Book Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1)

By Jamie McGuire

Release Date: August 14, 2012

Source: Own Copy

Summary: 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.

Review: I have been hearing non-stop praise for this novel over the past two years, but I never actually took the time to read it. I finally got myself a copy and was able to fly through the entire story in one day. And let me tell you, I have been missing out on one addicting story! 

Abby Abernathy wants college to be a new start, where no one knows her dark past or family history. Trying to hold on to her good girl life, though, definitely does not include attending the underground fighting ring at her school. But Abby finds herself dragged along to a fight by her best friend, she runs across the path of Travis Maddox, a guy known for his womanizing ways and undefeated fights. Travis is intrigued by Abby and makes a bet with Abby that forces her to move in with him for a whole month. Abby's been resisting Travis's charm, but can she resist when she's so close to such a maddening man? 

Going into this book, I had heard that a lot of people didn't like Travis's dominating presence in Abby's life. I've got to say, though, I loved who possessive he was because it showed just how much they ended up falling for each other. Also, Travis is a very passionate and angry person, so I think that the way he acted towards people who threatened Abby or hit on her was realistic and gave his character much more depth. I really enjoyed how we got to see a progression of Abby and Travis's relationship and how they didn't just drop everything and become obsessed with each other. Abby and Travis had a sort of game going on and truly became friends before anything else. 

Not only did I love Abby and Travis's intense relationship, but I really liked how there was so much more going on in lives other than their own relationships. Abby's best friend was having relationship issues with Travis's cousin/roommate, Abby had serious family problems, and both Abby and Travis had other relationships that affected their own relationship. I love it when books are about more than just the main couple, and Beautiful Disaster definitely encompassed an entire life and not just a bubble of the main characters. 

All in all, I loved the passion, intensity, and reality of Travis and Abby in this novel. I was a bit bothered with how much like high school their college was. There's no cafeteria where drama goes down or a "golden couple" in college, yet that happened where Travis and Abby went. I guess that could happen in such a small college, but I wish they weren't so notorious on campus. Other than that, though, I absolutely loved Beautiful Disaster. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series because I definitely need more of Travis and Abby!