After by Anna Todd | Book Review

After by Anna Todd

Synopsis:
(from GoodReads)

Tessa is a good girl with a sweet, reliable boyfriend back home. She’s got direction, ambition, and a mother who’s intent on keeping her that way. But she’s barely moved into her freshman dorm when she runs into Hardin. With his tousled brown hair, cocky British accent, tattoos, and lip ring, Hardin is cute and different from what she’s used to.

But he’s also rude – to the point of cruelty, even. For all his attitude, Tessa should hate Hardin and she does — until she finds herself alone with him in his room. Something about his dark mood grabs her, and when they kiss it ignites within her a passion she’s never known before.

He’ll call her beautiful, then insist he isn’t the one for her and disappear again and again. Despite the reckless way he treats her, Tessa is compelled to dig deeper and find the real Hardin beneath all his lies. He pushes her away again and again, yet every time she pushes back, he only pulls her in deeper.

Tessa already has the perfect boyfriend. So why is she trying so hard to overcome her own hurt pride and Hardin’s prejudice about nice girls like her?

Unless… could this be love?

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*Warning a LOT of ranting ahead. You have been warned*

Important Note: I read the Wattpad version (maybe the published version is better? I highly doubt it though…)

What the actual fuck did I just read?

“Unless… could this be love?”

HAHAHAH, yeah hell no. Tessa and Harry’s (Hardin? I call him Harry in the rest of this review because like I mentioned, I only read the Wattpad version) relationship is in no way romantic. And whoever thinks differently is crazy and I’m a bit concerned for your state of mind. I cannot believe any of you would ever want a relationship like Harry and Tessa’s.

Okay that’s a bit harsh. I’m a strong believer that people are entitled to their opinions and I’m sorry if I’ve offended the people who liked this book but I’m entitled to my opinion too and I just can’t even. I can’t believe someone actually enjoyed this story. Or actually shipped Harry and Tessa.

I’m really sorry, but no. Just, no. I have never ever disliked a book this much before.

Throughout the entire book every time Harry and Tessa argued (which was like every. Other. Single. Freaking. Chapter.) I was seriously scared for Tessa. I was just waiting for violence to start. It never did, but I’m positive if this was a real life relationship it would have. I mean Harry pretty much beat up any guy who talked to Tessa why wouldn’t he hit her too?

And I just really hope people don’t start losing faith in Wattpad for this piece of work (<—-shit) because there are so many amazing stories on Wattpad that are way better than this and actually deserve to be published.

Honestly I cannot believe how many reads this book. All of them together (the second and third book) is probably over a billion. I have read so many stories on Wattpad who actually deserve that many reads but don’t have them.

There is no way I am continuing this series, I’m going to save myself the torture and read something else. I suggest you do the same. If you are a young girl reading this book I really hope you understand that Harry and Tessa’s relationship is not healthy and it shouldn’t be a kind of relationship you want in your life. There are so many more problems I have with this book, but I will save you guys the rant.

0 out of 5 stars

Maybe .5 stars if I were a nice person.

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Buy After
(If you insist on wanting to read it…)

Book Depository
Amazon
Barnes and Nobles

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October 2014 | Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon – End of Event Meme and Update

Hello again, this is the last update for the Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon. The event is over and I have to say I had way more fun than I thought I would! I didn’t stay up the full 24 hours and I also didn’t read that many books, but I’m surprised to say I’m completely okay with that. These are my answers for the End of Event Meme, I hope you guys had as much fun as me.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
   I think hour 19 was the hardest for me. It was about 2 am and I was extremely tired, but I knew I really wanted to finish the book I was currently reading (My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak) because it was my goal for the start of the read-a-thon. I was basically trying to keep myself awake for most the hour, but it’s okay because I did it! And I’m really proud of myself.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
   I don’t know a specific book, I think a second book in any fantasy series can keep a reader engaged. Fantasy for me has always been a quick read. As well as lighthearted contemporary reads (most of the time). I also recommend graphic novels/manga for when you want to take a break. They’re super quick reads, but they also have great stories inside them.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
   Honestly I think you guys are doing a great jobs. When I wasn’t sleeping I was checking the website every hour and every time there was a new post. It’s crazy to think how much time and work the creators put in this read-a-thon. So thanks creators, you guys are awesome!
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
   The cheerleaders were awesome! I got most of my messages at late hours and they really helped me try to finish the book I was reading. I didn’t think I would get messages for the cheerleaders because I knew that there were more readers than cheerleaders so I was a bit nervous for how much the cheerleaders had to do. So many people, it’s amazing you guys got to everyone. 🙂
5. How many books did you read?
   In total 4. 3 of them were manga (graphic novels). I also started Every Day by David Levithan after I finished My Life with the Walter Boy. I was going to stay up the full 24 hours to finish it, but I realized I was exhausted and went to bed.
6. What were the names of the books you read?
   Gakuen Alice Volume 10, 11, and 12 Tachibana Higuchi, and My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
   That’s such a hard one! I loved them all? Can I say that? Well I’m saying that.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
   This one is hard too! Um, maybe volume 10 of Gakuen Alice? Yeah that one, it was good, but it was mostly a filler book.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
   Wasn’t a cheerleader, whoops, but good luck to the next years cheerleaders!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
    I definitely will participate again, I’ll probably stick to be a reader, but who knows. I might decided I want to cheer for other readers instead.

Page Count (not counting manga/graphic novels): 354
Total Page Count: 962

I had so much fun and I can’t wait to do this read-a-thon again! If you didn’t participate in it you totally should, just remember not to stress out. When I’m stress I can never concentrate enough to read. And I know everyone says this, but it’s true. Remember to have fun. No one forced you to participate, you chose it, and why would anyone want to do something when they’re not having fun? I know I wouldn’t. Bye guys and happy reading!

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October 2014 | Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon – Hour 12, Mid-Event Survey and Update

Hey guys! It’s the halfway point for the Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-A-Thon and I told myself that I would do a quick post to update my progress and this is it. I didn’t think there would be a Mid-Event Survey prepared for us though so that was a pleasant surprise!

1. What are you reading right now?
   I am still reading My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak and sadly I am only about halfway done it.
2. How many books have you read so far?
   I took a break from reading My Life with the Walter Boys to pick up some manga, I have read through about three volumes of Gakuen Alice by Tachibana Higuchi (volume 10, 11, and 12). So I’ve read three books for far.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
   Honestly I just really hope I can finish My Life with the Walter Boys before the read-a-long is over!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
   I have had many interruptions! Most of the time it’s my parents disturbing my read time to tell me to do something. How so I deal with them? Well mostly I just yell at them that I’m reading and to go away, but then of course I go do the thing they tell me to. Except I do it super quickly so I can get back to reading. I will be honest and say that most of the time it’s me being distracted by the internet…
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
   I didn’t think it would be this connected, I guess? Like I thought it’d just be me and my book with the occasionally stroll through Instagram. But instead I’ve been participating in challenges and talking with other people who are also doing the read-a-thon. Honestly it’s just way more fun than I thought it would be, people have been motivating me to read more and go on the internet less. I also thought I’d be super stressed out and force myself to read, but I’m really having a lot of fun and I want to thank the creators for making this possible. 🙂

Page Count (not counting manga/graphic novels): 185
Total Page Count: 793
Books Finished: Gakuen Alice Volume 10, 11, and 12 by Tachibana Higuchi

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October 2014 | Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-thon – Opening Meme

This read-a-thon is a lot more connected than I thought it was going to be. I thought it would just be me and my book, taking on the world together. But looks like there’s way more to it than that huh? Well anyways, before I start reading I have to do the Opening Meme, here are my answers to the questions.

1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
   I’m reading from the United States in a small state called Vermont. 🙂
2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
   My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak! I only have three books on my TBR list, but that’s the one I’m most excited for. It’s also the one I’m reading first.
3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?
   I have this huge problem with eating while I’m reading, I just can’t do it. I’m a bit of a neat freak and I need my books to look perfect all the time. So most likely I will not be eating any snacks while I have a book in my hand.
4. Tell us a little something about yourself!
   Um, let’s see I’m a super socially awkward person, but for some reason I have people that actually want to hang out with me anyways? Yeah, I don’t get it either. Also I love anime and manga and will sometimes spend hours watching/reading that and not do my homework. If you haven’t guessed it already, I procrastinate as well.
5. If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
   I did not participate in the last read-a-thon. This is a first for me and I’ve only every participated in the BookTube-A-Thon, which was super fun. I am super excited though, I’ve heard this read-a-thon is really fun and I’ve always wanted to see if I could read for 24 hours. But that’s probably a huge NO since it’s already 8:27 and I’m running a bit late.

That’s it for the Opening Meme questions! If you want to stay updated with my reading progress you can check out my Instagram page which I’m constantly on (though I’m trying to refrain myself for this read-a-thon) and my Twitter page, which I actually don’t really use but I do use it for read-a-thon purposes. I’m just not a Twitter kind of person I guess. Anyways, this post was probably super rushed, but I really need to get back to reading now. Good luck to everyone!

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October 2014 | Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon – TBR

Hello everyone! I am going to be participating in the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon. If you would like to join me you can find all the information here. There is a lot of information on their website, but basically it’s a readathon that lasts 24 hours and it starts on October 18, 2014. You can find the start times here, no matter where you are in the world everyone will be starting at the same time.

Important Links:

Sign up to be a reader
Sign up to be a cheerleader
Readathon FAQ

If these links don’t explain everything you can still go on their website and look for whatever questions you have.

I am super excited about this readathon this is my first time participating in it. I’ve only participated in one readathon before and that was the BookTube-A-Thon, which was really fun, so I know this one will be too. I’m probably not going to stay up the full 24 hours, or be reading for 24 hours straight, but I will be trying my best and I hope you guys participate as well!

Anyways, on to the TBR. Since it’s only going to be 24 hours and I have no confidence in my fast reading skills my TBR will be very short, I hope to finish one of these books and get at least half way done their other.

TBR:

1. Every Day by David Levithan
2. My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I’m not reading these books in any particular order, and also this TBR isn’t set in stone I will change it if I’m not in the mood to read these books or whatever. I will also try to post my progress at the halfway point, or maybe the quarter point after 6 hours. I don’t know yet, but I will post an update somewhere along the day. Ah, I’m so excited and I really hope you guys will join me and the other hundreds of readers participating. Thank you for reading and I’ll talk to you guys next time!

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Taylor Swift Book Tag!

Hello everyone! I thought I’d start off the month with my first tag post. This is the Taylor Swift book tag! I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but you know what? I don’t care. I love Taylor Swift, she’s one of my all time favorite singers and this tag seems like fun so I’m going to do it! So sit back and let’s listen to some Taylor Swift.

1. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
♫ Pick a book or series that you were pretty sure you were in love with, but then wanted to break up with. ♫

I have so many books I wanted to pick for this one, but I decided to go with the Hush, Hush saga by Becca Fitzpatrick. I liked the first book, at least I’m pretty sure I did, but as I carried on with the series I realized how much I actually didn’t like it. I found Nora annoying and frankly I think I hate her. But let’s not bring up bad memories, if you want to read about me ranting on the Hush, Hush saga and my hatred for Nora you can read my review on Crescendo here.

2. “Red”
♫ Pick a book with a red cover ♫

Paper Towns by John Green has red on the cover. Not a lot of red, but who cares? There’s red. So excited for this movie!

3. “The Best Day”
♫ Pick a book that makes you feel nostalgic ♫ 

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. It feels like forever since I read the first book, and now the series is over, and there is also a movie. It just makes me feel so sad to think about it. Those books were the series that inspired me to make my very own Instagram account and later a blog for books. They’re very important to me and have changed my life in so many ways. It makes me so nostalgic thinking about the past now that the series is over. I know Cassie is making more Shadowhunter related books, but The Mortal Instruments will always have a special place in my heart.

