Beautiful Disaster

By: Jamie McGuire

Narrated by: Emma Galvin

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.

©2011 Jamie McGuire (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

" Beautiful Disaster is insanely addictive. Beautifully sexy, beautifully intense, and beautifully perfect. Jamie McGuire has written a damn good book." (Jessica Park, author of the New York Times best seller Flat-Out Love)

5 things you should know before buying this book

For the sake of transparency (so you know what your spending your credit on) I lined up 5 things I think you should know before you buy this book.

1. The main character Abby Abernathy (nicknamed 'Pigeon' by her love interest Travis 'Mad Dog' Maddox) is eighteen going on nineteen. She's just started out college with her best friend America (Mer).

2. The story is set in college but the dynamics between the students (and also between the main characters) seems more like high school. In other words: it's juvenile. If you're not a (very) young adult, you might end up rolling your eyes even more than Abby Abernathy does.

3. Travis Maddox has a temper (he's quite volatile) and is physically violent. Not against his 'Pigeon' or their friends, mind you. But pretty much against everyone else. Blood splatters quite often in this book.

4. Spoiler alert!: Somewhere past midway the book takes a turn and the cast goes to Vegas.

5. I should have stopped at the Vegas turn, but really I can't not mention this:
Travis, the hero, sports tribal art tattoo's.
And later he adds a new tattoo that declares his love for 'Pigeon'. In Hebrew.
I'm not saying anything else. Zip.

I didn't hate it. This novel is quite entertaining at times. But the storyline is all over the place (see 4) and overall it's very, very young adult.

If you read all of the above and you're curious. Go ahead. Buy it. I dare you. Just don't say I didn't warn you!

Captivating book that keeps you guessing.

I had this on my wish list but a friend was reading it and told me I had to get the book. I am so glad I listened to her. This book is a great read. I cannot wait until the book from Travis's point of view comes out.

Who needs reality?

I really enjoyed this one! Emma Galvin was a great narrator choice. She has a knack for showing that “tough” and “feminine” can go perfectly well together, which was just right for Abby.

I loved both the main and secondary characters, and the love story was addictive. I’ll definitely get the next book. This could have used a tiny bit less angst about three-quarters of the way through, but what do you expect from a juicy soap opera set on a college campus? I can’t say it ruined the experience since I was happy to see that the next book is longer than the first. ;)

That said, there were more than one or two times I had to ignore my inner voice of logic while I was listening. OK, I get that this was a tiny college where everybody knew everyone else’s business, but were there no security guards anywhere? People can jump up on the lunch tables and shout, or break out into fist fights in the dining hall without a security guard or attendant ever being called. 50+ people can routinely break into classroom buildings at night to hold fight clubs, and apparently leave no trace. (And why the heck didn’t they just hold those fights at a frat and skip the B&E?!) And it’s hard to discuss this without leaving spoilers, but there were some times when I could not see anyone letting Travis’s behavior go and getting past it. He’s known for being extreme, but Travis crosses some serious lines.

So basically what I’m saying is that, yes, this is over the top and unrealistic but I’m happy I went for it. It’s gossipy and gooey and a lot of fun if you can leave your Reality Check at the door. Tough exterior, soft and nice on the inside. In many ways this is more young adult than new adult, so if maturity matters to you than skip this one. If it doesn't and you're after a beach read, jump in.

Good Performance and Good Book!

What made the experience of listening to Beautiful Disaster the most enjoyable?

It was nice being able to do other things while listening to the book.

Great love story

The characters were so right for each other even though she fought it. Loved Travis. Wish there were really men so devoted to the one they love. Worth a credit for sure.

Great Storyline

I enjoyed the book! Abby drove me crazy at times because she knew she had feelings for him. In my opinion she over exaggerated her whole father situation. Yes he was terrible but it just wasn’t as bad as she made it seem. There situation was not as toxic as I thought it would be. It was Abby being stubborn and not admitting her true feelings. I do hate how she was stringing Parker along when she knew her true feelings.

My all time favorite book!

I have read and re read this book a million times I love it so much but when I saw it in an audio book it made me even happier I can now listen to my favorite book over and over again and this makes me so happy!

awesome

This book was great! I cannot wait to listen to the next one and the next.

Great read

If you could sum up Beautiful Disaster in three words, what would they be?

Awesome Summer Series

What did you like best about this story?

I really enjoyed how it was written. I couldn't get enough of this series, I bought all of the books..

What about Emma Galvin’s performance did you like?

I loved her performance. She made you feel all the characters emotions.

So Gooooooood

what a rollercoaster of emotions! Jamie McGuire's books are becoming my next binge! love it!