After Books in Order: The Complete Guide
Anna Todd is an amazing young author whose books – especially the After series – racked up over 1 billion reads worldwide, making her one of the most prolific authors of the generation. The series is already adapted into four movies as well, although the last few didn’t quite work out as well as the books.
The adult romance series will get you immersed and gobbling pages, so here’s a complete guide through the After book series in order.
How Many After Books Are There?
The After series has five books, published in 2014-2015 by the author Anna Todd. The last three books were published in two parts in several translations, though, so there are more than five. On the other hand, four After movies are already out, with the fifth installment of the series pending, likely for 2023.
After Books In Order (At A Glance)
As I’ve mentioned, the After series had five books in it. They can be read in the order of publication, or if you want to read in the chronological order of events, read the final book first, and then go 1-4. The reading orders are as follows:
After Books In Publication Order:
- After (2014)
- After We Collided (2014)
- After We Fell (2015)
- After Ever Happy (2015)
- Before (2015)
After Books In Chronological Order
- Before (2015)
- After (2014)
- After We Collided (2014)
- After We Fell (2015)
- After Ever Happy (2015)
We’ll focus on the After books in publication order.
What Is The Best Way To Read After Books?
The final book of the series, Before, is a prequel to the first book, so some fans like to read that book first and then continue the series in chronological order from books 1 to 4. However, the best way to experience the After books, in my opinion, is in order of publication, as the author intended.
After Books In Order (By Publication Date)
1. After (2014)
Description: There was the time before Tessa met Hardin, and then there’s everything AFTER … Life will never be the same. Anna Todd’s After fanfiction racked up 1 billion reads online and captivated readers across the globe. Experience the Internet’s most talked-about book for yourself!
Synopsis: “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, tattoos, and lip ring, 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?”
2. After We Collided (2014)
Description: Book Two of the After series—now newly revised and expanded. First published in 2014, now in 112 editions.
Synopsis: “Tessa has everything to lose. Hardin has nothing to lose… except her.
After a tumultuous beginning to their relationship, Tessa and Hardin were on the path to making things work. Tessa knew Hardin could be cruel, but when a bombshell revelation is dropped about the origins of their relationship—and Hardin’s mysterious past—Tessa is beside herself.
Hardin will always be… Hardin. But is he really the deep, thoughtful guy Tessa fell madly in love with despite his angry exterior—or has he been a stranger all along? She wishes she could walk away. It’s just not that easy. Not with the memory of passionate nights spent in his arms. His electric touch. His hungry kisses.
Still, Tessa’s not sure she can endure one more broken promise. She put so much on hold for Hardin—school, friends, her mom, a relationship with a guy who really loved her, and now possibly even a promising new career. She needs to move forward with her life.
Hardin knows he made a mistake, possibly the biggest one of his life. He’s not going down without a fight. But can he change? Will he change for love?”
3. After We Fell (2014)
Description: From Anna Todd, the writer Cosmopolitan called “the biggest literary phenomenon of her generation.” Book Three in the After series, first published in 2014, now in 77 editions.
Synopsis: “Tessa and Hardin’s love was complicated before. Now it’s more confusing than ever. AFTER WE FELL…Life will never be the same. #HESSA
Just as Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes. Revelations about first her family and then Hardin’s, throw everything they knew before in doubt and makes their hard-won future together more difficult to claim.
Tessa’s life begins to come unglued. Nothing is what she thought it was. Not her friends. Not her family. The one person she should be able to rely on, Hardin, is furious when he discovers the massive secret she’s been keeping. And rather than being understanding, he turns to sabotage.
Tessa knows Hardin loves her and will do anything to protect her, but there’s a difference between loving someone and being able to have them in your life. This cycle of jealousy, unpredictable anger, and forgiveness is exhausting.
She’s never felt so intensely for anyone, so exhilarated by someone’s kiss—but is the irrepressible heat between her and Hardin worth all the drama? Love used to be enough to hold them together. But if Tessa follows her heart now, will it be…the end?”
4. After Ever Happy (2015)
Description: Book Four of the After series. First published in 2015, now in 77 editions.
Synopsis: “Tessa and Hardin have defied all the odds, but will their fairy tale ending be turned on its head? AFTER EVER HAPPY…Life will never be the same. #HESSA
It’s never been all rainbows and sunshine for Tessa and Hardin, but each new challenge they’ve faced has only made their passionate bond stronger and stronger. But when a revelation about the past shakes Hardin’s inpenetrable façade to the core—and then Tessa suffers a tragedy—will they stick together again, or be torn apart?
As the shocking truth about each of their families emerges, it’s clear the two lovers are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin—any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for.
Tessa understands all the troubling emotions brewing beneath Hardin’s exterior, and she knows she’s the only one who can calm him when he erupts. He needs her.
But the more layers of his past come to light, the darker he grows, and the harder he pushes Tessa—and everyone else in his life—away. Tessa’s not sure if she really can save him—not without sacrificing herself. She refuses to go down without a fight. But who is she fighting for—Hardin or herself?”
5. Before (2015)
Description: Before explores Hardin Scott’s life before Tessa, reveals what happens after After, and gives new insights on their turbulent #Hessa romance. Fifth book in the series, first published in 2015, now in 63 editions.
Synopsis: “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.”
Where To Read After Books?
The After books are incredibly popular, so you can practically get them anywhere. Your local library probably has copies, but you can also find it online, on Kindle, Amazon, as an audiobook, audio CD, or paperback. You can also find it on Google Play and Wattpad, where Todd’s original writings are.
Do You Need To Read After Books In Order?
You can read After books in release order or in chronological order. That would be either books 1-5 or book five first, and then books 1-4. The reason why both options work is that book 5, Before, is a prequel to the first book, so chronologically, it makes sense to read in order of events.
Are After Books Connected?
All after books are connected through a series of events revolving around two main characters, Tessa and Hardin. The series follows their relationship in all stages from the moment they meet. The final book explores Hardin’s life before he met Tess.
Will There Be More After Books?
There will be no more After books in the series – unless the author one day decides to write more. Still, the entire series came out in a span of two years, and the last book came out in 2015, so I don’t think Anna Todd is thinking about another go currently.
However, the series will be turned into graphic novels in five volumes. Volume 1 on After: The Graphic Novel was released in early 2022, whereas Volume 2 is slated for late 2022/early 2023.