| BOOK REVIEW | AFTER BY ANNA TODD

After
Author : Anna Todd
Series : After
Genres : Contemporary, Romance, New Adult
Publication : October 21st 2014 by Gallery Books

Synopsis : Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way.

But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he’s also rude—to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin. And she does—until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless…could this be love?

Now newly revised and expanded, Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER … Life will never be the same.

If you’d have asked me a few months ago, I would have told you that I would probably never read After. Why ? Because it’s based on a fan fiction. Don’t get me wrong, I really like fan fictions. I used to read a lot of them a few years ago, and I still read some. But I was really reticent to read a fan fiction turned into a novel. I don’t know if I’m being clear, though !

Plot

Well… There’s nothing really original about this story. The plot is really basic : a plain and innocent girl meets a rude bad boy. It’s not the first time someone is writing about this topic. But this book hooked me. It took a hundred pages but I was really REALLY hooked ! Seriously, this book is really addicting ! It was really difficult for me to get back into reality while reading this book. I wanted to know what would happen to their relationship ! Now I get why this series is so successful : it’s a real addiction !

I wasn’t ready for that roller coaster of emotions ! Things starts to change for Tessa as soon as she meets her roommate and her group of friends, all pierced and tattooed.

I am a moth to his flame, and he never hesitates to burn me.

Nonetheless, I had some issued with it.
First, the plot was too obvious;  it was really easy to see the big plot twist coming ! I guessed that something like that was going on all along !

I also had some issues with Tessa. I found her annoying at times (too often, in fact !). Like, seriously, Hardin is really acting like a jerk and most of the time trying his best to hurt her ! He is disrespectful, mean, and well… a huge jerk. And yet she was always coming to him. I don’t think it’s a normal nor logical behavior. I get that she really is attracted to him but coming back to get punched harder multiple times ?!

Also, that scene near the river wasn’t really realist ! I won’t talk too much about it because of spoilers but it seemed out of the blue, it wasn’t in harmony with Tessa’s character.

I bring out the worst in you and you bring out the best in me.

Characters

I really enjoyed how they are written. They all are flawed, and realistic. No one is perfect in this book, which makes them more interesting !

• Tessa may be annoying at times but she is endearing somehow. You can’t help but care for her. And there’s a lot of character’s development.
  Despite her lack of character in the beginning, she learns to stand for herself and for what she wants !
• Hardin is really infuriating but you can’t help but want to know more about him and his past !
  I think that deep down he isn’t that bad, at least not at the end of that book. Tessa makes his good shine !
• Landon is someone I really appreciate. But I found him a little… flat. It hope it will change in the next books !
• Zedd is also a character I care for. I think he is a better person than Hardin at the beginning of the book. I believe he will get more important.
• Steph … I don’t really know what to think about her. She really cares for Tessa and tries her best to help her. But the ending changed my opinion about her.

This is totally a guilty pleasure read ! I would have given it 3 stars but it’s written in a way that makes it addictive ! Now I have to wait for the sequel to be delivered which is a pure torture !

 

About the author

ANNA TODD is a first-time writer spending her days in the Austin area with her husband, with whom she beat half the statistics by getting married one month after graduating high school. Between her husband’s three deployments to Iraq, she worked odd jobs from a makeup counter to the IRS processing counter. Anna was always an avid reader and boy band and romance lover, so now that she’s found a way to combine the three she’s enjoying living a real-life dream come true.

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