Review of This Girl by Colleen Hoover

This Girl by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads 

Layken and Will’s love has managed to withstand the toughest of circumstances and the young lovers, now married, are beginning to feel safe and secure in their union. As much as Layken relishes their new life together, she finds herself wanting to know everything there is to know about her husband, even though Will makes it clear he prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong. Still, he can’t resist his wife’s pleas and so he begins to untangle his side of the story, revealing for the first time his most intimate feelings and thoughts, retelling both the good and bad moments, and sharing a few shocking confessions of his own from the time when they first met.

In This Girl, Will tells the story of their complicated relationship from hispoint of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.

Review
I thought it was fabulous for what it was. You have to know going into this book that it is the same story as Slammed so there is no surprises (thankfully Colleen Hoover didn't throw in a whole "and then Will and Lake woke up from their fantasy dreams and kept living their buterflying lives"). I read it about a year after I finished Slammed and I highly recommend waiting if you can! It was awesome for me to get to rediscover the characters in a new way (since it was from a different POV). I thought how Colleen chose to tell the story was an art. It wasn't like reading slammed again which even though Slammed was AMAZING would've gotten kind of boring. She brings the story to life AGAIN and in some ways it feels like Lake and Will are falling in love all over again. You also get a taste of all your favorite parts of Slammed again. I just loved reliving those scenes. I loved the new content you got from This Girl. You get a taste of their honeymoon *wiggles eyebrows* and the epilogue is pretty epic! If you are like me and can't get enough of these characters and rich story, I suggest you finish off the series and read This Girl! It's worth it!

Have you read This Girl?  What did you think?

Reviewed any books lately?  I wanna read them!  Post your links in the comments!

Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Goodreads 

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Review:

How to even begin writing a review for this book? I'm not sure but I'm going to try.
It's really hard because the best parts of the book are the ones I can't talk about because I don't want to spoil anything!  What fun would that be for you?  I want you to experience what I got to while reading through this book.
Therefore if this review seems lame or inadequate, I apologize.  It's not for lack of trying but for not being able to tell you much.

The Cover:
I just had to put a short note in about the cover.  I thought it was AMAZING before I read the book and now that I know what all the elements mean, it is just spectacular!  Sarah Hansen did an amazing job, as always.

The Plot:
I loved the pace of things being revealed.  The whole time I was reading it I was waiting for that HUGE twist that everyone was talking about.  I was definitely looking out for it more than I would've if I didn't know it was there so I picked up on a few things.  BUT I totally didn't guess the major surprise.  It was awesome riding the discovery journey with Skye as she finds out about her past.

The Characters:
Breckin was an amazing supporting character.  I seriously wanted to take him as my own GBF! Completely awesome and supportive and a constant for Sky.
Sky was an extremely strong character.  She goes through a lot but holds herself together.  One of my favorite things about her that I can tell you is her indifference.  I loved the parts where kids were pulling pranks on her at school and she just went on with life. She didn't give them the time of day and that in itself shows how strong she is.
Holder.  Ummm how do I talk about him.  He's just perfect for Sky.  Definitely not a perfect person- he makes mistakes and throws some tantrums but he has way more positive attributes.  He definitely has the bad boy appearance with the soft inside going for him.  I like how Sky describes him in the book- passionate.  That's the perfect word for him.

The Relationship:
It was so incredibly sweet.  They definitely had their bumps but they were able to stick it out.  I loved the sarcastic remarks throughout.  They made me LOL occasionally. (yes, I just put LOL in a review)  They both go through trauma that no one should ever have to experience but they help each other through it.  They are there for each other when the other is ready to let down the barrier and just cry it out.  Also I'm going to have to try the Dinner Quest game out.  It sounds like fun :)

Overall, I loved this book.  I really can't think of anything that I didn't enjoy about it.  You should definitely read it if this is your thing but be prepared there is some emotional heaviness and tissues might be needed!

I know many of you have read Hopeless.  What did you think?

If you haven't read it, is it on your TBR? What's stopping you?

