Point of Retreat: A Novel (Slammed)

Terrific story. Well written and easy to read. Love the whole slam poetry angle and the song references in the chapters. Highly recommend for young adult/new adult genre readers.

Oh, I'm so in love with Will Cooper!!!! OMG, OMG, OMG!!!!! Point of Retreat is the phenomenal followup to the outstanding book Slammed, and it was everything I hoped for and more!! This has got to be one of the most romantic YA series I've come across, and if there's ever been a couple destined to be together it is Will and Layken!! These two went through so much in this series; they face death, heartbreak, ever-growing responsibilities, more death, and then having to raise a family when they are practically kids themselves. In Point of Retreat, things seem settled in and everyone is moving in the right direction. That is, until a life-changing event and the return of some unwelcome friends from the past leave Will, Lake, and their friends all struggling to find their way back to each other. Layken faces a broken heart once again, and Will realizes once and for all how much he needs her. If only he can convince her... Will's heart breaks as he keeps making one bonehead decision after another (men, will they EVER learn??!!), pushing Lake farther and farther away (and I SO very much wanted to strangle Vaughn and Reece!!) But in the end, it's his huge heart, absolute devotion to the woman he loves, and oh-so-tender way of just being the amazing guy that he is that allow him to prove to Lake how entirely he loves her. He is just a beautiful man inside and out and I love, love, love him!!! =) I loved that we got to see it all from WIll's POV. I did miss getting to hear Lake's thoughts throughout their ordeal, but at the same time it was so refreshingly different to get so much of the guy's perspective. All of the great characters from Slammed are back, of course, along with some great new add-ons, and Hoover's once again added the goofy moments with Kel and Caulder that we all love. I love Hoover's supporting characters, they are so entertaining and had me laughing and smiling at every turn. This family that they've built together is simply amazing, and they are wholeheartedly dedicated to their loved ones. They prove that without a doubt in POR, especially when a gut-wrenching event leaves them all needing each other more than ever. THe last chapters have you on the edge of your seat, biting your fingernails, impatiently waiting to see that everything is going to be okay!! I loved it, loved the way everything wrapped up, and LOVED that the 'point of retreat' moment was finally retired!!!! ;-) Congratulations on this unforgettable story, Colleen!!!

Nachdem ich den ersten Band der Trilogie „Weil ich Layken liebe“ (englisch: „Slammed“) ganze zweimal hintereinander gelesen hatte, konnte ich die Fortsetzung, die erst in ganzen 6 Monaten zu erwarten war, einfach nicht abwarten. Und so beschloss ich kurzerhand die englische Ausgabe „Point of Retreat“ (deutsch: „Weil ich Will liebe“) zu lesen. Und was soll ich sagen – es war das Beste, dass ich tun konnte. Ein Jahr nach dem Tod von Laykens Mutter sind Will und Layken genauso glücklich wie zu Beginn. Mehr noch haben sie eine gute Balance zwischen ihrer Beziehung und der Erziehung ihrer Brüder gefunden, und einen Partner, mit dem sie die Schwierigkeiten dieser Verantwortung teilen können. Als Wills Exfreundin Vaughn erneut in sein Leben tritt und ihn um eine zweite Chance bittet, weiß er nicht recht, wie er das Layken beibringen soll, denn für ihn ist ohnehin klar: nur Layken gehört sein Herz. Doch sie missversteht die Situation und beginnt an seiner Liebe zu ihr zu zweifeln. Kann er sie jemals zurückgewinnen? Dieses Buch lässt sich eigentlich kaum mit den richtigen Worten umschreiben. Es ist wirklich erstaunlich, wie nah einem die Figuren kommen, welches Gefühlschaos man geradezu mit ihnen erlebt, wie man mitfühlt, und sich so hilflos fühlt. Diese Geschichte ist aus Wills Perspektive geschrieben, was die Autorin nicht besser hätte machen können. Denn so lernt man nicht nur Will sehr nah kennen, man fühlt seine Frustration, Angst und Ohnmacht geradezu mit. Colleen Hoover hat wirklich ein außerordentliches Talent, ihre Leser an den mitreisenden Gefühlen ihrer Charaktere teilhaben zu lassen, und so eine ganz dichte, gefangennehmende Atmosphäre zu schaffen. Ich liebte den Humor, die Nachdenklichkeit, das Glück – einfach alles. Einen großen Anteil dieser Geschichte hat der „Point of Retreat“ – der „Zeitpunkt des Anhaltens“, der Will und Lake immer wieder an ein vor einem Jahr gegebenes Versprechen an Laykens Mutter erinnert – nämlich, dass sie mindestens ein Jahr bis zum ersten Sex warten. In diesen Situationen waren die beiden manchmal wirklich süß, und ich staune darüber, dass ich diese Stellen keineswegs kitschig fand. Es passte perfekt zum Ganzen und ließ mich schon mal schmunzeln, teilweise auch herzhaft lachen. Und doch wünschte ich mir während des Lesen, die Autorin hätte ihren Figuren nicht ganz so viel aufgebürdet. Denn als es schien, alles würde gut, passierte etwas noch viel schlimmeres. Trotz vieler aufwühlender Geschehnisse strotzt dieses Buch vor Freundschaft, Liebe, großen Gefühlen und der richtigen Portion Witz. Hier stimmte, wie schon beim ersten Band, einfach alles. Fazit: Auch der zweite Band der „Slammend“-Reihe kommt mit so viel Gefühl und so viel atmosphärischer Dichtheit daher, dass ich geradezu mit den Figuren mitfühlte. Ich war glücklich, traurig, verzweifelt, dem Ende nahe – und das alles wild durcheinander. Colleen Hoover schafft es auch in dieser Geschichte, dass man alle Figuren richtiggehend lieb gewinnt, und keine Sekunde ohne sie auszuhalten weiß. Hätte ich nicht schon den Klapptext zu Band drei gelesen, hätte diese Geschichte mich wohl eine ganze schlaflose Nacht gekostet ;-) . Für mich sind Band eins („Slammed“) und zwei („Point of Retreat“) ganz klar meine Lesehighlights 2013. Ich liebe es!

