Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Title: Beautiful Disaster
Author: Jamie McGuire
Published: May 26th 2011
Source: NetGalley ARC
Genre: Contemporary/New Adult
Buy: Amazon ~*~ Barnes & Noble
Add to your Goodreads shelf
Caution: May contain spoilers

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.

~synopsis from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one. I had heard mixed opinions of it from various bloggers and reviewers. Part of it, I believe, is due to the fact that this is not quite a young adult book. Which is true, very true. And although most of the time I go for books geared more toward YA, all the talk got me curious. When it came up on NetGalley, I decided to take a chance. I found myself pleased in the end.

Near the beginning, I was a bit uncertain as to the progression and the characters. After learning the basics about the Abby and Travis in the first couple chapters, I ended up getting engrossed in finding out more. I knew there was going to be a bet, and it was obvious she was going to lose. Where will it all lead? Travis at first seems like this horrible guy, a complete womanizer who has no respect for women. He’s different with Abby, he is intrigued by her and wants to be around her. Nobody quite knows what to make of this, given the fact that he’s never had any sort of close relationship with a girl. Abby especially doesn’t get it, yet she still wants to spend time with him too.

The friendship that develops between Abby and Travis is cute and charming and bizarre all at once. His nickname for her, Pigeon, I thought was the cutest thing. As the reader, you know Travis has feelings for her, but Abby seems oblivious as to how deep they are. Of course, it all leads to something more. Her inability to see what is really going on causes a lot of confusion and problems between the two of them. Not only the two of them, but also her best friend America and her boyfriend Shepley (who is Travis’ cousin).

Although I was fully committed to the story and seeing their relationship through to the end, I can see the reason why so many didn’t enjoy it. There were numerous events that seemed a little too ridiculous to be realistic, and you wanted to smack Abby for being unaware of what was going on and Travis for being extremely overprotective. Despite those faults, I still cheered them on and hoped for the best.

Beautiful Disaster was a pleasure to read. The meaning of the title, as brought out in the middle of the story, plays out nicely with the differences between Abby and Travis. Jamie McGuire had me up late wanting so badly to know what was going to happen next. It was a good thing, because she provided me with great answers, but a bad thing because I had to get up early the next day! This one is definitely for more mature readers due to language and other college incidences. It was a nice change of pace from my usual reads.


My Rating:

Very Good: Stay up late

10 comments:

  1. I've seen both bad and good things on this one too. I guess I'll have to form my own opinion. ;)

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    1. I'd say it's worth at least a gander at the first few chapters. :)

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  2. This books seems to have divided reviewers, but that is always something that piques my curiosity and makes me want to form my own opinion. I requested this from NetGalley, too and should be reading it soon.

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    1. I know, I didn't care about it until I kept seeing it everywhere, then my curiosity got the better of me. :P Hope you like it too!

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  3. Hmm, another good review for this one. I've seen some great ones and some that just hated it. It's interesting how a book can garner such different reactions. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jess! It's one I'll probably read some day!

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    1. It is interesting--I can see where the mixed reviews come. It's not a perfect story. Just a fun one. I hope you do! :D

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  4. I'm divided about this one as well. I read the sample awhile back and while I enjoyed the writing, the plot and some of the situations between Abby and Travis really put me off. I'm glad you stuck with and enjoyed it though.

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    1. I agree with you, the situations that occur make you scratch your head. Those situations continue, but got better for me, but I know they didn't for everyone! :P

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  5. I agree with your review 100%. I really enjoyed this books too but was a bit unsure of the more unrealistic situations and I found that the relationship between Abby and Travis was a bit unhealthy and disturbing at times. I also wasn't a huge fan of the ending.
    Thanks for your honest review of this book.

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  6. Cute, charming and bizarre are 3 perfect words to describe their friendship AND their love xD

    I was translating this book into Portuguese and I found myself rushing so that I could soon reach the end. Awesome book, and extremely addicting indeed =]

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Thank you for commenting and happy reading!