Slammed (Slammed #1) by Colleen Hoover

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces 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 secret that keeps them apart.

Five big, enormous, gargantuan, gigantic, huge, mammoth, massive Stars!

I got schooled this year

by

a

Boy.

a boy that I'm seriously,

deeply, madly, incredibly, 

and undeniably in love

with.

And he taught me the most

important thing of all...

To put the emphasis

On life.

This book was pure brilliance. Shortly after the death of her father, Layken, her mother, & younger brother, Ky, moved from Texas to Michigan to start a new life. There she meets her neighbor, Will. Will is no stranger to love & loss. He lost his parents when he was only 19 years old and now is caring for his little brother, Caulder. Will & Layken almost immediately are drawn to one another. Their first date involved attending Club N9NE, which on Thursdays close for slam poetry. They have the perfect first date. However, just when Layken & Will were forming a relationship...slam! A serious roadblock emerges and the two cannot move forward in their relationship. Both struggle immensely with keeping their feelings in check, but they cope with it the best they can for the sake of both their little brothers, who are now BFFs. Just as Layken was starting to pick up the pieces...slam! Layken is hit with some devastating news about her mother. She just cannot catch a break. 

I simply loved Will & Layken's relationship. They are so similar in so many ways, that you were hoping and praying that they were going to find a way to be together. The use of slam poetry in this book was utter genius. I've never read anything like it before and I effin LOVED it. Some of the pieces written, like the one above, stirred so many emotions in me. I was blown away. Wow.

I feel extremely fortunate to have come across this gem. After reading a strong recommendation from a book blogger, I was compelled to read this immediately. Thank God I did. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Highly recommend :)

Almost by Anne Eliot

At a freshman party she doesn't remember, Jess Jordan was almost raped.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she's better. Over it. Because she is.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Unfortunately, until Jess proves she's back to normal activities, her parents won't discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life. 

Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won't cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.

FIVE MASSIVE Stars!!

Member: BBB. Boys in Books are Better 

I'm so in love with Gray Porter. Let me repeat. This is me shouting it out because I cannot stress this enough: I'm in Love. Seriously. In LOVE with Gray Porter!. Gray has got to be the sweetest, cutest, most unselfish, most honorable book boyfriend ever. And for me to say that, is a huge deal. 

I'm sooooooo unbelievably happy right now. I'm so happy that I chose to read this amazing story. Seriously amazing. Its told in a two person perspective, Jess & Gray. Jess is fighter. During her freshman year, she was almost raped by a senior hockey player, until someone stopped him. Enter Gray Porter. Gray was just a scrawny freshman hockey player taking on the senior when he stopped the almost incident. He did everything he could to help Jess. He quit the Varsity team for her, and was ready to testify on her behalf. So unbelievably honorable Mr. Porter was. Unfortunately, Jess' parents, along with the coach believed nothing good could come out of prosecuting since Jess couldn't remember anything. 

Flash forward to the end of Junior year. Jess & Gray are competing one another for a summer internship. The payoff $8000 for the summer. Both could seriously benefit from this internship: Jess can get a letter of recommendation for college &normalcy points from her parents and Gray gets much needed money for college. Jess, however, needs to convince her parents that she's over her traumatic past and that she's coping with her PTSD. She convinces herself that getting a boyfriend would definitely prove to her parents that she's normal and ready for college. Convinced that the other will get the internship, Jess & Gray enter into a contract of sorts. They managed to convince the company to take both of them for the job, but only paying one intern (Gray). In return, Gray will pretend to be Jess' boyfriend for the summer. Gray has always harbored feelings for Jess and agrees to this arrangement. However, their pretend relationship leads to more. Both are torn with their feelings for one another. Is it all just pretend or is it more? Will Jess' nightmares from that horrible night ever stop? Will she remember Gray's involvement? Ahhhh, the turmoil. Loved it. 

Jess' character was pretty frustrating at times, but for the most part was real and honest. She was going through some major issues. Gray was just an absolutely perfect hero. He was so unbelievably sweet and patient with Jess. And that letter he wrote her? OMG! I could read that 50 million times and it would still have me swooning. It reminded me so much of Jane Austen's letter in Persuasion, which I find kinda funny considering the author's name is Anne Eliot. Get it? Anne Elliot? Persuasion people! LOL. 

Loved everything about this story. The references to Austen, Twilight, Hunger Games, Star Wars, their text messages...everything. Oh and trying to decipher those texts had me cracking up. Seriously, I freaking loved, LOVED this book. It was so adorkable. I can seriously go on and on about it. HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend. :)