Slammed Books In Order

Publication Order of Slammed Books

Slammed is the name of a series of contemporary romance novels written by Colleen Hoover. Slammed is also the first novel in the series. The books chronicle the love lives of a grieving girl and a struggling young man.

+The Story
The Slammed series has been largely positively received. Even readers that think the books are a little too cheesy frequently gush about them, primarily because they believe that Colleen Hoover somehow avoids all the common romance clichés to deliver a fresh exploration of love.

When ‘Slammed’, the first novel in the Slammed series, first picks up, Layken is struggling to get her life together. The 18-year-old girl lost her father a little while ago. The loss hit her, her mother and her brother hard.

Unable to contend with the financial burdens of their former lives, the family left everything they knew and planted roots elsewhere.

By the time readers meet Layken, she’s become her family’s rock. Her mother is a mess, not only because of the grief of losing her husband but also as a result of a separate ailment that has assailed her.

Her brother is struggling with his own issues. Only Layken has her life together, or so everyone presumes. Outwardly, Layken has succeeded in creating a façade of strength and stability that has allowed her family to survive their tragedy.

She has to stand taller than anyone else, to keep her chin up, to stifle her own grief just so her family can stay afloat. But inside, Layken is losing all hope. She feels like the weight of the world is dragging her to the bottom of an abyss of despair.

Her salvation comes when she meets Will Cooper, her 21-year-old neighbor, an attractive teacher caring for his brother.

Will and Layken fall for one another the moment they lock eyes. And over a period of a few hours and days, they realize that they’ve been looking for one another all their lives.

Like Layken, Will’s family suffered a great tragedy in the past. He was forced to step up to the plate and to become his brother’s pillar of support. Will has done an amazing job of holding his household together.

He also knows exactly what Layken is going through. So it doesn’t take the young girl long to develop a dependence on Will.

The Slammed series is a trilogy that explores the trials and joys of Will and Layken’s relationship. It shows readers those aspects of their individual personalities that drew the protagonists to one another.

It explores the hurts and obstacles and challenges that have assailed each character, the scars they have accumulated over the years, and the special attributes that make the love of their life the perfect source of hope for their pain.

The books look at the intense chemistry that keeps Will and Layken together even as their respective problems arise and attempt to pull them apart.

The series also looks at the evolution of Will and Layken’s love life, specifically the numerous checkpoints they encounter along the way, tests that force them to question how devoted they are to one another and whether they are willing to stay together in the long term or if their love is merely a passing fling that emerged like a roaring fire but which they should let extinguish.

The first book is told from Layken’s perceptive. The character has been criticized for being bratty, immature, and selfish. Her actions and her words do more to wreck her relationship with Will than anything else.

Her story revolves around her relationship with Will and her situation with her mother and brother. Her mother’s impact on her life continues to shape many of the decisions Layken makes, even after she is removed from the picture.

The POV changes in the second novel, with Will taking the steering Will. There are fans who love Will because they think he’s sweet and sensitive. There are also readers who hate the fact that he frequently questions his relationship with Layken. But this criticism is also true for Layken. Neither protagonist ever feels truly secure in their relationship.

The third and final novel is also told from Will’s POV. But the book is basically a retelling of ‘Slammed’, with readers being given new insight into the events of that book from Will’s perspective.

The Slammed novels feature a lot of slam poetry, the result of Will’s passion for the medium. While some readers love the gimmick and have admitted to picking up an interest in slam poetry as a result, others hate it.

+The Author
Colleen Hoover is an American novelist that writes Young Adult and New Adult Fiction. The indie published author has produced numerous bestsellers over the years. Colleen runs a service called ‘The Bookworm Box’ that helps readers receive signed copies of novels from their favorite authors.

+Slammed
Layken is 18. Will is 21. Their love couldn’t be more perfect. But the fact that Will is a teacher is making matters complicated.

Will and Layken met when Layken’s father died. She moved to town with her mother and brother and set up shop next door. Layken was fighting hard to keep up a brave front for her mother and brother.

But internally she was drowning. Then she met Will, her handsome neighbor who was passionate about slam poetry. Their relationship was intense and they couldn’t imagine living without one another.

But now a revelation has come to light and neither Layken nor Will knows for sure that their love can weather the coming storm.

+Point of Retreat
Obstacles arose to keep Will and Layken apart but they overcame them all. They now believe that they are destined for one another. But neither one of their personal lives is perfect; the things that drew them together might succeed in breaking them apart.

Layken needs to find security in her relationship with Will. She needs to stop second-guessing their love before it’s too late. On his part, Will keeps trying to prove himself to Layken.

He is determined to jump every hurdle she raises to show her that nothing can ever shake his faith in their relationship. Both Will and Layken must grow as people if they are to find peace in their relationship.