Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Magnolia Parks

Genuinely one of the most frustrating books I’ve ever read. I hated the characters so much, they kept doing the same fucked up shit and they learned nothing, but somehow it had me hooked and i read almost the whole thing in one sitting. The plot twist at the end was completely unexpected and I hope for Magnolia’s sake that she picks Tom because he is the better man in every sense of the word.

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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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moonylovesstars's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense 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

3.0

I honestly couldn’t tell you how I feel. It was entertaining. But I’m supposed to root for BJ after all that? How is he going to redeem himself EVER. I don’t know what makes the toxic relationships in this book even worse to me than like every other one. Maybe because to me those ones are less realistic than this one to me. Like granted this isn’t top tier realistic but it’s not a stalker romance or a mafia boss romance that just seems way over my head to believe for even a second it could happen in real life but with this book I can see it happening in real life. It’s so messy. It’s like the Kardashians mixed with the bachelorette mixed with tons of cheating and drugs. I mean like I enjoyed my time but at the same time I wouldn’t count this as a romance. It has romance aspects I guess but I see no romantic stuff anywhere. I just see messy drama. 😭🙏

I do kind of felt like it got a bit repetitive. He cheats, she gets mad, goes to whoever, Christian, Julian, Tom. Whatever. Goes back to him. Repeat. At least 3 times in this book if we are including the time where he cheated when they were first together.

I just feel like would’ve enjoyed this more if it was marketed to me as a drama tv show and not a romance novel because I went into it with the wrong expectations as well as also knowing it’d be toxic. But I was expecting like Twisted series level toxic, not cheating left, right, center, everyone loves magnolia, repetitive breaking it off, getting back together, yelling at each other and sobbing, then kissing the next few chapters later. Like if I went into it expecting that I think I would’ve ate it up. But when I was expecting more romance than what this is, it disappoints a bit. But I think I’ll continue the series just keeping it in mind that it’s basically a drama tv show and pick it up when I’m in the mood for exactly that.

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annamay1021's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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yasha98's review against another edition

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I can’t believe this was so praised on the internet. The writing is sloppy, the characters are trash, there is no true plot it’s just drama over and over again. BJ is an absolute shit of a person and I can’t believe Magnolia keeps giving him more chances. This is not love, no one should strive for this sort of toxicity!!

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