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abbieday01's review against another edition
3.0
Yep.....I read it.....yep...I will refer you to my review of After. YES may be a total spoiler. Reader should check for trigger warnings!
Book two of the saga of dysfunction. Can you stand anymore up and down? I guess those of us who read this entire series want to be on a roller coaster of emotions! Extreme highs....oh this might be it, he might change, she might change, love might overcome. Extreme Lows! Surprise....stupid words, lies, manipulations, anger, fighting, ultimate breaking and shattering....agony of heart on both sides.
Fighting inner demons yet always coming up on the losing end. Deciding that a person can push through without actually dealing with and facing trauma - well, I can tell you that is NEVER a good idea.
I don't know.....Anna Todd you did a great job writing, please don't take my reviews as a negative to your authorship!! This author, in fact has so excellently portrayed a very real dynamic in relationships that I have to give her props. She explores themes and thoughts that before this time were taboo to discuss. I would venture to say that Todd further explores the victim/abuser dynamic in such a real raw way that people will most certainly understand how a person stays in a situation that is clearly unhealthy. It is very real that victim's are attached to and actually love their abusers and therefore can not, out of duty and love and the idea that they are the help the other needs, leave the person.
I'm a mom. Of daughters and sons (5 of each). I am older. I am a victim of childhood trauma. I have seen this very relationship played out in people I know. I hold a degree in counseling and human services, I have sat with women in this situation. I can tell you do NOT want a relationship like this. You can't help but feel for Hardin - even my empathic self felt my maternal instincts and nurturing nature want to see him heal and be healthy. I mean honestly - I see the draw. I am a fixer by nature. Because I was abused and the the fixer, protector of younger siblings I get it. I was always drawn (and still am) to the broken. But like I tell my daughters, I now have the wisdom (age and experience) and training (in my degree set, and other programs I have gone through) to help without being dragged under (and it's not a love situation like Tessa and Hardin).
So I suppose - thanks is due to this author for addressing issues that are otherwise hard to address in such a raw and honest way. Thanks for exposing the intricacies of this situation. Thanks for showing what it really looks like. But with this a warning: DO NOT make abuse romantic - it's not! NO amount of apology or your love is worth what is happening. And COME ON - don't you see by now that this is a cycle....it may lengthen in time between the highs and lows but until someone seriously sets boundaries, draws lines and gets some serious help this is NEVER going to work...>Lord help the children who come along....for family and friends that become collateral damage.
Book two of the saga of dysfunction. Can you stand anymore up and down? I guess those of us who read this entire series want to be on a roller coaster of emotions! Extreme highs....oh this might be it, he might change, she might change, love might overcome. Extreme Lows! Surprise....stupid words, lies, manipulations, anger, fighting, ultimate breaking and shattering....agony of heart on both sides.
Fighting inner demons yet always coming up on the losing end. Deciding that a person can push through without actually dealing with and facing trauma - well, I can tell you that is NEVER a good idea.
I don't know.....Anna Todd you did a great job writing, please don't take my reviews as a negative to your authorship!! This author, in fact has so excellently portrayed a very real dynamic in relationships that I have to give her props. She explores themes and thoughts that before this time were taboo to discuss. I would venture to say that Todd further explores the victim/abuser dynamic in such a real raw way that people will most certainly understand how a person stays in a situation that is clearly unhealthy. It is very real that victim's are attached to and actually love their abusers and therefore can not, out of duty and love and the idea that they are the help the other needs, leave the person.
I'm a mom. Of daughters and sons (5 of each). I am older. I am a victim of childhood trauma. I have seen this very relationship played out in people I know. I hold a degree in counseling and human services, I have sat with women in this situation. I can tell you do NOT want a relationship like this. You can't help but feel for Hardin - even my empathic self felt my maternal instincts and nurturing nature want to see him heal and be healthy. I mean honestly - I see the draw. I am a fixer by nature. Because I was abused and the the fixer, protector of younger siblings I get it. I was always drawn (and still am) to the broken. But like I tell my daughters, I now have the wisdom (age and experience) and training (in my degree set, and other programs I have gone through) to help without being dragged under (and it's not a love situation like Tessa and Hardin).
So I suppose - thanks is due to this author for addressing issues that are otherwise hard to address in such a raw and honest way. Thanks for exposing the intricacies of this situation. Thanks for showing what it really looks like. But with this a warning: DO NOT make abuse romantic - it's not! NO amount of apology or your love is worth what is happening. And COME ON - don't you see by now that this is a cycle....it may lengthen in time between the highs and lows but until someone seriously sets boundaries, draws lines and gets some serious help this is NEVER going to work...>Lord help the children who come along....for family and friends that become collateral damage.
beeya_bookreads's review against another edition
3.0
tessa was a little more tolerable in this book but she’s still so shrill. don’t get me wrong, she has reason to be mad at hardin but why y’all shouting all the time.
that being said, this was good. the pace was better and the sex scenes didn’t seem awkward.
hardin is a total cunt but he’s also changing for good and you get to see this. i think the main problem in their relationship is the secrets. if they just were honest about things to each other then there would be no fights, crying, stupidness. but then again, there would be no plot without all the secrets.
the 9 days hessa spent apart were interesting to read but they both sounded so stubborn idk. they were stubborn.
also, it’s weird how After is known as ’50 fifty shades of grey for teens’ but there aren’t a lot of sex scenes tbf. idk. this book is almost like a filler for the first and third book imo.
that being said, the after series is a addictive read.
that being said, this was good. the pace was better and the sex scenes didn’t seem awkward.
hardin is a total cunt but he’s also changing for good and you get to see this. i think the main problem in their relationship is the secrets. if they just were honest about things to each other then there would be no fights, crying, stupidness. but then again, there would be no plot without all the secrets.
the 9 days hessa spent apart were interesting to read but they both sounded so stubborn idk. they were stubborn.
also, it’s weird how After is known as ’50 fifty shades of grey for teens’ but there aren’t a lot of sex scenes tbf. idk. this book is almost like a filler for the first and third book imo.
that being said, the after series is a addictive read.
melcarstairs's review against another edition
2.0
Popsugar 2019 reading change: Un libro ambientado en la prepa o universidad
Tenía pensado ponerle 3 estrellas, porque al igual que en el primero me ha gustado que pese a todas las cosas malas que tiene la novela (al menos bajo mi punto de vista) te mantenía enganchada la historia, porque (y repito, al menos para mí) y querías saber que iba a pasar, pero este final me ha parecido sencillamente una porquería. No venía a cuento. Ojo, no digo que este mal introducir a ese personaje. Pero no lo hagas en las tres últimas líneas de la novela y de esa forma tan cutre. Así que lo siento en el alma pero van a ser dos estrellas. Soy muy exigente con los libros, y no me gusta la falta de coherencia.
Hay cosas que me han gustado, como por ejemplo que los capítulos estén narrados bajo los puntos de vista tanto de Hardin como de Tessa. Me ha servido para conocer un poco más Hardin. A Tessa ya la conocía por el primer libro. Ha estado muy bien saber también un poco más de Hardin más allá de los pensamientos y la percepción de Tessa.
Uff...sigue sin gustarme esta historia de amor (por llamarlo de alguna forma). Tessa lo sigue perdonando absolutamente todo. Quizás perdona demasiado fácil...pero ojo z que la caga mucho en el libro.
No puedo entender porque, si supuestamente, está enamorada de Hardin, no para de besar a diestro y siniestro y babear con otros tíos...mira, tampoco quiero justificar a Hardin, pero en este libro en muchos aspectos le entiendo. Entiendo la mayoría de los enfados que tiene (no sus formas, pero si porque se enfada)
Y luego está Hardin...que sigue más o menos en la línea. Tengo muy claro que tiene un severo problema de alcoholismo y de agresividad. Problemas que de verdad, y no estoy exagerando, debería tratarse. Además de ser un inseguro patológico y un posesivo de mierda. "Mía, mía, mía" amigo, es tu novia, no tu vaca...que un poco más y solo te falta mearla encima para marcar territorio.
Pero tengo que admitir que pese a sus múltiples defectos (que no son pocos) , el chaval se lo ha currado a base de bien y ha perdonado cosas que francamente no sé yo si lo haría en su lugar. Sí que he notado un cambio en el del primer al segundo libro, pero mucho me temo que tiene mucho que mejorar. Aún le queda un camino que recorrer.
Y en general me he percatado de que el libro en su mayoría es una colección de malos entendidos; malos entendidos que por pero lado se podrían solucionar si hubiese algo de COMUNICACIÓN entre Tessa y Hardin. Es que no hay nada de comunicación. En serio, tienen un montón de cosas que arreglar esos dos. Pero sobretodo deben trabajar la comunicación.
También me he dado cuenta que entre Hardin y Tessa está el mismo patrón, patrón que se repite SIEMPRE: están bien, alguien la caga, peleas, gritos, escena sexual. Y así toda la novela. Esta claro que es una relación codependiente por parte de los dos. Deben trabajar mucho para mejorar muchas cosas.
