Walking Disaster

Reviewer: Kristen 
Author: Jamie McGuire 
Pages: 433
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 5 out of 10

Sequel to Beautiful Disaster

Summary (you da best, Goodreads): 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

My Thoughts: Okay, okay. I know. When you rate a book 5, it always looks bad. But, give me a moment to collect my thoughts and I will do my best to justify it. This book was, in all honesty, just okay. I didn't not like it, but I didn't really enjoy it either. Once I hit the last few pages, it felt like I was reading just to get it done, which is always disappointing with characters you love. And I do love them, but I think that love comes from Beautiful Disaster. I realize that Walking Disaster is a companion novel, but I thought there would be a lot more differences from the first book, because there was honestly so much more we could have learned about Travis. I don't know about you, but this novel kind of made me dislike Travis. And it kind of made Abby seem bi-polar. The attraction wasn't spelt out to you like it was in BD. At the risk of sounding like a nutcase, there was even one point in the book where Abby was saying something, and all the sudden it just felt like... words? The magic of the character was suddenly gone, and it felt like I was just reading singular words strung together in a way with little meaning. Suffice to say, that has never happened before, and I don't want it to happen again. My advice to you before picking this up is to read the BD, way in advance. I don't think I would have even finished it if I had read these back to back. Again, I know companion and blah blah blah. But it is literally the same story, with a few tweaks. The way things are described are even worded the same in each book. It was okay, but unsatisfyingly the same. Yet not entirely the same, because there were some events I thought crucial, that were just glazed over in WD! I don't get it, I really don't. I wish Jamie McGuire would have re-introduced us to characters again. She dived back into complicated story lines that the reader only would have understood had they read the first, and I did read the first; just a lonnnnnnnng time ago. I mean, for Pete's sake, I forgot who Shepley was. On more of a positive note, it was written really well. I loved how things were worded, and I honestly forgot that a male himself didn't write this book. It felt male, not like a female trying to idealize the inner workings of the male mind. Another positive, the cover is hot. Literally no other way to describe it.  

Final Thoughts: It was okay. Just okay. 

Beautiful Disaster

Reviewer: Kristen 
Author: Jamie McGuire 
Pages: 437 (give or take)
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads, you da best!): 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.

My Thoughts: I quite literally just finished this book, and I wanted to write this while the ideas were still fresh in my mind! I was so excited when I finally got this in the mail, because I've seen so so so many good things being said about this book. So, when I was finished, I was thrilled when everything I had heard lived up to the book completely! I loved the characters, especially Travis. Move over Edward Cullen, I'll take Travis Maddox instead. Though he does occasionally get a little crazy, (he is a fighter after all!) he redeems himself, and Jamie McGuire makes you feel so strongly for all the characters involved. I loved how Abby was developed and I love that secondary characters aren't forgotten about half way though the story. That happens way too often, and I like to know what's happening with everyone! I literally couldn't put this down though. There were some inconsistencies that drove me a little bonkers, but it was easy to look over in the grand scheme of things. (For example, sometimes I'd think they're in class, but suddenly they're back to the apartment. So you just kinda missed the walk.) I got it yesterday, and started reading it before I went to bed. I should have known that I would literally have to force myself to put it down! Even once I had, I had to employ some serious self control to not get right  back into and figure out what happens! I dreamt about the book, I can't stop thinking about the book, and I cannot wait until the companion (Walking Disaster) is dropped in April! 

Final Thoughts: I had read a few reviews that said Jamie McGuire glorified an obsessive relationship, but I disagree! I think this was written tastefully, and it left me wanting more.  I really enjoyed this book! I anxiously await the day I can get my hands on Walking Disaster! Do yourself a favor, and pick this up.... now!