4. “Love Story”
♫ Pick a book with forbidden love ♫

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. I love the 5th Wave and the characters in the book, Cassie and Evan, have a forbidden love. Gah, I love them so much! If it doesn’t work out for them I will be an angry fangirl outside of your door Rick Yancey. You’ve been warned.

5. “I Knew You Were Trouble”
♫ Pick a book with a bad character you couldn’t help but love ♫

Jake Thorn from the Halo trilogy by Alexandra Adornetto. Anyone who knows me will know how much I hated the Halo trilogy. Every. Single. Freaking. Character annoyed me so much, but I will admit the only person I kind of sorta liked, was Jake Thorn, who was the main antagonist of the story. Everyone else could have died and I probably wouldn’t have cared, but Jake was pretty cool. But even so, I still really didn’t like those books. Sorry Halo fans. Oh and I don’t even know if he dies or not by the end of the series because I just couldn’t finish it. Anyone want to tell me? I will also admit I only picked up the books because they had a gorgeous cover. My mistake.

6. “Innocent”
♫ Pick a book that someone ruined the ending for ♫

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Yeah. It’s my fault, I spoiled it for myself. I thought since I knew the ending I wouldn’t cry. Yeah, that also didn’t happen. Let’s just not talk about it.

7. “Everything Has Changed”
♫ Pick a character from a book who goes through extensive character development ♫

Mia Rinaldi from the Vampire Academy series. Wow, in the first few books I hated Mia, I thought she was a spoiled and jealous bitch. But by the third(?) book I really loved Mia. And if I didn’t love Adrian as much as I did she would’ve probably been one of my favorite characters. She becomes such a strong character and I’m so proud of her.

8. “You Belong With Me”
♫ Pick your most anticipated book release ♫

The Dark Artifices and The Last Hours by Cassandra Clare. I have no clue when they come out. I don’t really know what they’re about. I don’t know what the covers look like. But all I know is I need these book series in my life. Now.

9. “Forever and Always”
♫ Pick your favorite book couple ♫

Cath and Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This one was extremely hard, I have so many OTP’s. Honestly my favorite couples change all the time, but Cath and Levi are definitely on my Top 5 Favorite Couples list.

10. “Come Back, Be Here”
♫ Pick the book you would like to lend out, for fear of missing it too much ♫

I can’t answer this one because I don’t lend out books unless I have a double copy of that book, which is a rare thing. I do not trust people with my books! They are my babies.

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That’s it for the Taylor Swift book tag! I think there were only tens songs, but I actually don’t know. Oh well. I had fun, I’m not going to tag anyone because I’m pretty sure everyone who’d want to do it has. But if not, go ahead and do it! I tag you!

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Monthly Update: September 2014

September Update 2014

Currently Reading:

1. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

Books Read in September:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio
3. I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
4. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
5. Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

October TBR:

1. Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead
2. Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead
3. My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

GoodReads Reading Challenge Progress:

I have already completed my GoodReads reading challenge! My goal was 50 books and so far I have read 62 books!

Books I Bought/Received in September:

1. 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts by R.J. Palacio
2. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
3. The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black
4. House of Hades by Rick Riordan
5. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
6. Rooms by Lauren Oliver
7. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
8. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
9. Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
10. Afterwords by Scott Westerfeld

TBR Jar Pick:

My TBR hat pick for this month is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn! The movie looks so awesome, and I’m super excited to dive into this book. I did hear it’s an adult book, but I think it’ll be okay for me, at least I hope so. No spoilers! I haven’t read a mystery/thriller in such a long time.

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I was in a bit of a reading slump this month. I didn’t read a lot, not just because of laziness but also because of all of the homework I’ve been getting. I skipped 9th grade algebra and went straight to 10th grade geometry so that’s been pretty stressful. I have such a huge TBR pile, but honestly my goal is to finish the Vampire Academy series this month and also start Bloodlines. Hopefully I can do it and October will be less busy. Wish me luck! Happy reading everyone 🙂

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