I’ve finally finished it. Full transparency, I put off reading this series because of how it was hyped on BookTok because sometimes, the hype is completely unwarranted and ruins a book. I am glad that I finally chose to give this series a chance. I didn’t expect to fall in love with the characters (I love Magnolia and understand that most people do not love her, which I think is kind of sad because to me, she represents the complexity of a broken girl who has the unfortunate circumstance of having emotionally immature parents) and love the writing even more. Sure, there were times where it felt like the plot was lost in the repetitiveness of Magnolia’s and BJ’s toxic moments, but I now understand that that was part of the picture—the picture that shows us in incredible detail just how much they love one another and how much they belong together. Admittedly, I was rooting for Julian, but after reading this, realize that Magnolia and BJ were always endgame. Add the complexities of their relationship, with the heaviness of the grief they experienced, not only from losing Bridget, but also Magnolia’s coming to understand and acknowledge the loss of her own parents (and caretaker) to an extent, and this book was an emotional rollercoaster of understanding why Magnolia is the way she is. I’m glad they got their happy ending and can’t wait to ready the next book where we hopefully get Daisy’s, Christian’s, and Julian’s point of view of the events that took place in this book—especially Julian’s car ride with Magnolia and the fallout at the house. 

All in all, a really great read with dynamic characters.