Audiobook Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Title: Beautiful Disaster
Author: Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #1
Narrator: Emma Galvin
Published: July 24, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Length: 10 hrs 30 mins
Source: Purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

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.

So when I started this book I was a little hesitant.  I had built it up so much in my head I was worried I wasn't going to like it.  I was sooooo relived when I instantly fell in love with it.  I truly loved this story, inside and out.  :)

Travis Maddox.  Oh, Travis.  We all have our favorite bad boys, and Travis just jumped into my top five.  I loved him to pieces and hated him to the core all at the same time... it was amazing.  Abby was snarky and made silly choices at times, but I loved her too.  I know a lot of other reviews I've read really hate on Abby... but I thought she was very realistic, totally relatable, and because of all of that, she was likable to me.  She faced some pretty tough struggles in her childhood that she was running from... and I give her a lot of credit for taking the steps on her own to better her life.  And her BFF America was right there by her side.  This group was intense, strong and all true friends.  I really enjoyed them all.

Emma did a great job as narrator.  As Abby, she was exactly how I pictured her.  The emotions and reactions were spot on.  At times I felt like her Travis was a little too wimpy for how I pictured him... but I guess Travis had to show his softer side sometimes.  ;)

I would say if you haven't read this book yet, and you like new adult contemps even just a little bit, you should definitely read it.  I have Walking Disaster waiting patiently on my Kindle right now, and I will be reading it asap.  What a great book!

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She was raised by her mother Brenda in Blackwell, OK, where she graduated high school in 1997. Jamie attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie now lives in Enid, OK with her three children and husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with four horses, four dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Books published by Jamie include the Providence trilogy, and The New York Times best seller Beautiful Disaster, a contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, Jamie spends her days letting her four dogs in and out.

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