This Girl
by Colleen Hoover
Published by Atria Books
Book 3 of the Slammed series
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 his point of view. Their future rests on how well they deal with the past in this final installment of the beloved Slammed series.
Age Recommendation:
14+
Genre:
Young Adult
Romance
This Girl by Colleen Hoover is the third and final book in her Slammed series, and centers around Will and Lake while they celebrate their honeymoon. While taking a break from their activities, Lake asks Will to take a trip down memory lane with her, and tell his perspective of pivotal moments in the first Slammed book.
Shortest synopsis ever, but there you have it. This book is literally flashbacks to some important moments in the first book (that was written in Lake's POV), with some bonus things we didn't know about that happened in that time, broken up by sweet moments during their honeymoon. I think if you enjoyed the previous Slammed books, and you love Will and Lake, you will enjoy book, but it isn't truly important to the series. It adds very little to the world, but its interesting to see what Will was thinking back in that book. Romance wise, its very typical for Will and Lake - steamy scenes are mostly fade to black, except for Will's memories of their first time (but again, its written in a very classy, upper YA way). Otherwise not much to report. I did love the epilogue. I was wondering if THAT would happen considering their responsibilities.
Wow, this review didn't take long, did it? But what can I say? If you love the Slammed series, you will enjoy this book. It's not important to read it though. If you want to stop at Point of Retreat, you are not missing anything here. There is some bonus scenes from the first book that we didn't know about because it's from Will's POV, but again, not overly important. Was it sweet - yeah. But that's all I have to say.
Kel telling Will he won't like Lake after his date with her
Will's poem after he found out about Lake being one of his students
Their first date as a couple, and the make out
The wedding night
Will and Lake hooking up in the car before heading inside.
Caulder and Kel learning what couples do on their honeymoon
The epilogue <3
Will: “Lucky Charms?”
I say, eyeing her as she grabs three huge boxes of the cereal.
Will: “Is that Kel’s favorite?”
She grins at me.
Lake: “No, actually it’s mine.”
Will" “I’m more of a Rice Krispies fan myself.”
I take the boxes of cereal from her and throw them into the cart.
Lake: “Rice Krispies are boring,”
Will: “The hell they are! Rice Krispies make Rice Krispies treats. What can your cereal do?”
Lake: “Lucky Charms have shooting star marshmallows in them. You get to make a wish every time you eat one.” Lake: “Now I want to know all about our date.”
She puts her hands behind her head and relaxes, waiting for me to spill it. I lie back on my pillow and think back to that day. The day that I fell for my wife. Will" “That’s not a good idea,”
I say, heading across the street toward her. She jumps when she hears my voice, then spins around to face me and grins.
Lake: “What am I doing wrong this time?”
She shuts the door to the Jeep and walks toward me. I point to the coffeepot.
Will: “If you drink too much coffee this early in the morning, you’ll crash after lunch. Then you’ll be too exhausted to go out with your hot date tonight.”
She laughs. Her smile is fleeting, though. She looks down at her pajamas, then runs her hands over her hair with a slight look of panic in her eyes. She’s silently freaking out about the way she looks, so I ease her mind.
Will: “You look great. Bed hair looks really good on you.”
She smiles, then leans against her car.
Lake: “I know,”
she says confidently, looking down at her pajamas.
Lake: “This is what I’m wearing on our date tonight. You like?” Kel: “Are you my sister’s boyfriend?” I’m thrown off by his directedness.
Will: “Um, no. Just her friend.”
Kel: “She told my mom you were taking her on a date. I thought only boyfriends took girls on dates.”
Will: “Well. Sometimes boys take girls on dates to see if they want them to be their girlfriend.”
I notice Caulder standing beside me, taking in the conversation as if he’s just as curious. I wasn’t prepared to have to explain the rules of dating right now.
Caulder: “So it’s like a test? To see if you want Layken to be your girlfriend?”
I shrug and nod.
Will: “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Kel laughs.
