Nothing Less by Anna Todd | Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2.5)

Where Anna Todd's Nothing More soared in comparison to her After series--Nothing Less, well, didn't. Her writing has really improved in the years since she began posting to Wattpad, and it is more obvious everyday, but the entire conclusion to Landon Gibson's story fell flat for me. Nothing Less picks up right where Nothing More left off but there just wasn't as much heart in it compared to the first of the duo.

Nearly everything that made Nothing More standout just didn't feel developed in this one and that was, ultimately, disappointing for me. I am not one to take many new adult novels in the genre serious--but one of the things that strikes me about Todd's writing is that with all her books, her prose grows stronger. Anna is known for growing as a writing and exploring different tones. But with Nothing Less, I felt like she'd backtracked on her "each novel gets better" progress and it just wasn't doing it for me. I almost didn't complete it.

But here's the thing: I think fans of the series, and the series that spawned it, will appreciate it for what it is. A fluffy, smutty, humorous love story with the importance of friendship and respect of one's self sprinkled in. After has never been my cup of tea, per se, but it's always been relatively entertaining for me. I think that, another reason why this installment just wasn't my favourite, was it felt a little separated from what she'd already established in her work.

Nothing More by Anna Todd | Rating: ★★★☆☆

Let's just be upfront about it, shall we? I'm becoming more and more of a sucker for trashy romance novels. It's not that I love them, it's more or less that they are simply a good escape from life. Anna Todd has, in just under a few years, become something of a fan favourite due to her highly popular After series and its cult following.

You may remember After as something many tipped to be "the next Fifty Shades of Grey" which is equal parts compelling and offensive, depending on who you ask. Getting her start as an author of One Direction fanfiction, Todd has built herself a massive following and career that is only going up from here on out. Her novels are sloppy, messy, and campy--in with toxic, stormy relationships that will strike a chord with its target audience due to its explicit sex scenes and high stakes drama. In all ways, Anna Todd's novels are the typical trash scene of New Adult but that isn't a bad thing until readers begin to emulate it and decide they are "relationship goals" and all that jazz.

But, I've said my piece in the past and I'm not here to ridicule it in any way further. Nothing More, luckily, isn't all that like After in terms of its toxicity and romance. Todd, thankfully, takes a different formula with our characters we've come familiar with in the timeline. Fan favourites return, this time with Landon as our lead and his love life takes the main stage. Which is quite refreshing and gives us a glimpse into who he is outside of his platonic friendship with Tessa. I enjoyed seeing his point of view because it's a breath of fresh air and has a distinctly comical edge to it.

  Let's take it back to Before, shall we? We know what came after. But haven't you wondered what was before? 

 The final chapter of Hessa is here in After Ever Happy. Is the vicious cycle finally about to break? Will Hardin Scott ever grow up? 

Hessa is facing more and more obstacles as outside forces threaten to keep them apart. And Anna Todd reminds us that sometimes... with friends like these, who needs enemies?

The adventure (see: train-wreck) that is Hessa continues! After We Collided was better than After. But is that really a compliment?