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Jan 07, 2012

Sophia. rated it:

* Warning: If you're easily offended by cursing, and/or aggressivity, then don't FUCKING read this. *

I am literally losing it. This book contains one of the most disturbing scenes I have ever read in any book. EVER.
So here's one excerpt from the book.

Abby slept with Travis and left his apartment in the morning without saying goodbye. This is his reaction, a few hours later :

“Travis is a fucking wreck! He won’t talk to us, he’s trashed the
apartme More...

252 comments like (447 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2012

Lucy rated it:

Beautiful Disaster opens up at night in the basement of an empty academic building on a college campus where a fighting/betting ring known as The Circle is being run. This is where we meet Travis 'Mad Dog' Maddox, the male romantic lead. He, of course, wins his fight. The female lead, Abby, is attending the fight club for the first time that night. She ends up with blood on her cashmere sweater and a new name given to her by Travis, who doesn't even bother to ask for her name before arbitrarily More...

109 comments like (107 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2012

Hayley rated it:

01/14/2012:

I've just realized people are actually reading, commenting, and liking this review, and I feel like I should really review this book instead of angrily rant about it. So I'm (very slowly) going to force myself to reread Beautiful Disaster and hopefully be able to write a better review with fewer fucks. We'll see.

-
01/12/2012:

The author, Jamie McGuire, commented on this review at one point, but after people began responding to her, she deleted her comm More...

127 comments like (71 people liked it)

Feb 18, 2012

Tammara added it

WOW. This book was like a roller coaster ride. I had no idea what was coming next and during most of it I thought we were going to fly off of the rails any minute. Travis is one of the most controversial literary characters I've ever fallen in love with. He's a true Bad Boy: sexy, possessive and temperamental. I shouldn't like him as a character but I did. I also liked Abby, even when I disagreed with her actions and questioned WTH she was doing. There were multiple issues that will raise the ir More...

2 comments like (44 people liked it)

Oct 26, 2011

Scott rated it:

I agree with other reviewers who refer to this book as the literary equivalent of black tar heroin. I couldn't put this book down, even though I probably should have. I enjoyed the book but I'm not sure why (I only curled up in the fetal position on the floor of my shower weeping manly tears of shame while muttering "why?", like twice after all). I liked the main female character (not really) even though I thought she displayed the intellectual capacity of mentally challenged rock in a lot of pl More...

21 comments like (109 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Torie rated it:

WARNING: THIS BOOK IS LIKE CRACK

Because you feel like such shit for reading it, but you can't stop yourself from reading it anyway. There were more typos than I could count, the dialogue is just so cheesy it's cringe-worthy, the boy is such a Gary-Sue, BUT...oh my Lord I could NOT stop myself. I was so grossed out by myself for liking it, my boyfriend was grossed out by me liking it, but I couldn't pull myself away!

The Issues
The boy is a character OBVIOUSLY conjur More...

26 comments like (99 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Stacia ~ platonic rated it:

*update January 2012 - If I had heard about this book after the blog controversy went down, I probably wouldn't have read it. Do I regret reading the book? No. Do I understand why others aren't going to read it now? Yes.

*update December 2011 - original rating dropped down to 2.5 stars. I realized after much thought that the ending really bothered me. Overall, I still felt the book to be a realistic portrayal of a messed up relationship (yes, these relationships do happen), but I wish More...

7 comments like (18 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2012

Taryn-does it have romance? rated it:

This review was posted at My Secret Romance

Once I finish a book, I think about it for a few days and then write my review for it. Well, I've been pondering for days now and I still haven't come up with much for it other than I liked it way more than I expected to considering it's a young adult novel, and everyone knows I don't do young adult. It is extremely rare that I will read a young adult book let alone actually like it. After reading this, it is now one of my favorite books. More...

28 comments like (16 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2011

Tash rated it:

"He’s never enough
And still leaves more than I can take
Oh 'coz I don’t know
I don’t know what he’s after
But he’s so beautiful
Such a beautiful disaster
And if I could hold on
Through the tears and the laughter
Would it be beautiful?
Or just a beautiful disaster"
-Kelly Clarkson, Beautiful Disaster

I didn't like the cover at first. It's kinda gross so I closed that window (I kinda judge a by it's cover). Glass, a friend of More...

13 comments like (31 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Kagama rated it:

Horrible. Didnt finish.

Whats the deal with the cover? I am talking about the woman and her hellish tongue-cover. Is that supposed to be symbolic? She kissed Travis and got infested with his unholy STDS?

I didnt understand what made them find each other likable..there is no hint of it before they state it.

I read back to see if i missed something.Nope,just like that they are BFF-s.

She doesnt want to change him...she accepts him like he is. Even though More...

6 comments like (19 people liked it)

Aug 09, 2011

MelissaB rated it:

Beautiful Disaster was a story that sucked me in from the beginning and kept me on a crazy roller coaster while the two leads figured out their passionate relationship. The heroine, Abby (or Pigeon as the hero calls her - yeah it's kind of weird but cute) is a freshman at college when she meets the hero, Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox. Travis is quite the bad boy, he fights in underground boxing fights to earn money for college (he is a sophomore at the same college) and he screws different girls all t More...

19 comments like (41 people liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Hira rated it:

This review and other stuff can also be found on my blog.

Update in January: After reading the author's blog post (which she has now removed, huh), I only wish I could give them less than 1 star.

Original Review:
I am awed at all the 4/5 star reviews out there...I was too annoyed with this book to even comprehend anyone liking it, but to each his/her own, I suppose.

This book was incredibly cheesy. Each sentence was cheesier than the one before. I was draggi More...

3 comments like (15 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

JoJo - JJJ (Jo Anna) rated it:

I am in absolute love with this book. If I could give it a million stars I think I would. This is a five plus star book for me and a favorite. I am ranking it in the top five books I have read all year. It was an incredible read. Just my cup of tea; for certain a Jo Jo book.

I have not been able to think about anything else for the past three days except this book. I feel like I have eaten, breathed and lived for the story of Pigeon and Travis. So once I finished I was in mourni More...

48 comments like (22 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Glass rated it:

Why am I hearing Love The Way You Lie in my head?

Here's one more song on my Beautiful Disaster playlist: Pearl Jam - Just Breathe

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool, you see
No one knows this more than me...
like I come clean.

27 comments like (13 people liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

The Holy Terror rated it:

Cherra recommended this book to me back in October, and even though I didn't have an ereader at the time and this was only available in ebook form, I added it in case it got a print edition. I ended up buying a Kindle Touch and I was excited to be able to read all of the ebooks that weren't previously available in print form, this one included.

I am no longer excited for this book and I will not be reading it.

31 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Jane rated it:

Edited to add: McGuire is one of the authors involved in the first five days of 2012 Goodreads who flamed out against reviewers. I had unfortunately read and written this review up before the flameout but decided to go ahead and post the review anyway. I would link to her rant, but she deleted it along with the over two hundred reader comments that were left. Here is the Google cache

Angela James loaned this book to me and I went on to purchase my own copy. This book is often re More...

16 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2011

Nicole rated it:

Wow. Just . . . wow. I devoured this book. I'm not usually a big fan of those destructive-type relationships, but this one worked for me. Not usually a fan of the bad boy thing either, but Travis was a multi-dimensional character that tugged at my heart, so much more than just a bad boy. I have to say Ms. McGuire is one of my new favorite authors.

8 comments like (16 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Jessica rated it:

Wow. This book is awesome fun. The heat between Travis and Pidge? Best I've ever read.

What Jamie McGuire does so perfectly in this book is that she gave me what I wanted to happen, not what she *should* have done. And not what a publisher would have made her do. Equally important is what she *didn't* do, i.e.;no pregnancy scares (I think we're all sick of reading about those). This is not a book about morals and ethics, but it's not supposed to be. It's about watching the characters More...

4 comments like (22 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2012

Nick93 rated it:

Read more of my reviews at Nick's Book Blog

I decided to give this book a try because so many reviewers on here have given it 5 stars. Boy, was I disappointed !
I really didn't like this book.
The characters really got on my nerves to the point that I wanted get into the book and just slap the hell out of them.
Travis was awful ! I really couldn't understand how the hell Abby could stand him.
He was seriously creepy, violent, a jealous freak, possessive and was a stalker More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2012

joє rated it:

shitlisted
probably one of the WORST books i've read in awhile.

abby is whining all the time and she's this rare snowflake who meets the infamous bad boy in college. travis "mad dog" maddox and abby are a DISASTER waiting to happen. travis regularly participates in illegal underground fights (ala fight club) has never, not once lost one.

they meet. they fall in "love". throw in some drama. THE END.

it was disturbing how those kids always d More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2012

Zemira rated it:

What to say about this book?!