Kel: “You aren’t gonna like her. She burps a lot. And she’s bossy. And she never lets me drink coffee, so she probably won’t let you have any either. And she has really bad taste in music and sings way too loud and leaves her bras all over the house. It’s gross.”
I laugh.
Will: “Thanks for the warning. You think it’s too late to back out now?” Kel shakes his head, missing my sarcasm completely.
Kel: “No, she’s already dressed so you have to take her now.”
I sigh, pretending to be annoyed.
Will: “Well, it’s just a few hours. Hopefully she won’t burp a lot and boss me around and steal my coffee and sing to her really bad music and leave her bra in my car."
Or hopefully she will.
Caulder: "We just wanted to ask you something,”
He slides into one of the bar stools and rests his chin in his hand.
Caulder: “Maya said if Layken becomes your girlfriend and you marry her, me and Kel will be brothers of law.”
Both boys are looking at me with hopeful expressions.
Will: “It’s brothers-in-law, and Layken’s not going to be my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”
Kel steps around me and climbs into the other seat at the bar.
Kel: “She burped too much, didn’t she? Or did she leave her bra in your car? I bet she wouldn’t let you have coffee, would she?” I force a fake smile and step toward the stack of papers.
Will: “You nailed it. It was the coffee. She’s so stingy.”
Kel shakes his head.
Kel: “I knew it.” Will: “Layken Cooper, I love you. I’ve loved you since the second I laid eyes on you and I haven’t stopped loving you for a second since." Will: “Wife. Think what you want, but there isn’t a single woman in this whole damn universe that I could ever love like I love you.” Eddie: “She’s something else, huh?”
I spin around and Eddie is standing behind me with her arms crossed, smiling.
Will: “What?”
I say, undoubtedly trying to recover from the fact that she just caught me staring at Lake.
Eddie: “You heard me. And you agree with me, too.” Kel: “What if she loses weight?”
Will: “She doesn’t need to lose weight,”
I say as I scoop a spoonful of eggs onto his plate. I walk back to the stove and set the pan down.
Kel: “Well, if you don’t think she’s fat and you like to kiss her, then why don’t you want her to be your girlfriend?” The line isn’t so black and white anymore. I’m pretty sure gray just became my new favorite color. Will: “My sweet?”
I say, staring directly at her.
Will: “My sweet is right now.” Will: “This will be worth it, Lake. Everything we had to go through. I promise. Even if you have to wait for me, I’ll make it worth it.”
The smile fades from her eyes and she clutches her hand to her heart.
Lake: “You already have, Will.” Will: “This is it, Lake,”
I say, pointing back and forth between us.
Will: “It’s real now. I’m not walking away from you again. Ever.”
Her eyes fill with tears.
Lake: “Promise?”
Will: “I swear. I love you so much.”
A tear rolls down her cheek.
Lake: “Say it again,” Will: “I love you, Lake.”
My eyes scroll over every inch of her face, afraid I’ll miss something if I don’t take every last piece of her in before I go.
Lake: “One more time.”
Before I love you can come out of my mouth again, the front door swings open and Julia walks outside.
Julia: “We’re going to have to set some ground rules,”
There’s more amusement in her voice than anger or annoyance.
Will: “Sorry, Julia,”
I yell over my shoulder. I turn back to Lake and kiss her one last time, then take a step away from her.
Will: “It’s just that I’m madly in love with your daughter!”
Julia: “Yeah.”
Julia laughs.
Julia: “I can see that.” Lake: “WHERE ARE WE going?”
I put my seat belt on and lower the volume on the radio.
Will: “It’s a surprise.”
It’s the first night I’ve been able to take her out in public since we officially started dating two weeks ago. I was able to pull out of my contract with the job at the junior high when I was accepted into the Master’s level teaching program. So technically, we’re able to date. I’m not sure how it would look, since I was her teacher just a few weeks ago. But to be honest, I don’t really care. Like I told her, she comes first now.
Lake: “Will. It’s Thursday night. I have a feeling wherever you’re taking me, it’s not that much of a surprise. Are we going to Club N9NE?”
Will: “Maybe.”
She smiles.
Lake: “Are you doing a slam for me?”
I wink at her.
Will: “Maybe.”
I reach over and take her hand in mine. Lake: “We’re leaving early, though. Are you actually taking me out to eat? No grilled cheese tonight?”
Will: “Maybe,”
She rolls her eyes.
Lake: “Will, this date is going to be my suck for the day if you don’t become a little more talkative.”
I laugh.
Will: “Yes, we’re going to Club N9NE. Yes, we’re going to dinner first. Yes, I wrote a slam for you. Yes, we’re leaving the club early so we can go back to my house and hardcore make out in the dark.”
Lake: “You just became my sweet,” I hold still against her, taking one final look at this amazing, beautiful girl beneath me.
Will: “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to my life,”
I whisper. As soon as I push myself inside her, our lips collide, our tongues collide, our bodies collide, and our hearts collide. Then this girl completely shatters the window to my soul and crawls inside. Will: “Don’t you just love this driveway? I’m pretty sure we have the best driveway in the whole world.”
She lets go of the door handle and falls back against her seat.
Lake: “I guess. It’s a driveway.”
I put the car in park and reach over and grab her hands, then pull her onto my lap.
Will: “But it’s our driveway now. That makes it the best. And it’s our house.”
I slip her shirt over her head and she tries to cover herself, but I move her arms out of the way and kiss up her neck while I talk about all the things that are no longer just mine.
Will: “And the dishes in the kitchen are our dishes. And the couches are our couches. And the bed is our bed.”
Lake: “Will, stop.”
She laughs and attempts to pull my hands away from her bra.
Lake: “You can’t take off my bra, we’re in our driveway. What if they come outside?”
Will: “It’s dark. And it’s not your bra. It’s our bra and I want it off.”
I slip it off her, pulling her against me as I rub my hands down the length of her back, then around to the button on the front of her jeans.
Will: “And I want to take off our pants.”
She grins against my lips and slowly nods.
Lake: “Okay, but hurry,”
Will: "I can be quick. But I’ll never hurry.” The front door swings open and someone runs through the living room. I squeeze my eyes shut and groan as Lake separates her mouth from mine.
Caulder: “Don’t mind me, we just need the ketchup,”
He runs past us and into the kitchen. He grabs the ketchup and glances at us as he makes his way back to the front door.
Caulder: “Gross,”
he mumbles before he pulls the door shut behind him. Kel: “What’s a honeymoon? What do people do when they go on one?”
Gavin spits out his drink with his laugh.
Gavin: “Yes, Will,”
Gavin says, smirking at me.
Gavin: “I must know what people do on honeymoons so that I’m prepared for when I have mine. Enlighten us.”
I pick the plates up and glare at Gavin, then walk to the table.
Will: “A honeymoon is what people have after they get married. It’s when they spend a lot of time together . . . telling stories about their past. And eating. They tell stories and eat. That’s it.”
Caulder: “Oh. Like a campout?”
Will: “Exactly,”
I say, taking my seat at the table across from Kiersten, who’s rolling her eyes at me. She shakes her head.
Kiersten: “He’s lying to both of you because he thinks you’re still nine years old. A honeymoon is when newlyweds have sex, traditionally for the first time. But in some cases,”
she rolls her head toward Gavin,
Kiersten: “people get ahead of themselves.”
We’re all staring at Kiersten with our mouths agape when Lake and Eddie return.
Eddie: “Why is everyone so quiet?”
Gavin clears his throat and glances at Eddie.
Gavin: “Suck and sweet time. Sit down, ladies.”
Caulder: “Me first. My sweet is that me and Kel are finally brothers. My suck is that I now know what Will and Layken did during their honeymoon.”
Kel: “I second that,” I don’t know how one minute, a person can think his life is nothing more than a barren valley with nothing left to look forward to. Then, in the blink of an eye, someone can come along and change it with a simple smile. Will: “Hey, Julia. It’s me. It’s your daddy.”