Review: After I Fell - Anna Todd

 

 

 

Review: After We Fell -  Book #3 After Series - Anna Todd - July 2014

You know that feeling when you pull a book off the shelf that's been sitting there so long it's practically become part of the furniture? That was me with After We Fell by Anna Todd. It had been gathering dust since 2015 ,yes, 2015  and it finally got its moment in the sun last weekend when I packed it for my reader's retreat, determined to tackle one of my chunkiest reads.

Reader, I devoured all 848 pages across a Friday afternoon and Saturday. No shame, only pride.

Opening this book was like stepping into a time machine. Within a few pages I was right back in Hardin and Tessa's world, and it genuinely felt like no time had passed since I finished the second book all those years ago. There's something wonderfully nostalgic about returning to a series you loved in an earlier chapter of your life, but what made this reread particularly fascinating was how much I had changed in the decade since.

I've been with my partner for nine years now, and we have the kind of relationship where the idea of constant arguing and emotional chaos would absolutely do my head in. Reading about Hardin and Tessa's relationship this time around had me shouting at the pages — Hardin, will you just pay attention to her, she loves you! The gaslighting, the manipulation, the relentless rollercoaster of ups and downs,  I noticed all of it in a way I simply didn't back in 2015. Interestingly though, there are still little glimpses of my own partner in Hardin's character, which I found oddly endearing even while I was simultaneously exasperated with him.

Let me be clear: this relationship is not one to aspire to. It is textbook toxic. But here's the thing I still loved this book. Completely and utterly.

There's something about the After series that feels tied to a very specific and special time in my reading life. When this book came out, I'd been blogging for four years, and these stories just had that little something extra that kept us all hooked and talking. Revisiting it brought all of that warmth flooding back.

And then, just as I was settling into the satisfaction of having finally finished it - cliffhanger. A major one. So now I'm absolutely gagging to carve out dedicated reading time to get through the rest of the series and the Landon spin-offs. The bookshelf wait is officially over.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dMpXz9