Review: Beautiful Disaster

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



GoodReads Synopsis: The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

My Thoughts: You know, I’ve owned this book since I read Jamie’s book, “Providence”. What drew me to “Providence” was a bit of a paranormal element…but I loved her writing so much that I wanted all of her books. So I bought “Beautiful Disaster”. Contemporary romance is not something that usually gets my attention so this book sat on my shelf for a LONG time. I finally opened it up yesterday and just couldn’t put it down.

McGuire has such a compelling voice. Her writing, as well as her stories, grab my attention and interest in such a firm grasp I find putting her books down damn near impossible. She doesn’t go for the “insta-love”, more like a much more plausible “insta-lust”. Her roads to a relationship are fraught with misunderstandings, insecurity, fear, the whole gamut, which makes it much more realistic. Everyone gets to know each other, slowly…readers included. If I’m going to use a cliché it is like watching a flower gradually open over time. If you haven’t figured it out, all of McGuires books rate space on my “Favorites” shelf!

“Beautiful Disaster” is just what the name implies. Two people, whose histories are disasterous, become best friends, then lovers. They fight their pasts throughout the whole story...the question becomes which element is going to win? Love or History? You’d like to assume it will be love, but it was really hard to gauge while reading…but I was rooting for love.

I loved Travis. He was an “all or nothing” kind of guy, black or white, no shades of gray. He was so sweet in his earnestness even when he screwed up and he took screwing up to new levels. I couldn’t help but love him and want to heal him.

I fell in love with Abby over time. If Travis was a “black or white” kind of guy, then Abby was all gray. Abby was constantly battling her past, where Travis was oblivious to the effect his past had on him. All of this made for great conflict. Abby wore me down over time, as I got to know her better. I was blown away by her by the end of the book. She turned out to be a cool chick after all

Abby and Travis have a wonderful and comical supporting cast, including their best friends and members of the boys’ fraternity.

This story was an e-ticket ride and definitely worth the price of admission. It just reiterated what a wonderful storytelling voice Jamie McGuire has. I, personally, will be looking forward to her continued success!!!!!




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