After by Anna Todd | Review

After by Anna Todd
Pages: 582
Format: Paperback
Published: Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date: October 21st 2014
Goodreads

OFFICIAL SUMMARY | GOODREADS

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.

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My review

This was my first buddy read along with my girls Mareira and Maria Vrisanaki. I have to thank those two amazing ladies who made the experience unique and one of the funniest in my life! Even though the book was quite terrible, they made me laugh and enjoy the whole process.

I have to admit that the first impression of the story was a positive one. Although, I knew that the first impressions aren’t always accurate, I didn’t even think about it. I was too into the story and the love interest between these two completely different personalities. Furthermore, it was an easy and fast-paced read and I could relate myself to the main character, Tess. She’s described as a very organised young woman who had studied and sacrificed a lot to get into a dignified college. My inner voice was screaming: “YAAAS! It is the perfect summer read”. If only I knew…
After I’ve read the first half of the book I couldn’t hide anymore my annoyance due to the childish behaviour of the two protagonists. I had supposed that Tess, would prove a mature young lady, since she was presented as an independent and self-sufficient character. Moreover, her reading preferences, which included “Wuthering Heights” and “Pride and Prejudice” implied the presence of a mature personality, able to think and analyze every situation deeply as well as to cherish her uniqueness and her morals. I was very disappointed by the absence of the above. Besides, I only saw a regression in her behaviour and her believes. She wasn’t even able to stand for herself or to rely on her knowledge and qualifications to gain an internship.

Hardin, Tess’ love interest, was presented to the readers as a rude and a badass personage. The author keeps this consistent pattern throughout the story. There are some points where she tries to justify his behaviour and gives us the illusion that we can understand him. As a result, we begin to think that he has actually changed. Until the very end when the writer introduces her main plot twist. 

Anna Todd uses a poor vocabulary and her writing style would characterised as a mediocre one. The language is repetitive and a little bit boring.

The most important here is to emphasise the message that she wanted to pass. Wait. . . a what? She forgot about this little and significant detail that every book has to contain.
I better have to put it in another way. She somehow manages to pass all the wrong messages. Unfortunately, the story shows clearly that we don’t have to embrace the difference but to be afraid of it. What is more, she insist clearly that there is no such concept as friendship between people who are “different”. Finally, throughout the book she presents that women are nothing more than foolish, weak-willed and inefficient creatures. Sounds terrible? It is terrible!

All in all, if you are searching for your next funny, easy with a decent message read, this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you are in the mood to read a “50 Shades of Grey” related story, this one is the best solution.

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What others are saying about “After ” by Anna Todd

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AFTER Extended Movie Trailer (2017) | Hardin and Tessa

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