Interview with Colleen Hoover

Can I tell you how freakin' excited I am today?  You know why? Because Colleen Hoover is on the blog of course! If you haven't read Slammed and Point of Retreat where have you been?!  Those book are PHENOMENAL and if you haven't read them I'm going to need you to drop everything you're doing right this minute and go read them now!  I'm such a fan of this talented lady and I am honored that she is on the blog today and I hope you enjoy the interview and the SUPER awesome giveaway!

Hey Colleen! Thank you so much for joining me on this interview! I'm very excited and I know your readers are excited too!

First things first the  general question. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your books?

I've always loved to write.  I have an issue with self-doubt, as do most people, so I never thought I could actually write a successful book.  It was never a personal goal of mine to become a "writer," but it was always a far off dream.  When I wrote SLAMMED, I had no idea that I was writing a novel that would become a best-seller.  I honestly wrote it as a hobby to pass time during my sons theater rehearsals.  Once I started writing the book, I fell in love with the characters and couldn't stop.  After a few months of it being available on Amazon, it took off.  If you could see my husband and I in the evenings, you'd laugh.  We just sit there, staring at each other and shaking our heads saying, "How in the hell did this happen?"  It's been surreal.  

What is your inspiration?

Definitely the music of The Avett Brothers.  There is a line in one of their songs that says, "Decide what to be, and go be it."  I think that had a lot to do with me accepting the fact that I really did want to be a writer, and I should just do it already!

What is your favorite writing environment? Are you a music listener? A couch sitter?

I have three young boys, so it's chaotic most of the time.  I have an office with a desk, but I always unplug my laptop and sit in my chaise to write.  I listen to music while I edit, but not while I'm doing actual writing.  I need silence.  

What's the weirdest job you've had?

Weirdest?  I used to do investigations for Child Protective Services.  I saw a lot of weird stuff.  Scary stuff.  Sad stuff.  

What would you do with an unlimited supply of money?

If you frequent my blogs at all, you know how much I like giving stuff away.  I don't know why, it just makes me happy.  I would probably do bigger and better giveaways, keep writing and let my mother and sisters retire so we could go on a cruise whenever we felt like it.  

Have you ever done any unusual research for your book?

I like to play devil's advocate, which is why I took an unethical situation in Slammed and tried to make the reader root for it.  I was thinking of how it would be cool to have this them in all of my books.  Take some ethical situation and turn it around to where you empathize with the characters.  I did a search on "unethical things" and came up with mostly articles about incest.  My husband ran across it the next day and just shrugged his shoulders when I tried to explain it away.  That was awkward.  

The poetry scene is very different.  How did you come up with the Slam idea?

I love watching Slam Poetry on youtube.  I was actually watching slams when I got the urge to read a work of fiction about slam poetry.  When my searches came up empty, I decided to try and write one.  

Lastly, Can you tell us about your WIP?

I've got two I'm working on right now.  Will's Story is Slammed from Will's point of view and the first chapter can be read here: http://colleenhoover.com/2012/06/09/you-might-want-to-read-this/

The second novel I'm working on is currently titled Fall Together.  It's a contemporary young adult romance.  The main character is a 17 year old named Sky.  I can't say a lot about this one, because like Slammed, it has a huge twist.  I'm still working on how to word the blurb.

I don't know about you guys but I CANT WAIT For Will's Story and Fall Together!  Thank you so much Colleen for answering the questions and providing this amazing giveaway! If you've read Slammed I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section and if you haven't I would love to know so I can start bugging you until you buy it!

Giveaway

a signed copy of Slammed provided by the awesome Colleen Hoover

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Indie Revolution: Upcoming Week

I just wanted to do a short post about what to expect from the blog this week.  It's basically going to be Indie Revolution on steroids!!!  Check out this author line up for just this week and there will be awesome giveaways with every post!!!

Nyrae Dawn author of What a Boy Wants

Michelle Pennington author of Candid

Christopher Geoffery McPherson author of News on the Home Front

Solitaire Parke author of The Emerald Dragon

Colleen Hoover author of Slammed

Ariana Zamora author of The Dreamer

and to end the week/month with a boom we got A.M. Hargrove author of Determinant

Don't miss out on this awesome week! There will be posts each day so don't forget to check back and enter all of these giveaways!