Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Disaster
Jamie McGuire
August 14, 2012 (paperback, Atria Books)
(Originally published May 26, 2011)
432 pages

Synopsis: 



The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and 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.

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Review: 



Explosive. 


That's the best word to describe the passion and emotions that roll through this book.


I had been reading such great things about this book, and now I know why. I love romance novels with great tension and big, passionate conflict. The kind that makes your heart ache to read. This book is LOADED with scenes that do just that. Along with a whole lot of co-dependency and jealous behavior. Almost too much. Which is the only thing keeping me from giving it five stars...it was just a bit too long with too many conflicts and ups and down in the roller coaster ride. I feel like it could have been 50-100 pages shorter and be just as good, if not better for it. The characters are both seriously flawed and have a lot of growing up to do, but how many college students do you know who aren't that way in at least some way? I'm also not a fan of descriptive violence, so I was a little worried about the whole "fight ring" part, but Ms. McGuire does an excellent job at portraying that seedy aspect without being overly graphic, although I could do without the number of fights Travis got into outside of the ring. 


I read this book (all 400+ pages!) in a day...good thing I didn't have to work that day! According to Goodreads, there is another version coming out as told from Travis' POV. Cannot wait for that! 


This is one of those books that I got as an ecopy from the publisher through NetGalley, but think I might be buying my own copy as well, because I have a feeling I'm going to want to reread it and lend it to friends. There is a giveaway for print and audio copies of this book going on right now (until August 3rd) on Goodreads - Enter Here. 






Beautiful Disaster: 4.5/5 stars.
Cover: 5/5 stars. 
Audience Rating: PG-13/R (violence, language, some mildly descriptive sexual content)