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mj2148's review against another edition
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.25
1.5 Stars
It was just two days ago when one of my lovely friends asked if I wanted to join a buddy-read for After. I'd never heard of this book, and to be honest I didn't read the synopsis. But it was supposed to be cringey and I was bored so I said why not.
And wow...
I don't know if cringey is the right word...
It was just two days ago when one of my lovely friends asked if I wanted to join a buddy-read for After. I'd never heard of this book, and to be honest I didn't read the synopsis. But it was supposed to be cringey and I was bored so I said why not.
And wow...
I don't know if cringey is the right word...
The Kissing Booth is what I would define as cringey. This book on the other hand was... sickening.
After follows a college student, Tessa, who is not like other girls. She gets good grades, always finished her homework., and has a sweet, innocent boyfriend named Noah. But then she meets a bad boy named Hardin. Hardin is a walking stereotype. He has tattoos, wears black clothes, has piercings, and an emotionless jerk. But good girl Tessa falls in love with his d- *clears throat* I mean she falls in love with Hardin.
To start off, the characters were not even characters. They had two traits, horny and angry. Tessa was just wrong in every way possible. This is one of those books that actually says the words "I'm not like others girls." And you know what? It's 100% true! Tessa isn't like other girls, because she is much worse!... And then Hardin...
Hardin was abusive and manipulative. He basically raped Tessa in one scene and made her beg him for things that shall not be mentioned. I honestly felt bad for Tessa, Hardin was such a freaking jerk.
And then we have side characters. I stan Noah. I stan Steph. I stan anyone besides Tessa and Hardin and their body parts TBH.
And the plot... I am honest when I say that there was no plot. There were two events that were repeated over and over again: Hardin and Tessa banging & Hardin and Tessa hating each other because one of them wouldn't bang the other.
Nothing else. There was no climax and not one innocent scene...
The details though-
(view spoiler)
Also, let me add in this was over 500 pages. I'm glad I finished this before Valentine's Day because I do not want to tell people I spent my Valentine's Day reading this piece of trash.
And lastly, this was problematic AF. Check out more on that by searching up "After" on Google. I'm sure it will be one of the first things that pop up and beware of how much scrolling you will be doing once you find an article.
And you're probably asking why I rated this 1.5 stars? I read it with my wonderful friends (view spoiler) so it was amusing to make fun of and TBH it was so bad it was addicting in a way... But not more than an extra half star
Well anyways, the book sucked (no pun intended) yet I'll be reading the second one because it can't be much worse, you know? I lost all my brain cells and I assure you there are no more to lose.
See you After I read the second!
On a serious note, I will see you After I burn this piece of trash!
Ok... sorry you see what this collection of word porn did to me...
Bye ☺☺☺
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical trauma, and Stalking
wrathofthelamb's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism
sonygaystation's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I read this because I’m a masochist and like to see what all the fuss is about things that people find problematic. This is one massive yikes. Started out fun and stupid and spiraled quickly into straight up verbally and emotionally abusive. Unsure what redeeming features Hardin is supposed to have outside of apparently being attractive. Also extremely unsure if this is a relationship we’re supposed to view as toxic (if so, the author did NOT make that clear enough at all) or if this dynamic is genuinely attractive and desirable to the author. It’s books like these that I feel shouldn’t even exist because while I, as a grown adult, am very conscious of what is healthy and abusive behaviour, the 12 year olds reading this on WattPad for Harry Styles fic will not. Also weird as hell to be writing RPF in the first place, especially when you’re married and the guy you’re writing about was ~18 at the time and ~6 years younger than you. Glad I found a pdf online cuz there was no way I’m supporting her with my money lmao.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexism, and Blood
Minor: Body shaming and Misogyny
bookly's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
I hope younger readers aren't looking at this as an example of what romance is or what dating should be like. This is an extremely toxic relationship. To me this is the book version of bad reality TV. Its horrible yet entertaining and definitely not how well functioning people should act.
It does get extremely repetitive with the main characters having the same argument every few pages.
It does get extremely repetitive with the main characters having the same argument every few pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Violence
nickoliver's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was planning to read this in little pieces over several weeks so I didn't go crazy, but someone at my library put it on hold and I did not want to have to borrow it a second time in a few weeks, so instead, I read almost the entire thing over the past two days. My sanity definitely did not appreciate that and ran away.
Tessa was one of the worst, most annoying main characters I've read about in a while (except maybe for Rika from "Corrupt" by Penelope Douglas). I can't even properly express how much I hated her, and let me just tell you - if there's one thing I hate doing, it's getting hateful over female characters. I love loving women and don't like to get back into the toxic, misogynistic mindset I had as a teenager, so every time it happens, I make myself so uncomfortable with the way I think and write my notes about characters like Tessa.
(I mean, obviously, she wasn't the only bad thing, this book is FULL of problematic things and unnecessary drama, but I went into this book expecting to hate Hardin - which, don't get me wrong, I did -, so the vitriol and hate I felt for Tessa was unexpected.)
I really want to write an in-depth review about this book (for some reason, because it's not like I suffered enough already), but I need a break now. I feel like I've just spent twenty years in prison.
Tessa was one of the worst, most annoying main characters I've read about in a while (except maybe for Rika from "Corrupt" by Penelope Douglas). I can't even properly express how much I hated her, and let me just tell you - if there's one thing I hate doing, it's getting hateful over female characters. I love loving women and don't like to get back into the toxic, misogynistic mindset I had as a teenager, so every time it happens, I make myself so uncomfortable with the way I think and write my notes about characters like Tessa.
(I mean, obviously, she wasn't the only bad thing, this book is FULL of problematic things and unnecessary drama, but I went into this book expecting to hate Hardin - which, don't get me wrong, I did -, so the vitriol and hate I felt for Tessa was unexpected.)
I really want to write an in-depth review about this book (for some reason, because it's not like I suffered enough already), but I need a break now. I feel like I've just spent twenty years in prison.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence