Before

After #5

by Anna Todd

Book 5 of the After series—Anna Todd’s Wattpad fanfiction that racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated romance readers across the globe! Before explores Hardin Scott’s life before Tessa, reveals what happens after After , and gives new insights on their turbulent #Hessa romance.

Cosmopolitan called Anna Todd “the biggest literary phenom of her generation.” That’s Normal declared Hardin and Tessa “The Mr. Darcy and Lizzy Bennet of our time.” Revel in the awesome, messy power of true love.

BEFORE Hardin met Tessa he was a raging storm. DURING those first moments they met, he realized he needed to keep her for himself—his life depended on it. AFTER they got together, the world would never be the same.

Hardin and Tessa’s dramatic love affair became a vortex pulling in everyone around them. For the first time these others are given voice as they appear before, during, and after the events in original After novels. Alongside them, Hardin’s account of his first encounters with Tessa—which will change what you thought you knew about the brooding boy and the angel who loved him.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published December 8, 2015

About the author

ANNA TODD (writer/producer/influencer) is the New York Times best-selling author of the After series, the Brightest Stars trilogy, The Spring Girls, and the After Graphic novels. The After series has been released in 35 languages and has sold over twelve million copies worldwide—becoming a #1 best-seller in several countries. Always an avid reader, Todd began writing stories on her phone through Wattpad, with After becoming the platform’s most-read series with over two billion reads. She has served as a producer and screenwriter on the film adaptations of After and After We Collided, and in 2017, she founded the entertainment company Frayed Pages Media to produce innovative and creative work across film, television, and publishing. A native of Ohio, she lives with her family in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[peachygirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this shit was shittier than the rest.

Harry's/Hardin's story is as dumb as it is filthy and Tessa is a joke as usual. I don't know why there was another book in this God forsaken series to reiterate that. Supposedly this is from Hardin's point of view, but there's nothing new. Or good for that matter. And there's a bunch of chapters from different perspectives to justify other asshole characters' assholeishness. Phew.

If I could only go back in time and stop myself from reading this! 🥱

[Clumsy Storyteller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well i'm sorry to say this but this book is a waste of time.... :( if you ve read AFTER you don't need to read this book it's exactly the same ( there's only 10 chapters that are new from HARDIN pov ) i'm so disappointed !!! ...... i was so excited when Anna annonced that there will be another book in the After's serie now i'm sad !

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Before' is a companion novel to the 'After' series told from mainly Hardin's POV, with a few others thrown in there as well. Being inside Hardin's head was everything I expected it to be! His inner turmoil, his fight between wanting to be better but not quite knowing how, it was heartbreaking.

This was way more than just a retelling, we get a little backstory for some key characters (which I loved), plenty of scenes that were not in 'After', and of course the future scenes with their HEA.

My only complaint is that some of my favorite 'After' scenes were not in here and I was really looking forward to seeing them from Hardin's eyes. But other than that I loved 'Before' just as all the other books in the series! I'm terribly sad that Hessa's story has come to an end but I'm more than ready to read Landon's book soon!!

[Ursula Uriarte · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much more than just a retelling! Not only do you get to look inside Hardin's head in some of the most crucial scenes in AFTER, you get to really see his moments of panic, fear and regret at what he'd done.
You get a glimpse at his BEFORE and his AFTER ... get to know a little bit more about some of the characters that played big parts in what went down, understand them a bit more. In the case of some of these characters reading a more about them changed my opinion on them even if just slightly, for others (one in particular)it made me hate her even more HA!
My full review will be up on the blog the week before release. Before is more of a companion novel to AFTER, most definitely DO NOT start with this one if you haven't read the previous four books as it will spoil the entire story.. but if you have... make sure to pre-order a copy! BEFORE will hit shelves December 8th!

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ACLARACIÓN: Esta es mi reseña del 2016. Releí los libros para hacer un vídeo en mi canal. De hecho, ya está subido y pueden ir a verlo si quieren conocer mi opinión actualizada de toda la saga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP4Qa...

****

NOTA: NO leas este libro si no has leído antes los cuatro anteriores porque los spoilers están a la orden del día. Y sí, sé que esto es AFTER CERO, pero no te fíes, jajaja.

Creo que yo era el único ser humano sobre el planeta que pensaba que este libro era únicamente historias de Hardin ANTES de conocer a Tessa y de que pasara todo lo de los cuatro libros de After, peeeeeeeeero estaba equivocada, jajaja. Es decir, sí, BEFORE, tiene unos cuántos capítulos al principio que nos cuentan un poco de las vidas de chicas con las que Hardin estuvo liado en algún momento (Natalie, Molly, Steph...), pero poco más. Luego el libro empieza a contarnos AFTER desde el punto de vista de Hardin.

Tengo que admitir que fue bastante divertido leer cómo la cabeza de Hardin empieza calificando a Tessa como una santurrona insufrible y luego termina enamorándose perdidamente de ella. Y sí, ya sé que esto mismo lo vemos desde AFTER, pero es que leerlo desde la perspectiva de Hardin, ver las enredadas mentales que se pega y todas las contradicciones de su cabeza es muy cool... y tierno, a veces.

Ahora, si hay algo que este libro nos permite entender es lo podrido y asqueroso que es el círculo de "amigos" de Hardin en la Universidad. Leer lo viciosos y taimados que son Steph, Molly y Zed es repulsivo, de verdad. Y aquí entra, claramente, todo el tema de la Apuesta que, en mi opinión, tuvo que haberse explorado un poco más porque... BEFORE nos deja pendiendo de un hilo y no nos muestra la reacción de Tessa desde la perspectiva de Hardin ante la revelación de ese plan horroroso.

Quizá unas de las cosas que más me gustaron de BEFORE son los capítulos del final, cuando ya hemos cerrado la historia de AFTER versión Hardin, que empiezan a contarnos cosas sobre personajes que a lo largo de la serie se vuelven importantes para ti, todas ubicadas temporalmente después de que acaba el cuarto libro. No sé, a mí me encantó saber qué fue de la vida de Vance o de Landon... y obviamente qué pasa con Hessa :).

Y nada, lo otro que adoré del libro es el tipo de narración con el que empieza cada capítulo, pero ya tendrán que leerlo para saber de qué hablo ;)

[Kevin (Irish Reader)]

I am finally finished with this series. Did a full video review for this book on my YouTube channel, you can hear more of my thoughts here: https://youtu.be/xUrAdR5caF0

[Maditales · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not make me forgive the characters

[Yeasmin Alo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't mind me saving these quotes for myself 🥰 💕 for a quick relishing and reliving of #hessa's journey

I hope and pray my #hessa is enjoying their best life with my babies Emery Auden among the stars 🌌🌃and I really hope the third nugget is on his/her way 🤍🖤

"I’m battling within myself: the good boy who loves the good girl and the bad boy who’s too broken to love anyone are fighting with swords. Each one wants something different from the princess. The boy in black gets knocked to the ground."

Start of a Wild Ride-

"I feel alive and brilliant, and when I look down at my love, she’s looking back at me with radiant admiration, and I know now that somehow, everything will be okay."

Beginning of a beautiful beautiful beautiful journey -

"Tessa’s head falls to the side, and I brush her hair away from her sleeping face. She’s been my calm, my fire, my breath, my pain, and no matter what we’ve gone through, every second was worth getting to the life we have now.
I dragged Tess and myself through hell and back, but here we are—After everything, we made it to our own version of heaven."

[dia💋 · Rating 1 out of 5]

difficult childhood is no excuse for being an asshole. save your valuable time and don’t read this.

[Suzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m blessed with a family that I couldn’t have dreamed of, and I’m raising kids who will be better than I ever was. Tessa’s head falls to the side, and I brush her hair away from her sleeping face. She’s been my calm, my fire, my breath, my pain, and no matter what we’ve gone through, every second was worth getting to the life we have now. I dragged Tess and myself through hell and back, but here we are—After everything, we made it to our own version of heaven. ♥♥♥

[SueBee★bring me an alpha!★]

The final piece in the puzzle. Hardin BEFORE After...

Books in The After series should be read in order:
Book 1: After
Book 2: After We Collided
Book 3: After We Fell
Book 4: After Ever Happy
Book 5: Before

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

PERFECT!!!
This was the perfect little cherry on top of this amazing series!
Of course I was a bit confused at first with all those girls names at the beginning - that's due to my #Booksalzheimers ☺ ...but I got it after a few pages!
I loved how everybody was given a few pages to tell their story - both at the beginning and at the end. And I love that we'll get to hear Landon's story soon.
I'm still a bit sad about all that time #Hessa had to spend apart... it all had to happen for them to find their HEA, but I just wish... I don't know... I want all my darlings to have an instant HEA!!! ☺

For fans of Anna's series BEFORE is an absolute #MustRead!!!!!

Lots of feels and anger and when you hear Hardin talk and think about things, you really want him to get some therapy asap!!! ☺ So much pain could've been prevented....
But we still love him!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm kinda disappointed in the low reviews. I liked it. A lot.

***Maybe some Spoilers***

PART 1: THIS was the Before part. I thought it was good to have some insight to four other girls in Hardin's life.... Natalie, Molly, Melissa (Dan's sister), and Steph. I especially liked Molly's chapter. It actually makes me hate her a little bit less.

PART 2: This is basically After from Hardin's POV. Sometimes I hate entire books devoted to another's POV but Hardin struggled so much that I really wanted his and wasn't disappointed at all. Even though I hated what he and his friends did to Tessa I enjoyed the talking about it. The secondary characters and how they each had different feelings about it. AND to see a completely different side of Steph. How much she truly fucked with Tessa. SHE was disgusting.

PART 3: Was about catching up with some important characters...you know, like AFTER.
Zed, I was loving finding out the reason Professor Soto sided with Hardin over Zed with the flower house fight!! AND giving Hardin the great recommendation. "He must have his reasons" I actually always liked Zed so seeing him still sad was sweet for me.
Christian's chapter is probably my favorite part of this. I was always heartbroken over Ken and Trish, and then Christian's story. (Even though I thought Karen was wonderful.) After their big reveal we never heard from Trish again and that pissed me off! It was so sweet to see that Hardin is just like Christian in every way. I adored the 'two decades later' part so much that I realized Anna Todd could write an entire series about them and I would devour it!
Annndd, Just more of current/adult/future #HESSA! ❤ Which couldn't have made me happier. I love them HARD.

Now that I'm officially done reading all five books 11 in days (that's 2968 pages y'all!) I feel lost. Let the book hangover begin....

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Sapo salva-se a si mesmo no Fim...


"Before" é o epílogo das aventuras e desventuras da dupla Hessa, que os leitores da série "After", conhecem como Tessa e Hardin.
Neste volume é Hardin que irá estar em foco. Vamos acompanhar todo o seu percurso, e conhecê-lo antes e depois da sua Tessa lhe colorir a vida.
Iremos dar com um desdobramento do Hardin, que começa com um Hard-In Hardin que irá evoluir para um Hardin bem mais suave e doce -- um Soft-In Hardin.
O primeiro é um serial hearts breaker, um Gafanhoto-Casanova que saltita de relacionamento em relacionamento -- "ama-as" e deixa-as sem dó nem piedade!

Com um pai alcoólico e uma mãe que busca conforto numa relação extra-conjugal, Hardin está só e infeliz, e vai partilhando generosamente a infelicidade que sente, como quem procura purgar-se dum mal incómodo, sem saber exactamente como!...

