After

 

There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there's everything AFTER... Life will never be the same. #Hessa

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, and tattoos, 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?

I randomly stumbled upon this movie on Netflix before I found out it was a book. The movie was really good and I decided before I saw the remaining movies in the series, I wanted to read the books. So, there I was, in the dead of winter 2021, driving to the ski hill and decided to listen to an audiobook. It was amazing. Anna Todd has such a knack for making you laugh and cry, cringe and feel so relieved all in one book. Hardin and Tessa, the bad boy and the good girl, making it work (or in some cases not) despite not being the perfect humans typically portrayed in romance novels, was a refreshing take. He's got issues that seem so astronomical that it is overwhelming, but once you get a glimpse of Tessa's family situation and background, you realize, so does she. And the fact that when they actually are in a relationship, it's not always healthy and selfless is refreshing too because God knows no one has an actual 100% healthy relationship in reality. It might seem overwhelming or hard to read because of some of those issues, but I find it nice to, again, not read about perfect people in a perfect world with a perfect relationship. Hardin doesn't bend over backwards and say all the right things. He's kind of a jerk. And Tessa is not the humble, meek, princess type who grovels at his feet. She's kind of annoying. But together, they bring out the best in one another and make it work. Anna Todd makes it work. 5 out of 5 stars for this one.