Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Slammed

Finally knocked this off of my TBR list after TEN YEARS. I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much, but I also know if I had read it 10 years ago… I’d have somehow liked it even more.

My biggest gripe was that conveniently RIGHT before everything escalates is the moment Lake recognizes the irresponsibility of their relationship. It’s written as quite a revelation, yet she throws it to the wind almost immediately after the climax.

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mrs_gale's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Loved this! It made me laugh, it made me cry and I surprisingly enjoyed the poetry too!

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whosfernn's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.75

Reading a book about a student/teacher relationship was not on my itinerary for this year, but here we are. If I wanted to read wattpad, I would go on wattpad. I do not need that kind of low-effort problematic romance when I choose to read an actual book. I think my personal favourite part was when **spoilers** a nine year old boy dressed up as his mother's cancerous lungs for Halloween, and said mother willingly made the costume. If someone hadn't already bought me the rest of the series, I wouldn't touch either of the following books with a ten foot pole, but unfortunately they're on my bedroom floor so I guess I have to read them. The only thing stopping this book from being one star was the fact that it was so damn easy to read. I flew through it, and I hated every second of it.

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kaylasbookgram's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my heart! That ending had me bawling! I can’t wait to continue Will & Lake’s story and see where they end up. This story is so powerful and emotional. From struggling with the death of her father to meeting an amazing guy who ends up being off limits then being hit with her mothers diagnosis Lake is juggling more then any 18 year old should in their senior year of high school. This is not my top favorite of Colleen Hoovers but I’m still floored non the less by the ending which I think may of been the best way to end this. (Honestly probably wouldn’t need a series but I’m still going to read the series anyway because come on it’s Colleen Hoover)

TW: Cancer. Death. Loss of a parent.

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sharbrz's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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annadelreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

"Push your boundaries, that's what they're there for."

I can't explain how much this books gets me. It's still the best and a good way to start a CH book. I was 18 years old when I first read this and I'll be 28 years old in 5 months time. Been 10 years since I read this but it still made me ugly cry. My heart is broken. I love Julia. It made me want to cherish my own mother and be grateful for her. My life wouldn't be what it is right now if it wasn't for her.

Will and Lake is the type of relationship I aspire to be. Through ups and downs, they're fated for each other. Loving someone so hard you had to let her go so she can focus on her priorities. Too much love it's overflowing and can't contain itself. It's not even the student-teacher relationship that's important here. It's the emotional rollercoaster that you felt throughout reading the book. One second you focus on the happy date between the couple then get crashed by that student-teacher realization then when you thought it's the main plot, it's not. It's the

cancer

. I knew it was coming but that didn't stop me from still feeling the pain.

This book taught me so much. Everything Julia wrote in her letter is not only for Layken and Kel but it was for all of us. Thank you, Colleen Hoover. It's everything.

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missrosymaplemoth's review against another edition

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1.5

I wish this book was 200 pages shorter and ended with Layken transferring out of Will’s class. The “heavy themes” in this book were largely about navigating the taboo (read: illegal) relationship. So gross. It’s illegal for a reason; I don’t care that the age difference is “only” 3 years.

Some points that stood out to me:

The slam poetry was confusing and cringeworthy.
The narration was juvenile (even for YA) and long-winded at times (do we really need a play-by-play of Layken’s morning routine?).
I didn’t enjoy how the only person of color’s storyline was
assaulting Layken,
which in itself was just a plot device to get Will and Layken back together.
My jaw dropped when I read about the younger boys’ Halloween costumes.
Not to be uptight like that principal, but my mom had cancer twice and I was surprised at Julia’s reaction. What nine-year-old says they want to be their mother’s cancerous lung(s)? The whole thing was just very odd and inorganic to me.
I’ll give the book one thing: the note from
Layken’s now-deceased mom
at the very end was nice.

I don’t understand why I read this, or how the author has the following she does. I will not be reading the sequels (which I’m disappointed to say do exist). This book served as a lesson and a reminder to never read a book by this author again.

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serendipity421's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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