Review on the Landon Gibson Series: Is It Worth the Read?

In light of the premier of After We Fell on Netflix, I decided to revisit the After world by finally picking up the Landon Gibson duology.

The duology, for those of you who are not familiar with the series, consists of Nothing More and Nothing Less written by Anna Todd. They tell the story of Landon Gibson, who is Tessa’s best friend in the novels. It takes place while the final book, After Ever Happy, takes place, when Tessa and Landon lived in the New York City (sorry major spoiler if you already haven’t read the series).

Landon is interested in dating Tessa’s friend Nora, who is extremely closed off to him. Nora is also his ex’s roommate. The attraction between the two is undeniable. Like After, there is a ton of steamy scenes and drama. The series explores the progression between the two’s relationship, all while Landon deals with his past as well.

I loved After, and have been dying to pick up the books since reading them two years ago. And, I am going to say that while I enjoyed them, they did leave me disappointed. I gave Nothing More a solid three stars on Goodreads, and Nothing Less four. After was the kind of book for that I could not put down no matter how hard I tried. And, I am not sorry to say that. These books, however, did not hold the same amount of excitement that the originals did. There were even times I questioned whether or not these books were even needed. Part of me wonders if that’s because I came into the books with the expectation that they were the same as the original.

That said, I wanted to discuss the love triangle that is the center plot of the story. Landon is forced to choose between his past and his present. Landon has been someone who had a lot going on, and unlike Hardin, has a lot of insecurities. And, in the book, it shows. This love triangle didn’t seem as defined as some of the previous ones I’ve read, such as in Twilight. Landon clearly cared for both characters, but as the series went on, readers could tell who he wanted to be with more. However, since Landon is a good guy, his ex-girlfriend Dakota always came back needing his help. And since he is always the fixer, he is drawn to the character of Nora. As a reader, I preferred him with Nora because he was good for the character’s healing process.

Furthermore, I did enjoy reading Nothing Less a lot more than Nothing More. Nothing Less has so much about Nora’s backstory that I felt like the readers really needed. At least I did. Once I reached that point of the story, I got the satisfaction that I needed since it was a mystery for much of the duration of the two books.

That said, do I think that these books were needed? No. They were extras. Did I enjoy reading them? Absolutely. I did enjoy the nostalgia of revisiting a world and characters even though I did not get my fix of Hessa. I want to make that clear that I did enjoy them and I did find these books entertaining. But, if you asked me, they are still just extra pieces of the story and if you’re questioning on if they are worth it, I am going to have to say no.

Did you like the After series? Let me know in the comments below.