Review: Beautiful Disaster

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from 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 wants—and needs—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

Title: Beautiful Disaster

Author: Jamie McGuire

Publication Date: May 26, 2011

Brooke's Review:

So, in anticipation of the second book in this series being released, and just for the fact that all my friends said what a great book this was, I decided it was time for me to read it! Now, I am not a lover of contemporary books. Actually, I rarely give them above 3 stars. And, while I really liked this book, I still was stuck at that same rating for it. Because it was good, don't get me wrong, but it just wasn't spectacular. I didn't want to rush home to it, or sneak reading it while I was at work like I do with some books. But I did find it enjoyable enough and liked the underlying theme of the storyline.

So, I must say that I truly love the cover of this book. Although, it in no way tells me anything that will happen. Nor did I understand the cover once I was done with the book. Perhaps I missed some deep underlying theme or plot line, but I don't think so. I mean, I get it, butterfly trapped in a jar = characters trapped inside themselves needing to be set free. But it just does not in any way really stick with me once I am done. It is gorgeous, tho!

The characters in this book are hashed out fairly well. I did relate to most of them on some level or another. Although, I have to say that they all seemed much older than their freshman or sophomore years of college.
Abby, well, I wanted to throttle her for most of the book. She just seemed so oblivious to things. Even things that were thrown right in her face she just did not see. This was just not relatable for me. I can't see how she would not recognize such things. Other than that, I liked her character. She was very strong and independent, which is a nice change of pace for me from the younger YA characters I normally read about. She didn't take crap from anyone. She was very witty and really had a way with handling people.
Travis, well, he is just totally messed up. He's crazy and hot headed. But he is also fiercely loyal and loving. You can tell once he attaches himself to something, he doesn't let go. And he works at it until he is where he needs to be. So, despite him not having had any kind of real girlfriend in his life, he still had the qualities of being a decent boyfriend. But his hot headedness often got in his way. I just didn't find a lot of his actions believable as a sophomore in college. Often times I wanted to smack him in his face, other times, I wanted Abby to grab onto him and not let go.
America and Shep are the perfect balance to Abby and Travis. They are young and in love and actually prove to be great role models for their friends. It's nice to see young love blossoming in this book thrown against the background of stability.

The plot is typical to me: boy meets girl, they fall for each other, but they avoid it for fear that the other won't reciprocate. It's nothing new. The way Jamie goes about it is different from other things I have read. She takes fiercely independent characters and pits them against each other. You can imagine this causes a ton of friction. McGuire keeps you on your toes throughout the whole book. You're not sure if the characters are coming or going or where they are going to end up. You certainly want a HEA, but you are not quite sure how that will happen or how the character will even get there. And, having been to college, I did not understand Travis and Shep having an apartment as a freshman and sophomore. While I know college students may live off campus, I do not know of any colleges that allow their students to live off campus as freshmen (since these kids are obviously not commuter students living at home). So this was quite unrealistic to me. Where did they get the money, besides Travis's fights? It just didn't seem real enough to me. And there was just that annoying amount of "insta-love" with Abby and travis.

Jamie's writing is good. I did find a few flaws with pacing: some parts were very fast, some parts slow and repetitive. But for the most part it flowed well and I certainly found myself wanting to push forward to see what kind of end the characters would meet. Her use of dialogue and banter between the characters really provided a solid ground of their relationships with each other. Although, I think I would have liked to see a bit more of a background of America and Abby's relationship. I understand they are best friends, but I needed to see more of how they related to each other.

So, all in all, I enjoyed this book more than most contemporary books I have read. I would probably put this top of my list for such books and tell my friends to read it if they like contemporary romance. Abby and Travis provide for an interesting mix. I am certainly interested in seeing how Travis's POV differs in the next book.

3/5 stars

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She was raised by her mother Brenda in Blackwell, OK, where she graduated high school in 1997. Jamie attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.
Jamie now lives in Enid, OK with her three children and husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with four horses, four dogs, and Rooster the cat.
Books published by Jamie include the Providence trilogy, and The New York Times best seller Beautiful Disaster, a contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, Jamie spends her days letting her four dogs in and out.

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