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emelisa_19's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The mental health crisis of the 21st century is clearly diplayed in the amount of people that like this book and root for the main characters.
I am so happy they broke up in the end. In my mind, they will stay that way because I have no plan nor the desire to read the other two books.
The writting is beautiful. The timeline and flow of the story is messed up tho. One chapter they were resolute on never getting back together, then the next chapter they are made up again, swearing to the stars this is it. I had this feeling that I missed like 4 chapters, which made me think that what was happening was not happening at all. Absolutely hated that.
Absolutely hate BJ Ballentine, biggest asshole I've ever read about. Parks was kinda nice in the beginning, annoyed me to pieces by the end. They both need therapy. The white walls, straight-jacket kind.
That star I put in the review is for Tom England and BJ's mom only. They were the only thing that kept me pushing through.
I am so happy they broke up in the end. In my mind, they will stay that way because I have no plan nor the desire to read the other two books.
The writting is beautiful. The timeline and flow of the story is messed up tho. One chapter they were resolute on never getting back together, then the next chapter they are made up again, swearing to the stars this is it. I had this feeling that I missed like 4 chapters, which made me think that what was happening was not happening at all. Absolutely hated that.
Absolutely hate BJ Ballentine, biggest asshole I've ever read about. Parks was kinda nice in the beginning, annoyed me to pieces by the end. They both need therapy. The white walls, straight-jacket kind.
That star I put in the review is for Tom England and BJ's mom only. They were the only thing that kept me pushing through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Child death, and Infidelity
kcmg710's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was like an awful reality TV show, like I hated pretty much every moment of it but COULD NOT, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, STOP READING. Pretty much everything about this book irked me so much, but I could not put it down which is the only reason it got nearly 3 * otherwise it would be a solid 1* or 2* at a push (which is pretty harsh for me).
I also found there were ALOT of typos but I don’t know if that was just my version on the kindle? And some of the sentences genuinely gave me a headache trying to read
eg. “He’s at uni. He never feels like my little brother, just feels like brother.” ———>> Like WATTTT, is that a typo or am I the problem. Is it meant to feel like some deeper sentence with meaning behind it? Because there were many similar to this and it felt like an 8 year old wrote it.
You could kinda tell the author wasn’t British there’s literally a guy called TOM ENGLAND (loved him though, the only one who had an ounce of sense). The characters used a lot of phrases that we wouldn’t actually use. It was abit cringe like watching an American do an awful impression of us
Another strange thing (not totally important but just kinda bugged me) was that there would be in-depth descriptions about each of the characters clothes (because it was a ‘quirk’ of Magnolias) but would always throw the lads in vans or converse? Like Hastings basically gave us the barcodes for each individual item of clothing and then topped off the outfit with a pair of vans or converse. If it was once or twice maybe but not EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT for the lads
I also found there were ALOT of typos but I don’t know if that was just my version on the kindle? And some of the sentences genuinely gave me a headache trying to read
eg. “He’s at uni. He never feels like my little brother, just feels like brother.” ———>> Like WATTTT, is that a typo or am I the problem. Is it meant to feel like some deeper sentence with meaning behind it? Because there were many similar to this and it felt like an 8 year old wrote it.
You could kinda tell the author wasn’t British there’s literally a guy called TOM ENGLAND (loved him though, the only one who had an ounce of sense). The characters used a lot of phrases that we wouldn’t actually use. It was abit cringe like watching an American do an awful impression of us
Another strange thing (not totally important but just kinda bugged me) was that there would be in-depth descriptions about each of the characters clothes (because it was a ‘quirk’ of Magnolias) but would always throw the lads in vans or converse? Like Hastings basically gave us the barcodes for each individual item of clothing and then topped off the outfit with a pair of vans or converse. If it was once or twice maybe but not EVERY SINGLE OUTFIT for the lads
Character wise, Bj pretty much won me over within the first few chapters, after that it was a VERY quick descent into the pits of hellll. I hatttttttteeeeeeeee him! Hes a liar, a hypocrite, just a general piece of shit and he constantly contradicted himself. “I’d do anything for that face” but would then proceed to do some of THE most HEINOUS things ever to the girl he’s supposed to love!? Make it make sense, like he has the audacity to play the victim like he doesn’t fuck Magnolia over every chance he gets as if it isn’t all his fault from the get go. “You sullied my name for a Chanel bag?” Like he didn’t sully his own name the instant he cheated!?
Magnolia was very meh to me, and really kinda annoyed me the way she kept going back to BJ but at the same time I kinda felt sorry for her because she put up with so much shit from the lads ( BJ, Chris and Jonah ). They were awful to her and she just accepted it most of the time and cracked on. Could never be me.
The only characters I liked were Tom England 👑, Henry and I guess Magnolias sister was okay too. I liked how Tom and Henry both had Magnolias back no matter what especially Henry. He was always ready to call his brother (Bj) out in defence of magnolia.
Overall, I’d say not a great book and everyone on booktok was saying it gets better in book 2 and onwards but it’s the risk of wasting more time on this ^^^^^ for the small chance it gets better. I’m still undecided whether I will actually carry on with the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Medical content, Vomit, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
raegandrust's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wow…
this book was surprisingly really good. i actually quite enjoyed it. the pop culture references didn’t seem too forced and i really enjoyed the storyline, as it was very different from what i’ve ever read before. and that ending…was a fucking stab in the heart! but i think i’ll have to read the rest of the series before i keep a definitive rating for the book.
this book was surprisingly really good. i actually quite enjoyed it. the pop culture references didn’t seem too forced and i really enjoyed the storyline, as it was very different from what i’ve ever read before. and that ending…was a fucking stab in the heart! but i think i’ll have to read the rest of the series before i keep a definitive rating for the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Infidelity, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death
emmareidy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, and Eating disorder
lorzosaur's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A big PHAT 5 ⭐️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Child death, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, and Drug use
sadiaa's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
A couple who would not survive after the ending of the book
BJ is insufferable, very 'woe is me', unlikeable
BJ is insufferable, very 'woe is me', unlikeable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Cursing, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Medical content
crinkledmochi's review against another edition
i just don’t understand the hype or how this can even be second chance romance under any of the circumstances presented, i also hated the writing style and how the author would describe every single outfit and brand the characters wore
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Misogyny, Child death, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child death
midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Magnolia Parks is the first book in the Magnolia Parks Universe series by Jessa Hastings. It revolves around Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballantine and their group of friends who live in London. They are all fabulously wealthy high society socialites.
This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story about two people navigating a complicated relationship. There’s gorgeously written passages about how Magnolia and BJ feel about each other. It’s definitely a book where you’ll feel a lot of different emotions. There’s also a nice side setup for the next book with Daisy, Christian, and Julian. I can’t wait to continue this series!
This was a beautiful and heartbreaking story about two people navigating a complicated relationship. There’s gorgeously written passages about how Magnolia and BJ feel about each other. It’s definitely a book where you’ll feel a lot of different emotions. There’s also a nice side setup for the next book with Daisy, Christian, and Julian. I can’t wait to continue this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Child death and Panic attacks/disorders
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Update: bumping this one up to 5 stars because I haven't stopped thinking about it and it's been a week. ALL I WANNA DO IS READ THE REST OF THE BOOKS AND NOTHING ELSE BUT I don't have money so I have to leave them on my wishlist for now rip
There are a lot of things to like about this romp of a book. The world of high society London complete with a cast of filthy rich 20 somethings and 30 somethings was engaging and compulsively readable. Jessa Hastings has a unique but digestable writing style that makes our main characters feel like they're writing confessionals directly to the audience, so in a way, it felt like my favorite parts of reality TV. I don't mean that in a bad way by any means, I just mean that I liked having a front row seat to all of the drama even though the drama toward the end made me feel exhausted. I do think that this book could've been cut in half and it would've been even better. Still, I annotated and tabbed the hell out of this. There were a lot of quotable moments and moments worth reading and re-reading.
On to Magnolia and BJ themselves - I know they shouldn't be together, you know they shouldn't be together, Jessa Hastings probably knows they shouldn't be together, and yet...you want them to be together. There is no logical reason for me to want them to be happy. Firstly, they both have major growing up to do, and secondly, neither of them are very good people. A bad person doesn't mean a bad character, though. I still enjoyed reading their antics and sometimes BJ, even at his worst, was able to squeeze my heart in just the right way, damn him, stupid goblin boy.
I have some slight issues here and there that I can't get into without spoilers, but I overall loved this one and can't wait to read the rest of them.
There are a lot of things to like about this romp of a book. The world of high society London complete with a cast of filthy rich 20 somethings and 30 somethings was engaging and compulsively readable. Jessa Hastings has a unique but digestable writing style that makes our main characters feel like they're writing confessionals directly to the audience, so in a way, it felt like my favorite parts of reality TV. I don't mean that in a bad way by any means, I just mean that I liked having a front row seat to all of the drama even though the drama toward the end made me feel exhausted. I do think that this book could've been cut in half and it would've been even better. Still, I annotated and tabbed the hell out of this. There were a lot of quotable moments and moments worth reading and re-reading.
On to Magnolia and BJ themselves - I know they shouldn't be together, you know they shouldn't be together, Jessa Hastings probably knows they shouldn't be together, and yet...you want them to be together. There is no logical reason for me to want them to be happy. Firstly, they both have major growing up to do, and secondly, neither of them are very good people. A bad person doesn't mean a bad character, though. I still enjoyed reading their antics and sometimes BJ, even at his worst, was able to squeeze my heart in just the right way, damn him, stupid goblin boy.
I have some slight issues here and there that I can't get into without spoilers, but I overall loved this one and can't wait to read the rest of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Gun violence
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