También se ha podido ver en más profundidad al personaje de Zed. Personaje que me ha decepcionado profundamente. Me gustó mucho en el primer libro (pese a su cagada con el tema de la apuesta), y he de admitir que me llegó a enamorar en este libro. Tengo que admitir que el muy capullo es adorable...pero luego ver cómo es él en realidad ha sido como si me echasen por encima un balde de agua fría. No me espera a eso, no me esperaba este giro y eso debo reconocerselo a Tood. Ha conseguido "engañarme" y pocos autores consiguen eso.
Cómo he dicho al principio de mi reseña no me ha gustado nada el final. Muy apresurado y no ha venido a cuento. Personalmente no me ha gustado.
El libro te ha dejado muchas incógnitas abiertas que espero que se vayan resolviendo a lo largo de los libros que quedan.
En fin, no tengo mucho más que añadir. Haré una reseña más profunda en mi blog. Gracias a todos por vuestro tiempo y nos seguiremos leyendo.
Tenía pensado ponerle 3 estrellas, porque al igual que en el primero me ha gustado que pese a todas las cosas malas que tiene la novela (al menos bajo mi punto de vista) te mantenía enganchada la historia, porque (y repito, al menos para mí) y querías saber que iba a pasar, pero este final me ha parecido sencillamente una porquería. No venía a cuento. Ojo, no digo que este mal introducir a ese personaje. Pero no lo hagas en las tres últimas líneas de la novela y de esa forma tan cutre. Así que lo siento en el alma pero van a ser dos estrellas. Soy muy exigente con los libros, y no me gusta la falta de coherencia.
Hay cosas que me han gustado, como por ejemplo que los capítulos estén narrados bajo los puntos de vista tanto de Hardin como de Tessa. Me ha servido para conocer un poco más Hardin. A Tessa ya la conocía por el primer libro. Ha estado muy bien saber también un poco más de Hardin más allá de los pensamientos y la percepción de Tessa.
Uff...sigue sin gustarme esta historia de amor (por llamarlo de alguna forma). Tessa lo sigue perdonando absolutamente todo. Quizás perdona demasiado fácil...pero ojo z que la caga mucho en el libro.
No puedo entender porque, si supuestamente, está enamorada de Hardin, no para de besar a diestro y siniestro y babear con otros tíos...mira, tampoco quiero justificar a Hardin, pero en este libro en muchos aspectos le entiendo. Entiendo la mayoría de los enfados que tiene (no sus formas, pero si porque se enfada)
Y luego está Hardin...que sigue más o menos en la línea. Tengo muy claro que tiene un severo problema de alcoholismo y de agresividad. Problemas que de verdad, y no estoy exagerando, debería tratarse. Además de ser un inseguro patológico y un posesivo de mierda. "Mía, mía, mía" amigo, es tu novia, no tu vaca...que un poco más y solo te falta mearla encima para marcar territorio.
Pero tengo que admitir que pese a sus múltiples defectos (que no son pocos) , el chaval se lo ha currado a base de bien y ha perdonado cosas que francamente no sé yo si lo haría en su lugar. Sí que he notado un cambio en el del primer al segundo libro, pero mucho me temo que tiene mucho que mejorar. Aún le queda un camino que recorrer.
Y en general me he percatado de que el libro en su mayoría es una colección de malos entendidos; malos entendidos que por pero lado se podrían solucionar si hubiese algo de COMUNICACIÓN entre Tessa y Hardin. Es que no hay nada de comunicación. En serio, tienen un montón de cosas que arreglar esos dos. Pero sobretodo deben trabajar la comunicación.
También me he dado cuenta que entre Hardin y Tessa está el mismo patrón, patrón que se repite SIEMPRE: están bien, alguien la caga, peleas, gritos, escena sexual. Y así toda la novela. Esta claro que es una relación codependiente por parte de los dos. Deben trabajar mucho para mejorar muchas cosas.
También se ha podido ver en más profundidad al personaje de Zed. Personaje que me ha decepcionado profundamente. Me gustó mucho en el primer libro (pese a su cagada con el tema de la apuesta), y he de admitir que me llegó a enamorar en este libro. Tengo que admitir que el muy capullo es adorable...pero luego ver cómo es él en realidad ha sido como si me echasen por encima un balde de agua fría. No me espera a eso, no me esperaba este giro y eso debo reconocerselo a Tood. Ha conseguido "engañarme" y pocos autores consiguen eso.
Cómo he dicho al principio de mi reseña no me ha gustado nada el final. Muy apresurado y no ha venido a cuento. Personalmente no me ha gustado.
El libro te ha dejado muchas incógnitas abiertas que espero que se vayan resolviendo a lo largo de los libros que quedan.
En fin, no tengo mucho más que añadir. Haré una reseña más profunda en mi blog. Gracias a todos por vuestro tiempo y nos seguiremos leyendo.
ellabellaalice's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
I don’t like the way the book seems to condone toxic relationships and behaviour like this. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. These characters are 19 and 20, they’re flippin kids and they are acting like everything is the end of the world and they know everything about everything.
The characters flip flop between ‘I don’t need no man’ to ‘I can’t even breathe without you’ and then something will happen to break them up for 3hrs before they get back together.
I couldn’t believe it when I finished it that there is another TWO books!?
No thank you.
The characters flip flop between ‘I don’t need no man’ to ‘I can’t even breathe without you’ and then something will happen to break them up for 3hrs before they get back together.
I couldn’t believe it when I finished it that there is another TWO books!?
No thank you.
cursedhellokitty07's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It is better than the first book.
galaxytesh's review against another edition
1.0
am i gonna continue to torture myself to see how this ends? yes. will i do anytime soon? no, i need a couple of months or a year at this point
jf_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
icedviennalatte's review against another edition
2.0
I kept hoping that Tessa and Hardin would break up for good because their relationship is toxic trash but there are two more books so I know they're going to continue being awful together :(
This is the absolute worst couple I've ever read about, ever. Just when I thought Hardin couldn't get ANY worse, HE GETS WAY WORSE! He is described as always wearing black but he might as well be wearing all red because he is a walking red flag. He just keeps doing one despicable thing after another, and for some reason, Tessa keeps forgiving him.
Tessa is so annoying. She tries to act like she's so strong and independent but she can't function at all without Hardin. I actually feel kind of bad for her because she is so manipulated by Hardin that she blames herself whenever he destroys things and beats people up. They literally have one happy moment in the entire book when they go on the ice skating date, and even that is lower than the bare minimum. They were supposed to get food and then they just didn't. Tessa was like hehe it's okay let's just go ice skating! Without eating food first when you were supposed to get dinner?!! I WOULD HAVE STARVED! Okay anyways...
It's important to highlight that aside from fighting and "loving" each other, Tessa and Hardin have absolutely no personality. I don't even understand what they connect on aside from liking classic books, which isn't that unique...why are they always talking about Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice?? Like do these people read anything else?!
Also, these two have only been together for what, a few months? And they have already broken up multiple times throughout those few months? Why even try at that point LOL
I felt like this book was poisoning my brain with the toxicity of their relationship. The awful writing probably poisoned my brain as well. Of course, I'm going to read the next two books, because reading about this horrendous excuse for a couple is so addictive for some reason, so my brain is probably going to be fried by the time I'm done with this series.
This is the absolute worst couple I've ever read about, ever. Just when I thought Hardin couldn't get ANY worse, HE GETS WAY WORSE! He is described as always wearing black but he might as well be wearing all red because he is a walking red flag. He just keeps doing one despicable thing after another, and for some reason, Tessa keeps forgiving him.
Tessa is so annoying. She tries to act like she's so strong and independent but she can't function at all without Hardin. I actually feel kind of bad for her because she is so manipulated by Hardin that she blames herself whenever he destroys things and beats people up. They literally have one happy moment in the entire book when they go on the ice skating date, and even that is lower than the bare minimum. They were supposed to get food and then they just didn't. Tessa was like hehe it's okay let's just go ice skating! Without eating food first when you were supposed to get dinner?!! I WOULD HAVE STARVED! Okay anyways...
It's important to highlight that aside from fighting and "loving" each other, Tessa and Hardin have absolutely no personality. I don't even understand what they connect on aside from liking classic books, which isn't that unique...why are they always talking about Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice?? Like do these people read anything else?!
Also, these two have only been together for what, a few months? And they have already broken up multiple times throughout those few months? Why even try at that point LOL
I felt like this book was poisoning my brain with the toxicity of their relationship. The awful writing probably poisoned my brain as well. Of course, I'm going to read the next two books, because reading about this horrendous excuse for a couple is so addictive for some reason, so my brain is probably going to be fried by the time I'm done with this series.
liareadsx's review against another edition
5.0
this has got to be my favorite book in the series. the drama, the spice, the plot twists were
TWISTING ✨
TWISTING ✨