#150 Book Review: Beautiful Disaster

Beautiful Disaster
Release Date: August 14th 2012
Author: Jamie McGuire
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy:  Fishpond | Booktopia | Dymocks
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

The new 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 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.

Cover:
LOVE! When I first heard of the book, I was really intrigued by the cover. It is simple yet meaningful. The butterfly in the jar symbolised many different things and when I finished reading the book, I understood what exactly the cover represented!

Story:

A beautiful, beautiful disaster...

Reading Beautiful Disaster is a guilty pleasure, like what many other people said. When I read the summary of this book, it didn't sound like my type of book. It's not 100% YA so I was apprehensive of reading the book. But after hearing that other readers really enjoyed it, I decided to give it a go and boy, Beautiful Disaster was one helluva addictive and crazy ride.

Even from the first page, I was completely immersed in the story. There is something truly addictive in Jamie McGuire's writing. All I knew was that I had to keep reading. Written from Abby's point of view, the story plot grew from sassy, intense and FULL INTENSE until it simmered down to a beautiful beautiful ending. Besides the one helluva addictive story plot, the romance and chemistry between Abby and Travis was really intense as well. Why I said this book was a guilty pleasure was because I knew that Travis and Abby's relationship can be very unhealthy sometimes, but I just couldn't help but join their intense relationship and enjoy reading about it. Their relationship was one second, a disaster and one second so beautiful it touches your heart.

Characters:
Now here is the part where I tell you why I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. When I began reading this book, it was an absolute 5 stars for me. Truly truly addictive. It was still addictive even until the end, but when I get to know more about Travis, I came to not like him as much as I did in the beginning. Travis was really intriguing in the beginning, even covered in tattoos and your ultimate bad boy type, I still liked him. But when Travis and Abby finally became a couple, I slowly disliked him because of his obsession for Abby and how destructive he can be. Yes Travis, I completely understood how big your love for Abby was, but you didn't have to be so obsessed about her that when she left you for what feels like one second, you started destroying things and hit everyone else. It really scared me. But thank goodness, Travis was back on track towards the end of the book and I came to like him again, as I did in the beginning of the story.

Abby here is a different case. I really liked her as the main female character. She is not your typical female character. She is strong, tough and tenacious. When her relationship with Travis becomes unstable, she can walk away from him and even when Travis tried to persuade her to come back, she firmly stands on her ground and does not waver. America, Abby's best friend is also one awesome best friend. She is really supportive of Abby and will always try to defend her, even if it means breaking up with her boyfriend, Shepley, who is in fact, Travis' cousin.

Oh and there's also Parker, the guy Abby goes on a date with for a couple of times. So there was this one moment where he bought her a bracelet and all I can say is 'Smooth, Parker, but that ain't enough to win a girl's heart.'

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading about every character in this book and they are well-written!

Overall:
Can a disaster be beautiful? Beautiful Disaster is one helluva addictive and crazy ride. With a story plot that grew from sassy, intense to FULL INTENSE until it simmered down to a beautiful ending, a romance filled with chemistry and characters that will tug your heart so many times, Jamie McGuire's writing will keep you addicted and leave you breathless. Truly addictive.

4 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Beautiful Disaster!

Thank you Simon & Schuster Australia for the review copy!