Battle of the Book Boyfriends – Colleen Hoover edition

Welcome to the showdown! We invite you to join us as we debate which book boyfriend is the best. This time around, we’ll be debating our first Colleen Hoover reads, Hopeless and Slammed. So we’ll be battling Holder vs Will.

Colleen Hoover Battle of the Book Boyfriend

Holder from Hopeless vs Will from Slammed

And may the best book boyfriend win!

Hopeless

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Slammed (book 1)

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she’s losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

 

 

I barely remember too. Good plan!

 

 

Goodreads to the rescue!

And I’m thinking just two main points. Why they are great. And why they are not so great.

Holder Quotes

“F#%k all the firsts, Sky. The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers.”

“I live you, Sky,” he says against my lips. “I live you so much.”

“The moment my lips touch yours, it will be your first kiss. Because if you’ve never felt anything when someone’s kissed you, then no one’s ever really kissed you. Not the way I plan on kissing you.”

“Sky, I’m not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I’ve never wanted to kiss a girl more. So stop thinking I’m not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am. You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight. And probably not tomorrow, either. I need this. I need to know for sure that you’re feeling every single thing that I’m feeling the moment my lips touch yours. Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses.”

“Sky, if you’re wondering if I have commitment issues, the answer is no. Someday in the far, far, far away future…like post-college future…when I propose to you…which I will be doing one day because you aren’t getting rid of me…I won’t be marrying you with the hope that our marriage will work out. When you become mine, it’ll be a forever thing. I’ve told you before that the only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers, and I mean that.”

“But I’m not falling in love with her piece by piece anymore. I’m in love with the whole girl. Every single piece of her.”

Just seeing her again, even from a distance, reminds me of why I crave to be around her so much. It’s only been a
few days, but since the moment I met her, no matter where I am, I’m constantly wondering about her. My attention is constantly homed in on her like I’m a compass and she’s my North.

Will Quotes

“So you keep your ocean, I’ll take the Lake.”

“My heart pounds against my chest. Not because I’m nervous. Not even because I want her worse than I’ve ever wanted her before. It’s pounding against my chest because I realize I’ve never been so sure about the rest of my life than I am in this moment. This girl is the rest of my life.”

“I’ll never be able to give you everything you deserve, but I’ll definitely spend the rest of my life trying.”

“You want to know my sweet?” I ask her.
She nods.
I kiss her on the forehead. “You. Always you.”

“She deserves to be kissed by someone who loves her. Someone who spends every waking moment trying to do everything right by her. Someone who would rather die than see her hurt. She doesn’t deserve to be kissed by anyone other than me.”

*NOTE: these quotes are from the series of books, some might be from the book blurbed above, and some could be from the sequel or POV switch retold version.

 

 

Yep. Except for the whole, he’s her teacher problem.

 

Via Giphy

But that’s not a personality flaw

 

 

True. See. This is why we need to have these kinds of conversations.

 

 

I was having some serious difficulties thinking of any faults

 

 

and did have some anger management issues with the destroyed room

 

 

well, that I don’t remember! but maybe it was Skye figuring out what happened?

 

 

yes. I think so.

 

 

yeah. Agreed on both points.

 

 

Via Giphy

 

right? I think the same. Definitely swoony. I mean. I like Will. But not nearly as many good quotes to re-read.

 

 

maybe. Plus all the poetry. Which is not really my thing at all.

via GIPHY

yes – maybe would be better spoken than read.

 

 

Yes – definitely. Even though the four are close in age, Skye and Holder and definitely more intense.

 

 

I read Slammed first. But I’d still pick Holder.

As much as I like Will, I always had issues with the whole he’s her teacher

 

 

yep.

 

 

True.

and they did try to stop seeing each other for a while.

 

 

I think we should add in some why Will is great thoughts?

 

 

yes. I do like that he takes on so much responsibility.

And quotes Avett Brothers – who I loved BEFORE Colleen Hoover, I’d like to point out!

 

 

they are great!

Plus, I remember that Will has a much better sense of humor than Holder.

 

Winner: Holder. Hands down!

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