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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-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
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
You ever watch a toxic couple argue for hours and think, “This could’ve been an email”? That’s this book. Magnolia and BJ are caught in a constant loop of betrayal, heartbreak, and designer handbags—and I hated how hooked I was by the drama.
Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
You ever watch a toxic couple argue for hours and think, “This could’ve been an email”? That’s this book. Magnolia and BJ are caught in a constant loop of betrayal, heartbreak, and designer handbags—and I hated how hooked I was by the drama.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I cannot stand this book but I couldn’t stop reading. BJ is truly the worst and Tom deserved better
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I get the hype. First half was amazing! (Like around the time tom and magnolia get to know each other better iykyk)
However I didn’t like the last few chapters before the big plot twist bc it seemed so strange that magnolia suddenly „forgot everything“/didnt ask about who it was anymore and just wanted to get back with bj. But it made the reveal in the last chapter better ig?
Also I don’t dislike them as much as ive seen people on social media. But maybe thats because i havent read anything from daisys side yet
However I didn’t like the last few chapters before the big plot twist bc it seemed so strange that magnolia suddenly „forgot everything“/didnt ask about who it was anymore and just wanted to get back with bj. But it made the reveal in the last chapter better ig?
Also I don’t dislike them as much as ive seen people on social media. But maybe thats because i havent read anything from daisys side yet
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I liked it however it wasn’t my favorite. It was very enjoyable, nevertheless.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've never had my emotional reaction to a book be so at odds with my appraisal of its literary merit. It's hard to give it a rating because if I were to rate it on enjoyment, it'd get no more than a 2/5, but if I were to rate it on craft, I might give a 4/5. Because if it were really a shit book, it wouldn't have triggered any kind of strong emotional reaction, and it wouldn't have gripped me enough to see through to the end. I've read truly awful writing, and this wasn't it. Repetitive? Yes. Did a single fashion detail mean anything to me? No, but I understand that it does have meaning. Ultimately, I think I hated reading it more than I liked the writing. I hated it probably from the second or third chapter. I felt like a hostage to this plot. It made me anxious and disgusted and disallusioned and hopeless, and that was surely all intentional, which makes it even more sick. This book is a thriller, not a romance. It's like the anti-romance. It's a book about relationships, sure, but not romance. May this "love" never EVERRRR find me. And I didn't even realize it was a series until I saw the "#1" next to the title on here. Like good god, it drags on even further? I'm scared to read the rest. I fear for young girls who might read this and find BJ's character at all redeemable. I might've, when I was a teenager. What a mess!
I think the most horrifying part of this book is how both family and friend circles enabled their codependency. Only the sister, I think, provided any kind of voice of reason, and even she was happy they were getting back together in the end. If Magnolia had any real friends, she would've cut contact with BJ ages ago, at least long enough to actually get over each other. BJ was a piece of shit who needed therapy bad if he had any chance of getting what he actually wanted. He had supposedly perfect parents and yet was so immature and stunted that he couldn't even make a valid effort to regain Magnolia's trust. At least it makes sense why Magnolia is so stunted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Grief
Minor: Homophobia
Loveable characters:
Complicated
These people are so toxic. I love it.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So... Magnolia Parks. So many mixed reviews about this one!! I do think this book is like marmite. For me? I loved it! I fully ate this book up!!
And you know what? I get it. I get why people hate it. BJ and Magnolia, they are both so awful and so toxic and so self-absorbed and yet I still loved it. It's very much 'Made in Chelsea', reality TV drama vibes. The plot? Well there isn't really a plot, it's just 400 pages of Magnolia and BJ going backwards and forwards and yet I raced through it. It's like a car crash that you can't look away from. And the ending.. i literally gasped out loud! For me, yes their relationship is toxic and frustrating but also it's real life, it was gritty and flawed and honestly I'm a bit bored of reading perfect lovey-dovey romances with picture perfect men that don't exist in the real world! I liked that it wasn't perfect, I like that it was messy.
So you may hate this book but you also might just love it.
And you know what? I get it. I get why people hate it. BJ and Magnolia, they are both so awful and so toxic and so self-absorbed and yet I still loved it. It's very much 'Made in Chelsea', reality TV drama vibes. The plot? Well there isn't really a plot, it's just 400 pages of Magnolia and BJ going backwards and forwards and yet I raced through it. It's like a car crash that you can't look away from. And the ending.. i literally gasped out loud! For me, yes their relationship is toxic and frustrating but also it's real life, it was gritty and flawed and honestly I'm a bit bored of reading perfect lovey-dovey romances with picture perfect men that don't exist in the real world! I liked that it wasn't perfect, I like that it was messy.
So you may hate this book but you also might just love it.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes