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kajasversion's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Genuinely one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever read. I hated the characters so much, they kept doing the same fucked up shit and they learned nothing, but somehow it had me hooked and i read almost the whole thing in one sitting. The plot twist at the end was completely unexpected and I hope for Magnolia’s sake that she picks Tom because he is the better man in every sense of the word.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Eating disorder and Panic attacks/disorders
ashleyjb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LOVED this book! It’s like if gossip girl were set in London but with crime lords. There’s something that resonated so deeply with me about the way that Hastings writes. The way she describes love and longing is so visceral and beautiful. Yes this book is a romance novel and yes it’s not supposed to be Pulitzer Prize winning writing, but the writing is absolutely gorgeous. Magnolia is confident, beautiful, driven, a bit neurotic, quirky, and so real. Her faults are what make her such a complicated character and her relationship with BJ, while absolutely infuriating, is truly a romance for the ages. However, if you don’t like the miscommunication trope, this book will make you want to rip your hair out. For me, it added to the yearning and created necessary anticipation, but I know it’s not for everyone. Also, Magnolia’s hybridization on fashion adds whimsy to the story and makes you feel as though you know fashion like she does. I did not expect to like this book as much as I did!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Drug abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Violence
megandigginsx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Although, I did take a bit to get into this. This book is addicting. The world of the book reminds me a lot of Gossip Girl (Blair and Chuck coded) Loved the dual chapters. The depth of description and dialogue brought the book to life. Did find myself a bit annoyed at BJ at times.. Found the last few chapters a bit rushed, that they almost came out of nowhere, did love the ending though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Violence
kalefactory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Child death
dmackreads's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Idk what this book is made of but it must be crack because I genuinely devoured this. Hooked immediately, like within 20 pages and did not want to put it down. This might actually follow most toxic relationship I’ve ever read about. I don’t even know what to say without giving everything away, just read the synopsis I guess 😂 the writing was immaculate, the vocabulary used left me with so many quotes that made me really stop and think. This is probably my most tabbed book to date.
I’ve seen far too many negative reviews because “this is just a toxic shitty relationship and it’s disgusting” I mean, yeah? Stop reading books that aren’t your cup of tea. The synopsis LITERALLY tells you exactly what they are about and this one in particular laid it out pretty black and white that that’s exactly what this book is, toxic. Also I feel like it can really hit home to a lot of people but if you’ve never experienced a toxic relationship or even an abusive one or one with a trauma bond or even bad co dependency issues yourself then maybe you just wouldn’t get it and it obviously wouldn’t be for you. Be thankful for that and read something that works for you. If you’re looking for something that will make you feel some emotions, this will do it for sure.
Oh, and fuck you BJ Ballentine :)
I’ve seen far too many negative reviews because “this is just a toxic shitty relationship and it’s disgusting” I mean, yeah? Stop reading books that aren’t your cup of tea. The synopsis LITERALLY tells you exactly what they are about and this one in particular laid it out pretty black and white that that’s exactly what this book is, toxic. Also I feel like it can really hit home to a lot of people but if you’ve never experienced a toxic relationship or even an abusive one or one with a trauma bond or even bad co dependency issues yourself then maybe you just wouldn’t get it and it obviously wouldn’t be for you. Be thankful for that and read something that works for you. If you’re looking for something that will make you feel some emotions, this will do it for sure.
Oh, and fuck you BJ Ballentine :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
noraspaulding's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was very slow for me and took me a long time to fully read but I always came back wanting more from both BJ and Magnolia. Their world is unreal and toxic and I find myself wanting to crawl back into it. I wish I could give them advice or console them in person! I will be reading the whole series...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Violence and Toxic friendship
meaghanslibrary's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Aahh this is oh so very close to five stars, and maybe it could be a five stars series.
What brought down the rating for me was the descriptions of fancy clothes, like I get it’s Magnolia’s thing but I found it very distracting and it would take me out of the book.
I liked the dual POVs and learning about the characters through their past and present.
There are great lines in this book that are borderline too cheesy but I ate them up.
I highly recommend this book if Blair and Chuck were your favorite couple and characters in the Gossip Girl tv show. If you didn’t like Blair and Chuck you won’t like this book. This is top level toxicity that is entertaining to read about, but not good for the real world. Excited to read the rest in this series!
What brought down the rating for me was the descriptions of fancy clothes, like I get it’s Magnolia’s thing but I found it very distracting and it would take me out of the book.
I liked the dual POVs and learning about the characters through their past and present.
There are great lines in this book that are borderline too cheesy but I ate them up.
I highly recommend this book if Blair and Chuck were your favorite couple and characters in the Gossip Girl tv show. If you didn’t like Blair and Chuck you won’t like this book. This is top level toxicity that is entertaining to read about, but not good for the real world. Excited to read the rest in this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
heidi_fischer's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
⭐️2.5 - Beautiful writing. It’s actually not fair that such a toxic plot is written so poetically. I want to read the whole series just for that reason. That being said…
• Plot - TOXIC. Stomach churning, vomit worthy, toxic.
• Characters - Flat. Magnolia is off in delulu land, which is semi-justifiable due to the fact she’s dating a textbook narcissist. That, and maybe because all the braincells were CLEARLY saved for her little sister (arguably the only dimensional character - sorry Tom, still love you).
• Ending - predicted it 50% of the way thru
It’s not worth NOT recommending this book because even the readers who love it don’t recommend it to people. And while it’s more of a “read at your own risk” kind of book, if you watch reality TV you’ll probably survive.
Not unscathed. Not without renewed trust issues. But probably you’ll survive…
:)
• Plot - TOXIC. Stomach churning, vomit worthy, toxic.
• Characters - Flat. Magnolia is off in delulu land, which is semi-justifiable due to the fact she’s dating a textbook narcissist. That, and maybe because all the braincells were CLEARLY saved for her little sister (arguably the only dimensional character - sorry Tom, still love you).
• Ending - predicted it 50% of the way thru
It’s not worth NOT recommending this book because even the readers who love it don’t recommend it to people. And while it’s more of a “read at your own risk” kind of book, if you watch reality TV you’ll probably survive.
Not unscathed. Not without renewed trust issues. But probably you’ll survive…
:)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Overdose, cheating, lying, narcissism, gaslighting.boomwormbrittany's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
Magnolia Parks follows Magnolia who has everything a girl could want. That is except her ex-boyfriend BJ who she has a strange but friendly relationship with. They're in a toxic circle that they can't seem to get out of despite their numerous attempts.
I'm going to be honest and say that I picked this book up on a whim. I wasn't sure if I was going to really like this book just based on the premise alone but I had heard so much about it that I wanted to give this a try.
Reader, I loved this book and all its messiness. And it. is. MESSY.
Magnolia and BJ are not good people or bad people and that was one of the things I loved about this book. These two are so fundamentally flawed that they felt like real people that you would meet out in the world. I loved how realistic these two felt despite them being so far out of my tax bracket they might as well be on the moon.
This book is about the toxic cycle that Magnolia and BJ end up in. They're in this constant push and pull relationship where they want to be together but the way BJ acts and Magnolia's not wanting to dela with it causes so much drama and chaos. The end of this book had my jaw on the floor and it was something I could not look away from.
If you want a book that is just pure drama and intrigue, pick this book up. I am so happy that I loved this book and cannot wait to continue with this series.
I'm going to be honest and say that I picked this book up on a whim. I wasn't sure if I was going to really like this book just based on the premise alone but I had heard so much about it that I wanted to give this a try.
Reader, I loved this book and all its messiness. And it. is. MESSY.
Magnolia and BJ are not good people or bad people and that was one of the things I loved about this book. These two are so fundamentally flawed that they felt like real people that you would meet out in the world. I loved how realistic these two felt despite them being so far out of my tax bracket they might as well be on the moon.
This book is about the toxic cycle that Magnolia and BJ end up in. They're in this constant push and pull relationship where they want to be together but the way BJ acts and Magnolia's not wanting to dela with it causes so much drama and chaos. The end of this book had my jaw on the floor and it was something I could not look away from.
If you want a book that is just pure drama and intrigue, pick this book up. I am so happy that I loved this book and cannot wait to continue with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
organizedxchaos's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment