Narrated by Emma Galvin
The official blurb: 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 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.
I doubt I’ve ever listened to a more aptly named book than Jamie McGuire’s Beautiful Disaster. I was by turns enthralled and repelled throughout the tale but I was never bored. It’s told in first person POV by the heroine and in a unique twist the author will release the hero’s side of the story with Walking Disaster on April 2nd. I’m intrigued by how Ms McGuire will handle the male POV and can’t wait to listen after hearing samples of male narrator Dan Bittner’s skilled voice.
Beautiful Disaster went through Goodreads like a house afire upon its release but as is my habit, it didn’t make it onto my TBR until I saw the audio version released. It’s considered New Adult (18-25) but with the theme of a bad boy hero tamed by “the one” woman who brings him to his knees (literally), I was sucked in.
Our heroine, Abby Abernathy, is a college freshman who turns 19 during the story. She has moved a long way from home (dragging her best friend with her) to attend college in hopes of becoming the woman she thinks she should be. Our hero, Travis Maddox, is a sophomore (whom I’m assuming is 21 as he regularly purchases alcohol) who has earned his reputation as both a ladies’ man and an underground bare knuckled fighter.
The narration was my first experience with Emma Galvin and she is excellent in verbally portraying what is happening moment by moment. There is no deepening of her voice for males but there is an easy definition between all the characters as she effortlessly flows through each scene with the perfect rhythm of what is written be it humor, angst, love, or simply the passionate intensity of youth.
I’m still surprised I enjoyed this book as much as I did. The story is not only unrealistic but it also goes to one of my personal taboo places with both the hero and heroine involved in other relationships after they meet. Plus there is the over the top drama with plenty of angst thrown in as these young people fall in love … but there is just something so addictive in the delivery of this “we’re just friends” to an overly possessive “you’re the only one” story. Am I still a teenager in disguise at 53 or has some mojo been written into this storyline? Then again do I really believe a dissolute rake in Historical romance will do a 180 and become a devoted-to-one-woman man when he finds the right woman?
My rational adult mind knows – it knows! – the relationship in this story is a train wreck but that same mature mind doesn’t care because, like the proverbial train wreck, I couldn’t look away.
Bring on the next installment!
Walking Disaster – here’s the blurb…
Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster.
Can you love someone too much?
Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.
In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.
Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.
Walking Disaster will be released on April 2nd.
Brenda
Narration: A
Book Content: B+
Steam Factor: Tame – but glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Escalated Fighting
Genre: New Adult
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
I agree with everything you said about this book, Brenda. I’ve already pre-ordered Walking Disaster and can’t wait to get started, but I’m also a little nervous. There were some scenes with Travis in the first book that I’m not exactly looking forward to hearing from his perspective, but if I can get through those parts, I think the rest will be great. I also sampled some of Dan Bittner’s other work and he really sounds promising. I hope he does just as good of a job as Emma Galvin did.
I know which scenes you mean Angie – hopefully not much detail will be given. And I honestly hope the amount of alcohol college age adults consume was exaggerated in this book…
I’m pinning my hopes on Dan Bittner bringing out the ultimately besotted side of Travis while keeping his inherent cockiness. ;)
Ugh…I pre-ordered Walking Disaster from Downpour and they changed their release date to the 16th, so I have to wait 2 more weeks before I can listen to it.
How is it going so far, Brenda? Hope you’re enjoying it. I’ve been looking through reviews and many people are saying that I will really be annoyed with Abby in this book. I was annoyed with her enough in the first one, but not to the point where I disliked her. Will this book change my perspective on her? I don’t want to ruin the good feeling I had with the first one.
How’s the narration? Does he do a good female voice?
Ugh is right – having to wait two weeks for a new release isn’t going to win customers…
Loving the narration!
Walking Disaster came in on my Kindle at midnight and I read the prologue and first chapter – it was growing on me but hadn’t grabbed me.
I started over in audio this morning and what a change in perception getting out of my own head and into Travis’ via Dan Bittner made! He is Travis and he “gets” this story. So far it’s better than I’d hoped for and my hopes were high
No falsetto for female voices – he uses a change in pitch that is very effective. I’m only 2 1/2 hours in and I can’t wait to get back to it..
Ms McGuire has ratcheted the descriptive portions up quite a bit which will work better for me later in the story. ;)
I’m not reading reviews until I’m done. Abby didn’t bother me but Ms McGuire did when she wrote her out of her character at one point in BD – I can see how that point would be emphasized in WD because we’ll be experiencing it from Travis’ viewpoint…
Sorry Brenda. I wasn’t even thinking when I mentioned something from the reviews. I didn’t mean to affect your thinking of the book before you’d finished. I just skimmed the reviews since I basically knew what would happen in the book, but I didn’t want to know specifics or anything about this one, mainly just everyone’s general thoughts on how they liked the book compared to BD.
So glad that Dan Bittner is Travis. I loved Emma Galvin and was hoping DB would make me love him just as much.
I’m trying to keep busy with other books now to take my mind off the 2 week wait. I’ll be salivating by then I’m sure.
I wasn’t referring to your thoughts Angie – just – that like you I’m avoiding details so that I don’t zero in on gripes I wouldn’t otherwise have noticed which means I’m adjusting my above comment!
I read the AAR review of Beautiful Disaster after writing my own and I agree with the reviewer’s final statement 100%.
For me? I want to love this story and Dan Bittner is giving me my wish via Jamie McGuire’s skilled meshing of Travis’s POV with what we already know.