Beautiful Disaster

I hadn't heard of this book until I found a review of it online at About That Story. The synopsis and the 4/5 star review intrigued me and I immediately put it on hold at the library.

The story follows Abby and Travis' very complicated and unlikely relationship. Abby is a goody two-shoes with a dark past which she is constantly trying to leave behind. She and her friend America (I could not get over the name while I was reading this) moved far away from their old lives to Eastern University, where America quickly begins a relationship with Shepley. Shepley's roommate and cousin is Travis "Mad Dog" Maddox, who participates in underground fighting and is known for having constant one night stands and treating girls like dirt.

Enter Abby Abernathy, who Travis can't seem to resist. Abby knows that they are all wrong for each other but agrees to place a bet with him. If Travis wins, Abby has to live with him for a month and if Abby wins, he has to stay abstinent for a month. Either way, the loser is going to have a tough time. When Abby loses the bet, she and Travis start a very tumultuous relationship and realize that even though they drive each other crazy, they can't seem to stay away from each other.

I'm going to give this book a 3/5 star rating. When I first started it, I could not put it down but about halfway through it, it just started to get monotonous and old. The concept was good, I just think that it was taken a bit too far. Travis is a bad boy with a good heart but a terrible temper. And although I am a sucker for a bad boy gone good, the way that he tried to possess Abby as if she was a piece of property really bothered me. I mean, I love it when guys are a little jealous because it shows that they actually care about losing their girlfriends. But insecurity is a big turn off. A guy couldn't look at Abby without Travis kicking their ass and he had some serious issues that he really needed to work on. And no matter how bad he acted or how mad he was, in the end, Abby just kept coming back.

As far as Abby goes, she keeps pushing Travis away from the beginning, claiming that she wants to escape her past and blah blah blah. But even though we find out what was so bad about her life, she never fully explained to Travis why she kept pushing him away. She explained to us readers but never gave Travis the answers he deserved. She just kept him guessing and nothing he ever did or said seemed to be good enough. I may not have liked everything he did or said but at least he was man enough to apologize. She could've at least thrown the poor guy a bone.

I loved America and Shepley, who were big supporting characters in the story and I feel that the characters were well-written and complex. I did feel that the ending was a big rushed but generally speaking, it was a pretty good read.

Oh and Travis called Abby "Pigeon" and the entire time, all I could think about was how Tramp called Lady that same name in Lady and the Tramp.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? Do you have any recommendations?

-Chelsea