Point of Retreat by Colleen HooverSeries: Slammed #2
Published by: Atria Books on August 10, 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 200
Source: NetGalley
Buy on Amazon • Book Details
Rating: ★★
In the second book in the Slammed series by New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, Layken and Will's relationship has endured through hardships, heartache, and a cruel twist of fate, further solidifying the fact that they belong together. But the two lovers could not have expected that the things that brought them together may ultimately be the things that tear them apart. Their connection is on the brink of being destroyed forever and it will take an extraordinary amount of willpower to keep their love afloat.
Layken is left questioning the very foundation on which her relationship with Will was built. Will is left questioning how he can prove his love for a girl who can't seem to stop "carving pumpkins." Upon finding the answers that may bring peace back into their relationship, the couple comes across an even greater challenge—one that could change not only their lives but the lives of everyone who depend on them.
If you read my review of Slammed, you’ll know that I quite enjoyed the book. But I really wish I had just stopped there and savoured my good memories. I did not like Point of Retreat. Throughout the entire book I felt like I was constantly rolling my eyes or thinking “Really?” Point of Retreat is so over dramatic. I feel like every possible bad thing that could have happened, did happen. In fact, there were so many bad things that it felt a little unrealistic. And then there was Layken…
In my review of Slammed, I talked about how Layken was an immature, annoying teenager when she got mad. This happened again in Point of Retreat, and caused me to really dislike the main conflict in the story. The whole story basically came down to this:
“How do you know? How do you really know? You couldn’t leave me now if you wanted to. Your heart is too good for that, you would never do that to me. So how do I know that you would really be here if our circumstances were different? If our parents were alive and we didn’t have Kel and Caulder, how do you know you would even love me?”
Layken in Point of Retreat
The whole conflict is really just one big “what if” game. If their circumstances were completely different, would they have still fallen in love? Layken is concerned that Will only loves her because they both experienced similar traumas. She’s afraid that if neither of their parents had died, Will wouldn’t love her. Well my opinion is: who cares? Why spend so much time worrying about what would have been, if that’s not the case? Will obviously loves Layken right now, and that should be all that matters.. but Layken doesn’t see it that way. It’s like me crying and yelling at my boyfriend because I’m afraid he wouldn’t have loved me if we first met in person instead of online. I told him that and we both agreed it would be absurd to even think/worry about that.
The whole thing was so immature and so childish. I could have gotten over it if that was one minor concern in the book, but that was the entire central conflict. I actually feel really sorry for Will because of all the crap Layken made him go through.. and over what? Nothing! Some stupid idea that he might not love her in some alternate hypothetical universe.
I do have to admit that the end of Point of Retreat made me smile. The last quarter of the book still had its fair share of drama and ridiculous “unfortunate events” (I say ridiculous just because there were so many). But the absolute end did put a smile on my face.
I’m sad to be saying this, but I do wish I hadn’t read Point of Retreat. If I hadn’t, I’d just be left with fond memories of Layken and Will. I think that having read Point of Retreat will make me forget the whole series much more quickly than I would have otherwise.
The Verdict
And this is why I decided not to read the sequel…I knew I’d be disappointed! Thanks for the review.
I completely agree! I’m reading This Girl now, which is kind of like Will’s pov in Slammed (so far), and I like it, but I’m just not loving it. It appears that this series has been like that for me… Like, but not love.
One think I don’t like is when YA/NA novels make teenage characters have the emotional intelligence of forty year olds. however, this seems to have the opposite problem. With so much tragedy, and responsibility in Lake’s life you would think she would be a little more mature… Obviously this is not the case, and this series is flawed because of it, and the obscene amount of “unfortunate circumstances.”