Review by hithisismollie_ - After

hithisismollie_ 's review for:

After by Anna Todd

4.0

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I feel so conflicting and much of a what could be seen as a snowflake writing this. Mostly because…well, did I enjoy the book? Yes. Do I regret reading it? No. Do I see where the 1 star reviews come from? Yes! Was that going to change my view? Nope.

I’ll start by saying I found it addictive; I wanted more from the characters almost desperate to see more of Tessa’s relationships with her mother & Noah. They were brief interactions and felt like we could have seen them appear so much more. Maybe they appear more in the next books, I don’t know, but i have no regrets in saying I plan to finish the series and not even for my pride, but just because I want more!

However, in saying that, I also dislike how the relationships, particularly through that being Harden & Tessa’s are written. It’s toxic from day dote and like many say - they keep going back and forth; it made me question the development of their personalities. It left me me wondering if it’s just how’s it’s written that presents it in a way I feel there was growth in their personalities till the last 5-10 chapters. I felt like it continued back and forth of what they wanted from each other. But also, I look at it from the perspective that the relationship as a whole is just NOT a relationship that is just typical bad guy, good girl vibes, particularly for the teenage audience it, I say, was (knowing it has come from Wattpad as a fellow One Direction fan!) or is intended for.

It’s goes without saying it should come with a content warning for the audience it’s is intended for. I say honestly that some of the language feels and is, filthy and so contradictory, particularly in how quickly the mood changes for example with Harden who seems to flick as quick as a light switch! Throughout I can’t help but come to despise him, yet want more of his personality growth we sort towards the end and to see how he changes throughout the series; there’s a part of me that really wants this good girl vibe from Tessa to change him, but deep down I just know it’s a relationship that’s not healthy, it doesn’t feels consensual and well, just full of red flags.

Even if it’s not written in a way that felt consistent or consensual, there is a part of me that is almost angry at the fact that it kept drawing my attention to crave more of the characters that I want to hate so badly.

At the end of the day, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. I’m not going to say it was beautifully written; it personally written broaching subjects that are challenging for many to read and digestx Despite feeling in several minds my words at the ending when I finished were ‘for f**k say, it’s so bad it’s good’ I got hooked in and I felt very much like I wanted to agree to disagree with myself where I stand as a whole with the book. I still want to see what is next for Tessa and Harden, so truthfully I’m going 4 stars because I wanted more , purely in the way it ended I wanted to know what happens next for the pair but also wanted to shake and shout at the characters and writer and say ‘wake the f**k up’.

Content Warnings