crying so much over this book. (I should also mention that this was my first Colleen Hoover book.) So I read it to find out what all the fuss was about.

Well...now this book is one of my all-time favorites and Holder is one of my favorite book boys EVER. He's definitely in the top ten.

Character Rundown:
Sky: I don't really know WHY, but I like Sky. Maybe it's because she picked the money up off the floor instead of running in circles crying about it. Maybe it's because she made friends with* Breckin, and I love him. Or maybe it's just because SKY is awesome. I don't know, but I like her.

Holder: I feel like it's silly* to even have this part of this review. I JUST told you that Holder's one of my top ten favorite book boys EVER. I'm sure you can figure out what that means. (In case you can't--DEAN HOLDER IS MINE. I heart his face. And everything else, too.) ;)

Plot.* I started this book with no expectations really, and it started off like any other book. Then Sky kicked the guy out of her room and I thought it was funny, so I kept going. Then we met Holder, and I was like, "Why, hello there," and kept reading. And kept reading reading reading. And then stuff was HAPPENING and the book was almost over and I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So, um, yeah. This book was marvelous.

Romance. I swoon even THINKING about the lovely Mr. Dean Holder. OF COURSE there is romance in this book. The fact that you even questioned it makes me want to slap you upside the head. Cut it out, silly reader. Romance is ALL UP IN this book.* It makes me want to happy dance all over the place telling everyone who will listen (heck, maybe even those who don't want to listen) about this awesome book that caught me totally off guard in its awesomeness.

The ending.* High five, Dean Holder! (Man, I WISH.)

Overall,* Hopeless is a magnificent book that everyone in the universe should read because it is completely epic. Also, I question my sanity for not wanting to actually read this book in the first place.* Really, I don't know WHAT I was thinking. I probably wasn't. Oops. Either way, I DID read this book and I DID love this book, even though I never even wanted to read it. So thank you to all the people who didn't spoil. If you were to have spoiled this book, I never would have picked it up.

I AM SO GLAD I PICKED THIS BOOK UP.

Also--well played, Colleen Hoover. Well played.

*Fun fact: At these spots that I marked in this review, I stopped in the middle to check my twitter, argue with my best friend about sloths via email, open a bag of Doritos, eat some Doritos, put the Doritos back, watch and restart Mulan, hit replay on this Youtube video, read some FML's, tweet about my best friend's weirdness, and give birth to a baby platypus.

Okay, maybe not the platypus thing. I'm only 17, I ain't got time for that. But everything else totally happened.

♥Jessica(:

Top Ten Books I've Read in 2013 So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme host over at The Broke and the Bookish!

 

I'm not sure what order to put these in, so they aren't really in order. Also, Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A. Tucker is an honorable mention. So, yeah...

 

My Top Ten Books Read in 2013 So Far:

 

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

I rave about this book all the time. IT IS SO FANTASTIC OHMYGOSH AHHHHH

One of my favorite books EVER, not just this year. It's rare that I read a book and I can't think of anything I do not like about the book. But...I honestly have trouble thinking of anything negative about this book.

 

The Collector by Victoria Scott

Dante's MY BOY. Goodness, this boy. LOVE. His book also sits on my all-time favorites shelf. Both literally and figuratively (Goodreads).

Oh, and V. That girl can WRITE. Also, I heart her face, but that has nothing to do with the book.

 

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Travis Maddox. There's just something about that guy...I don't know what it is exactly, but I LOVE it.

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I have no words. It is just so wonderful.

 

 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Now I REALLY have no words. Just tears.

My first John Green book, and it has definitely ensured that I'm going to read more. I need to put time in between them, though. My heart can't take them all at once.

 

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

I read this book only because I couldn't find any spoilers to tell me just what the what happens in this book to make everyone cry so freaking much after reading it. But now...I adore Colleen Hoover. Holder is one of my favorite book boys of all time. And Hopeless is one of my favorite books. Well played, Colleen. Well played.

 

Wait For You by J. Lynn

It's a book by JLA. Obviously I expected to love it. But I didn't expect to love it THIS much. I think about this book all the time now. I'll be having a conversation and for no reason whatsoever be reminded of Cam and Avery. Or I'll be eating a freaking COOKIE and start giggling because of Cam's cookies.

 

Hehehe

 

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Oh, this book. This book just affects me so much, there is no way I can't admit it's one of my favorites. I just THINK about this book...and Ty...enough and I start tearing up/CRYING MY FACE OFF. But I love it. And Ty. Even though I probably shouldn't.

AHH I'm so conflicted.

 

One Week Girlfriend by Monica Murphy

Drew + Fable just make me happy dance. That's all there is to it.

Monica Murphy's got skill, also.

 

A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

My favorite word to use when talking about this book is "stunning." Because it without a doubt IS. And I still want to name something Darcy. Or Wilson. Or one thing Darcy and another thing Wilson. *swoons*

 

And...that's ten!

 

What do you think of my picks? What would YOU pick?

 

♥Jessica(:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books at the Top of my Summer TBR List!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

 

Partly, this is me playing catch-up, and partly this is me being SUPER excited about reading some books. So...yeah. :)

 

My Top Ten Books on my Summer TBR List:

 

Frigid by J. Lynn

This book is not out yet. But it WILL be out this summer, and I will be lusting after this book all the while. *flails*

 

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

I got this book for my birthday, started it, and then had to put it aside because it was either reading this book or finishing a PreCal project that was worth a test grade. ...I flipped a coin. The project won. Best 3 out of 5. I was disappointed. My project was pretty darn great, though, if I do say so myself ;)

 

Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Goodness knows I loved Pushing the Limits, so I am SO excited to finally be able to sit down and read this book now that school's over.

 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

I got this book for Christmas. CHRISTMAS, y'all! I am in serious need of finally reading it and joining the rest of humanity in biting their nails waiting for the last book.

 

Faking It by Cora Carmack

I just finished a re-read of Losing It, and I am so pumped to get to Cade's story. I just KNOW I'm going to swoon.

 

Losing Hope by Colleen Hoover

This is another one that isn't out yet, but I'm going to make grabby hands for until I get it. Holder is one of my top guys, remember? I CANNOT WAIT to see what was going on in his head. Hopeless is one of my favorite books of all time. I just know this book is going to be AMAZING. Eeep!

 

The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram

I JUST got this today, and I'm going to be reviewing it sometime. I am so excited, because this book looks like it is 100% MY KIND OF BOOK, you know?

 

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This cover makes me happy. And this is another one I WANTED to dive into right away, but could not because school is idiotic. But now it is summer, and I have all the time in the world to read what I want. So yay!

 

True Love Story by Willow Aster

I've had this book for a while and my finger has been itching to just CLICK on it on my Kindle. I can't wait until I get to do that! And now I will. Soon.

 

The Valentine's Arrangement by Kelsie Leverich

This is one I started on the moment I got it, but had to stop because I had to do other things. Probably a history notebook or something silly (yet graded) like that. But AGAIN--it is now summer, therefore I have time. And I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!! *squee!*

 

So...yeah. That's my list! Now, tell me:

 

Do you participate in TTT? Link me up!

 

What do you think of my list? Have you read any of these books? What do you think? Which should I read first?

 

And before you go, I'm currently listening to (i.e. singing along to) this song, and I feel like it is pretty appropriate to share in this post. You know, the summer thing and all. Also, if you've read Maggie Stifvater's SHIVER trilogy...heh. ;)

 

 

Mhm. Yeah. That is all. <3

 

♥Jessica(: