This Girl: A Novel (Slammed)

Just as the first two books in the series, This Girl doesn't disappoint. It's interesting to see the same story from a different perspective. Lets you relive the original story while also learning more. Great read!

OMG- what a fabulous ending to one of the most wonderfully written series I have ever read! I am literally in tears from this book...epilogue had me searching frantically for the tissues! & the final piece?! Oh Colleen- what have you done to me? :) AMAZING!!!!

Cried so hard at the end. And I'm framing Will's last poem (My Final Piece) and putting in on my wall. It's beautiful Colleen....just beautiful. You do have the gift of words. Thank you for this series.

The repetition of so many scenes made it a tad boring at times, but the intense poetry makes the entire series a favorite!! The final poem will forever stay near to my heart. And, who wants this love story to end? Not I?

This book was such great ending to an amazing trilogy! I really liked reading from will's point of view after hearing lake's. This girl had such a great ending after all the struggles the characters went through.

This Girl... this wonderful, amazing author has done it again! The Slammed series is one of my favorites. I always feel the emotion in the story, very well written. Five stars+. Definitely a read for a young adult audience, but adults can enjoy it too!

Will 's story is a great completion to the Slammed series, he is so clear about his love for Lake. Colleen Hoover did a wonderful job with all of her characters, I look forward to her next work of art. I highly recommend this lovely read.

I'm actually speechless. The only thing I can think of right now is how sad I am that this book is over. Absolutely amazing once again. The perfect ending to a story I fell hard for and have loved since the beginning.

I loved Hoover's approach to this story. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I read Will's point of view. I even found myself referencing Slammed for Layken' s point of view. It was an amazing way to wrap up their love story.

Love love love this book! I love the whole story that is Lake and Will and this piece is no exception. I loved the trip down memory lane, the slams and the small nuances that make this story what it is!! I'm so glad to have had this final chapter.

I read the first books of the series you would understand how amazing this book is. Its not like other books that tell the guys point of view because it connects the two books to the present... && Will Cooper is perfect!!

Also, Colleen Hoover is an absolutely amazing story teller!

Book was great if you absolutely loved the first book. For me it was Will's take on meeting Lake. And I loved reading what he was feeling at the time. If you are someone who likes re-reading you favorite books, this will be a treat for you.

I have nothing but good things to say about this book, this series and this author. I love all her work and this series was more than a great read. Love how she kept the present in with this look back at Will's past with LAke.

As expected Colleen kept me captivated throughout the whole book, even though I knew the story, Will's pov couldn't have kept me more interested. Butterflying amazing!! Can't wait for more to come from Colleen!!

Let me start by saying I was a HUGE fan of the first two novels, HUGE. I finished each in a day and was waiting for this book to be released forever! I really tried to like it. I really tried to finish it, but I couldn't. It was so corny and slow, and just stupid. There's no other way I can put it. It's not because I had high expectations. It was just poorly written and I completely hated it. I can't even begin to express how disappointed I am in this book. I regret the purchase. It was a complete waste of money.

Adored all three books in this series and This Girl was the perfect ending. Only, I wish it didn't have to end, I want more books about Will and Lake, about Kel and Caulder, Eddie & Gavin, Will and Lake's kids....ahhh I miss them already.

I loved the first two books and was so excited to see "This Girl" released. It is a perfect ending to wrap up Lake and Will's romance. Reading your favorite parts of book 1 and 2 in Will's perspective, is amazing! I loved it!

Wow.....butterflying amazing. How can you not love Will anymore than you already did after reading that? There was a small point where I wasn't very happy with him but he made up for it with how much he loves Lake. You must Read this book today!!

100 + STARS!!

Saying goodbye to my all time favorite series was bittersweet. I absolutely LOVED IT! It was so much more than just a retelling of Slammed. It was a story within a story.

I've said it before but it's the truth; Colleen Hoover is a genius!! Her writing never disappoints and This Girl was no different. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to reach into my kindle and smack some sense into people. And let me just say, when you find out the reason behind the title...you'll want to stick Will Cooper in your pocket (or maybe somewhere else lol) and keep him forever. I was ready to lose it before I even started the dang book only because I know what to expect from a Colleen Hoover novel. Especially in this series. She's gonna rip your heart out one second and then hand it back to you wrapped in a sparkly bow the next. Like I said...genius.

She's couldn't have ended this series on a more perfect note. I felt so happy and content with the way the characters turned out. I can just see Julia and Will's parents looking down on all of them, smiling.

Colleen Hoover can write one hell of a book! This Girl is absolute perfection and a beautiful ending to her Slammed series. I fell in love with Will and Layken all over again (and Caulder and Kel too!). Thank you for such an amazing book!

This final installment to the slammed series is so good the way it all flowed was great and I loved that it was wills story we found out things we didn't know before it's heart breaking and touching all at the sametime

Colleen Hoover is a master with words. What an amazing book to follow slammed and point of retreat. I love Will and Lake and everyone else in this book even more then a person should love fictional characters. Truly a beautiful book!

Wow.....butterflying amazing. How can you not love Will anymore than you already did after reading that? There was a small point where I wasn't very happy with him but he made up for it with how much he loves Lake. You must Read this book today!!

100 + STARS!!

Saying goodbye to my all time favorite series was bittersweet. I absolutely LOVED IT! It was so much more than just a retelling of Slammed. It was a story within a story.

I've said it before but it's the truth; Colleen Hoover is a genius!! Her writing never disappoints and This Girl was no different. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to reach into my kindle and smack some sense into people. And let me just say, when you find out the reason behind the title...you'll want to stick Will Cooper in your pocket (or maybe somewhere else lol) and keep him forever. I was ready to lose it before I even started the dang book only because I know what to expect from a Colleen Hoover novel. Especially in this series. She's gonna rip your heart out one second and then hand it back to you wrapped in a sparkly bow the next. Like I said...genius.

She's couldn't have ended this series on a more perfect note. I felt so happy and content with the way the characters turned out. I can just see Julia and Will's parents looking down on all of them, smiling.

Colleen Hoover can write one hell of a book! This Girl is absolute perfection and a beautiful ending to her Slammed series. I fell in love with Will and Layken all over again (and Caulder and Kel too!). Thank you for such an amazing book!

This final installment to the slammed series is so good the way it all flowed was great and I loved that it was wills story we found out things we didn't know before it's heart breaking and touching all at the sametime

Colleen Hoover is a master with words. What an amazing book to follow slammed and point of retreat. I love Will and Lake and everyone else in this book even more then a person should love fictional characters. Truly a beautiful book!

This is a very hard review for me because is love Colleen Hoover and i loved slammed and point of retreat. I bought this book because of the other reviews and i wanted to read the epilogue. Please don't get me wrong, i still love these characters and the book was good, but it wasn't great!

If I wanted to reread the previous novels, I would have! The book is just flashbacks with a few added details. So mad I wasted my money on this crap. It's really sad that this is the ending to this series as the previous novels were so good!

First of all, let me say, I completely understood what I was buying before purchasing This Girl: Will's POV of their time together, as explained by Will to Lake. Simple enough? Hoover even states in her book description, "In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series." Then I read so many other reviews from people who were "disappointed" or thought it was a "rehash" of Slammed. Maybe I'm biased because I ABSOLUTELY, without question, LOVE this series (and can't get enough of Hoover's writing style), but if you read the book description prior to purchasing the book, you have a pretty good idea about what you're getting. It's a little unfair to suggest you didn't know what you were buying.

I, for one, did not feel cheated with this installment. It was as beautifully written as the other two and I enjoyed every moment of it (touched me to tears - which is saying something). I don't know about you, but I have books in my collection that I enjoy so much I keep them to reread for a quick pick me up or after a string of disappointing reads or just to "feel" that wondrousness [my word] it inspires. This series is in that collection. If you enjoyed Slammed and Point of Retreat, you'll appreciate Will's perspective and his "retelling" of their time together from move-in day to honeymoon. The epilogue is a bonus that, in my opinion, and my opinion only, allows me to hope for a spin-off that will continue the stories of the amazing characters in this book. If, however, you thought the Slammed series was so-so, skip This Girl and save this author (and her fans) your "slamming" reviews.

This book shattered all expectations. I did cry a little just because I didn't want it to end. Whenever you can make the reader connect on that deep of a level your a pure genius! I might have a lady crush on Colleen. Shhhh!

This is how a book is redone in a different POV. I was sucked in from the first page and I didn't even want to skip a word. I was fully engrossed in Will's perspective, just as much as Lake's. Loved It!!

Colleen Hoover knocked it out of the park with this book! I loved it!! I have been anticipating this book for almost a year and it was worth the wait. I loved that Will was open with Lake and was willing to answer all her questions openly. This was a great ending!

I absolutely love the way Will's story was told in This Girl! It was genius and I creative! I loved this series so much and am totally sad to see it come to an end. Wonderful job Colleen Hoover! Highly recommend!

I liked the first book. Not a great piece of literature, yet nice and relaxing reading. The second one started to be a bit annoying, since the characters seemed to be moving emotionally backwards, rather than progressing. For this last one we were promised a man's POV about the first, relatively nice book. But we never really got it. It was a woman's point of view pretending to be a man. I'm not trying to say men do not have feelings and do not remember exact words from a year ago, but...seriously? Sometimes I just prayed Lake would stop asking Will further questions about his feelings, also because she seemed to be always ready to cry her eyes off after every sentence he says. And the scenes between the memories? They just made me very uncomfortable, even to dislike both characters, due to their immature, exaggerated, often unrealistic and over the top reactions (constantly crying being only one of them). They did not display such reactions even when younger and under much pressure from all sides. But having them after all they have gone through, now, when everything is settled... Despite the epilogue and new parts with Julia, this was really a big disappointment and nothing, absolutely nothing would make me to read it again. Ever.

"This Girl," is the latest installment of the bestselling Shammed series YA set of stories. They offer the readers a story of love and heartache combined with some excellent poetry.

Will Cooper is a high school student teacher caring for his younger brother since their parents untimely deaths. With the added responsibility of caring for his younger brother, Will has doubled up on his courses to get his teaching certificate sooner. He's also fighting off depression due to his parents deaths and that his girlfriend moved out because she didn't want partial care of Will's brother.

The novel is played out at a liesurly pace as a new neighbor moves across the street. This family is a mother, a son the age of Will's brother and a young woman who Will is immediately attracted to.

Will asks the young lady out on a date and brings her to a poetry slam where he recites one of his poems.

Everything is going well until he sees the girl at his school and signing up for his class. He knows of the inappropriateness of a teacher and student relationship so he must choose a course of action.

This is a very enjoyable novel, told from Will's point of view. The characters are well presented and the plotting well done.

2.5/5. This book was not really necessary in my opinion. It was just a rehasing of the first book from Will's perspective. The epilogue in my opinion could have been placed at the end of the second book. I liked some details that we didn't get to see. Not much new really happened in this book. This book felt like I was rereading Slammed, which was I book I wasn't a big fan of in the first place. I was just reading it to complete the series since I've read the other two books. Overall, it was an okay book; I have read better from Colleen.

Remember the episode of Saved By the Bell where Zack Morris plays hooky from school and one by one, Slater, Jessie, Lisa, Kelly and Screech all drop by, and they sit around and reminisce about their summer at the Malibu Sands Beach Club? This Girl soooo reminded me of that episode!!

Too often lately I've read books from a different character's point of view and I've come away feeling like I just read the same story I read the first time. Sure the author may have thrown in some new material. But really, they just cut and pasted the original story and edited here and there to change the perspective. And I now feel like I just wasted several hours rereading the same exact book I had already read.

Unless, of course, the author is Colleen Hoover. And the book is This Girl. And the book freaking rocks!!

I could probably write my own book on all the things I adored about this story. I remember how I felt when I read Slammed... I was completely blown away. Then I immediately read Point of Retreat and my reaction was sheer awe that Ms. Hoover somehow topped Slammed with her sequel. How she did precisely that a THIRD time, I do not know. It's not often I love subsequent books in a series more than I loved the first story. After all, the first book is what drew you in in the first place, made you fall in love with the story line and the characters. But this chick, Colleen Hoover, did that... twice!

This book was perfect. The way you pick up right where Will and Lake left off, you know exactly where they are and what they're doing (literally on their honeymoon) while Will simultaneously takes you (and Lake, his new wife!!) back in time and tells the incredible story from start to finish from his point of view. It's perfectly written. I remembered all the little quirks of each character, that I hadn't thought about in quite some time. I remembered all the reasons I loved these characters, how heartbroken I felt for them as they survived their respective tragic stories as well as the way they had to navigate this forbidden relationship. I remembered all of it, but felt like I was living it the first time all over again. This story is not redundant. It reads like it's the very first time you're hearing it. Which is what we, as readers, are all so desperate for when we pick up a book from an alternate perspective, but we so rarely get.

I'm officially an even bigger Colleen Hoover fan than I already was... And I thought I was a huge butterflying fan!! I am in awe of her writing, her creatively, the way she crafted this masterpiece. Because THIS GIRL is just that, a masterpiece. A butterflying amazing masterpiece.

It loved I. :-)

There are some people in this world, that if they never figured out their piece of the puzzle - the world would certainly be lacking... If Michael Jordan had never picked up a basketball, if Carrie Underwood had stayed on her farm and never tried out for American Idol. If Colleen Hoover had never put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard - whatever her method), I believe this world would be lacking.

This Girl...this story...butterflying amazing! I really enjoyed Slammed when I read it, and Point of Retreat has been sitting on my favorites shelf on my Kindle since I read it, but this book, by far, best of the series. It wouldn't have worked without the first two stories being told, but for me seeing it told from Will's POV just made me fall more in love with Will Cooper.

This story picks up where PoR leaves us off and what I loved was that she let us be a part of that trip. It's not simply just Slammed re-told through Will's eyes. It's the best parts of Slammed told as memories while we are spending part of the honeymoon with our favorite couple. The mix of the past and present and then the small glimpse into the future, to me, was the perfect equation for this book.

I laughed, my heart hurt, I fell in love with Will and rooted for Will and Lake and eventually I even cried. I honestly don't want to share any of my favorite quotes because hearing this from Will is just better than reading parts of him separately.

Colleen Hoover is beautifully brilliant, amazingly talented and seriously brave. My suck is that this series is over because I love these characters so much and my sweet is that Colleen Hoover shared these characters with us and gave us a piece of herself that will change everyone who lets it.

This Girl is book three of the Slammed series, focusing on Will and Layken's relationship from his point of view. Will reveals some unknown truths to Lake, the side of the story to which she was not privy.

A great deal of this book just rehashes the previous two, but it does bring closure to the series in an interesting way. To be honest, the best parts of This Girl are the slam poetry pieces, which completely capture the feelings of the characters in the book. I almost wish that the author had stopped at Point of Retreat, for there was not enough new material in This Girl. New readers of the Slammed series should start with book 1, while those who are familiar with the characters can use This Girl to say goodbye to Layken and Will.

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Reviewer: Me

O.M.G.

This Girl is IT girls.

This Girl is phenomenal, delightful, tearful, joyful and soulful.

This Girl is worth shouting from the mountain tops, singing praises into the wee hours of the night, and worth abandoning everything else you want to read.

This Girl will be your end all - the beginning to an ever lasting friendship with author Colleen Hoover.

If you've never been in love, dreamed of love, had love and lost love, or finally FOUND love, then you will understand and relate to every emotion felt in This Girl.

Quote:

"I lie back on my pillow and think back to that day. The day that I fell for my wife." - Will

Hoover's a master storyteller. Her writing is lyrical - akin to listening to someone's fingers caressing the keys on a piano. Every word drew me in. Every sentence left me captivated by the soul inspiring - earth shattering romance between Layken and Will. Where the hell have I been people? Why have I never read anything by Colleen Hoover before???? I think I ought to smack myself a couple hundred thousand times. Her writing is BEYOND words. And Will's story is beyond anything I've ever felt for a character before. He's the kind of guy you WISH you met. He's the kind of guy every girl DREAMS of meeting. His story will produce TEARS! *cry* *CRY* Go ahead and have those tissues ready! You've been warned.

Quote:
I kiss her.
I kiss her like it's the first time I've ever kissed her.
I kiss her like it's the last time I'll ever kiss her. - Will

According the internet, This Girl is actually a companion to the first two novels which tells the entire love story from Will's point of view. Not having read Slammed or Point of Retreat, I can only say that This Girl can work as a standalone title - however you will be wishing you had read the other two. TRUST ME! I bought them both immediately after I hit the epilogue. *cries* *STILL CRYING*

The most amazing thing about the novel is the authenticity of its characters. Never once did I say, "oh this character is so one dimensional". Each character brings a spark to the pages. Something that keeps you reading - something that keeps reeling you back in. You cry with them (A LOT). You laugh with them. You cherish them for who they are, the choices they make, and the love that holds them together.

Quote:

She laughs. "I can tell. You can't keep your mouth off it. Most guys prefer the ass or the boobs. Will Cooper prefers the neck."

I shade my head, disagreeing with her while I continue running my lips across her incredibly smooth skin. "Nope," I say. "Will Cooper prefers the whole Lake." - Lake and Will

Overall, I can't stop gushing about this book. Heck I can't stop gushing about the author. YOU NEED TO READ IT! You NEED to seek out this author. Colleen Hoover, I think you made a fan girl out of me!!! *swoon*

It’s probably no surprise that I loved this one. I love Colleen Hoover and I loved this series. This is the 3rd book in the Slammed series, but it’s really more a retelling from the hero’s POV. There are some bonus scenes but a lot of it is a new look at old info. You know what? Didn’t matter. Will is freakin’ amazing and I loved listening to his version of things that happened. I was gutted when he found out the things he found out, cried for him and he struggled through his own issues and loved him all over again when we watched him fall in love with Lake.
If you like Colleen Hoover, you’ll like this series, and you’ll enjoy this “bonus” book. If you don’t, well, there’s clearly something wrong with you.

Author: Colleen Hoover
Title: This Girl
Series Title & Book #: Slammed #3
Continuing plot or functional as stand-alone: Continuing Plot
Overall feel : Angsty
Smexy level: Pretty vanilla
Best for: When you want to swoon and cry a little
Read or Skip It? Read It

So I finished book 2 at like 5 in the morning and I had known about book 3 so I started it right away. This book is a retelling of the first book but in Will's POV. It bops between the present and the past. It was nice to see the other side of the shoe. This author has done this before with Hopeless and Losing Hope and I loved it then and she has done it yet again. This story was fantastic and was just so well done. I love how she continues the story past what we already had and really gives the characters a fantastic conclusion. I love to see books continue but I have to say she did a great job of wrapping up the series. This was just a wonderful series and I could see myself re-reading.

There is an extended epilogue in The Kiss Anthology

I loved this book! I did not read the first book in the Slammed series, Slammed, but I did read Point of Retreat (read my review here). I always meant to go back and read book one, but never took the time to do it. But, reading This Girl more than made up for me missing out on Slammed. Hoover alternates from present-tense (Will and Layken are married and on a short honeymoon) to flashbacks from chapter to chapter. The flashbacks start with Layken and Will's first meeting and span their entire relationship. I love flashbacks, when they are done well, and Hoover executed the concept perfectly.

The difference between This Girl and Slammed is that the flashbacks are told from Will's point of view. In fact, the entire book is from Will's perspective. I enjoyed Will's voice and getting to know him better. I liked him a lot in Point of Retreat, but by the time I finished This Girl I had fallen for him. He's just about perfect, and I loved the intensity of his love for Layken, as well as his brother and their friends.

Hoover excells at writing emotion: the feelings just jumped off the page as I read this book. I teared up several times, just overcome with the feelings Layken and Will were experiencing.

I love titled chapters, and the inclusion of quotes or poetry at the beginning of chapters. Hoover took that concept one step further by having her characters express their feelings through poetry. I loved that some of their declarations happened at poetry slams, and reading the poems Layken and Will wrote for each other was a fun part of the story. This Girl has a lot of poetry included throughout the book and I really enjoyed that. It made for a more intense, emotional read.

Having read all of Colleen Hoover's work (with the exception of Slammed), I can say that her writing keeps getting better and better. I would highly recommend this series to all fans of contemporary fiction!

Newlyweds Will and Layken are on their honeymoon and are reminiscing about how they first met, fell in love, and wound up married. Will is telling the story though his eyes and while Layken listens to his version, she gets to see things differently. She also finds out some truths she never knew as some painful memories are brought to light.

When these two first met, they didn't know that Will was to be Layken's teacher, so that apparently caused some drama in the lovebirds lives. It turned into the "we want to be together, but we can't" storyline. Of course, love conquers all, and they get their happily ever after, but not after going through some tough times first.

I have not read the first two in this series, but this installment seemed like it was memories from the previous books, all given through Will's point of view as flashbacks. I enjoyed This Girl enough and after reading it, I don't feel the need to read the first in the series as this seems like it took all the main parts of the story and retold them neatly. I think die hard fans of the first two books might enjoy this third one as kind of a 'wrap up' installment. Especially for those who read and loved the first two books and are experiencing the dreaded book withdrawal syndrome and need a dose of their favorite characters to take the edge off.

I would read Colleen Hoover again, I enjoyed her style of storytelling. She had me laughing out loud during some scenes and sighing during others. She captures Will's voice nicely too and I liked that this book was narrated by the hero. The romance was sweet. Will is a nice guy, he's a teacher, raises his little brother, writes poetry and is devoted to Layken. Layken annoyed me sometimes, but of course she is only eighteen and some of her actions seemed overly dramatic.

All in all, This Girl was a nice dose of contemporary new adult romance.

disclaimer:
This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any type of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers and authors, such as this one, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received a free copy of This Girl from the publisher.

[...]

One of the new things that many people would have noticed with this New Adult genre is the re-telling of the stories from the others POV. Same story, just a different viewpoint. I have discovered the perfect solution on how not to feel like you are re-reading the story. How to do it is to take a break between reading the books. This is what I did with the Slammed series as I adored Books #1 and #2 and then when I saw that Colleen had released a third one , I got it immediately and then it has been sitting on my e-reader for almost a year. I finally got around to reading it and I enjoyed it as much as I could as those who know me , understand that unless the book is OMG FREAKING AMAZING then I do not re-read stories as the excitement for that story disappears once I finish the book.
This Girl by Colleen Hoover is Book #3 in her Slammed series which feature Lake and Will. In this book , they are finally celebrating their long-awaited honeymoon and on their first night, Lake asks Will to tell her about his past. Starting from the moment his parent's died and leading up to asking Lake to marry him. There are quite a few repeated moments in This Girl as we would have read in the previous books but also new moments like what happened prior to Will meeting Lake - mainly the break-up between him and Vaughn after his parent's car crash.
I strongly recommend to readers, not to read This Girl unless you have read the previous two books in the series and only read this if you don't mind repetition and also if you are like me and want to make sure you have finished the series.
Another great hit by Colleen Hoover :)

I dont like telling people how to feel about a book, and I don't want to bash an author. So I can only say how I feel about a book, and how I came up with how I review them. When I read a book I judge it like this:
5 stars= LOVE it! Couldn't put it down and the story was amazing. I scream from the mountain tops for my friends to read it! Once or twice I may have told a friend I wasn't answering her calls until she read it. I think that highly of my 5* reviews :)
4 stars = Really like it. There was just something missing to where I wasn't in love, or there was something that bugged me. I would probably tell my friend to read it. If I thought they would like that kind of story.
3 stars= It was ok. It isn't bad, but I just felt "meh" while reading it and wouldn't recommend it to my friends
2 stars= I just really didn't like the book. Some books have really annoying characters, nothing at all happens, or I just dont feel connected to the characters so I dont want to keep reading. And if I dont feel connected then reading becomes a chore. I would not recommend these books to a friend. Or enemy :)
1 star= Didnt like it, and I couldnt finish. I have read around 400 books, and I have only given 3 or 4 a 1 star ratings.

So I have finally, FINALLY finished This Girl by the amazing Colleen Hoover.

And I am just in awe right now because Colleen Hoover did it. Again. She has made me into complete mush thanks to a certain Will Cooper and I can’t even deal with life anymore. I had NO apprehensions before reading This Girl. I knew I would love every word from beginning to end, and Colleen did not disappoint. Everything about this book, the new slams, the way Will loves Layken, the angst, Will’s hardships, the EPILOGUE(!!!!), was SO SO incredibly emotional and touching. And at the end, I wanted nothing more than to keep reading about Will and Layken and their brothers and their story. I don’t think I can ever get enough of them. ESPECIALLY Will.

And speaking of the heart-melting Will Cooper. OH HO HO. Oh my. He is one FINE specimen if I do say so myself. Reading Will’s POV from what happened in Slammed was so wonderful, because Will is probably the sweetest, most selfless, self-sacrificing boy I’ve read. He gave up his whole life for his younger brother, even at the loss of his beloved parents. Probably one of my favorite scenes to read was when Will finally tells Layken the story of when his parents died. Will completely broke my heart when I read it, because it was so heart-wrenching and heart-breaking. And I literally teared up when Will was so happy that his little brother, Caulder, had survived. I B U T T E R F L Y I N G L O V E this book (hehe This book, get it?). Actually, this entire series. This Girl was just an incredible end to one of the most amazing series I have ever read. The entire book is written in the most beautiful way that you can’t help but fall more in love with Will with every word he says.

Will. Butterflying. Cooper. I just swoon SO HARD because of him. (And Naughty Will was so sexy yet hilarious at the same time! I have no idea why!)

I will never get tired of this series. I could read it over and over again. And I’m pretty sure I will, too. I’ve come to love and care so much for Will and Layken and everyone else, laughing and tearing up and smiling while reading this series. And when a book has that kind of power, you know that it’s an incredible book.

Originally posted here: [...]

This is one of those moments when I really remember why I love reading.

Colleen Hoover is a special kind of author. She doesn't just write these amazing stories, she creates worlds. Her worlds stick with you. They have this lingering effect, and you might find yourself daydreaming about Lake or Will[mostly Will, sorry Lake!] for months after you read the last page.

This Girl brought me right back into Lake and Will's world, and it was like I had never left. I spent every waking minute that I wasn't reading this book thinking about reading it. The way that this story is told is unique. It's not just Will's POV of Slammed, it's Will telling Lake what he was thinking and how he felt during certain big moments. What I truly loved about this book was the little snippets of the past and future that I got. And for someone who usually hates epilogues, I loved this epilogue.

Will Cooper reminded me that it's okay to love a good guy. Not every guy with a traumatic past turns into a womanizing douchebag. Some of them becoming something better because of the trauma. When Will's parents died he didn't bury his feelings in drugs and women, he became an adult and became his brother's guardian. Will is one of the characters I always come back to when I think about my favorite book boyfriends.

A line in "A Very Long Poem" by Marty Schoenleber that is featured in the book describes Lake and Will so well.

"We are all broken together
But these shattered pieces of our existence don't have
to be a mess"

Will and Lake took some terrible circumstances and made the best they could for the future. I loved every second of this book, and this series. I will miss these characters so much. I'm not ready to leave Lake, Will, Kel, Caulder, Eddie, Gavin, or Kiersten behind! I will be rereading this series soon.

Well, I finally got what I wanted and it was all I was expecting and more. After reading Slammed and wanting to get inside Will's head and having been disappointed with the way the story played out in Point of Retreat , I can say that Colleen Hoover redeemed herself with This Girl.

From the poetry to the journal entries all the way through to Will's thoughts and feelings on the events of the past and present, This Girl truly captured what Layken and Will's relationship was all about when it started back in Slammed.

"Layken Cooper, I love you. I've loved you since the second I laid eyes on you and I haven't stopped loving you for a second since."

There was Will's elation at having found someone to connect to after the heartache of losing his parents, his hesitation and determination to stay away after finding out Layken was his student and the heartache and pain of loving someone from afar. Every single emotion out there for me to gobble up.

"I want her to wait for me. I want her to wait for me so bad. I don't want to think about her ever allowing anyone bedsides me to love her."

As a reader who enjoyed the first installment and found myself a champion for Layken and Will, I was happy to read how everything worked out for them. I enjoyed going through every event in their relationship again through Will's eyes. It brought so much more to their journey of being together that even when some events were difficult to get through because I already knew the outcome, I couldn't stop reading them.

I loved Will from the beginning and This Girl just cemented those feelings for him. He became more real in my eyes after seeing how affected he was by everything that took place during their relationship. Yes, I sill think he has some flaws, but even then he was a great character to get to know. He brought the funny, the emotional and the realness to the story.

"I can't remember feeling this way... since well, ever. It's new. It's scary. It's exciting. It's nerve-racking. It's calming. It's every single emotion I've ever felt balled up into an intense urge to grab hold of her and never let go."

Layken too redeemed herself. This time around she didn't question Will's reactions to the events that had taken place nor did she judge him like I thought she would. She showed some maturity and it couldn't come soon enough for me. After Point of Retreat I was utterly disappointed in her, so it was a treat to see her come into herself, accepting Will for who he is and committing to their future together, future obstacles and all.

Once again, Colleen Hoover's writing was superb. Even more so since she brought along a lot more humor with Will's POV and a different set of emotions now that the hard times were through and they could finally be together freely.

"Sometimes two people need to fall apart to realize how much they need to fall back together."

As a whole, the Slammed series was a phenomenal success with it's ups and downs and everything in between. I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially Will. He is one character I will not soon forget.

I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of my honest opinion.

I am giving this book a 4.5 star rating. I was provided with a copy of this novel by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Colleen Hoover's debut novel "Slammed" was referred to me by several authors I have come to know through my reviews. I decided to give it a try and was incredibly surprised! If any of you know how I feel about Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park (my all-time favorite and most inspirational book I've read to date), you will be shocked to know that "Slammed" CLOSELY rivals FOL in my opinion.

When an author can grab my attention in the first few lines of their novel, I am intrigued. When they can continue to keep me vested in not only the plot line but also the characters and their development, I am shocked. When they can put it all together to create a book that inspires me, I am head-over-heels in love with the author! Colleen Hoover....I adore you!!!

The Slammed Series is a story about fate-plain and simple. If you ever doubted whether or not fate exists, read this book. After facing incredible personal tragedies, both main characters (Will and Layken) find their lives fatefully entwined in ways they cannot deny nor ignore. I was immediately shocked with the ethical dilemma they are faced with and even more so when it turns into a very intricate moral dilemma. The main characters are so well defined and have such incredible back stories, it shouldn't seem believable...yet it does. So much so, you just lose yourself in the story and forget everything around you.

With "This Girl", Ms. Hoover manages to tell the same story from Will's perspective with out even one time making me feel like I was reading the same story again! It was incredible. While it's written from Will's POV, it's set in the present. You are with Will and Layken as together they explore all the trials and tribulations they went through in Slammed, but with emotions and experiences you never knew about when reading from Layken's POV.

Once again, the supporting characters have their own back stories which make them equally intriguing and help add to the plot line and its' development. As the book progresses, every character is faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges; yet they all continue on their road of development and their experiences contribute to the story in such amazing ways. Again though, from Will's perspective, even these supporting characters have new life breathed into them by Ms. Hoover.

You will feel each and every emotion the characters are feeling. You will cry, laugh, furrow your brow in worry and sometimes just smile shyly to yourself at the sweetness. Don't get me wrong...this is NOT all romance here. While the underlying story is a romance, there is so much more to the story I really hesitate to even label it a romance. This is a drama through and through with a romance thrown in to balance out the emotional impact it makes on you. Reading it from Will's POV was one of the most refreshing experiences I've ever had in a POV story. I even watched as Layken's emotions and reactions changed based on Will's side of things which she is experiencing for the first time. It never once felt forced or compromised Will's masculinity which is an incredibly difficult accomplishment. Well done Ms. Hoover!!

This book is fantastic-like the whole Slammed Series. From the first page to the last page, the story is utter perfection and instilled so many emotions and inspiration in me. I will carry this story with me forever. I've never said this before on a POV novel, but THANK YOU Ms. Hoover for giving us Will's story!!

+ Watching Will tell Layken his story was incredibly touching
+ I was very emotional listening to Will's feelings
+ So much angst and upheaval you never get comfortable or bored with this relationship
+ Incredible way to tell a different POV - truly ingenious Ms. Hoover
- Honestly, it was just over too fast
??? Will we ever get to read about the boys once they grow up ???

-justmyopinionbookblog.com FB: Justmyopinionnh Tw: @JustmyopinionNH

If I told you I would bow down before Hoover’s greatness, what would you say?
Get in line.
That’s what I thought. Her magnificence has taken the world by storm. The literary world is more beautiful for having her masterpieces in it.

This Girl knocked my socks off. It reminded me of why she took out last years favorite reads for me and why her characters stay with me for always. Will and Lake. Have you ever met a more amazeballs, loveable, want-to-be-just-like-them couple? Nope, me neither.

~ “There isn’t a single woman in this whole damn universe that I could ever love like I love you.” ~

The writing was completely engaging. It had me grinning. Gigging. Swooning. Sighing and crying. Perfectly poetic without being a poem. From the first paragraph;

~ If I took every romantic poem, every book, every song, and every movie I’ve ever read, heard, or seen and extracted the breathtaking moments, somehow bottling them up, they would pale in comparison to this moment.
This moment is incomparable. ~

Yes, it was Slammed in Wills pov, but it was just so much more than that. We revisited moments but they felt so different when the shoe was on the other foot. There were extra moments we have only imagined since then, and others that we had no idea about. Wills ‘This Girl’ slam had me sobbing and that was just one of the moments we were unaware of when reading Slammed. Another was learning more about the way Will felt about his parents death & also how falling in love felt for him. This Girl was perfect. It broke me again and put me back together differently.

~ If my dad were here, he’d be sitting with you he’d be hugging you … saying thank you. Thank you for saving my boy. Thank you for bringing light to his world.
If my mother was here, she’d be so happy to finally have a daughter in her life. She’d love you as much as I love you. ~

I would tell anyone that is putting off reading This Girl to pick this up pronto. You will love it just as much as the first two, if not more. Don’t for one second think you know the story and you don’t need this part. You do. Unequivocally. Just thinking about the epilogue makes me tear up.

~ I wish I could explain how I feel, but nothing can explain this moment. Not a vase of stars. Not a book. Not a song. Not even a poem… ~

If I finally made it to the front of Colleen’s line and bowed before her, I would say, Congrats on another butterflying beautiful awesome novel. This series, & your writing is music to my ears & chocolate to my lips. Thankyou for creating Will & Lake. Thank you for giving me a journey that I will take the lessons from and remember forever. Thank you for sharing your gift.

This third installment was a little more of a re-imaging than a completely new installment, per se. It picks back up where Point of Retreat left off and then has a series of flashbacks that are told in Will's POV. It's kind of nice because it fills you in on some of the inbetween - like what happened between Will and Layken's mom and what Will was actually thinking when he was giving Layken emotional whiplash. While it has some new scenes in it and a few new poetry pieces, there's very little that is actually new. And for the most part, I could have went without this third installment. It really didn't offer up anything that I felt was missing in the first two books, as I didn't feel that Will needed to explain his actions any more than what they already were. The flashbacks were sometimes hard to follow as well because the present and past sometimes merged together - or perhaps I just missed the breaks between.

If you really, really love Will or want his POV, you might consider picking this third piece up. But for the most part I'd say save your money on this one.

Ratings:

Writing quality: ***** (Book 1, 2) and **** (Book 3)
Character development: *****
Plot progression: ****
Romance: Great character tension, no explicit scenes

Will and Lake are finally happily married. But now Lake wants to know everything about Will, including past details that he'd rather keep to himself. So, reluctantly, he begins to finally reveal his thoughts and feelings since having met Lake. No thought is concealed and no stone is left unturned in this story where we finally get to hear Will's side.

This is a hard review to write for me. I really enjoyed this story, as I imagine everyone who has read Slammed & Point Of Retreat will because hearing about everything from the beginning from Will's perspective is something we all dreamed about from the first page of the first book. What is difficult for me to understand is that in book one I found myself getting irritated at Lake for not cutting Will more slack because it was obvious that he was trying his hardest to make things right and even though he managed to fail spectacularly, he still always tried to do the right thing. I felt like Lake was being immature for being less than completely understanding. Will has a kid brother to provide for which means he needs to keep a steady job and have money coming in at all times to ensure Caulder has what he needs. Now, in this novel, it felt like I jumped sides. Yes, Will is incredibly sympathetic towards Lake's dilemma, but I still felt the need to defend her at certain points and scream at him that he was being so hypocritical. The best example of this is that in this book we learn that Will went on a date with someone else after his first date with Lake, something Gavin pushed him into, trying to help him get over Lake. When Will finally fesses up and tells Lake, he doesn't seem to understand why this makes Lake so upset. But we all know that in Slammed, when he sees Lake kissing Javi, he goes nuts and beats the kid to a bloody pulp. Um, hi? You do see a problem here? I certainly do. How the heck do you expect Lake to feel when she learns you willing kissed someone else while she was sitting at her house pining over you? In fact, the whole date thing really bugged me. I hated how the girl fawned over him and was all "keep my number in case it doesn't work out." I get that Will is a great catch, but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Beyond that weird moment of side jumping, this book was amazing. It was nice that for once we don't get just a straight retelling of what happened in book 1, but rather a nice mix of current events with the older story flawlessly weaved in. Yes, a big chunk of this book is seeing Slammed through Will's eyes, but it never feels like we are just rehashing what already happened. In addition to adding present day scenes, Hoover also adds scenes from Slammed that we never see because it was solely in Lake's perspective. Also, rather than going through the day to day of Slammed, we just tackle the big events, like the first date, the day we find out that Will is actually Lake's teacher, and so on.

The characters are the same as before, though you get a bit more of Gavin than you have before. That's both good and bad because you see him trying to help Will so much but yet it isn't really that helpful. On the same note, you get a lot less of Eddie, which is a shame because she is definitely one of my favorite characters. In fact, I definitely wouldn't mind a spinoff focused on her...(hint hint hint).

What this boils down to is simple. If you enjoyed Slammed and/or Point Of Retreat, than this is a no brainer. Colleen Hoover's storyline and writing is exactly what you have been lead to expect and though this isn't quite as good as Hopeless, it's definitely up to her normal standards. If you haven't read Slammed, but like contemporary YA or NA, what are you waiting for?

****Thank you to Atria Books, an division of Simon & Schuster Inc for providing me with an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review****

This is no doubt in my mind that if you absolutely loved Slammed (my review) and Point of Retreat you think that this book is the best. I will freely admit that I would be very excited to experience my favorite books from another perspective (ie. how I was dying to read Losing Hope). But Slammed and Point of Retreat were not favorites of mine. I liked Slammed well enough, I enjoyed it while I was reading it and I think it was a solid four-star book for me. But I hated Point of Retreat. Lake, from Will's point of view, seemed so bitchy and they both felt like enormous martyrs.

I received This Girl via Netgalley and I probably would have read it even if I had to buy ir or get it from the library just to see what this book is.

What is it? Well, it's truly a retelling of Lake and Will's story from Slammed in Will's POV. There are a couple of new things revealed about that time period, like what Will was doing, but nothing new really emerges. In my mind, you have to be pretty obtuse to not realize that Will was madly in love with Lake during that time, he was just pushing her away because he had to do what was right for his family.

The setup is that Will is retelling these stories on their honeymoon, in between lots and lots of sex (which isn't described in any detail) he tells her the stories around their meeting, falling in love, breaking up (x1000), and finally getting back together. As I said, I think if I felt more strongly about Slammed I would have enjoyed this more. I don't have a clear memory of all the details of Slammed so I didn't remember Lake's experiences to compare them. I more just wondered why I was re-reading things I had already read.

This format, to me, also felt really choppy. It kind of reminded me of a scientific paper where you don't necessarily have transitions, there are just new sections with a section name at the top. I also thought it was strange how he's telling the story to Lake, but he's referring to her as "Lake" or "her" or "she" in the story rather than "you" (which also would have been weird). There was also one time when Will mentioned the name of a character in his retelling and then when Will and Lake were talking about it in the present honeymoon section Lake didn't know the character's name. So I didn't really understand how/how much he was actually telling her.

However, the scenes on their honeymoon and the few new scenes at the end (promising Julia to wait to have sex, the first night of their honeymoon, coming home from their honeymoon, and then an epilogue) were mostly good. There were a few scenes on the honeymoon where Lake turned into the crazy bitch I remembered from Point of Retreat and I wanted to hurl the book across the room, but otherwise I appreciated seeing how they ended up.

The best part to me, as with Slammed and Point of Retreat, is the poetry. And this comes from someone who hates poetry with a strong passion. It's so amazing how these poems, which are meant to be performed, come alive in the pages of these books. It continues to blow me away.

Bottom Line: If you loved the Slammed Series thus far I think you will relish the chance to relive it through Will's perspective. If you are like me and kind of liked/kind of felt ambivalent towards the Slammed Series, you'll probably feel ambivalent towards this.

As previously mentioned I received an electronic review copy of this from the publisher (thank you!). All opinions are my own.