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challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Before gave me the closure I needed to Hessa’s love story, although I could have read thousands more pages about their incredible, against all odds, love. So sad the series is over!!!
I absolutely LOVED hearing the beginning of Hessa’s story from Hardin’s pov. I really fell in love with Hardin the first time I read after, and this book just made me fall in love with him even more. I love this series so much and I think this book made me love it even more.
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC received from publisher for an honest review
You will need to have read the first 4 books in the After series before reading Before, as there are spoilers, and you will be a bit confused about things in part one, Before.
I have made no secret that I have put off reading the After series for months and months as I had to get my head past the fact that they are One Direction fan fiction.
Over the past week I have read all the books and Before. While I did struggled with the earlier books - particularly book one, After – at the end of each book I was intrigued enough to read the next one.
Before was what I really needed for this series.
It is split into three sections – before Tessa, during Tessa and after Tessa. The during section is told from Hardin’s POV, and it was a great help in learning his motivation through the previous 4 books.
Because let’s admit it, for most of the first 4 books Hardin was a complete and utter dick. To me he was totally unlikeable, borderline emotionally abusive (sometimes there was no borderline about it) and I just couldn’t understand why Tessa kept going back.
But Before changed my opinions – slightly – on him. From “the bet” to the end of After Ever Happy, we get into his head, and it is a more messed up place then even I thought.
So if you have have read the After series, you definitely need to read Before. I am glad I – finally – read the series.
You will need to have read the first 4 books in the After series before reading Before, as there are spoilers, and you will be a bit confused about things in part one, Before.
I have made no secret that I have put off reading the After series for months and months as I had to get my head past the fact that they are One Direction fan fiction.
Over the past week I have read all the books and Before. While I did struggled with the earlier books - particularly book one, After – at the end of each book I was intrigued enough to read the next one.
Before was what I really needed for this series.
It is split into three sections – before Tessa, during Tessa and after Tessa. The during section is told from Hardin’s POV, and it was a great help in learning his motivation through the previous 4 books.
Because let’s admit it, for most of the first 4 books Hardin was a complete and utter dick. To me he was totally unlikeable, borderline emotionally abusive (sometimes there was no borderline about it) and I just couldn’t understand why Tessa kept going back.
But Before changed my opinions – slightly – on him. From “the bet” to the end of After Ever Happy, we get into his head, and it is a more messed up place then even I thought.
So if you have have read the After series, you definitely need to read Before. I am glad I – finally – read the series.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you’ve read the other four books in the After series, then you might also consider picking up Before by Anna Todd and giving this companion novel a read. Here’s why.
In my previous review on After Ever Happy, I expressed that I wish I could’ve enjoyed the lifelong happiness Hardin and Tessa found together. The fourth book was mostly the two of them apart, appearing in each other lives every now and then. And by the end, their happily ever after felt so brief and final, it left me wanting to see a little more.
I think that’s what Todd accomplishes with Before: giving us a little more. I initially thought the fifth installment would be somewhat of a prologue for Hardin, but it really isn’t. It’s written from numerous perspectives: Hardin Scott as a child, several of the girls he fooled around with—before they ever met him, Landon, Zed, Smith, Hardin’s actual father Christian Vance, and then we get his perspective on his first encounters and milestones with Tessa Young that we didn’t get to see in the first book.
Read the full review at Story Darling.
In my previous review on After Ever Happy, I expressed that I wish I could’ve enjoyed the lifelong happiness Hardin and Tessa found together. The fourth book was mostly the two of them apart, appearing in each other lives every now and then. And by the end, their happily ever after felt so brief and final, it left me wanting to see a little more.
I think that’s what Todd accomplishes with Before: giving us a little more. I initially thought the fifth installment would be somewhat of a prologue for Hardin, but it really isn’t. It’s written from numerous perspectives: Hardin Scott as a child, several of the girls he fooled around with—before they ever met him, Landon, Zed, Smith, Hardin’s actual father Christian Vance, and then we get his perspective on his first encounters and milestones with Tessa Young that we didn’t get to see in the first book.
Read the full review at Story Darling.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes