Eddie, my favorite character in Slammed, is redrawn in Point of Retreat and faces a very difficult path. Anyway, this was definitely a perfect sequel to the most amazing, awe-inspiring story I've had the pleasure to experience! Go read it if you've read Slammed. It's a MUST! Lake has taken on a lot at a young age (as has Will) and seems to have adjusted well. But I found myself frustrated with her at times. I felt she was unnecessarily hard on Will here. Will was plainly head over heels in love with her, consistently put her happiness first, and yet she doubted his feelings? Maybe it was due to her youth. Maybe it was because Will was her first serious relationship. Maybe she was still bogged down in grief and not thinking clearly. But I did find myself frustrated with her doubts and the way she pushed Will away. I wanted her to be joyful in what they had, recognize how rare it was, and cling to it with both hands! Delicate like the cruel words that flow right out of your mouths and the food that flies right out of your hands…

Let’s go,” Eddie says as she pulls Gavin up off the couch. “Thanks for supper, Will. Joel wants you guys to come over next weekend. He said he’d make tamales.” Yes, Mr. Cooper,” Gavin says sarcastically. “But I have to know,” he says, looking at the kids, “does she really waddle?” The over-the-top cheesy lines and dialogues were the main thing that ruined the book for me. And man, don't even get me started on Lake and Will's PDA scenes. Sheeesh! Will and Lake have fallen into a very comfortable routine that flows well with their school schedules and with the boys' (Kel and Caulder) school schedules also. They are adjusting to Julia being gone and are taking it one day at a time to be the best parents they know how to be to their younger siblings. We get to enjoy Eddie and Gavin again with some fun surprises in their relationship; we get introduced to past people in Will's lives, and also to new characters, Kiersten and Sherry, who are Will and Lake's neighbors...Point of Retreat is, to put it simple, story about sex (not having sex, actually), car accidents and teen-wannbe-adults. As I wrote for the first book, this is see life through big pink glasses type of story with every drama you can imagine mixed with it. Their lives are falling apart but all is peachy in the peachyland. Plot has too many loose ends and somethimes I thought that author forgot how she "made" her characters in the first book. This is not Will from Slammed! Or Edddie! One moment they all are acting like immature idiots and in the other they are all serious And the ending?! Just to make something clear - they are nineteen!!! And even with all of the bad shit thrown at you? What do you say? Do you let it defeat you? No. You don’t. Doesn’t matter. We aren’t going anywhere. I just need a couple of hours alone with Lake. There’s something I need to give her.” He leans forward in his chair and slaps his hands on the table. “I got a job! At Getty’s, delivering pizza!” He looks happy, for some reason. I loved almost all new characters introduced in this book. Note: I said ALMOST. Those of you who have already read it will know where I'm coming from. One of them in particular I really liked-Kiersten. She was very witty and somehow, she didn't talk like an eleven-year-old. I liked that Colleen Hoover did not just focus on the romance and just the two of them like most romance novels. I enjoyed reading about the others' lives and what they were going through. She made the novel seem so realistic because all the characters seemed just like normal human beings. Well, as normal as two people can be under their circumstances anyway.

But to be honest with you, I found Point of Retreat really cute and mindless read. It's perfect when you need something to escape real life: its cruelty, grayness, unfairness, disapoointments, when you need something that'll give you that fake sense of hope. My review would be all rainbows and flowers and ohs and ahs if I had read this book just a year ago, but I guess that I crushed my big pink glasses a long time ago. 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.” I cup her chin in my hand and lower my voice. “Lake, I'm serious. I want this to be perfect for you, and I get really carried away when I'm with you. We only have a week left. I want to stay the night with you, but I need you to promise me you won't put me in that position again for at least a hundred and sixty-two more hours.” Early on, the novel has a strangely episodic feel, dealing with the couple’s bout of food poisoning and their struggles to discipline their brothers, who are getting in trouble in school. Neither of these subplots seem to have much relevance to anything else in the book. The major relationship-related plot point of the first third of the book is Will and Lake’s decision to finally have sex. The way sex is handled in PoR felt a bit strange to me (this was true of Slammed, as well). Lake and Will make out and express a desire to be together, but the love scenes feel oddly G rated; there’s no real heat expressed. Though they’ve been together for over a year, they haven’t slept together; that in itself stretched my credulity. They are healthy, normal 22-and-18-year-olds, and neither seem to have religious or moral objections to pre-marital sex. The ostensible reason for waiting was in part a request from Lake’s dying mother to Will that he hold off for a year, which I found kind of creepy. Like, you’re going to be dead soon; stop trying to run your daughter’s sex life from beyond the grave. You don’t even get the feeling they’ve done much other than kiss in that time, which, again, didn’t ring true to me, given the circumstances. A butterflying bemazing story ever! I cant believe I cried, laughed, giggled, squirmed, and swooned so many times in every possible way! It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster ride. This is my sweet. I love you Colleen Hoover and I butterflying swear to please have a third book cause I'm dying for more Will and Layken romance! I love every poems they slammed and every advise Julia gives from the stars. Damn you woman! I'm begging you to please write the third book! ;) Did I say it already? I butterflying love you Colleen Hoover! HahaAnd what a war they had to face yet again! This was an amazing sequel to Will and Lake's story and I "butterflying" loved it; just as much as Slammed I believe. And, well, the fact that it was in Will's POV? Just made it that much more exciting for me...

Throughout the book, Will and Lake have to come to a head with more issues that arise. Questioning things they thought they knew about each other, their relationship, and the connection they thought was undeniable; unbreakable...

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Eddie and Lake finally walk in as we’re all sitting down at the table. Lake has her wet hair pulled up in a knot on top of her head. She’s wearing house shoes, sweatpants, and a T-shirt. I love that about her, the fact that she’s so comfortable here. She takes the seat next to mine and leans in and kisses me on the cheek. We haven’t discussed it, but last week was exactly a year since we made that promise to Julia. I don’t want to rush Lake into anything; I want it to be completely up to her, so I haven’t brought it up. Neither has she. Then again, we haven’t really been alone. Caulder gets up from the table. “I’m gonna watch TV in my room,” he says. “See you later, Kel. Bye, Kiersten.” They both tell him goodbye as they leave. More challenges to face, more gripping and heart wrenching situations to bound through, a few more amazing slams to add to the mix, and more tears to be shed from this read. I loved every single second of it, and like the first in the series, it touched me. In a way I can't remember ever feeling. The story of Will and Layken is so beautiful, so enriching, so inspiring, so loving. Based on the raw emotion of just knowing that someone who was meant for you, has finally come into your life. They compliment each other in the best way. They understand the needs of each other... Again, if I could, I would give this book more than 5 stars! If you are looking for a read to help put things into perspective, then read this series. It was not just a "read" for me, but a definite emotional and inspirational experience...