Average: 3/5 I’m going to be brutally honest. This book was 800 pages of the same drama from the first two books, plus a whole lot of foreshadowing intended to make you guess the plot twist that had, in actuality, very few allusions to it. There are also like five minor plot twists we’re left just wondering about after the novel ends.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE NEXT TWO PARAGRAPHS:

We are supposed to think that Tessa would accidentally fall pregnant just to have the rug pulled out from under us and be led to believe that she may be infertile. Then we find out that Landon and Dakota broke up. Right in the middle of that, some low-key nods to the fact that Karen may be sick or going through something serious. Then Hardin walks in on his mom and Vance?? It’s not like we never suspected something like this. I suspected from the moment that Hardin mentioned them living with Vance post-Ken leaving. Now we find out that Vance is Hardin’s dad?! Where’s the “dis tew much” meme when you need it?

TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH:

Also, ummmmmm, wtf. We’re just going to gloss over the fact that Tessa was sexually assaulted and almost raped? I hate using SA to further a plot point, especially when it’s unnecessary. There are a million other ways we could’ve outed Steph as a snake. Also, it’s not very believable that Tessa would be so unbothered by the entire situation. I think that any SA victim would be more shaken up after an experience like this, especially someone who craves control as much as Tessa.

END TRIGGER WARNING AND SPOILER ALERT

This constant jealousy and back and forth between Hardin and Tessa is just exhausting at this point. At least they’re finally starting to communicate like adults. Tessa needs some better friends. Hardin needs some better friends. They both need better families. They both need a lot of f-ing therapy. Their entire families (for the most part) need therapy.
I will, of course, be reading the next book because I’ve already read the first three, and you all know how it goes – “gots to see it through.”

• Trigger Warnings: attempted SA, mentions of past SA, some violent outbursts, sexually explicit content
• World-Building: 3/5 – We heard more about Seattle and some about the new Seattle office. We also got to know a little more about the place in England where Hardin grew up. I’ve pretty much given up on any more world-building. If it hasn’t happened in the first three books, I doubt it will happen in the fourth.
• Relationship Building: 4/5 – Tessa and Hardin are finally starting to try to take each others’ feelings into account before they do things. They’re also trying to work things out like adults instead of screaming and throwing things every time they get upset.
• Conflict(s): 5/5 – Like in the first two books, Tessa and Hardin always have conflict. In this book, there is added conflict with Tessa moving to Seattle, Hardin’s issues with Zed, Steph being a slithery little sneaky snake, and them trying to help Tessa’s dad get sober.
• Heat: 4/5 – There are sex scenes, but they’re mostly just that. There’s a little more buildup and sexual tension than the first two books, but it’s still pretty tame. There is a little more romance and more “spice” as compared to the other two books.
• Cliffhanger, HFN, or HEA: Cliffhanger/HFN. Tessa and Hardin are together for now so that rates an HFN. However, Hardin just found out that Vance is his father, which qualifies as a cliffhanger.
• Significant Tropes: Mostly the same tropes tbh.
o Accidental Pregnancy (teased a lot, but doesn’t happen)
o Afraid to Commit
o Bad Boy (aka Bad Boy who only behaves for the Good Girl)
o Beauty and the Beast (Tessa is the stereotypical “perfect girl,” and Hardin has tattoos and piercings.)
o Bet/Dare (still some fallout from the exposure of this in the first book)
o Good Girl
o Love Triangle (Hardin, Tessa, and Zed)
o Opposites Attract
o Parent Switch (finding out your parent isn’t your birth parent)
o Playboy
• Cheating: Yes
• MFM: No
• MM: No
• Anal: No
• BDSM/Kink: No

Description: Tessa and Hardin could have had it all. Their passion for each other could have burnt down the world around them. Will Hardin ruin it all because he refuses to compromise? Will Tessa put her dreams on hold or risk losing Hardin forever? And what will happen when a shocking secret threatens to turn everyone’s lives upside down?

After We Fell - Likewise Book Reviews

46 Reviews