De las primeras novelas de Colleen que leí, me gusto un montón y me encanta que ahora junto las portadas y se ven lindas

After I'd finished reading Slammed, I hurried off to grab the next two books in the series because I knew I had to read them straight away. I'd been warned to grab some tissues before going into this one - so I did - and I definitely needed them because this one was just as emotional - maybe slightly more - than the first one. And it was also just as amazing. The one main thing that I think made this book better was that it was told from Will's POV. I absolutely adore Will and I'd been dying to get inside his head during Slammed so I kind of started jumping around when I realise Point of Retreat was told from his POV. So after everything that happened in Slammed, Lake and Will are finally together (*cheers*). But what the two of them don't realise is that their relationship is about to be put to the test again. As much as a love Lake, there were times in this book when I just wanted to shake some sense into her. I get why she stormed off and was upset with Will, but did she really need to ignore him for that long? No, Lake. You didn't! But I do really love her character. Lake is getting used to her new role after the events at the end of Slammed and she seems to be coping well with everything. Lake is a tough character and she's got a lot of inner strength, but she's insecure about herself and her relationship with Will which causes quite a few problems in this book. Oh, Will. I didn't think I could love you anymore than I already do, but this book proved me wrong. Getting to hear from Will actually helped me understand his character a lot more, and also allowed me to fall completely head over heels for his character. Will is just one of the sweetest guys ever and it broke my heart seeing him basically tearing his hair out to prove himself to Lake when she was acting like a 5 year old. It's so obvious to everyone but Lake that he cares about her deeply, and I just wanted to see them together again. Will has always got everyone else's best interests before his and he's so sweet that he just wants to help everyone. So in Point of Retreat, Will heads back to college and it turns out his ex - who dumped him days after his parents died and completely broke his heart - was in his class. And obviously she's a complete bitch who tries everything she possibly can to win Will back and break up his relationship with Lake. She's constantly flirting with him and I really wanted to punch her. Eddie and Gavin had their own problems going on which were inter-twined with the bigger storyline because Eddie and Gavin are a massive part of Will and Lake's lives. The addition of Kiersten and Sherry to this book added a hell of a lot. Kiersten was like a mini Eddie and I loved her so much! She was so hilarious and was always coming out with something that made her seem older than she actually was. Sherry was... strange, but she was a fantastic character. She was there for Will and Lake when they really needed her, and she was amazing. Colleen Hoover sure knows how to write soul-destroying twists. At about 60% there was a heart-wrenching twist that left me unsure of what was going to happen to a few of the characters. Honestly, I was preparing for the worst and I just didn't stop crying. And then the ending also had me in tears because I was freaking happy. I love Will and Lake and that ending was just perfect for them. And also, Gavin and Eddie are adorable <3 Overall, Point of Retreat was a fantastic follow up to Slammed. It was so much more emotional, soul-destroying and beautiful than the first one and I adore Colleen Hoover's writing now. I'll definitely be buying ever single book she writes now.

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce roman qui est la suite de Slammed. Il reste fidèle au premier et m'a émue par moment. Colleen est sans doute mon auteure de romance préférée.

I finished this in just a few hours because I can’t put this down. This series is my favourite second series this year. Highly highly recommend and you can’t retreat this boooook 😊