Review: Beautiful Disaster

By Jamie McGuire

Summary:                               INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.

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 wants—and needs—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:  This "New Adult" (I am absolutely going to be posting about this new genre later on, so stay-tuned for that) read has recently received some pretty intense reviews online, and I'd like you to hear me out before passing judgement on my opinion of this book and subsequently my review. Obviously, if you haven't read this book yet, then you have no idea why I would give this kind of warning, so let me back track and tell you a little about Beautiful Disaster and the issues that are involved within.
               Abby is a college freshman determined to put her past well behind her. She moves away to college to escape her once famous gambling father, who was on top of the world once upon a time, and her own gambling run-in, being one of the youngest poker stars in Vegas.
                Travis is the college frat-boy ladies man, who makes rent by entering into secret MMA fights in the college underground scene. Coming from an all male family, having lost their mother when Travis was very young, he has never had a meaningful relationship with a women, and never wanted too. Being aggressive in nature, it shocks everyone when he falls head-over-heels for Abby, even though she wants nothing to do with him.....at first.
               Now, this is where things get interesting. After being around each other for weeks, Abby and Travis make a bet that lands Abby living in Travis' apartment for a MONTH. During which time their feelings for each other go on a roller coaster of a ride, Travis being the aggressor for a relationship. Abby on the other hand, does not want to take a chance on a relationship that may end being to intense for it to actually work. After going through some harrowing events, and learning more and more about each other, this book does get its' happy ending. So let me tell you what ultimatly made up my own mind about this book:

• Does Travis have issues? Yes, but so does Abby
• Is he violent at times? No doubt about it
• Are there undercurrents of obsession, abandoment, and broken family problems? Absolutley
• Is this an abusive relationship? I will only answer this question for myself, and my opinion is: No

                  There are points in this book that I thought we were going down a very, very bad path. There are points I myself thought this relationship was not a good idea, in fact I still agree that Abby was right to not involve herself romanticly in the beginning. However, Travis grew on me. As we saw what his past was like and all the changes he was going through from the second Abby came into his life, I was surprised. It may take more time than this book took place in, but I do think he can change and be less of the violent, impulsive Travis and be more calm, and Abby is the person that can bring that side of him out.  I think the reaeder can see that by all the changes Travis had made from beginning to end in these pages. My point is, Travis isn't a hero, he's a human. Both of them are college kids with a hard past but an even longer chance at a bright future. They aren't living in a fairy tale where everything is perfect, Travis isn't Prince Charming saving a princess. They live in the same world as you and me, just trying to make it one day at a time. I really enjoyed reading this book and I'd recomend you checking it out too, it may surprise you ;)