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A review by kkenna7
After Ever Happy by Anna Todd
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
(copying and pasting to all of the books as it pertains to all of them)
To rate this book, or any of this series, with any amount of stars feels entirely wrong to me.
I read this as part of what I *thought* was going to be a fun "hate-read" where I'd get to roll through this series and poke fun at all the silly shenanigans that the fanic-y mid-2010s brought us. And I did hate it, but that is not at all what this series is. Book one is a silly little time, sure, you get in that mindset. You're giggling at the cringy dialogue and the unrealistic scenarios. But then, books two through four are gut-punch-after-gut-punch of traumatic events and toxic behaviors. There is no single second where you have a reprieve. Not to mention the completely useless "prequel" fifth book that just regurgitates the first book's events but in Hardin's POV even though the series is dual POV anyway. A complete waste of time
This series is a complete normalization of abusive behavior that is not ever even ONCE called out for what it is. Every single character, with the exception of Landon and Smith (a literal child), is completely abhorrent and irredeemable. There's not one moment in this series where the awful things that are happening on page happen for any reason other than shock value and plot movement. No one learns or grows, no one reaps what they sow, no one experiences any consequences. The only person experiencing consequences was me, seemingly, who was triggered, given literal nightmares, and then left IRL exhausted at the end of this awful awful series. Never again.
This woman should not nor should she ever have been successful. These books should not have ever existed. They should not have ever been as popular as they were. They definitely were not fun or guilty pleasure reads. And they certainly did not deserve to be made into movies (that just edited all of the traumatizing plot points out, anyway).
To rate this book, or any of this series, with any amount of stars feels entirely wrong to me.
I read this as part of what I *thought* was going to be a fun "hate-read" where I'd get to roll through this series and poke fun at all the silly shenanigans that the fanic-y mid-2010s brought us. And I did hate it, but that is not at all what this series is. Book one is a silly little time, sure, you get in that mindset. You're giggling at the cringy dialogue and the unrealistic scenarios. But then, books two through four are gut-punch-after-gut-punch of traumatic events and toxic behaviors. There is no single second where you have a reprieve. Not to mention the completely useless "prequel" fifth book that just regurgitates the first book's events but in Hardin's POV even though the series is dual POV anyway. A complete waste of time
This series is a complete normalization of abusive behavior that is not ever even ONCE called out for what it is. Every single character, with the exception of Landon and Smith (a literal child), is completely abhorrent and irredeemable. There's not one moment in this series where the awful things that are happening on page happen for any reason other than shock value and plot movement. No one learns or grows, no one reaps what they sow, no one experiences any consequences. The only person experiencing consequences was me, seemingly, who was triggered, given literal nightmares, and then left IRL exhausted at the end of this awful awful series. Never again.
This woman should not nor should she ever have been successful. These books should not have ever existed. They should not have ever been as popular as they were. They definitely were not fun or guilty pleasure reads. And they certainly did not deserve to be made into movies (that just edited all of the traumatizing plot points out, anyway).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol