Reviews

I have complicated feelings about this book. I'm going to start with my positives. Similarly to the first book in this series, I still am absolutely obsessed with Magnolia Parks as a character. I think she is vibrant and loveable and even when she is being annoying or has her head up her ass I still love her. I also absolutely loved the relationship within this story between Magnolia and

Julian Haites. I LOVE JULIAN HAITES and I truly feel like he and Magnolia are way better suited for one another.

As I established within my review of book one, I am not a huge fan of BJ so this was a bit of a struggle to get through for me. I do think that this book provided so much more context for their relationship and the reasons they feel so intricately tied to one another. I also think there was a clear reason established for why BJ did what he did that lead to the end of their relationship that didn't just feel like a flimsy excuse.

On the negative side, I do think that BJ continued to do things to Magnolia that were objectively toxic. That made it really hard for me to feel happy about the overall arc of this book. Especially with the fact that I freaking love Julian.

I think the reason Julian and Magnolia's relationship ended was really dumb and a cop out. It was done in a way that could have been super damaaging to Magnolia considering her history of being cheated on and never feeling like shse's enough for others

Lastly, this book was way too fucking long. It rambled on for five million years and I feel like so much could have been left out without it impacting the plot too intensely.

The ending was devastating (as is required with the end of all Magnolia Parks Universe books) and as per usual, I can't wait to read the next one!

Content Warnings

mollyc274's review against another edition

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5.0

4.75 stars!!

Are parks and BJ fucked? Yes.
Do I eat that shit up? Yes.

Jess Hastings has a way of crushing your heart, and making you feel every single emotion all at once.

I was riding a high on all of parks boss bitch moments, and feeling immense anxiety when I knew disaster was coming.

Also… imagine being magnolia parks

brookewithbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Brb. Can’t stop crying

mdoutre's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No

3.0

I ate up the first Magnolia Parks but this didn't hit the same. Still toxic as hell but I think a few of the plot points were just too much for me. Gang lords? Revelations from their past?

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