Series: Slammed #3
Published by Atria Books on 30 April 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 256
Source: Netgalley
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This Girl, is about Will and Layken on their honeymoon. Lake gets Will to tell her about how he felt during the start of their relationship, from when they first met, and up until now. Will indulges her, and tells both Lake and the readers about his reactions and experiences when he first laid his eyes on Lake when she arrived with her U-haul, backing into the driveway across the street from Will.
Beautifully written, This Girl is so much more than a re-telling from Will's point of view, there are new things that happen after the end of Point of Retreat, and both Lake and Will are just as endearing as before.
*I received a free ARC of This Girl form Atria via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*
This Girl is such a wonderful book I’m almost at a loss for words! The third book in the Slammed trilogy continues after the last events in Point of Retreat, but there are some flashbacks when Will tells Lake about his feelings during the tumultuous start of their relationship. It is so beautiful to see how Will was feeling, and what he was thinking, from the first time he saw Lake arrive across the street, to much later in the story.
I have to admit I was a little scared to read this book – how in the world could it live up to my expectations? Both Slammed and Point of Retreat got five huge stars from me – I loved absolutely everything in them. After just the first few lines of This Girl, however, I was just as engrossed, if not more, in the story and the characters as before. Will is one of my all time favorite male characters, and getting to know his inner thoughts, his internal fights, and how he tried to do the ‘right thing’ was nothing short of amazing.
The writing is so good; I laughed, cried, applauded, wanted more, cringed, cried, and laughed again. Colleen Hoover has a knack for beautiful prose, and I’m sure if This Girl had been written with a different kind of line system, the whole story could have read as a poem. There is a soothing rhythm to each phrase, with both rhymes and alliterations sprinkled through. It never feels forced, though, it just manages to touch me in all the right places. In some places, I felt like I had been hit in the gut, in others I was elated, then, I cried because my heart was breaking. Then I had to laugh at Will and Lake’s antics, before suddenly being so thrilled because they are just so good together.
The character development is very subtle, because there aren’t any big changes to either of them, even if a couple of years have passed since readers last spent time with them. But the small changes that come with growing up, getting more responsibilities, going through soul-searing grief are there. I think it makes a lot of sense for Lake and Will to be the same, but a little older and wiser. I actually also think it’s awesome that they haven’t changed much because I truly loved them exactly the way they were!
The love that shines through in This Girl gave me chills, and even now, thinking about it because I’m writing my review, I get goose-bumps on my arms. And that is partly why I love This Girl so much, it’s because it’s a true love story, but without the sweeping off feet that sometimes happen in romances. Yes, Lake and Will are still young, but they are both wise beyond their years because of what they have had to go through.
If you want to feel all possible emotions (no, actually, not completely true, I was never angry while reading!) in a single book, you should definitely pick up This Girl at your earliest convenience! This whole series is just wonderful, and I’m pretty sure it will be among the very few that I will re-read.
“Do you ever feel guilty?” she says quietly. “For feeling this happy?” I scoot closer and lay my arm across her stomach. “Lake. Don’t ever feel guilty. This is exactly what they’d want for you.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I just want to know everything about you. I’ve already got your future, now I want to get to know your past […]”
“I feel awful, Will,” she whispers. “Awful. But I’m not about to live a life that I’m not ready for, just because I feel sorry for you.”
“She tried to walk on thee frozen concrete in Darth Vader house shoes. She busted it and cut herself.” Caulder giggles. “she has Darth Vader house shoes?” I smile at him. “I know, right?”
Good lord, I’ve got butterflies.
These are just a few of the quotes I’ve highlighted (yes, I actually have 14 pages of highlights on my kindle!) And it was pretty hard to choose which ones to share.
Oh, Lexxie. Such an emotional review. 🙂 I’m glad This Girl lived up to and exceeded your expectations. I hope to make a date with Will very soon. I can’t wait to get inside his head. And fall in love with Will & Lake’s story all over again. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I am just so amazed with this series! I hope you’ll fall hard for Will as well – it was just all so wonderful!
Thanks for stopping by, and for your lovely comment, Brandee!
Oh, Lexxie. Such an emotional review. 🙂 I’m glad This Girl lived up to and exceeded your expectations. I hope to make a date with Will very soon. I can’t wait to get inside his head. And fall in love with Will & Lake’s story all over again. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I am just so amazed with this series! I hope you’ll fall hard for Will as well – it was just all so wonderful!
Thanks for stopping by, and for your lovely comment, Brandee!
The series is up to book 3 already? Goodness. I requested my public library to purchase Slammed and they have not yet. So I wait.
I hope I haven’t hyped it up too much for you, Robyn, I just love this series to pieces. The prose is so beautiful it’s almost painful!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I Loved this one so much as well! Will and Lake have completely stolen my heart, and I adore being in Will’s head. I especially enjoyed the little moments of happiness interspersed between the retelling of the beginning of their relationship. I hope they have so much more happiness ahead!
Oh, I so agree! If any fictional characters deserve a life with happiness and love, it certainly is Will and Lake! I loved the way the past story was shown through Will’s eyes, but that the readers got so much new material as well 🙂