First of all,these two (Abby and Travis) are like the walking train wreck. They are so impulsive but in the end you can see they are soul mates. (Obviously there is no other person that will deal with their shit.)
I don't agree with 'the thing' they did in the end. Frankly,it was a little stupid. I'm rational,what can I say... Travis is a man whore in the beginning but after the first half of the book his behaviour changes drastically. He becomes t More...

8 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 02, 2011

Suzanne the Mighty ~Satin Seductress~ rated it:

FRACK ME SIDEWAYS! I loved this book. I know, your shocked, damn it I am shocked as well! It is Young Adult, I normally hate romance YA books, they drive me crazy with all the whining and moaning. But this book is so much better then that. At first glance it looks like a good girl meets bad boy scenario, which it kind of is. Abby has gone to college to get away from her father and to build a new life for herself without the stigma she has to suffer through in her home town and Travis is the perf More...

16 comments like (26 people liked it)

Dec 30, 2011

Elena R a.k.a. Lunies R rated it:

5+ Stars

Since this book was so awesome,My Chickie, Rhonda and I did a joint review. http://samsawesomness.blogspot.com/2011/...

Bitter Sweet Love!

Rhonda: This book was simply wonderful!!! Not since Perfect Chemistry has a Young Adult book captured my attention this way. On a whim I opened this book up to finally read it, and WOW, I was hooked from the opening pages. This was such an emotional journey of ups and downs, and I was constant More...

18 comments like (10 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Kristen rated it:

4 ½ stars with a caveat, and by far my most difficult review to write to date.

I’m honestly baffled by my response to this book because I not only enjoyed the story, but I also gave it high marks. In many ways this book is everything I hate in a Young Adult romance, but I still found myself enthralled, giddy, and starry eyed, regardless of how annoyed I became at time. In fact, I felt like I was at odds with myself during most of it. There was my latent teenage self, all starry eyed a More...

9 comments like (17 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Angela rated it:

People love this book. I mean LOVE. If you look at the reviews, there are many overflowing with love for this title (which is a mix of YA and what's not called New Adult, by the way. Definitely not adult contemp romance).

I'm giving it three stars because I thought the writing was very compelling. The author is talented and took a story I'd be predisposed to hate (we'll get to that in a minute) and made it bearable for me to read. If I hadn't liked the writing and found it drew me in More...

5 comments like (12 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2011

Katya added it

I have a little dilemma with reviewing indie books. On one hand, I get it why authors might prefer to go down the self-publishing road. With an industry that gives us Halo and Hades, I'd be disheartened too. The thing is, indie writers face a lot of difficulties getting their stuff out there and making a profit, because the general assumption is that self-pubbed books are poorly written, poorly edited things that no agent wanted to take on.

So I was very conflicted about reviewing th More...

8 comments like (26 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2012

Arphaxad rated it:

Ugh. This felt like an extended (really extended) fanfiction. How did it manage to get nominated for the GoodReads awards??

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 13, 2012

Navdha rated it:

I haven't read the entire book and I have no intentions of doing so. Courtesy my good friend, who had the strength to read the entire book, told me the remaining half which I wasn't strong enough to read. This book was a disaster alright; and not of the beautiful kind. Abbey was an idiot, a total bitch with no sense at all and the female lead who isn't only confused about everything but in perfect denial. She was stupid, impulsive and annoying like hell. The male lead, whatever his name was, was More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Alexa rated it:

3.5 stars

I really liked the beginning of Beautiful Disaster when Abby first meets Travis. I was so glad it didn't take them long to meet. The relationship between Abby and Travis was what intrigued me the most from reading the book's summary. The good-girl and the bad-boy. I love it when opposites attract! But what I always realize about two people in a relationship that are labeled as "opposites" is that they're not entirely different from each other. And I think Abby and Tr More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2011

Samantha rated it:

This was a complete surprise for me because I'm annoyingly particular about contemporary romance. But Beautiful Disaster drew me in like a drug. Jamie McGuire is a seriously addictive writer. I don't know what it is she has, but it's the kind of magic that compels you to read on after every chapter. Beautiful Disaster is an epic love story told over the course of a year, about two people, Abby and Travis, who become friends and are unwillingly drawn into a volatile and passionate love affair. I More...

22 comments like (16 people liked it)