If you’re into poetry, heartbreak, overcoming grief, and into the idea of finding love with that certain neighbor, then Colleen Hoover‘s Slammed is just for you!
According to her website, the American author has published over twenty novels. Hoover’s work tends to follow young protagonists, primarily female characters, longing for a break or escape from their troubled circumstances.
In 2012, Hoover was able to cement her name as one of the most popular authors around upon releasing her hit novel, Slammed. The book follows Layken, an 18-year-old girl dealing with the aftermath of losing her father and having to care for her brother and mother. Things seem to brighten up for Layken when she meets her neighbor, Will Cooper, a 21-year-old “with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor” (per Goodreads). The two hit it off with an incredible first date. However, like most young adult love stories, things don’t remain simple for long. There’s drama. Secrets are unveiled, and the two find themselves in a serious balancing act of embracing their feelings for one another, while also dealing with “the secret that keeps them apart” (per Goodreads).
If the plot isn’t enough to entice potential readers, than maybe the reviews are. With nearly 20,000 reviews, Slammed boasts an impressive 4.6 rating on Amazon. On Goodreads, with over 300,000 ratings, the novel currently sports a 4.1.
Is ‘Slammed’ a standalone book or part of a series?
While Colleen Hoover does write standalone novels, Slammed ended as a trilogy. The sequel, Point of Retreat, quickly followed Slammed in 2012, while the last book, This Girl, came out the next year. Naturally, all three novels follow the progression of Layken and Will’s relationship and the inevitable obstacles that keep getting thrown their way.
Layken and Will’s romance wasn’t the only story that has put Hoover on the map. In 2022, The New York Times published a piece that broke down the author’s immense success. That year, Hoover held “six of the top 10 spots on The New York Times’s paperback fiction best-seller list.” The author was outselling serious contenders like James Patterson and John Grisham. Even today, Hoover seems to hold five of those spots, with her novels Too Late, It Ends With Us, and It Starts With Us ranking in the top three.
According to The New York Times, what made Hoover’s success so bewildering was how untraditional it was. In 2012, when the author wrote Slammed, the author had no publisher and no connections to the literary world. Instead, an almost snowball-like effect on social media seemed to propel Slammed forward to mainstream attention. The New York Times wrote: “Her success has happened largely on her terms, led by readers who act as her evangelists, driving sales through ecstatic online reviews and viral reaction videos.”
Even as Hoover’s work continues to capture rabid mainstream success, her fans will likely always remember that it all started with Slammed.