Slam! was a fun read. I love J.L. Merrow's humor, and it is in full force here. There were lots of funny lines and sparkling dialogue. I liked the two MCs a lot, and the side characters of Marina and Keisha were lovely. I enjoyed the subplot with the mom's boyfriend, as it took an original path, and the poems and limericks were quite fun and fresh. The whole misunderstanding about Jude's age was really funny and well-handled throughout.
Cons: The actual romance plot felt a little too much a standard 'fem meets jock'. Nothing particularly memorable. A few things were nits--David was an idiot for continuing to hang around his ex even when he knew it gave Jude the wrong idea, if, as he later revealed, he really felt bad about the break up and wanted to apologize. Talk about poking a finger in the wound. Also the sub-plot with Keisha's ex-con father felt rather suddenly dropped.
A strong 4 stars for me, and, as always, I will continue to doggedly follow J.L.'s work.