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meg_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-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
3.5
My feelings about this book are so complicated that even a week after reading I'm still not totally sure how I feel.
One thing I know for sure is I love Magnolia Parks as a character. Her every emotion felt so real and despite how insanely rich and perfect she is, she still felt like a character that anyone could connect to based on her experiences. I absolutely loved her. The other element of this book that I felt was worthy of a 5 star rating was the writing. It was poetic and beautiful and made every feeling experienced on page a feeling that was viscerally experienced by the reader at the same time. I feel like I can't even accurately describe it because it just made me feel everything so intensely, even though there are virtually no elements of this plot that I could relate to my reality.
Things I absolutely hated in this book is where the rating falls. Number one and most hated thing about this book is BJ Ballentine. I hate that man and if I read another book in the story and they end up together I will rip my hair out. I love Magnolia and I understand the soul deep bond she feels with BJ, but after the fuck shit he did and literally admitted on page to enjoying and not giving two fucks about Magnolia while doing I do not fuck with that man. I also think the way he behaves throughout the story is deeply immature and infuriating and he continually treats Magnolia (who is perfect and beautiful) like absolute dogshit. The other part of the book I hated so much was how absolutely repetitive and never-ending the plot was. There was genuinely a part of reading this where I questioned whether I was reading After 2.0 because the whole plot here is: fight, make up, immediately fuck up the making up part by rubbing it in the other person's face that your with someone else, feelings are hurt, fight again, make up. Very big yikes and very not entertaining or fun to read.
So, this is why I have such complicated feelings about this book! The things I loved were things I love so much it hurts my heart and the things I hate are things I hate so much I want to scream and/or rip my hair out. Also, the ending of this book stomped directly on my heart and just to re-iterate, fuck BJ. And if Magnolia ends up with him I will riot. Okay, that was convoluted and rambling review, but I think I'm done. Can't wait to read the next book in this universe!
One thing I know for sure is I love Magnolia Parks as a character. Her every emotion felt so real and despite how insanely rich and perfect she is, she still felt like a character that anyone could connect to based on her experiences. I absolutely loved her. The other element of this book that I felt was worthy of a 5 star rating was the writing. It was poetic and beautiful and made every feeling experienced on page a feeling that was viscerally experienced by the reader at the same time. I feel like I can't even accurately describe it because it just made me feel everything so intensely, even though there are virtually no elements of this plot that I could relate to my reality.
Things I absolutely hated in this book is where the rating falls. Number one and most hated thing about this book is BJ Ballentine. I hate that man and if I read another book in the story and they end up together I will rip my hair out. I love Magnolia and I understand the soul deep bond she feels with BJ, but after the fuck shit he did and literally
So, this is why I have such complicated feelings about this book! The things I loved were things I love so much it hurts my heart and the things I hate are things I hate so much I want to scream and/or rip my hair out. Also, the ending of this book stomped directly on my heart and just to re-iterate, fuck BJ. And if Magnolia ends up with him I will riot. Okay, that was convoluted and rambling review, but I think I'm done. Can't wait to read the next book in this universe!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Infidelity
Moderate: Gaslighting
lizzieundercovers's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s super toxic so if you don’t romanticize it and understand that this is not what a real life relationship should look like, it’s a good angsty/pining read!
But also, justice for Tom, man 🥲
But also, justice for Tom, man 🥲
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual content
brookewithbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
THAT ENDING?!?!?!?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Cursing
simixfe's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Medical content, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Drug use
ayushivohra's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Addiction
Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
booksandlucy_'s review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I ate this like if I was starving, and they put a 3 course meal in front of me and said GO! This is the most toxic relationship dynamic I've ever read, and I couldn't get enough of it! Probably says a lot about me, but I know I have issues, lol. I loved the duo POV because it was needed and the writing was so good. Just look up the trigger warnings on this book before you go into it because mannn! You either love this book or you don't. This was purely entertainment for me and so much fun to read. It's messy, full of drama, really rich rich people problems and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
moanareads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-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
5.0
definitely not the best piece of literature. but so enjoyable and addictive. hence the 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Drug use
sarahemhavens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
3.0
phew this book was an quite an experience. I didn’t shed tears over this book, but it did bring me back to an incredibly difficult, tumultuous time of my life. This book is giving gossip girl, & toxic love in all the worst ways (or best if you’re into that for whatever reason). While reading this, I found a lot of things to be romanticized that I feel shouldn’t be. Specifically, the way that eating disorders or starving oneself were talked about made me really uncomfortable. So many red flags in this book too, don’t even get me started.
I struggle with the rating of this book because there are some things I found enjoyable, and some things I found highly relatable to my life experiences. Chapter 7 in particular really took me for a loop, and I think the ability to relate to something heavily in a book automatically makes me want to rate it higher. If i didn’t find this book relatable in some way, it definitely would not have made even 3 stars for me. (I’ll be honest it’s teetering on the brink of 3 stars, as is).
I think that Hastings has writing capabilities. There were some powerful, impactful, and thought provoking lines, but I found honestly quite a few typos in this book and all in all, the writing was for the most part confusing and jumbled? Lots of weird run on sentences, poor grammar - sometimes I reread sentences over and over because it didn’t even sound like it made a complete, coherent thought. I wondered a few times reading this if it was rushed, a draft, or if it even had an editor?
(I also really hated the whole fashion detail that magnolia did throughout the whole book, sorry but I skimmed over that just about every time).
I did enjoy reading this book, but I can’t say I stand behind shipping a toxic love, or supporting magnolia in any of her toxic behaviors
I struggle with the rating of this book because there are some things I found enjoyable, and some things I found highly relatable to my life experiences. Chapter 7 in particular really took me for a loop, and I think the ability to relate to something heavily in a book automatically makes me want to rate it higher. If i didn’t find this book relatable in some way, it definitely would not have made even 3 stars for me. (I’ll be honest it’s teetering on the brink of 3 stars, as is).
I think that Hastings has writing capabilities. There were some powerful, impactful, and thought provoking lines, but I found honestly quite a few typos in this book and all in all, the writing was for the most part confusing and jumbled? Lots of weird run on sentences, poor grammar - sometimes I reread sentences over and over because it didn’t even sound like it made a complete, coherent thought. I wondered a few times reading this if it was rushed, a draft, or if it even had an editor?
(I also really hated the whole fashion detail that magnolia did throughout the whole book, sorry but I skimmed over that just about every time).
I did enjoy reading this book, but I can’t say I stand behind shipping a toxic love, or supporting magnolia in any of her toxic behaviors
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Gaslighting
emmaasbokhylla's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Gaslighting, Addiction, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity
nicklepolaroid's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Estoy impresionada con el libro, esperaba basurita pero es mucho mejor que eso. Realmente es un libro que explora una relación tóxica entre dos personas que se conocen de toda la vida, y lo difícil que es salir de una situación así. Tiene muchas cosas problemáticas, y sí creo que tiene personajes poco desarrollados (mi teoría es porque los desarrolla más en otros libros del mismo "universo").
Creo que si sabes que es un libro sobre una relación tóxica y lo que eso implica, y te llama la atención leerlo, creo que vale la pena.
Mi mayor problema con el libro es que no sé si quiere decir que ellos deben estar juntos, o si los personajes creen eso por haber estado juntos prácticamente todas sus vidas. Supongo que lo sabré con los siguientes libros y, honestamente, creo que mucho de mi gusto por la serie depende de cómo coloque las demás relaciones (si también son tóxicas o no) y qué final le da a BJ y Magnolia. Por ahora, lo disfruté mucho.
Creo que si sabes que es un libro sobre una relación tóxica y lo que eso implica, y te llama la atención leerlo, creo que vale la pena.
Mi mayor problema con el libro es que no sé si quiere decir que ellos deben estar juntos, o si los personajes creen eso por haber estado juntos prácticamente todas sus vidas. Supongo que lo sabré con los siguientes libros y, honestamente, creo que mucho de mi gusto por la serie depende de cómo coloque las demás relaciones (si también son tóxicas o no) y qué final le da a BJ y Magnolia. Por ahora, lo disfruté mucho.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship