Magnolia Parks

How many loves do you get in a lifetime?

I started the year reading Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings. Last year I read a really small amount of books, and for this year I wanted to change that. And something that I wanted to do was read different books, different genres, and different authors.

I normally don’t really like romance books, but I knew that this book was a little bit different, not the classic romance book.

Did I like it? Yes!

Did I love it? No.

Hear me out, I know that this book is loved by so many people, and I get it. It is an addicting book, I read it so fast, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what was going to happen.

The thing is, I did not like the characters.

I know that is the point of the book, they are not likable characters. But as much as I liked reading it, I did not enjoy the characters.

I guess that I saw so many things that I consider absurd or that they deserved more. I mean, Magnolia is iconic, but I feel like she got lost in relationships that put her down. I guess my problem was that I wanted her to stand up and leave and go be with people who deserve her.

And I felt that way about every other character.

There’s one thing about this book that stayed with me.

“How many loves do you get in a lifetime?”

That question lingered. The idea that love can appear in different forms, in different places, and through different people is powerful. There was a time in my life when I believed I wouldn’t love anyone else again, and in that belief, I was slowly losing myself. But life moved forward. Things changed. I changed.

Today I understand that there are different types of love, and we should experience as much as we can.

So, how many loves do you get in a lifetime?

I don’t know. But I’m sure there are more than we think.

I guess that what stuck with me about this book was that life is supposed to be lived and loved. Every time I think about it, I’m reminded that there is so much love to give and so much love to receive.

And we all deserve that.