Book Review: Point Of Retreat (Slammed #2) by Colleen Hoover

“If I were a carpenter, I would build you a window to my soul. But I would leave that window shut and locked, so that every time you tried to look through it all you would see is your own reflection. You would see that my soul is a reflection of you.”

― Colleen Hoover, Point of Retreat

The follow-up to Slammed, by popular novelist Colleen Hoover, is sure to be a smash. Colleen Hoover enthralled readers all over the world. It introduced Layken and Will, a young couple whose love withstood terrible circumstances to emerge stronger and more resilient than before. Now, as Layken and Will's emotionally charged narrative progresses, a startling and unexpected revelation about Will's background causes them to seriously reevaluate all they previously believed they knew about one another. They must choose whether to stand up for a future together or to relapse into loneliness and pain since their relationship's basis is under jeopardy.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Layken and Will have managed to overcome the obstacles that threatened to destroy their love, proving that they are destined for one another. What they are about to learn, however, is that the things that have brought them together may be the very things that ruin their connection forever…

Layken is left second-guessing the relationship whilst Will is jumping over hurdles to prove his love for her. What the young lovers discover about themselves along this journey may change their entire world and the lives of those who depend upon them the most...

My reaction to this novel...

I have no idea why I don't like this book series. The female protagonist in the first book really annoyed me, so I was hoping that reading the second would make me feel differently about her. In this second installment, I really grew more frustrated with her. Okay, so Will, the male lead, gets a voice in this because it is his point of view, and I liked how he told the narrative instead of hearing it all through Layken. She struck me as being simultaneously naive and self-centered, which I truly dislike.

I'm very disappointed that I invested so much on both volumes in this series. Actually, after reading Slammed, I wasn't expecting much. In comparison to the first book, this one is slightly better, but only because it focuses on Will's feelings and experiences rather than Lake, who, as I already stated, I did not like in either book. It features a bizarre plot and annoying characters. I couldn't grasp why they were so emotional about almost everything; it was draining. Many points in the story came out as clumsy and forced. It was a little aggravating how Lake and Will misconstrued their romantic relationship. Lake should have known him well and not assumed the very worst from him if she loved him as deeply as what she professed all through the novel. I found myself skipping pages to get to the conclusion since the tale dragged in several parts, which is a terrible experience for me.

The fact that Layken behaves like a child throughout the whole novel despite caring for her brother is another aspect of her that I dislike. Although she is only 19 years old, she should grow up and behave like a responsible young adult since she is the one who convinced her mother not to take the responsibility of taking care of her brother away from her. So, come on, how can she take care of her brother if she is not mature enough to think? She acts like a bratty, misbehaving child when she has a tantrum. Kel is far superior than her. It was really horrible.

There is far too much crap in this book. It did not captivate me from the beginning to the end. Layken and Will's relationship is shallow. I didn't think the love story was genuine because they don't seem to have any spark together. Aside from Layken, who has been quite annoying up until this point, the characters have undergone significant changes from the previous book. There are so many tangential storylines throughout the plot. This book series has let me down, therefore I've made the decision not to read the third book in the series. I won't suggest this to other book lovers out there. This book series is a huge disappointment.

My Overall Rating: ⭐(1/5)

“Love is the most beautiful thing in the world. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest things in the world to hold on to, and one of the easiest things to throw away.”

This is really accurate. Love is both the most beautiful and the most difficult emotion that any man may experience. It has the power to both give us meaning in life and to entirely destroy us. I just disagree with the last statement, which states that love is easy to toss away, since I believe that if you truly love someone, throwing away or forgetting your feelings for them is not as simple as one-two-three. It has the potential to severely harm you in a heartbeat.