Jessa Hastings

[4.5] where do i start? i don't think i've ever experience writing like jessa hasting's in this book, but i instantly fell in love with it. i could picture the characters pretty much straight away, but their personality described more and more throughout the book and seeing how they react to different situations just helped to fully flesh them out even more. i completely understand how this would be some people's nightmare fuel, with the toxicity and cheating etc. but i ate this up. so much. show more i've never ever tabbed so many quotes because i was just in awe of how someone's brain can come up with such beaitiful writing. i was fully prepared to give this 5 stars, but i just didn't get that feeling for some reaosn, so 4.5 it is!! show less

“I feel that it's important for you to know that even if I didn't love you in the sort of stupid, embarrassing way that I do; if I did, hypothetically, have a choice - I would choose you anyway.”

-5 stars-

Tropes:
-Dual POV
-Friends to lovers
-Fake dating
-Love square
-Miscommunication (Major)

Spice:
2/5

STOP IT! Stop. It.
I can't be done with this series already. It feels like I just started it!
Before I get into detail about how much I love this book, I must say beforehand that this book deals show more with death of a sibling, and also as well as an eating disorder so if you have any trigger warnings please keep in mind and love yourself.
Now that I've gotten that down, I need to start by saying. I totally binge read this book! I was reading like 100 pages a day! I couldn't get enough of this book!
Another thing I've got to say is throughout this entire book, no actually throughout the entire series. I kind of had a love-hate relationship with the series because I wanted to read them so badly, but I also didn't because I knew that would mean the series would be ending.
I love the emotion written by Jessa into this book. It shows an excellent example of dealing with a death. Although no one close to me has died, I do think that this shows an excellent example of how much death can shape you, even from a young(er) age.
This book broke my heart. Everything about it was so well written and so perfectly described. I can't even begin to tell you what an excellent author Jessa Hastings is and how amazing her writing is.
I've made the conscious decision to start reading The Conditions of Will because, I can't get enough of Jessa's writing. I hope that the book is just as amazing as the Magnolia Parks Universe.
Once again, this book deals with heavy/deep things, so please make sure you can handle it before reading this book. Happy reading.

“They were crying because death is scary and uncomfortable and highlights certain things within ourselves that without the threat of mortality pressing in on our consciousness, we’d otherwise ignore, but those such things demand attention at a funeral. Mortality doesn’t just press against you, it body slams you to the floor.” show less

I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher (Dutton) for promotional purposes.

Going into this book, I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I was absolutely blown away.

This book was like Gossip Girl meets Sally Rooney. Parts of it were light hearted rich people drama, but when it came to Magnolia and BJ’s relationship, there was a lot of intense emotional depth. Magnolia and BJ have a toxic and codependent relationship that was just so fascinating and addicting to read. show more Their relationship and feelings towards each other reminded me of Sally Rooney’s work (which I love).

The book is over 400 pages, but there was never a dull moment. There are quite a few twists and turns in the story (including the ending) that kept me flipping through the pages like crazy. The pacing was spot on and I never felt like the story dragged on for too long.

As for the supporting characters, I loved Magnolia’s sister, Bridget, and her grandma, Bushka. Bridget was the rational little sister and Bushka was hilarious. I’m also intrigued to learn more about Magnolia’s friends in the coming books. I feel like this book only scratched their surface (especially the Hemmes brothers).

Overall, I loved this book and cannot wait to continue the series. Onto Daisy Haites! show less

if i could give this a higher rating, i would - five stars feels like it's not doing this book justice. i had no idea how jessa hastings was going to wrap up magnolia and bj's (and some of the other characters') (incredibly complex) story in a way that felt right for them, but somehow she not only managed it, but did it in the most perfect way. how she continues to come up with the most beautiful writing and quotes, but always makes them feel natural for the characters to be saying is beyond show more me. i don't think i will ever find writing like this again, but i will be forever grateful for picking up this series. and now we wait for daisy haites 3 i guess... show less