Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster

(Beautiful # 1)

By: Jamie McGuire

Pub. Date: August 14, 2012

Publisher: Atria

Pages: 361

Sources: Netgalley

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.

I have heard mixed reviews about Beautiful Disaster since I first heard about this book. I was so excited to get my hands on an egalley so I can form my own opinions on it. Boy, was I not disappointed. I loved it! I was physically unable to put the book down. I was even reading it on my cell phone at an amusement park!

Abby Abernathy acts like the sweet, innocent girl, but she has a secret past that involves a crappy father and gambling. She moved from Kansas with her best friend America to start fresh and to get away from all the negatives in her life. But one night she meets Travis Maddox, the undefeated champion of cage fighting. Travis is a tattooed, one night stand kind of guy. The opposite of what Abby needs. The two form an unlikely friendship which leads to a roller coaster relationship. Shepley, Travis' cousin and best friend described their relationship perfectly:

"I wish you and Travis would just get your shit together! You're a goddamn tornado! When you're happy, it's love and peace and butterflies. When you're pissed, you take the whole fucking world down with you!" (pg 334-uncorrected egalley proof)

The two of them definitely had what you would call a dependent relationship. Especially on Travis' part. He needed Abby like he needs oxygen. This is definitely unhealthy, but for some reason it worked for them. I couldn't get enough of their up and down moments.

I had a love/hate relationship with Abby. While she was headstrong and would not put up with Travis' crap, she was also incredibly dumb in many instances. I just wanted to slap her sometimes. I felt so bad for Travis many times because Abby was never honest with him. I think they could have saved themselves a lot of emotional pain if she just told him how she was feeling. Travis was able to be honest with her, and he never got close to anyone before her! Travis was an interesting guy. He could be amazingly sweet and kind, and other times he was so jealous and crazy that I couldn't stand it. I loved the connection between the two and I thought that the nickname Travis gave Abby (Pigeon) was adorable. Even with all the craziness, I was rooting for the two of them to stay together and be happy; they deserved it!

I thought the secondary characters, especially America and Shepley were extremely well written. The two of them were the voice of reason in this book, and I loved the moments when they were featured!

Overall, Beautiful Disaster is definitely a book that you have to read for yourself. I think many will love it, while others would be put off by their relationship. I think if you can see past that, Beautiful Disaster is a very enjoyable read! 

I can't not wait for the companion novel, Walking Disaster which is in Travis' POV!