Vive no inferno e por lá continua até que um Anjo chamado Tessa, se anuncia de rompante na sua vida execrável!
Então sim, gradualmente, passo a passo, o Hard-In antes de Tessa vai mirrando, murchando, até desabrochar num novo Hardin bem mais Soft!

Hardin começou Sapo e acabou Príncipe -- partiu do Inferno e foi abrindo caminho até conquistar o seu pedaço de Eden; e tudo isso por obra e graça desse sentimento majestoso e mágico que dá pelo nome de Amor 😉

"Arrastei Tessa comigo pelo inferno, mas estamos aqui. Depois de tudo, criámos a nossa própria versão do paraíso."

"Before" é uma história bem contada, que entretém e testemunha, tal como muitas outras, a magia do Amor -- um sentimento que tem inspirado mais livros que a segunda grande guerra, felizmente 😉

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I dragged Tess and myself through hell and back, but here we are—After everything, we made it to our own version of heaven."

Worth reading for all the non-Hardin PoVs, because I feel like we got to know him enough in the main series, but I did enjoy his perspective on things too. I liked the little epilogues we got for a few other characters, but overall the rest of the series was better than this book.

3.5ish

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt obligated to read this because I'd already suffered through the rest of the series, and I couldn't just.. not finish it. But my god. This entire series is so, so awful. And I'm a sucker for crappy entertainment, so that's saying a lot.

Worst characters ever. Hardin is a sh*thead, through and through. The fact that he eventually becomes capable of developing feelings for another human does not negate his sh*thead status, especially since he only becomes capable of those feelings because he can't fathom not being able to sleep with said human whenever he so wishes (as well as making sure he's the only person who will ever get to see or touch pretty much any part of her for the rest of eternity, until the end of time, etc, etc). This book in particular shows what a sh*thead he truly is. Tessa is unbelievably and annoyingly naive and whiny. I was tempted to reread the first couple of books so I had more to say about what a crappy character she is for about five minutes before I realized it's really not worth it. So, she sucks too, that's it.

Worst attempt at creating a "relationship" with two people who have no connection other than an overwhelming love for each other's naughty bits. They know close to nothing about each other before they're mentally professing their undying love for the other. Remember, these are college aged people, not a couple of twelve year olds navigating their way through their first crush. Apparently, neither Hardin nor Tessa were ever taught the difference between lust and love. HUGE difference.

Full of unnecessary, over the top drama, simply for the sake of drama. Basically, the equivalent of a soap opera written by a hormonal teenager. The drama is exhausting; I can't imagine waking up every day knowing that I'll be in hysterics at least once, most likely multiple times, due to the unstable romantic relationship that I refuse to walk away from in order to save some sh*thead from thinking that he's a sh*thead, despite the multiple reasons he's given me to do just that, in addition to all of the other strained relationships in my life (family/frenemies).

Not even going to touch on the whole abusive relationship business that I see being complained about in a lot of other reviews of this series; that's actually somehow less disappointing/annoying than the fact that EVERY SINGLE LITTLE THING is worthy of either walking away dramatically and vowing to never speak to the other person again, or confessing how one simply can't survive without the other (dramatically, of course). Both scenarios are inevitably followed by sex, because that is the only way these two know how to "connect" to one another. Super possessive, jealous, emotionally closed off boyfriend mad at you for saying hi to a male coworker? Have sex, everything will be dandy! Until 10 pages later, when he gets mad at you for wearing the wrong socks. Is he mad at someone else for something totally unrelated to you or your relationship with him? Well, sex will fix that too! And if you're angry at him for something silly, like lying or invading your privacy, just let him fondle you a bit and you'll feel soooo much better. Moral of the story: Sex fixes everything!!!

To be fair, this last book was the best, mostly because it was the shortest and skipped over quite a bit of the drama included in the first four books.

[AlenGarou · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rimane comunque una cazzata migliore di My dilemma


Io non volevo leggere questo libro. Non tanto perché è sempre dell’inutile serie di After, ma perché a prescindere trovo questi punti di vista aggiuntivi stupidi e privi di senso. Perché?
Ma perché alla storia non portano nulla di nuovo! Il 99% delle volte è come rileggere lo stesso libro. E io penso: ma c’è davvero qualcuno che spreca i propri soldi per ricomprare la stessa cosa ma con dei commenti idioti diversi?
Non per dire, ma tra poco esce il libro di Daemon della serie Lux. Per quanto mi piaccia sono sì… ultra scettica come in questo caso e quelli passati e futuri.
Comunque…
Before (senti la fantasia) è diviso in tre parti, quattro contando la playlist di “Hessa” a cui non frega una tega a nessuno:
Prima, Durante e Dopo.
Il prima non sono altro che dei piccoli scorci di vita delle quattro ragazze che Hardin scopa (o stupra) prima di Tessa, ovvero Natalie, Molly, Melissa e Steph. Ma sono frammenti così privi di contesto che boh… ho letto il nulla.
Il durante è ovviamente quando Hardin incontra Tessa, fa la scommessa ecc ecc.
Ma non è tanto lui che ragiona e pensa, no, perché essendo un concentrato è praticamente un porno soft.
Devo dire però che il suo punto di vista mi ha stupito, perché alle volte è più palo in culo di Tessa e c’è un errore fondamentale. Se davvero inizia ad amarla, perché cazzo continua con la scommessa e non glielo dice? Cioè, è ovvio che manda tutto a puttane e lui no, continua per la sua strada come se nulla fosse.
Ma sei scemo?
Solo alla fine ha qualche dubbio amletico e prova senza nemmeno un po’ di determinazione a parlare con Steph. Ed ero tipo: madonna mia quanto sei idiota.
Il dopo è riassumibile con: tutti trovano la figa. Gli “Hessa” hanno i due splendidi marmocchi quando lei è già tanto se sia riuscita a portare a termine una gravidanza (ma questo è un libro, quindi chissene delle leggi fisiche) e… niente.
Basta scrivere libri su sta roba che ha portato a My Dilemma.
Sì, perché se non ci fosse stato After, nessuno si sarebbe sognato di andare su Wattpad, prendere il primo aborto con tante visualizzazioni e pubblicarlo.
Grazie, grazie per tutta la merda che ci lanciate addosso e poi sbagliate a tradurre i libri.
Ma vaff…
*censura*

[Carmen de la Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reto #13 PopSugar 2019: Una relectura de tu libro favorito.

Desde que la autora anunció que iba a sacar otro libro de After desde el punto de vista de Hardin, me moría de ganas de poder leerlo. Como ya sabes, la saga me gustó mucho y me mantuvo enganchada en todos los libros.

Este libro se divide en tres partes: la vida de Hardin antes de conocer a Tessa en la que narran algunos personajes, la segunda parte es cuando conoció a Tessa (que es el primer libro pero resumido y contado desde el punto de vista de Hardin), y la tercera es después del final de Amor Infinito, también narrado por otros personajes y Hardin.

Aunque haya sabido qué es lo que iba a pasar mientras lo estaba leyendo, me ha mantenido enganchada. Me ha encantado que Hardin narrara todo lo que sucedió durante el primer libro; todo lo que le llevó a hacer lo que hizo con Tessa y cómo consiguió enamorarse de ella sin quererlo. Es verdad que Tessa me ha puesto de los nervios, yo diría que incluso más que en los otros libros; me han entrado ganas de tirarle con algo en la cabeza, y a Hardin también, con esa mente tan calenturienta que tiene, con la que se merecía tirarle con un cubo de agua fría.

Me ha sorprendido mucho la historia de muchos de los personajes, como la de Molly y Steph, que ya he entendido por qué se comportan de esa manera. También me ha encantado que Smith haya narrado una parte y saber lo que piensa ese mini Hardin metiéndome en su cabeza.

Algo que me encantó fue que al inicio de cada capítulo hay un párrafo escrito por el Hardin del futuro, es decir, el Hardin de final de la historia. Ese chico más maduro y razonable. Cuando lo leía me gustaba pensar que eran las frases de "After" el libro que Hardin escribe en amor infinito.

La pluma de Anna es igual que la de los libros anteriores, fresca y sencilla con un lenguaje tan cotidiano que hace que se te haga la lectura muy amena y te lo acabes en nada. Se me ha hecho bastante corto, la verdad, pero aunque ha habido partes en las que ya me esperaba lo que iba a ocurrir, en otras, la autora ha conseguido sorprenderme.

En conclusión; After, antes de ella sigue en la misma línea que los anteriores, pero aunque sabiendo lo que va a pasar, consigue sorprenderte como hace siempre. Siendo una saga que, o se disfruta o la odias, ha conseguido ganarse un hueco entre mis favoritas.

[Brooke — brooklynnnnereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars
This was a good 'behind-the-scenes' addition to the After series. It gave readers a glimpse of some scenes from Hardin's perspective but also allowed readers to gain a better understanding for some of the characters with a look at their backgrounds.

I did think this novel was unnecessary when it came to the overall picture of the After series in general. You could easily skip this book and be just as happy with the conclusion from "After Ever Happy". In fact, I almost wish I would've stopped after that novel. I didn't like the layout of this novel. The majority of the novel was Hardin's perspective of scenes from "After" (the first book in the series) but then the last section abruptly skipped forward into the future. It didn't capture the character of Hardin well because from the beginning of the series to the future there is a lot of differences in his personality and character. Through skipping forward from the first book, a lot of the growth of his character was missed and instead just showed two vastly different personalities.

Although it's a good addition for the fans of the series, I wouldn't really include it as a part of the series as a whole.

[Geo Just Reading My Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mai slaba decât primele volume ale seriei.

[Olga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Con 17 años (en 2025) y 13 años cuando leí los primeros 4 de la saga me di cuenta de que, a pesar de la trama de “romance” que te quiere pintar los libros de After son extremadamente tóxicos y problemáticos.

Y agradezco haberlos leído ya que me servirán en el futuro como una guía de lo que NO se debe aceptar en una relación.

Algunos puntos importantes que se deberían de tomar en cuenta son:



1. Cada libro de la saga aunque romantiza esta situación me enseñó y dio un recordatorio de que un pasado trágico no es una excusa para ser un tóxico, manipulador, cruel y egoísta (esto va tanto para Hardin como para Tessa). Cargar con traumas no da derecho a manipular, mentir o hacer daño.

Y no hablemos de la apuesta, porque podría estar años diciendo lo problemático, inmaduro y cruel que fue Hardin por usar a Tessa como un simple objeto para su juego. (Cabe destacar que no fue la primera de sus apuestas ya que el muy cínico tenía su repertorio) 🚩🚩🚩

2. El “amor” no justifica el maltrato emocional (ni el de ningún tipo). Si una relación te drena emocionalmente o te hace dudar de tu propio valor, NO ES AMOR.

3. No puedes cambiar ni arreglar a alguien. La responsabilidad de sanar y crecer es individual.

4. El autoconocimiento es demasiado importante:

Hardin, utiliza la inexperiencia de Tessa para controlarla emocionalmente. 🚩

Comprendí que el autoconocimiento es lo que nos permite saber quiénes somos, qué queremos y, sobre todo, qué límites no estamos dispuestos a cruzar.

5. Las relaciones deben potenciarte, no limitarte. Una persona que te quiere siempre va a querer verte crecer y ser la mejor versión de ti, no debería hacerte sentir culpable por tu éxito ni obligarte a elegir entre tu bienestar/sueños y la relación.

6. Jamás alejes a tus personas cercanas por una relación:

Hardin constantemente aísla a Tessa de su madre y sus amigos, dejándola sola y dependiente de él. 🚩🚩🚩

7. Estar enamorado no es lo mismo que la obsesión y la dependencia emocional.

Aunque Hardin es obsesivo, Tessa también muestra una dependencia extrema hacia él y su relación.

Su vida entera gira en torno a él. Sus decisiones, su estado de ánimo y su bienestar están ligados a la relación. Este nivel de obsesión no es saludable y la convierte en cómplice de la toxicidad, porque se aferra a la relación a pesar de todo el dolor que le causa. Constantemente tiene la misma idea de que no puede vivir sin él. 🚩🚩

8. La desconfianza como señal de alerta. 🚩

La desconfianza es una de las mayores red flags en la relación de Hardin y Tessa. Su relación se basa en mentiras y secretos. Hardin, desde el principio, desconfía de Tessa, revisa su teléfono y la acusa sin motivos de coquetear con otros hombres. Por otro lado, Tessa también duda de la fidelidad de Hardin por su repertorio de idioteces.



Las preguntas clave que me plantee con esta saga es: si desconfiamos de la fidelidad de nuestra pareja, ¿por qué estamos con ella? Si nos hace mal ¿Por qué nos seguimos aferrando? Si esta persona nos hace daño ¿por qué seguimos aquí ?

En esta saga la respuesta a estas preguntas es un todo es por “amor” tolerando comportamientos extremadamente tóxicos que aumentan la codependencia, el miedo a la soledad y un ciclo de abuso que se romantiza como “amor” alrededor de cada libro. 🚩🚩



Y ya creo que sería todo porque si sigo profundizando en esto no termino mi opinión nunca.

En fin, Tessa y Hardin son una red flag andante tanto por separado como juntos.

[AleJandra]

Alejen este libro de mi.


Odie esta serie
Odie a Hardin
Odie a Tessa

Y seguramente voy a terminar leyendo este libro y me odiare por ello.

[Licam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so disappointed from this one. The most important stuff were missing. It was just messy with no purpose. I expected so much more.

[Vilma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feelings of angst, anxiety, panic, trepidation, anticipation, regret and love, all flood back in the pages of Before—a companion novel to the After series told in Hardin Scott's POV. If you're a fan of the series, you'll love delving into Hardin's head, gaining insight into why he did the things he did, how they made him feel, and how he processed the consequences of those actions. We get to know Hardin a little better, experiencing first hand the childhood and events that led to his ornery persona... his anxieties and disappointments. Seeing his before made me better understand what happened during the time #Hessa, in all its tumult, was in full swing. And of course, the after was thrilling to see.

This is a quick read which will send you back to all the angst we all loved. It was also great to see a little more from some of the other characters in the series.

So much fun to read.

[Feyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5 Sterne
Ich hatte in dieser Reihe einen positiven Trend gesehen und hatte gehofft, dass der sich in diesem Buch fortsetzen würde. Das tut er leider nicht. Hardin ist mir wieder so unsympathisch wie zu Beginn und ich habe gefühlt nichts neues bekommen, sondern nur Szenen, die wir schon kannten, aus seiner Sicht. Das einzige, was ich gut fand, waren die Perspektiven von Vance und Smith, weil man hier doch noch neue Einblicke bekam. Dazu muss ich sagen, dass ich die ersten 50-60 Seiten durch die verschiedenen Perspektiven sehr anstrengend fand. Wohingegen die wechselnden Perspektiven am Ende das Buch komischerweise ein bisschen lesenswerter machten. Vielleicht lag es jeweils an den ausgewählten Personen oder am Zeitpunkt in der Geschichte... Ich bin jetzt mal gespannt, was Landons Bücher so bereithalten und hoffe, dass mir mein Lieblingscharakter nicht kaputtgemacht wird.

[Anniebananie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder ein super gelungenes Buch von Anna Todd, welches wieder absolut süchtig gemacht hat. Den einen Stern hab ich trotzdem abgezogen, weil die Geschichte so langsam doch etwas ausgelutscht ist. Aber die verschiedenen Personen, welche auch alle ein eigenes Kapitel bekommen haben fand ich überraschend und echt interessant.
Und auch wenn ich das mit dem ausgelutscht gesagt bzw. geschrieben habe werde ich die zwei Bände über Landon, die noch erscheinen sollen vermutlich genauso verschlingen.

[Lina Lovegood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das war jetzt noch mal das Tüpfelchen auf dem i oder das Sahnehäubchen mit Kirsche :D Hat mir sehr gut gefallen und ich werde Hessa vermissen.

[zainab]

You learn more about the characters in After in this book and also Hardin's thoughts as he meets Tessa are described in this book. But of course the future can't be missing.

[ᯓ★raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es la pieza del puzle que nos faltaba sobre el pasado de Hardin. Aquí lo vemos desde el punto de vista del Hardin pequeño, lo que hace que todo vaya teniendo sentido cuando crece. Esto no significa que lo esté justificando.

La traducción ha sido impecable y en ningún momento he sentido que estaba leyendo un libro escrito en otro idioma. He investigado un poco a la empresa encargada de la traducción y he visto que tienen buenísimo trabajo. Ojalá leer algo más de ellos. Y recordad siempre apoyar a los traductores, gracias a ellos podemos encontrar los libros que tanto nos gustan en nuestro idioma.

Este libro se divide en tres partes: la vida de Hardin antes de conocer a Tessa en la que narran algunos personajes (también chicas del pasado de Hardin, conocemos a Natalie, incluso a Molly); la segunda parte es cuando conoció a Tessa (que son escenas concretas del primer libro (sobre todo citas y cuando la veía a ella) contado desde el punto de vista de Hardin, y la tercera es después del final de Amor Infinito, también narrado por otros personajes (Christian y Trish) y Hardin.

Es donde más se hace evidente el cambio real de Hardin y Tessa, ya son maduros y no se pelean por cualquier cosa. No sabía qué esperar de este libro, porque pensaba que sería solo sobre Hardin antes de conocer a Tessa, pero he estado pegada al libro queriendo saber qué pensaba él de todo el asunto de la apuesta y sobre lo que sentía realmente por ella.

Otra cosa que me fascinó y que tengo muy guardado de este libro fue que, al inicio de cada capítulo, hay un párrafo escrito por el Hardin del futuro, es decir, el Hardin de final de la historia y una vez que ya ha hecho frente a todo. Ese chico más maduro y razonable que al final acaba llegándote al alma. Cuando lo leía me gustaba pensar que eran las frases de After el libro que Hardin publica en Amor Infinito para darle esperanzas a la gente que son como ellos al principio de toda esta historia.

En definitiva, sigue una línea parecida a Amor Infinito: deja atrás al antiguo Hardin para convertirse en uno mejor que pueda hacer feliz a Tessa. Si te han gustado los libros anteriores, este no será excepción.

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Frog Saves Itself In The End...


"Before" puts an end into the adventures and misadventures of the Hessa couple, whom the readers of the "After" series, know as Tessa and Hardin.
The story concentrates on Hardin. We are gonna be there since his bad days, when there was no Tessa around to cheer him up!

We are gonna meet 2 Hardins -- a Hard-In Hardin and a Soft-In Hardin.
The first is a serial hearts breaker that "loves" and leaves girls as a hobby. Brought up in a toxical environmente that included a drunken father and a mother who searched comfort in a "friend", he feels loveless -- he is miserable and shares his misery generouslly around...

And this lil beast goes on and on until Tessa pops in his life, like an Angel into his Hell.
Then gradually, step by step, the Hard-In Hardin starts shrinking, to let a much Soft-In kind of Hardin blossom!...
Hardin started in Hell and fought all his way up to Heaven.
He was the Frog that ended Prince, and that was all by the Grace and Power of Love, that winner feeling which conquers all!...

All in all, "Before" is an unpretentious entertaining story about the magic of love -- a theme that inspires more stories then WWII, fortunately ! ;)