Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie McGuire

Release Date: August 14, 2012

Publisher: Atria Books

Age Group: Adult
Pages: 432

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.

My Thoughts: I had heard so many good and bad reviews for this one, I wasn't sure what I would think going in. When I read bad reviews, I try not to let it taint my thoughts. So many thoughts on this one.

I won’t write a hundred page review on this one, its been said before, it will be said again.

We are introduced to Abby who comes from an awkward family. Her dad is pretty intense and I can see why Abby wanted to get away for college, to reinvent herself. She also has a best friend named America who knows all about her past.

She’s a freshman at college and she meets a guy named Travis. Everyone knows Travis. He’s a man-whore. Every night he takes home a different girl and doesn’t bother calling them afterward. He’s got tattoos, fights, rides a motorcycle, about as bad boy as you can get.

Travis and Abby’s relationship gets off to a rough start. They are just friends but find themselves feeling more than they are supposed to for one another. They had a rocky relationship and they go back and forth a lot. Travis brings home different girls, and Abby is also seeing a guy named Parker.

I don’t know what to say about this one. It was intense. It was crazy. It was dramatic. But I liked it. Travis was emotional, and at times the relationship wasn't perfect and could be viewed at a bit abusive.  I loved Travis as a character though (minus being overprotective) and I could see why he was the way he was. He was sweet but bad-ass. I couldn’t help but like him even though he has many traits I’d like to throw out the window.

I did love the dynamic of Travis’s family. I could see myself fitting in with a bunch of guys like Abby did. I also liked the way Abby took in his family. She understood, she got it. She felt it.

I can see why people hate this one, I really can. At times, I would get frustrated, but I went into it with an open mind and tried to see it for what it was. It wasn't perfect, the characters weren't perfect, the plot wasn't perfect but it was real. It was gritty and rough around the edges. Travis wasn't perfect, far from it, but he had real emotions and he let them show.

I actually enjoyed reading this one, and I’ll read Walking Disaster just to see what its like.

Overall: I enjoyed it. Not quite a 5 cupcake rating but I liked it enough to want to know what happened, and I stayed up until 4 in the morning to read it.

Cover: It’s ok. It doesn’t really draw me in like covers usually do that I want to read.

What I’d Give It: