Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

50 reviews

janemkelly's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-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

3.75

This book is like when your best friend keeps going back to the guy that did her dirty but a thousand times worse. At first I wasn’t sure I would finish this book, the characters are so inherently flawed that it’s quite frustrating to just feel like they are going around in circles - making terrible decisions. Towards the end I felt the pace really went up a gear and a lot of things started shifting and I was hopeful but ultimately I was left down by their decision making skills again!  I do feel where the book has left of gives a good scope for things that could happen in the next part of the series so I will more than likely continue the saga. 

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chickpeawagon's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

I love rich people drama. 

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ashleyjb's review against another edition

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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!

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megandigginsx's review against another edition

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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. 

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melly1924's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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kalefactory's review against another edition

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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


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heyheyhailey1's review against another edition

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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

2.5

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I think I expected this to be more “modern romance” but it was more trashy-reality-tv-vibes. I like anyone love a good reality show, so that’s not an insult just wasn’t my cup of tea. The toxic back and forth got repetitive toward the end to the point of dulling some of the intensity of the awful things happening. I did like some of the characters and there were some really beautiful bits in Magnolia’s perspective where she is contemplating the realities of love. I don’t think I will read more of the series.

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jasperw's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book feels like reading UK Love Island. It's decently fast paced but also sometimes nothing is truly happening. It's filled with drama, stubborn characters who won't communicate. Characters making mistakes that they know are mistakes are continue to make them anyways - which should be frustrating, it can be frustrating, and it was also so fun to read. 

This is not a book for everyone, but I thought it was fun and engaging. It was a pretty fast read for me. The book did have several typos and issues with printing (like the text messages) that were frustrating. 

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annatl4's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

there is no way this needed to be 450 pages… it didn’t even really get interesting until page 250. it was very repetitive and lacked plot. some things were very confusing and i didn’t like how flashbacks were thrown in between present events, it was hard to follow. all the characters were pretty insufferable and the issues between parks and bj didn’t seem serious enough for that long of a book. i also do not care about what anyone is wearing. full paragraphs descriptions of designer cloths is crazy. i did enjoy the secondary characters, tom, bridget and the humor of the families. i also thought it was a nice touch to have anecdotes speaking to the audience - “you get it don’t you”. i do want to continue reading the series since things got interesting towards the end. 

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noraspaulding's review against another edition

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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... 

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