Saturday, December 26, 2015

REVIEW: Before by Anna Todd



Title: Before
Author: Anna Todd
Published: December 8th 2015 by Gallery Books
ISBN: 1501130706 (ISBN13: 9781501130700)
Series: After (Book #5)






Book Five of the After series—Anna Todd’s Wattpad fanfiction that racked up one billion reads online and captivated romance readers across the globe! 

 As told by Hardin and other characters, Before will explore the hero’s life before he met Tessa, reveal what happens after After, give you new insights on their turbulent romance—and revel in the awesome power of true love. #HESSA


I read Before having not read any of the other books in the ‘After’ series by Anna Todd, and was a little worried it was going to impact my enjoyment of the book.  I’m happy to say it didn’t, and I’m keen to pick up the rest of the series now.

Before tells the story of how Hardin and Tessa first met, and provides the background to their tumultuous relationship.  Hardin is the ‘bad boy’ – I’m reluctant to describe him as a ‘typical’ bad boy because it felt like there was more to him.  Intelligent, angry, rebellious, and yet despite that Tessa manages to catch his interest.  Nothing like the other dalliances he has had, Tessa is the ‘good girl’, she screams innocence and even so finds herself drawn to Hardin like a moth to a flame.

Before is brilliantly written.  The characters are well developed and like I said, the story engaged me to the extent that I will go and read the rest of this series.  Hardin grapples with his attraction to Tessa, what starts out as a cruel game becomes so much more for him and he soon realises that he risks losing the one thing that is actually starting to mean something to him.

Before is told from Hardin’s point of view and many of the chapters start with a paragraph or two written in the third person.  I really liked the greater insight these gave to Hardin’s character.  It wasn’t a quick read for me, while it was easy to read, there is a complexity about the story and I didn’t want to rush the experience.  I found myself putting it down and then pondering what would happen next between Hardin and Tessa before coming back to the story.

If you’ve read the ‘After’ series then I would expect you would need no encouragement to pick up Before.  For those of you new to the series, it may be best to start with book #1 ‘After’, but you can definitely read Before without having read the series and still thoroughly enjoy this introduction to #HESSA.

4 out of 5 stars

Photo: JD Witkowski

Anna Todd is a writer spending her days in Austin, Texas, with her husband. She has always been an avid reader and boy band and romance lover, so now that she’s found a way to combine the three she’s enjoying living a real-life dream come true. She now knows what life is like when you get to do what you love. She also has a thing for things that begin with T's: Tom Hanks, TOMS, Target...

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REVIEW: The Best Goodbye by Abbi Glines



Title: The Best Goodbye
Author: Abbi Glines
Published: December 1st 2015 by Atria Books
ISBN: 1501115383 (ISBN13: 9781501115387)




From #1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines comes the next sizzling novel in the Rosemary Beach series, featuring well-known playboy and Blaire’s half brother, Captain.

The look on Rose’s face had screamed that she was hiding something. Hell, she’d practically run away from me. There was something to that. I knew there was...

After ten years in the employ of a mysterious crime boss, River “Captain” Kipling is ready to leave his sordid past—and his cover occupation as an upscale restaurateur—behind him. The only thing standing in the way of his “retirement” is his commitment to launch a new restaurant in the resort town of Rosemary Beach. With his sister, Blaire, nearby, Captain can delay his dream of running a humble bar on the waterfront, but the unwanted attentions of his head server, Elle, have him itching to get out.

Until he notices Rose Henderson, the new server at the restaurant. All he knows about the pretty redhead with the cute glasses is that she’s a hardworking single mom from Oklahoma. But there’s something overly familiar about her laugh...something strange about the way she looks at Captain...


The Best Goodbye is the latest installment in the Rosemary Beach series from Glines.  It's the sweet, second chance, love story of Rose and Captain. While I've read many of the Rosemary Beach series I haven't read them all, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. Beautifully written, as are all of Glines books, The Best Goodbye is told from alternating points of view, with flash back scenes to ten years prior where we learn the back story of Rose/Addy and Captain/River.

Cruelly separated as teenagers, ten years has passed and Rose/Addy has finally tracked Captain/River down. Conscious that many things have changed in both their lives she is cautious, focussed on understanding if the man he has become is someone she can have in her life once again. The stakes are much higher second time around, it's not just her heart that will suffer if Captain the man, falls short of the boy she once loved. Disguising her appearance Rose starts work as a server in Captains soon to open restaurant. While he doesn't recognize her, things about Rose reawaken memories from his past, reigniting pain he thought he'd moved on from.

Rose struggles with what she sees, and doubts whether she can trust Captain again ... but then she gets glimpses of the boy from her past causing her to second guess the emotions that are being reignited when she's in his prescience. An unplanned encounter forces a key decision for Rose and the two are soon both questioning whether the love they once shared could ever be again, or whether the time apart and the life choices they made are too much to move beyond.

I fell in love with both of these characters. They each sacrificed so much for the other that all I wanted was for them to get their second chance. The alternate point of view gave me insights into each character, so I felt I got to know them and their perspective really well. The flashbacks added real depth to the story and helped me to understand the choices they were both making as the story unfolded. I was a little disappointed with the ending, it felt like it just stopped. I would have liked an epilogue to give a little bit more substance to the end of this gorgeous story, particularly given the challenges the characters faced.

The Best Goodbye was a really quick read, perfect for a lazy day where you just want to get lost in the pages of a book for a few hours.

 3.5 out of 5 stars



Photograph: Keith Glines
Abbi Glines is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Field Party, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, and Existence series. A devoted book lover, Abbi lives with her family in Alabama.

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