A review by folkofthebook
Magnolia Parks: The Long Way Home by Jessa Hastings

emotional funny reflective 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

4.25

She and I, we’re forever waiting for green. It’s always the red man.

i couldn't stand them in the first book.
i much preferred daisy & Christian in book 2.

and i can't believe it, but i really enjoyed this one 😂

to be fair, i always enjoyed jessa hasting's writing. i was just incredibly frustrated with their back and forth - not that that doesn't change in this book, in fact that only increases in occurrence and severity, but this time the curtains are pulled back on the masterpiece that is bj and magnolia and we learn more and more of their shared history, fully seeing just how intertwined the two are, heart and soul.

“Do you think I’m crazy?” she asked, quietly.
“No.” I shook my head. “I think you’re the best.”
“Even though you know the worst parts of me?”
“I don’t know the worst parts of you.”
I ran my thumb over her scar. “I just know you, Parks.”

There’s a hole in the bottom of the cup where I broke her and all the ways I want her fall through it.

this time around, i learned to just enjoy the ride. these two make chuck and blaire feel like a kiddie ride compared to their emotional rollercoaster. buckle up and have fun. you're never sure who else they pull into their tangled web is just collateral damage, or a real threat to their happy ending.

“In another life I reckon I could have loved you.”
I tilt my head, looking up at him.
“In another life I would have let you."

“That’s Julian Haites. I couldn’t break his heart if I hit it with a sledgehammer.”
“Baby girl—” Gus gives me a look. “You are the sledgehammer.”

“You love him. I love no one. Yeah?”
I shrug, a bit confused. “Okay?”
“Okay.” He nods and drops his weight on me.

And the thought rattles through my mind only for a second, but I wonder whether perhaps I’ve had more loves than I knew of in this lifetime.

i do love magnolia's (and, i'm assuming, hastings's) fashion obsession (i have 129 highlights of clothing descriptions alone) and i really appreciate the dry humor that manages to sneak in to bring some comedic relief to this modern-day, elitist soap opera.

“About as subtle as a brick in the face, you are.”

“You know,” I hear Bridget say as I leave the room, “she can’t spell ‘parallel’ either.”

“I’ll have you know that I am a breeze to live with.”
“She told me you put all her vegetables she just bought into the dishwasher.”
“I was trying to clean them!”

“What the fuck happens to you and I in the next fifteen years that we devolve so heavily that we’re forced to buy our own milk?”

frankly, i was more emotionally devastated by the first ~30% or so than the ending. i don't know how to feel about it... i feel like i've had the rug ripped out from under me. i don't like the decision personally, though i can see why hastings made it storytelling-wise.

i guess i have to see in the next book what comes of it...
Expand filter menu Content Warnings