Book review – the rollercoaster of the Magnolia Parks series

I’m so excited to be talking about the rollercoaster of the Magnolia Parks series! This February I decided to read the Magnolia Parks series, by Jessa Hastings. It has been on my TBR for a WHILE! I heard these books are like Gossip Girl and Made in Chelsea morphed into one, which sounded AMAZING! This is a very controversial book series not everyone is going to like, but I LOVED. And here’s why… (mostly spoiler free).

*Disclaimer there are certain trigger warnings in this book before you consider reading. Such as drug abuse, toxic relationships, cheating, panic attacks and disorders.

1. Magnolia Parks

It took me a while to really get into this book, but the more I read, the more I enjoyed the found family and emotional connections with the characters. I will be completely honest… this was my least favourite book in the series. Going into this book and hearing people say it was a 5 star read, I couldn’t understand, simply because the characters were so frustrating, I found myself having to put the book down multiple times, because I was so frustrated and I simply couldn’t understand why they were ‘written in the stars’.

Magnolia is a beautiful, glamorous London socialite, BJ is London’s most photographed bad boy. This book is centred on Magnolia and BJ, and their toxic, abnormal relationship. They have been together since they were young and have a lot of history together. All was going well…until he cheated on her. Since then they haven’t been the same, but have been unable to cut ties, so they are going through the repeated cycle of BJ sleeping with tons of girls, and Magnolia getting fake boyfriends to make him jealous. All whilst still sleeping in the same bed most nights, Magnolia not allowing them to touch (yes I know, it’s mad).

We meet one of her ‘fake’ boyfriends in this book. Will he make her feel like BJ makes her feel?

Magnolia and BJ have probably 100 million arguments in this book. You will want to throw this book across the room.

Near the end of the book you find out a huge secret – I wont spoil – but I did NOT see it coming.

I rated this book 4/5 stars. I would recommend it, as I think the full series as a whole, makes me love it. If this was a stand alone book, I wouldn’t recommend it, but because I knew there was more to be unpacked in the second Magnolia Parks, I held out hope.

2. Daisy Haites

I really enjoyed this book – more than the first one! I think (although definitely not normal) the relationship between Christian and Daisy was a lot easier to understand and I loved them together. For the first book, I really couldn’t see how the stress of Magnolia and Bj’s relationship was worth it. But with Christian and Daisy I could definitely see they were worth it!

It is centred on Daisy, Julian (Daisy’s brother) and Christian Hemmes. Daisy is a very smart girl, sheltered by her brother and his gang, however, she has a lot of power over them, none of them want to hurt her. Julian has basically been a father figure to Daisy since their parents were murdered, he’s been thrown into the gang world and has no other choice but to keep up his family’s reputation. Christian is part of the Gang world (which is why him and Daisy are in each others lives a lot), however he doesn’t answer to Julian, he does what he wants.

All Daisy wants is a normal life, but ever since her parents were murdered in front of her, she’s been under her gang lord brother Julian’s protection. A normal relationship isn’t on the cards for her, so when her and Christian Hemmes decide to have a no strings attached situation, and she falls for him, things get complicated.

It doesn’t help that Christian is in love with Magnolia Parks. So he is happy using Daisy as a distraction, but he doesn’t realise how hard Daisy is falling for him. Both of them are wanting something they can’t have – in a world full of destruction will their relationship be destroyed?

I rated this book 4.25/5 stars. I loved it! I found myself grabbing for this book a lot more than the first one, and I love the characters in this book!!!

3. Magnolia Parks: The Long Way Home

This book made me understand WHY Magnolia and BJ were the way they were. Although this book still made me want to throw it across the room.

It has been 1 year since they last seen or spoke to each other. She’s living in New York and has created a life for herself there, away from all of the BJ drama. And BJ now has a girlfriend (!?)

When she has to come back to London and they meet again… the drama continues. There is love triangles in this book, and although I found myself really rooting for BJ and Magnolia, I also found myself rooting for another couple too. I was totally in two minds during this book which made it, again, very frustrating to read. I often had to put it down and take a breather because I was getting so annoyed LOL.

Also, the ending killed me – just warning you.

I rated this book 4.25/5 stars. Loved the romance. Definitely felt more connected to the characters story in this one.

4. Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing

This book was the best out of them all!!! I was really surprised to rate this higher than all of the other books, but wow this book…

Again it is focused on Daisy, Julian and Christian. Christian in this book was chef’s kiss <3

So Daisy is finally taking her shot of a normal life, with her normal boyfriend, until her safety is threatened, and she is took back under Julians protection, living at his house again, where Christian happens to be A LOT.

What will this mean for her new relationship? Can you mix a normal life and a life full of crime? Will Daisy ever be able to escape the life of a gang lords sister?

*potential spoilers if you haven’t read the third book yet *

As well as this book having a great romance plot for Daisy… the real stars of the show for me were Julian and Magnolia, which we see in the third book, however this time we see from Julians point of view. And when I tell you this changed the game for me, seriously being in Julian’s mind was amazing, I fell in love with him more, because you see the softer side to him, rather than the hard exterior he has to keep up for his reputation.

The ending of this is equally as heartbreaking as the third book… and makes me think will there be another book in the series? (Please lol)

I rated this book 5/5 stars. And after finishing the last book in the series, I would honestly recommend. Although this series is extremely toxic, and I’m definitely not envious of any of their lives/relationships, it’s interesting and it’s packed with drama.

By the end of the book, I found myself really missing the fact I won’t get to read about these characters anymore.

I wouldn’t say I’m happy or unhappy about the ending. Basically my feelings throughout the full series (conflicted, frustrated, shocked, excited and overwhelmed) is pretty much how I felt at the end of the series as well. But I would definitely recommend reading this full series if you like found family and loads of drama.

I would rate the overall series a 4/5 stars.

I have a book recommendations page if you want to check it out! http://bigsisterera.com/book-recommendations/

If you have any other books you recommend or would like me to talk about, I would be happy too! Just comment down below!