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The Maddox Brothers #1
Beautiful Oblivion
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Romance (2014)Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.
Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.
Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.
As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.
Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.
Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.
As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2014
About the author
Jamie McGuire
45 books42.4k followersJamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.
Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel, Walking Disaster, debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists in all four categories. Beautiful Oblivion, book one of the Maddox Brothers series, also topped the New York Times bestseller list, debuting at #1. In 2015, books two and three of the Maddox Brothers series, Beautiful Redemption and Beautiful Sacrifice, respectively, also topped the New York Times, as well as a Beautiful series novella, Something Beautiful. In 2016, Beautiful Burn made an appearance on the New York Times and USA Today, and was also named iBooks' Romance Book of the Year. The same year, A Beautiful Funeral also topped the New York Times bestseller list.
Novels also written by Jamie McGuire include: apocalyptic thriller and 2014 UtopYA Best Dystopian Book of the Year, Red Hill; the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy; Apolonia, a dark sci-fi romance; and several novellas, including A Beautiful Wedding, Among Monsters, Happenstance: A Novella Series, and Sins of the Innocent.
Jamie is the first indie author in history to strike a print deal with retail giant Wal-Mart. Her self-published novel, Beautiful Redemption hit Wal-Mart shelves in September, 2015.
Jamie lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with her husband, Jeff, and their three children.
Find Jamie at www.jamiemcguire.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Instagram.
Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel, Walking Disaster, debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists in all four categories. Beautiful Oblivion, book one of the Maddox Brothers series, also topped the New York Times bestseller list, debuting at #1. In 2015, books two and three of the Maddox Brothers series, Beautiful Redemption and Beautiful Sacrifice, respectively, also topped the New York Times, as well as a Beautiful series novella, Something Beautiful. In 2016, Beautiful Burn made an appearance on the New York Times and USA Today, and was also named iBooks' Romance Book of the Year. The same year, A Beautiful Funeral also topped the New York Times bestseller list.
Novels also written by Jamie McGuire include: apocalyptic thriller and 2014 UtopYA Best Dystopian Book of the Year, Red Hill; the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy; Apolonia, a dark sci-fi romance; and several novellas, including A Beautiful Wedding, Among Monsters, Happenstance: A Novella Series, and Sins of the Innocent.
Jamie is the first indie author in history to strike a print deal with retail giant Wal-Mart. Her self-published novel, Beautiful Redemption hit Wal-Mart shelves in September, 2015.
Jamie lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado with her husband, Jeff, and their three children.
Find Jamie at www.jamiemcguire.com or on Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and Instagram.
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September 21, 2017
5 Maddox Stars!
What is it about those Maddox brothers? They are impossible not to love. Honestly, I thought that there was no way I would love Trenton like I love Travis, no way that Beautiful Oblivion could top Beautiful Disaster. I would say that the book was just as good, and if you can believe it… I liked Trent even more than Travis! I feel like I’m betraying Travis by saying that, but I can’t help it. I’ve fallen in love with a different Maddox boy ♥
Cami knows from the moment she becomes ‘friends’ with Trenton Maddox, she is in trouble. Maddox boys scream trouble. Guys want to be them and women flock to them. All but Cami. She’s always stayed away from the Maddox boys. Growing up with four brothers, she knows how guys like that are. Trent notices Cami at The Red Door and insists they become friends. He won’t let her say no.
How is it possible to stay just friends with someone like Trent? Tatted up and gorgeous, and super sweet to boot. He makes it very difficult. The more time Cami and Trent spend together, the closer they become. He’s not just a friend to her, he’s one of her very best friends.
Can these two stay just friends without crossing the line? Will the secret Cami’s been keeping ever come to the surface? There is so much more to the story line I am keeping to myself because this is one story you won’t want spoiled. Even most of the quotes I wanted to post in my review seemed a little too spoilerish. So you’re just going to have to read it for yourself! Be prepared to devour this book. Once you start it, you won’t want to put it down. It’s one of those books, just like BD that you could easily read cover to cover because you get lost in the story.
Trent Maddox. Different from Travis, but just as wonderful. I think he is the most caring, thoughtful and sweet Maddox brother. And a new favorite book boyfriend of mine. He was tattooed male perfection. And the old saying is absolutely true. When a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. Cami was one of those heroines who never annoyed me. I loved how independent she was. She was loyal, level headed and strong. They worked well together. You will also get to meet a few new faces. This book has some awesome secondary characters!
Beautiful Oblivion takes place right before Beautiful Disaster and runs parallel to Travis and Abby’s story. It was fun to get those snippets of Travis in there. It makes me want to go back and re-read BD! And how this story ended… lets just say I am even more excited for the next Maddox brother’s book!
Jamie McGuire’s writing is addictive. Just try to stop reading this book once you’ve started- it’s near impossible! Beautiful Oblivion is a wonderful freinds to lovers romance. Engaging, sexy, witty, ansty and fun. It’s going to be one that goes on my favorites list! I would recommend this one to ALL Beautfiul Distaster fans. You won’t be dissapointed!
A HUGE thanks to ATRIA BOOKS for giving Book Babes Unite an ARC of this spectacular book!
What is it about those Maddox brothers? They are impossible not to love. Honestly, I thought that there was no way I would love Trenton like I love Travis, no way that Beautiful Oblivion could top Beautiful Disaster. I would say that the book was just as good, and if you can believe it… I liked Trent even more than Travis! I feel like I’m betraying Travis by saying that, but I can’t help it. I’ve fallen in love with a different Maddox boy ♥
Cami knows from the moment she becomes ‘friends’ with Trenton Maddox, she is in trouble. Maddox boys scream trouble. Guys want to be them and women flock to them. All but Cami. She’s always stayed away from the Maddox boys. Growing up with four brothers, she knows how guys like that are. Trent notices Cami at The Red Door and insists they become friends. He won’t let her say no.
How is it possible to stay just friends with someone like Trent? Tatted up and gorgeous, and super sweet to boot. He makes it very difficult. The more time Cami and Trent spend together, the closer they become. He’s not just a friend to her, he’s one of her very best friends.
Can these two stay just friends without crossing the line? Will the secret Cami’s been keeping ever come to the surface? There is so much more to the story line I am keeping to myself because this is one story you won’t want spoiled. Even most of the quotes I wanted to post in my review seemed a little too spoilerish. So you’re just going to have to read it for yourself! Be prepared to devour this book. Once you start it, you won’t want to put it down. It’s one of those books, just like BD that you could easily read cover to cover because you get lost in the story.
Trent Maddox. Different from Travis, but just as wonderful. I think he is the most caring, thoughtful and sweet Maddox brother. And a new favorite book boyfriend of mine. He was tattooed male perfection. And the old saying is absolutely true. When a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. Cami was one of those heroines who never annoyed me. I loved how independent she was. She was loyal, level headed and strong. They worked well together. You will also get to meet a few new faces. This book has some awesome secondary characters!
Beautiful Oblivion takes place right before Beautiful Disaster and runs parallel to Travis and Abby’s story. It was fun to get those snippets of Travis in there. It makes me want to go back and re-read BD! And how this story ended… lets just say I am even more excited for the next Maddox brother’s book!
Jamie McGuire’s writing is addictive. Just try to stop reading this book once you’ve started- it’s near impossible! Beautiful Oblivion is a wonderful freinds to lovers romance. Engaging, sexy, witty, ansty and fun. It’s going to be one that goes on my favorites list! I would recommend this one to ALL Beautfiul Distaster fans. You won’t be dissapointed!
“No one has ever wanted anyone as much as I want you.”
A HUGE thanks to ATRIA BOOKS for giving Book Babes Unite an ARC of this spectacular book!
July 9, 2014
1.5/2 "I have a bad case of awkward as fuck." Stars.
I really do not know where to start... I am beyond disappointed....
As such my review is going to be short and too the point.
For me, there were one too many similarities to Beautiful Disaster, for the key development points to Cami and Trent's relationship, as well as Cami's whole back-story.
There was far too much extra drama from secondary characters, the whole Raegan/Kody/Jason Hoopla added absolutely nothing to the story, and just got on my nerves. Also for some reason, (and at this point I am guessing that it is possibly due to it theoretically being the beginning of a new series) Jamie felt the need to give us a full life story of pretty much every secondary character. I didn't as a reader feel the story needed this information and all it did was clog up the flow. Trent and Cami were actually like secondary characters at points.
Although I didn't realise it until the very end, I worked out the twist within the first few pages, it was only when the 'BIG' reveal is given that it really clicked. Total 'ick' moment for me, hated it. As I like to keep things spoiler free that's all I am going to say. I haven't read A Beautiful Wedding (feeling like I have dodged a huge bullet about that now too), and as such now knowing Abby's reasoning behind marrying Travis was just another drop of salt into my already festering wound of disappointment.
I have no doubt people will read and love this book in their masses, I really wanted to be one of those people. The fact this book has gotten any stars from me at all is all down to a certain Travis Maddox, we get too see a little more of him on his visits to Red, and Cami's conversations with him, while he is negotiating his way through what is essentially Beautiful Disaster, gave us more insight into what he went through, and his interactions with Trent at points too were just enough to keep me reading.
ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review. I hate that I didn't love this book.
I really do not know where to start... I am beyond disappointed....
As such my review is going to be short and too the point.
For me, there were one too many similarities to Beautiful Disaster, for the key development points to Cami and Trent's relationship, as well as Cami's whole back-story.
There was far too much extra drama from secondary characters, the whole Raegan/Kody/Jason Hoopla added absolutely nothing to the story, and just got on my nerves. Also for some reason, (and at this point I am guessing that it is possibly due to it theoretically being the beginning of a new series) Jamie felt the need to give us a full life story of pretty much every secondary character. I didn't as a reader feel the story needed this information and all it did was clog up the flow. Trent and Cami were actually like secondary characters at points.
Although I didn't realise it until the very end, I worked out the twist within the first few pages, it was only when the 'BIG' reveal is given that it really clicked. Total 'ick' moment for me, hated it. As I like to keep things spoiler free that's all I am going to say. I haven't read A Beautiful Wedding (feeling like I have dodged a huge bullet about that now too), and as such now knowing Abby's reasoning behind marrying Travis was just another drop of salt into my already festering wound of disappointment.
I have no doubt people will read and love this book in their masses, I really wanted to be one of those people. The fact this book has gotten any stars from me at all is all down to a certain Travis Maddox, we get too see a little more of him on his visits to Red, and Cami's conversations with him, while he is negotiating his way through what is essentially Beautiful Disaster, gave us more insight into what he went through, and his interactions with Trent at points too were just enough to keep me reading.
ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review. I hate that I didn't love this book.
August 16, 2014
2 stars
No! just no.
I'm gonna keep this as simple as i can.
It was shitty, Boring, unnecessarily book/money machine of a book.
I'm not the only one who thinks that, mostly everyone does as well.
Jamie McGuire is so not a good writer:
● She hit the jackpot when she created Travis Maddix and that is THE ONLY good thing she ever wrote about. Just creating this character. Because as we know (the real fans) she screwed alot with that book because she wrote a hundred novellas (hyperbole).
● Jamie McGuire stop. You did good with Travis and that's it. Stop writing about it. Stop re-candling all the glory girl!
● The best thing about Beautiful Oblivion is the cover.
● I read all of Jamie's books, so before you start saying ohhh you haven't read her other books I HAVE, they suck ass.
● The reason why i'm so pissed as F is because i LOVE Beautiful Disaster. I read all of Jamie's books. so,I really can now say with absolute certainty that creating Travis was just a coincidence.
And that is fine, but stop ruining this awesome book to the fans and stop saying that " the fans wanted more of Travis and his brothers blah blah blah" because as a fan i know that i don't want this DISASTER. HA get it ? ;)
Not gonna say much about this book because. Where is it? There is no clear plot, boring characters. tons of unresolved issues.
It's either that or my copy has 50 chapters deleted.
I think not.
It's strange because did her publisher told her "Jamie, girlfriend FU*KING STOP. Or more like, that ain't gonna work honey"?!
Hmmm Maybe not! O.o
It's strange to think of these people as professionals sometimes.
What do you guys think? Let's discuss it together :)
Tiny disclaimer, this isn't a hate review. I'm just a passionate person
with anger problems,
and a potty mouth ;)
No! just no.
I'm gonna keep this as simple as i can.
It was shitty, Boring, unnecessarily book/money machine of a book.
I'm not the only one who thinks that, mostly everyone does as well.
Jamie McGuire is so not a good writer:
● She hit the jackpot when she created Travis Maddix and that is THE ONLY good thing she ever wrote about. Just creating this character. Because as we know (the real fans) she screwed alot with that book because she wrote a hundred novellas (hyperbole).
● Jamie McGuire stop. You did good with Travis and that's it. Stop writing about it. Stop re-candling all the glory girl!
● The best thing about Beautiful Oblivion is the cover.
● I read all of Jamie's books, so before you start saying ohhh you haven't read her other books I HAVE, they suck ass.
● The reason why i'm so pissed as F is because i LOVE Beautiful Disaster. I read all of Jamie's books. so,I really can now say with absolute certainty that creating Travis was just a coincidence.
And that is fine, but stop ruining this awesome book to the fans and stop saying that " the fans wanted more of Travis and his brothers blah blah blah" because as a fan i know that i don't want this DISASTER. HA get it ? ;)
Not gonna say much about this book because. Where is it? There is no clear plot, boring characters. tons of unresolved issues.
It's either that or my copy has 50 chapters deleted.
I think not.
It's strange because did her publisher told her "Jamie, girlfriend FU*KING STOP. Or more like, that ain't gonna work honey"?!
Hmmm Maybe not! O.o
It's strange to think of these people as professionals sometimes.
What do you guys think? Let's discuss it together :)
Tiny disclaimer, this isn't a hate review. I'm just a passionate person
with anger problems,
and a potty mouth ;)
July 7, 2014
THREE MADDOX STARS.
“I was in trouble. Big, disastrous, Maddox trouble.”
I was beyond excited to start this most anticipated book, it feels like so long ago when Jamie McGuire announced that she would be writing a series involving the Maddox brothers and since then I've been more than ready to fall in love once again with one of this authors beautifully damaged heroes. 'Beautiful oblivion' is a complicated love story with plenty of swoon and sexy to go with it. It didn't quite reach my five star rating but I still felt like I enjoyed my Maddox fix, here's to authors we love and characters that we can't help but adore.
What's it all about?
Camille Camlin doesn't need any more complications in her life she already has to contend with a broken family, living independently and a boyfriend who rarely has time for her anymore. When Trent Maddox crashes into her life with no apologies but only a determined effort to stick by her side, Cami has no choice but to allow a friendship to develop. Trenton Maddox has always had a soft spot for the fiery independent Cami and he's ready to make his move and if all she is offering is friendship then he will work on the rest. They both believe that they can maintain a platonic friendship but this Maddox brother had fallen hard and fast and Cami soon realises that she may not be able to live without this determined brother in her life.
What did I love?
Jamie McGuire is undoubtably the queen of the New Adult romance genre. She creates stories and characters that stick with me long after I've finished with her books. 'Beatiful oblivion' aside from anything else about it has delivered yet another perfect Maddox brother and although the story overall may not have won me over entirely this Maddox brother certainly has. Unlike so many new adult books I found myself amused by the heroines antics, she was independent, fiery and gave as good as she got. Her decisions were sometimes a little off centre but overall I liked her sassy nature. It was also impressive to see the story played out in the same time line as the 'Beautiful' series, it made me smile as the author introduced snippets of those characters into this story and I can admit I felt nostalgic over my first love with a Maddox brother. The attraction, lust and friendship was believable between the couple and I also appreciated that the 'L' word wasn't thrown around too soon in the books development. Overall this was a truthfully enjoyable Maddox experience that at times made my heart pound and smile. It also had those tug at your heart moments that can only be achieved through a love of an authors characters. I'll always be looking forward to this authors releases and I'm hoping future Maddox books will reach that full out five star standard.
Why not five?
Let me start off by giving a reminder that a three star rating from myself means it was likeable but not quite loveable. 'Beautiful oblivion' had a very tempting hero and I can admit that at least one of my three stars is dedicated all to Trent himself, he definitely was the star of the show and once again Jamie McGuire proved that she can create characters for her fan base to fall straight into love with. Like all best selling authors there is a great expectation for readers to fall in love with their books especially if you've loved the authors previous work and although 'Beautiful oblivion' had it's moments where I loved it overall the storyline didn't grab me in a way that I had anticipated it to instead it felt drawn out and dare I say a little boring. No doubt this author has a library full worth of talent but sadly in this instance the book didn't fully agree with my tastes. However all is not lost as I can see from other reviews over Goodreads that I'm a little in the minority and there are plenty of five star reviews to keep true fans of Jamie McGuire happy.
Final thoughts ...
When you've created a book that had the abundant success that Beautiful Disaster and it's companion novels had then I can't imagine that it's easy to respond to the hype and love with a follow up book. Jamie McGuire is an author who will always be thought of fondly by myself as the author who brought the reading community the unforgettable Travis Maddox. Similarly here this author has again created a character that certainly got the heart pounding, Travis Maddox was undeniably loveable and I doubt there will be many readers who won't feel the same. Lovers of this series need to read this book to find out for themselves if it hits the McGuire spot but for me although I liked the book and have no regrets reading it, it won't be a novel that I'll be revisiting again. The book is now available, go grab it readers ... Enjoy kisses.
*ARC generously provided by Simon & Schuster via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
“I was in trouble. Big, disastrous, Maddox trouble.”
I was beyond excited to start this most anticipated book, it feels like so long ago when Jamie McGuire announced that she would be writing a series involving the Maddox brothers and since then I've been more than ready to fall in love once again with one of this authors beautifully damaged heroes. 'Beautiful oblivion' is a complicated love story with plenty of swoon and sexy to go with it. It didn't quite reach my five star rating but I still felt like I enjoyed my Maddox fix, here's to authors we love and characters that we can't help but adore.
What's it all about?
Camille Camlin doesn't need any more complications in her life she already has to contend with a broken family, living independently and a boyfriend who rarely has time for her anymore. When Trent Maddox crashes into her life with no apologies but only a determined effort to stick by her side, Cami has no choice but to allow a friendship to develop. Trenton Maddox has always had a soft spot for the fiery independent Cami and he's ready to make his move and if all she is offering is friendship then he will work on the rest. They both believe that they can maintain a platonic friendship but this Maddox brother had fallen hard and fast and Cami soon realises that she may not be able to live without this determined brother in her life.
What did I love?
Jamie McGuire is undoubtably the queen of the New Adult romance genre. She creates stories and characters that stick with me long after I've finished with her books. 'Beatiful oblivion' aside from anything else about it has delivered yet another perfect Maddox brother and although the story overall may not have won me over entirely this Maddox brother certainly has. Unlike so many new adult books I found myself amused by the heroines antics, she was independent, fiery and gave as good as she got. Her decisions were sometimes a little off centre but overall I liked her sassy nature. It was also impressive to see the story played out in the same time line as the 'Beautiful' series, it made me smile as the author introduced snippets of those characters into this story and I can admit I felt nostalgic over my first love with a Maddox brother. The attraction, lust and friendship was believable between the couple and I also appreciated that the 'L' word wasn't thrown around too soon in the books development. Overall this was a truthfully enjoyable Maddox experience that at times made my heart pound and smile. It also had those tug at your heart moments that can only be achieved through a love of an authors characters. I'll always be looking forward to this authors releases and I'm hoping future Maddox books will reach that full out five star standard.
Why not five?
Let me start off by giving a reminder that a three star rating from myself means it was likeable but not quite loveable. 'Beautiful oblivion' had a very tempting hero and I can admit that at least one of my three stars is dedicated all to Trent himself, he definitely was the star of the show and once again Jamie McGuire proved that she can create characters for her fan base to fall straight into love with. Like all best selling authors there is a great expectation for readers to fall in love with their books especially if you've loved the authors previous work and although 'Beautiful oblivion' had it's moments where I loved it overall the storyline didn't grab me in a way that I had anticipated it to instead it felt drawn out and dare I say a little boring. No doubt this author has a library full worth of talent but sadly in this instance the book didn't fully agree with my tastes. However all is not lost as I can see from other reviews over Goodreads that I'm a little in the minority and there are plenty of five star reviews to keep true fans of Jamie McGuire happy.
Final thoughts ...
When you've created a book that had the abundant success that Beautiful Disaster and it's companion novels had then I can't imagine that it's easy to respond to the hype and love with a follow up book. Jamie McGuire is an author who will always be thought of fondly by myself as the author who brought the reading community the unforgettable Travis Maddox. Similarly here this author has again created a character that certainly got the heart pounding, Travis Maddox was undeniably loveable and I doubt there will be many readers who won't feel the same. Lovers of this series need to read this book to find out for themselves if it hits the McGuire spot but for me although I liked the book and have no regrets reading it, it won't be a novel that I'll be revisiting again. The book is now available, go grab it readers ... Enjoy kisses.
*ARC generously provided by Simon & Schuster via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
July 29, 2014
I really, really don't want to write a review for this book. After reading Beautiful Disaster, and it completely stealing my heart, I could not wait for more Maddox brothers. Like, look at the bottom of this review, I was completely pumped!! However, this one sort of fell flat for me. I know, I know, don't start stalking me down with revenge planned out, I'm only one person, but IMO it just didn't compare to Travis' book not as far as storyline, but (runs and hides) quality. :(
I don't know, I just couldn't connect. :( Cami was hard to like. I kept thinking how much better off Trenton would be moving on from her. Yes, there are aspects of her life that make her sort of a tough cookie, but sometimes she almost just seemed hard to get along with. The best way I can explain how I felt was somethings moved way to fast and then others were beyond slow. Like, just my opinion, but what a weird first tattoo she just randomly decided to get. I understand being compulsive and getting one, but that tatt was so weird for a first. Anybody agree?? And then it was only mentioned one more time. A tattoo like that, I'm assuming, doesn't get ignored and not questioned. But then, her moving on from T.J. seemed to take forever. I don't know, it just didn't seem at the same level as Beautiful Disaster. :/
NOW, the thing that totally threw me for a loop, was the end. The whole book I kept trying to figure out what was the deal with T.J. OMG, totally did not have what was really up with him pegged. I had to re-read the ending to actually process it all. Well done, Jamie McGuire, that was one hell of a twist. I feel like I need to re-read the whole book again now, so I can see where I had missed it or something. Very, very Clever!!
And Trenton?? He was very very sweet, don't get me wrong, but sometimes he was so sweet he almost came across as...dare I say...desperate?? I mean Cami straight up walked all over him and he was still just waiting for her to come back to him. I'm not trying to be mean here, really I'm not. I guess I just like my men a little more alpha.
I honestly think, this could've been a majorly good book, something just felt like it was missing. Seriously, maybe even some POV from Trenton could've made the whole story. I loved seeing another side to Abby and Travis, of course, and totally can't wait to see what Maddox brother is next in the line up. I may have my thoughts but we will wait and see. I hated not giving this 5 stars, really truly hated it, but I'm hoping the next in the series will make up for it. :)
Previous to Release reactions.....
Hell to tha yeah!! More from Jamie McGuire and the Maddox family!!! Something to definitely party about!!! :)
Well, since I'm here alone, it was probably more like this...
But in my head we all got together for the party up above!!!! :)
I don't know, I just couldn't connect. :( Cami was hard to like. I kept thinking how much better off Trenton would be moving on from her. Yes, there are aspects of her life that make her sort of a tough cookie, but sometimes she almost just seemed hard to get along with. The best way I can explain how I felt was somethings moved way to fast and then others were beyond slow. Like, just my opinion, but what a weird first tattoo she just randomly decided to get. I understand being compulsive and getting one, but that tatt was so weird for a first. Anybody agree?? And then it was only mentioned one more time. A tattoo like that, I'm assuming, doesn't get ignored and not questioned. But then, her moving on from T.J. seemed to take forever. I don't know, it just didn't seem at the same level as Beautiful Disaster. :/
NOW, the thing that totally threw me for a loop, was the end. The whole book I kept trying to figure out what was the deal with T.J. OMG, totally did not have what was really up with him pegged. I had to re-read the ending to actually process it all. Well done, Jamie McGuire, that was one hell of a twist. I feel like I need to re-read the whole book again now, so I can see where I had missed it or something. Very, very Clever!!
And Trenton?? He was very very sweet, don't get me wrong, but sometimes he was so sweet he almost came across as...dare I say...desperate?? I mean Cami straight up walked all over him and he was still just waiting for her to come back to him. I'm not trying to be mean here, really I'm not. I guess I just like my men a little more alpha.
I honestly think, this could've been a majorly good book, something just felt like it was missing. Seriously, maybe even some POV from Trenton could've made the whole story. I loved seeing another side to Abby and Travis, of course, and totally can't wait to see what Maddox brother is next in the line up. I may have my thoughts but we will wait and see. I hated not giving this 5 stars, really truly hated it, but I'm hoping the next in the series will make up for it. :)
Previous to Release reactions.....
Hell to tha yeah!! More from Jamie McGuire and the Maddox family!!! Something to definitely party about!!! :)
Well, since I'm here alone, it was probably more like this...
But in my head we all got together for the party up above!!!! :)
June 11, 2015
Pre-read: Screw it...I'm taking one for the team. Again. >.<
Post-read: Review coming. I'm probably going to end up breaking the review limit for this book again, but - there's a lot to discuss and much I found wrong with this book, probably in some familiar ways as well as some new issues that decided to rear with this particular book.
Also, the "twist" ending? That was a cheap shot man. >.< But this read was full of cheap shots, and it made the read so manufactured that I feel cheated for the reading experience.
Full review:
This review's going to be equal parts personal reflection, debate with talking points, and maybe more than a few spoonfuls of sugary snark. I kind of need the latter to cushion the rough read that this was. Admittedly, this wasn't as rough a read as "Beautiful Disaster" and "Walking Disaster" - because if there's one compliment I can give to Jamie McGuire, she actually tackled two of the biggest weaknesses in this book among narratives I've read from her thus far: character development/motivation and setting. That said, I don't know if that was as much of an improvement for the narrative since the read itself transitioned into something of a "same script, different cast" measure. It felt like McGuire tried to backtrack and establish a lot of things that BD and WD did not do and should have done.
Before I get too far ahead, let me kind of establish how I came about reading a copy this book. I was going to "drive-by" this read too, much like I did for "A Beautiful Wedding" (i.e. spend an hour in my local campus bookstore and peruse it for however long it took me to read it). But I happened to run into a woman who actually took the time to buy this book from the new releases and had a small conversation with her. I've talked with her before, because we've seen each other in the campus bookstore and have chatted up more than a few times to have a friendly rapport. She's around my age, slightly older.
She's familiar with the New Adult "genre", and she'd also read "Beautiful Disaster" (which she was not too happy with). Her previous experiences with NA have been pretty hit and miss as well. (She liked Rebecca Donovan's "Reason to Breathe" and Cara Cormack's "Faking It" - reads I rec'd her a while back. She hated Tamarra Webber's "Easy", she liked Katie McGarry's "Pushing the Limits" series, and she didn't like any of Kim Karr's "Connections" series. Those were the ones she mentioned that I was familiar with, but she'd read many others that I hadn't heard of and I might end up reading for myself - for various reasons.)
She decided to give Jamie McGuire a second chance with this read - skipping "Walking Disaster" because she heard it was a rehash of the first book and only from the hero's perspective. She told me she was nervous about reading it, and I told her that was one of the reasons I was debating reading it at all, because I'd read quite a bit of the author's previous work and had been less than impressed I told her that I'd probably read it anyway so that I could "take one for the team" and add a different perspective for reaction to the narrative. Also because my curiosity doesn't let me sit out reads, even when I'm likely to say "Ugh, I've had it. Never again."
That's when she said (paraphrased): "In that case, why don't you read it before me? You can borrow my copy. We can talk about it, and if I don't like it, I know who I can give it to once I finish."
And the look on my face could probably rival a lot of anime reactions.
Case in point:
That was a generous (and very sweet) offer I couldn't turn down. Unlike a lot of NA environments, people on college campuses can be very warm and friendly and likely to chat with you or do things like this. I should know, I live and work close to a few. Suffice to say, I'm going to have a lot to talk with her about after finishing this. But I told her if she didn't like it that she didn't have to give it to me, she could just take it back to the bookstore (we have a very generous return policy at the bookstore here), and buy a book she loved with the money instead. And I knew that after reading this book, I would need a therapy trip to the bookstore myself (I'll probably go on a mini-book buying binge after the holiday).
So I started reading "Beautiful Oblivion" on release day (July 1st) and finished it yesterday (July 3rd). Dude...I have a ton of reactions to this on an overarching note, and to say it was both awkward and deja-vu is an understatement.
I have to be honest: evaluating this narrative for what it offered, I'm convinced that Jamie McGuire, at least in the scheme of writing contemporary romance, is no more than a one-trick pony, if even that. While there were narrative improvements with this beginning book to the Maddox brothers series, "Beautiful Oblivion" could really be cut of the same cloth as "Beautiful Disaster" and "Walking Disaster." This read was less trainwreck for tone, a little more mature in the writing and presentation, but not so much for events and for what I saw and noted to be manipulative ways of storytelling. I will explain shortly.
I took quite a bit of mental and digital notes for this book, so I'm going to give you guys a brief rundown of the similarities that this book has with "Beautiful Disaster":
- Girl next door protagonist (Abby/Cami): Plain Jane heroine who comes from a big family with an abrasive father figure. Where have we heard this one before? And what's with McGuire's repeated focus on bad father figures? I saw this in "Providence", saw it in BD/WD, and then here in the heroine's life for "Beautiful Oblivion?" Dude...you can write a different scenario. It's not that hard.
- The "bitchy" best friend: (America/Ragan): As much as I tend to like feisty best friend figures, this one was a little too close for voice and comfort, in my opinion. Sure, Ragan's/Ray's a different character to her own experience, but I kept getting deja-vu vibes of America's voice from BD/WD. America is actually a character in this book too, and that's a problem I'll get into later. But I'll admit I had a laugh because I kept thinking of this song whenever Ray came into the narrative. Probably to distract me from the times when she annoyed the ever loving heck out of me.
- "Good guys are bad, bad guys are good" trope: This is something that annoyed me in BD/WD and bothered me in this narrative as well - you have guys who treat their S.O.s well, but the S.O. characters end up going with the people who treat them like utter crap for very little rhyme or reason as to why. And it's usually portrayed in a cheating scenario where the "good" figure is portrayed in a "bad" light. In BD, Abby had a guy who treated her well (Parker), but she ended up going with Travis, who repeatedly treated her like crap (at least until the moment he was threatened with the idea of losing her, I guess). In this book, there's two concurrent relationships of this type going on, namely Cami/T.J./Trent and Ray/"Brazil"/Kody. It's three way love triangles that are pretty much pure drama, one of them with a twist that is only revealed at the very. last. page. (And that was the biggest piece of manipulative crap I got from this narrative).
And this doesn't make much sense to me. I get that people have their flaws and that people in real life do gravitate towards people who aren't very "good" for them, but why play this up so much? And "bad boys" aren't good - there's a reason why they're called bad. I like a good antihero just as much as the next gushing fangirl, but even I'm getting tired of these thinly drawn scenarios and characters where I can't even see how these "bad boys" have any appeal to the people who like them. And it has to go beyond a hot body or some surface details to convince me (more on this in a little bit).
- Punch happy party!: Dude, I don't know many guys who would drop everything just to be able to punch people just at the slightest insinuation of conflict. For one, punching people hurts. You don't want to do it unless you absolutely have to do so in real life. But in BD/WD/BO - everybody's punching everybody in here. You insult my girl? *punch* You get in the way of my family? *punch* You try to take my girlfriend? *punch* Domestic abuse scenarios, in which the wife and family, even older children, keep silent and suffer the blows of the dominant father figure? *punch*
This is not healthy.
- "It's the Travis and Abby Show! Starring Travis Maddox and Abby (Pigeon) Abernathy!": I say this in a cheesy, advertisement type way because that's what the presentation feels like. This book is yet another retelling of "Beautiful Disaster" - just with different characters at the reins.
Or are they? I was under the impression that this was Trent and Cami's story. But oh no, McGuire won't have that, because Abby and Travis have to pop up in some congratulatory or glorifying form or fashion throughout this narrative. It wasn't so bad in the beginning of the novel, but as the novel continued, I had the sickening feeling that these characters would be like "Whack-A-Mole!" gophers popping up. What's worse is that McGuire uses the new characters to affectionately prop up both Abby and Travis. "Oh those Maddox Boys! Everyone wants to sleep with them" and "Look at their groupies," and "Oh, this girl has Travis pussy-whipped." (paraphrased, referring to Abby) It wasn't cute from the first instance, and it certainly wasn't cute by the 20th reference (there were more than this). I tried to tune it out, but I couldn't, and it really bothered me in the narrative.
Look, Travis and Abby already had their stories. I'm not shy about telling them to GTFO and let the stage cede to the people this narrative's supposed to be focusing on. And I'm not manipulated into thinking that the references to Travis and Abby are supposed to make them more endearing to me. Nope, they weren't. The references were just extremely annoying and repetitious for the most part, because it was forced down my throat what I was supposed to think about them. McGuire still hasn't learned to keep authorial intrusions/Mary Sue/Gary Stu-isms out of the narrative.
But those are just some of the similarities, among others that I don't have the space to cover in this review. With that in mind, let me get to the heart of what this story's about.
Cami's 22 and a college student busy with studies, distancing herself from her domineering father, abrasive brothers, and meek mother (her poor mother). She has a very loyal boyfriend, but in a long distance relationship (her boyfriend's out in California). So when the boy's away, the girl's affections will play.
Enter Trent/Trenton Maddox. I'll say this about Trent, I liked following him a heck of a lot more than Travis, but he's really no better of a character than Travis was. He's just more subtle in his manipulations of the heroine.
This is a dude who knows Cami already has a boyfriend, but he just doesn't care who the guy is. He'll use anything to have an excuse in meeting up with her. Even bring his five year old neighbor (Olive) as a bargaining chip and say "Oh, I'm babysitting her." Luckily, Cami calls him out on this, but while I liked Olive's character - she's cute and I like kid characters in adult narratives - I didn't like the manipulation involved with her character. I also didn't like Trent's overprotectiveness and trying to dictate Cami's life in some measures. His gestures might seem friendly (between him jumping the gun and telling her to move in with him and telling Cami's boss she was taking the day off from work to be with Trent), I think it's a characteristic that all the Maddox boys must be into not treating their S.O.'s as equals to be consulted or asked for their opinions. Oy vey.
Cami's a fiesty character, and there were parts I liked her voice, though not enough to endear me to her since I kind of saw her as Abby 2.0. And she strings along Trent and T.J. for their affections through quite a bit of the narrative, with a jaw-dropping secret (supposedly) that would supposedly throw their relationships out of balance. Can you guess? Think about it. Arguably it's just as bad as the so called epilogue of Walking Disaster, but this is formatted in the hint of a so called "twist" that's supposed to be suspenseful. Ready?
Ha...haha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...No, dude, that's not clever at all. I kept asking "What was the big secret that Cami had that would keep her from being with Trent? Even after she broke up with T.J., though it was a long drawn out journey for them to actually call it quits."
When that reveal was made, I ended up getting a bad taste in my mouth about the whole narrative and the way it progressed up to that point. It was really awkward the way it was done for the main story reveal. I get that McGuire's trying to mess with my head through the narrative, but it's more that it's giving me more mindaches than mindblows.
As for the side stories, there are a lot of side characters in this narrative, some of them with interesting backgrounds, others not. The only side character I actually liked was Kody, and I felt so sorry for him. This was a guy who really liked Cami's best friend, Ray, but she treated him like utter crap, dumping him for Jason Brazil and letting Brazil use her even when Kody still loved her. It's a love triangle that parallels the main one, just in a different way, and I mentioned why that was a problem earlier on.
America, Shep, Abby and Travis all make appearances here, but their features tend to overshadow the main characters of this story and that's not a good thing if you're trying to make the focal characters a priority in the narrative. I could've done with maybe a few references for familiarity, but this was just too much. Too forced, too manufactured, too FAKE.
In the end, "Beautiful Oblivion" had very few redeeming points and felt like a rehash even when it had another story to tell. The characters were cookie cutter despite having some background and motivation, mostly because the emotions are force fed and making you think what you should feel about the relationships and scenarios here.
I don't know if I'll follow the series from here on out, but honestly - it wasn't a good start. Not at all. I'm still having to wash the stink this left in my head and I'll probably be doing so for a while after (a not-so-subtle diss considering the initials to this work are B.O. I'll leave you to ponder that and with this song, because that's an oddly appropriate tune for the broken relationships in this narrative.)
Overall score: 1/5 stars
Post-read: Review coming. I'm probably going to end up breaking the review limit for this book again, but - there's a lot to discuss and much I found wrong with this book, probably in some familiar ways as well as some new issues that decided to rear with this particular book.
Also, the "twist" ending? That was a cheap shot man. >.< But this read was full of cheap shots, and it made the read so manufactured that I feel cheated for the reading experience.
Full review:
This review's going to be equal parts personal reflection, debate with talking points, and maybe more than a few spoonfuls of sugary snark. I kind of need the latter to cushion the rough read that this was. Admittedly, this wasn't as rough a read as "Beautiful Disaster" and "Walking Disaster" - because if there's one compliment I can give to Jamie McGuire, she actually tackled two of the biggest weaknesses in this book among narratives I've read from her thus far: character development/motivation and setting. That said, I don't know if that was as much of an improvement for the narrative since the read itself transitioned into something of a "same script, different cast" measure. It felt like McGuire tried to backtrack and establish a lot of things that BD and WD did not do and should have done.
Before I get too far ahead, let me kind of establish how I came about reading a copy this book. I was going to "drive-by" this read too, much like I did for "A Beautiful Wedding" (i.e. spend an hour in my local campus bookstore and peruse it for however long it took me to read it). But I happened to run into a woman who actually took the time to buy this book from the new releases and had a small conversation with her. I've talked with her before, because we've seen each other in the campus bookstore and have chatted up more than a few times to have a friendly rapport. She's around my age, slightly older.
She's familiar with the New Adult "genre", and she'd also read "Beautiful Disaster" (which she was not too happy with). Her previous experiences with NA have been pretty hit and miss as well. (She liked Rebecca Donovan's "Reason to Breathe" and Cara Cormack's "Faking It" - reads I rec'd her a while back. She hated Tamarra Webber's "Easy", she liked Katie McGarry's "Pushing the Limits" series, and she didn't like any of Kim Karr's "Connections" series. Those were the ones she mentioned that I was familiar with, but she'd read many others that I hadn't heard of and I might end up reading for myself - for various reasons.)
She decided to give Jamie McGuire a second chance with this read - skipping "Walking Disaster" because she heard it was a rehash of the first book and only from the hero's perspective. She told me she was nervous about reading it, and I told her that was one of the reasons I was debating reading it at all, because I'd read quite a bit of the author's previous work and had been less than impressed I told her that I'd probably read it anyway so that I could "take one for the team" and add a different perspective for reaction to the narrative. Also because my curiosity doesn't let me sit out reads, even when I'm likely to say "Ugh, I've had it. Never again."
That's when she said (paraphrased): "In that case, why don't you read it before me? You can borrow my copy. We can talk about it, and if I don't like it, I know who I can give it to once I finish."
And the look on my face could probably rival a lot of anime reactions.
Case in point:
That was a generous (and very sweet) offer I couldn't turn down. Unlike a lot of NA environments, people on college campuses can be very warm and friendly and likely to chat with you or do things like this. I should know, I live and work close to a few. Suffice to say, I'm going to have a lot to talk with her about after finishing this. But I told her if she didn't like it that she didn't have to give it to me, she could just take it back to the bookstore (we have a very generous return policy at the bookstore here), and buy a book she loved with the money instead. And I knew that after reading this book, I would need a therapy trip to the bookstore myself (I'll probably go on a mini-book buying binge after the holiday).
So I started reading "Beautiful Oblivion" on release day (July 1st) and finished it yesterday (July 3rd). Dude...I have a ton of reactions to this on an overarching note, and to say it was both awkward and deja-vu is an understatement.
I have to be honest: evaluating this narrative for what it offered, I'm convinced that Jamie McGuire, at least in the scheme of writing contemporary romance, is no more than a one-trick pony, if even that. While there were narrative improvements with this beginning book to the Maddox brothers series, "Beautiful Oblivion" could really be cut of the same cloth as "Beautiful Disaster" and "Walking Disaster." This read was less trainwreck for tone, a little more mature in the writing and presentation, but not so much for events and for what I saw and noted to be manipulative ways of storytelling. I will explain shortly.
I took quite a bit of mental and digital notes for this book, so I'm going to give you guys a brief rundown of the similarities that this book has with "Beautiful Disaster":
- Girl next door protagonist (Abby/Cami): Plain Jane heroine who comes from a big family with an abrasive father figure. Where have we heard this one before? And what's with McGuire's repeated focus on bad father figures? I saw this in "Providence", saw it in BD/WD, and then here in the heroine's life for "Beautiful Oblivion?" Dude...you can write a different scenario. It's not that hard.
- The "bitchy" best friend: (America/Ragan): As much as I tend to like feisty best friend figures, this one was a little too close for voice and comfort, in my opinion. Sure, Ragan's/Ray's a different character to her own experience, but I kept getting deja-vu vibes of America's voice from BD/WD. America is actually a character in this book too, and that's a problem I'll get into later. But I'll admit I had a laugh because I kept thinking of this song whenever Ray came into the narrative. Probably to distract me from the times when she annoyed the ever loving heck out of me.
- "Good guys are bad, bad guys are good" trope: This is something that annoyed me in BD/WD and bothered me in this narrative as well - you have guys who treat their S.O.s well, but the S.O. characters end up going with the people who treat them like utter crap for very little rhyme or reason as to why. And it's usually portrayed in a cheating scenario where the "good" figure is portrayed in a "bad" light. In BD, Abby had a guy who treated her well (Parker), but she ended up going with Travis, who repeatedly treated her like crap (at least until the moment he was threatened with the idea of losing her, I guess). In this book, there's two concurrent relationships of this type going on, namely Cami/T.J./Trent and Ray/"Brazil"/Kody. It's three way love triangles that are pretty much pure drama, one of them with a twist that is only revealed at the very. last. page. (And that was the biggest piece of manipulative crap I got from this narrative).
And this doesn't make much sense to me. I get that people have their flaws and that people in real life do gravitate towards people who aren't very "good" for them, but why play this up so much? And "bad boys" aren't good - there's a reason why they're called bad. I like a good antihero just as much as the next gushing fangirl, but even I'm getting tired of these thinly drawn scenarios and characters where I can't even see how these "bad boys" have any appeal to the people who like them. And it has to go beyond a hot body or some surface details to convince me (more on this in a little bit).
- Punch happy party!: Dude, I don't know many guys who would drop everything just to be able to punch people just at the slightest insinuation of conflict. For one, punching people hurts. You don't want to do it unless you absolutely have to do so in real life. But in BD/WD/BO - everybody's punching everybody in here. You insult my girl? *punch* You get in the way of my family? *punch* You try to take my girlfriend? *punch* Domestic abuse scenarios, in which the wife and family, even older children, keep silent and suffer the blows of the dominant father figure? *punch*
This is not healthy.
- "It's the Travis and Abby Show! Starring Travis Maddox and Abby (Pigeon) Abernathy!": I say this in a cheesy, advertisement type way because that's what the presentation feels like. This book is yet another retelling of "Beautiful Disaster" - just with different characters at the reins.
Or are they? I was under the impression that this was Trent and Cami's story. But oh no, McGuire won't have that, because Abby and Travis have to pop up in some congratulatory or glorifying form or fashion throughout this narrative. It wasn't so bad in the beginning of the novel, but as the novel continued, I had the sickening feeling that these characters would be like "Whack-A-Mole!" gophers popping up. What's worse is that McGuire uses the new characters to affectionately prop up both Abby and Travis. "Oh those Maddox Boys! Everyone wants to sleep with them" and "Look at their groupies," and "Oh, this girl has Travis pussy-whipped." (paraphrased, referring to Abby) It wasn't cute from the first instance, and it certainly wasn't cute by the 20th reference (there were more than this). I tried to tune it out, but I couldn't, and it really bothered me in the narrative.
Look, Travis and Abby already had their stories. I'm not shy about telling them to GTFO and let the stage cede to the people this narrative's supposed to be focusing on. And I'm not manipulated into thinking that the references to Travis and Abby are supposed to make them more endearing to me. Nope, they weren't. The references were just extremely annoying and repetitious for the most part, because it was forced down my throat what I was supposed to think about them. McGuire still hasn't learned to keep authorial intrusions/Mary Sue/Gary Stu-isms out of the narrative.
But those are just some of the similarities, among others that I don't have the space to cover in this review. With that in mind, let me get to the heart of what this story's about.
Cami's 22 and a college student busy with studies, distancing herself from her domineering father, abrasive brothers, and meek mother (her poor mother). She has a very loyal boyfriend, but in a long distance relationship (her boyfriend's out in California). So when the boy's away, the girl's affections will play.
Enter Trent/Trenton Maddox. I'll say this about Trent, I liked following him a heck of a lot more than Travis, but he's really no better of a character than Travis was. He's just more subtle in his manipulations of the heroine.
This is a dude who knows Cami already has a boyfriend, but he just doesn't care who the guy is. He'll use anything to have an excuse in meeting up with her. Even bring his five year old neighbor (Olive) as a bargaining chip and say "Oh, I'm babysitting her." Luckily, Cami calls him out on this, but while I liked Olive's character - she's cute and I like kid characters in adult narratives - I didn't like the manipulation involved with her character. I also didn't like Trent's overprotectiveness and trying to dictate Cami's life in some measures. His gestures might seem friendly (between him jumping the gun and telling her to move in with him and telling Cami's boss she was taking the day off from work to be with Trent), I think it's a characteristic that all the Maddox boys must be into not treating their S.O.'s as equals to be consulted or asked for their opinions. Oy vey.
Cami's a fiesty character, and there were parts I liked her voice, though not enough to endear me to her since I kind of saw her as Abby 2.0. And she strings along Trent and T.J. for their affections through quite a bit of the narrative, with a jaw-dropping secret (supposedly) that would supposedly throw their relationships out of balance. Can you guess? Think about it. Arguably it's just as bad as the so called epilogue of Walking Disaster, but this is formatted in the hint of a so called "twist" that's supposed to be suspenseful. Ready?
Ha...haha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...No, dude, that's not clever at all. I kept asking "What was the big secret that Cami had that would keep her from being with Trent? Even after she broke up with T.J., though it was a long drawn out journey for them to actually call it quits."
When that reveal was made, I ended up getting a bad taste in my mouth about the whole narrative and the way it progressed up to that point. It was really awkward the way it was done for the main story reveal. I get that McGuire's trying to mess with my head through the narrative, but it's more that it's giving me more mindaches than mindblows.
As for the side stories, there are a lot of side characters in this narrative, some of them with interesting backgrounds, others not. The only side character I actually liked was Kody, and I felt so sorry for him. This was a guy who really liked Cami's best friend, Ray, but she treated him like utter crap, dumping him for Jason Brazil and letting Brazil use her even when Kody still loved her. It's a love triangle that parallels the main one, just in a different way, and I mentioned why that was a problem earlier on.
America, Shep, Abby and Travis all make appearances here, but their features tend to overshadow the main characters of this story and that's not a good thing if you're trying to make the focal characters a priority in the narrative. I could've done with maybe a few references for familiarity, but this was just too much. Too forced, too manufactured, too FAKE.
In the end, "Beautiful Oblivion" had very few redeeming points and felt like a rehash even when it had another story to tell. The characters were cookie cutter despite having some background and motivation, mostly because the emotions are force fed and making you think what you should feel about the relationships and scenarios here.
I don't know if I'll follow the series from here on out, but honestly - it wasn't a good start. Not at all. I'm still having to wash the stink this left in my head and I'll probably be doing so for a while after (a not-so-subtle diss considering the initials to this work are B.O. I'll leave you to ponder that and with this song, because that's an oddly appropriate tune for the broken relationships in this narrative.)
Overall score: 1/5 stars
Shelved as 'z-2014'
January 7, 2016
Oh my GOD!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D
We get a cover, blurb and DATE!!!!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Thomas' book :D *happy dance*
LOVE THE MADDOX CLAN
The Maddox Brothers series.
Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.
Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.
Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.
As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.
In the first installment of the Maddox Brothers books, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.
SO FUCKING KICKED AND EXCITED. CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS. NEED THIS BOOK LIKE FUCKING NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
We get a cover, blurb and DATE!!!!!!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Thomas' book :D *happy dance*
LOVE THE MADDOX CLAN
The Maddox Brothers series.
Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.
Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.
Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.
As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.
In the first installment of the Maddox Brothers books, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.
SO FUCKING KICKED AND EXCITED. CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS. NEED THIS BOOK LIKE FUCKING NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
August 16, 2018
4 Maddox Brother ★'s
“Anything to do with the Maddoxes is never boring.”
This Couldn't be any more accurate!!
I was so ecstatic when I learned Jamie McGuire was doing a spinoff series for all the Maddox brothers! I was a little worried though because I wasn't sure that I could truly love Trenton like I love Travis. But let's face it, it's impossible NOT to fall in love with any Maddox!! These boys are... IRRESISTIBLE! I can't say I loved Trenton more than Travis because that'd be crazy. But I really did fall for another Maddox! I can't believe Beautiful Oblivion was as good as it was. Almost as good as Beautiful Disaster but it did lack a bit... I gave it 4 ★'s because I just didn't LOVE Cami as much as I had hoped. She kinda got on my nerves and most of the book was Trent begging to be with a girl that really didn't seem to want him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ !! I didn't like her much. For ME she didn't come close to Abby :( therefore I could not bring myself to give it the full 5 ★'s. I really did enjoy this book a lot and it held my whole attention. I didn't wanna put it down for anything! McGuire sure has a way with her writing, the characters are special and the individual stories are always captivating and addictive. Beautiful Oblivion really had a lot to live up to next to Beautiful Disaster and I must say I think it did pretty well for the most part. One of the things I love the most is how I'm always blown away by the power of a Maddoxes love for their women. When a Maddox falls in love, he loves forever. This was such a beautiful story and I did not see that ending coming. WTH!!! I recommend this to everyone! Truly amazing!!!
“It means I'm a fuckup, but I'm going to get it figured out. I swear. Just... don't give up on me, okay?”
“I am the one, Cami. I’m it for you. I know because you’re it for me.”
“Anything to do with the Maddoxes is never boring.”
This Couldn't be any more accurate!!
I was so ecstatic when I learned Jamie McGuire was doing a spinoff series for all the Maddox brothers! I was a little worried though because I wasn't sure that I could truly love Trenton like I love Travis. But let's face it, it's impossible NOT to fall in love with any Maddox!! These boys are... IRRESISTIBLE! I can't say I loved Trenton more than Travis because that'd be crazy. But I really did fall for another Maddox! I can't believe Beautiful Oblivion was as good as it was. Almost as good as Beautiful Disaster but it did lack a bit... I gave it 4 ★'s because I just didn't LOVE Cami as much as I had hoped. She kinda got on my nerves and most of the book was Trent begging to be with a girl that really didn't seem to want him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ !! I didn't like her much. For ME she didn't come close to Abby :( therefore I could not bring myself to give it the full 5 ★'s. I really did enjoy this book a lot and it held my whole attention. I didn't wanna put it down for anything! McGuire sure has a way with her writing, the characters are special and the individual stories are always captivating and addictive. Beautiful Oblivion really had a lot to live up to next to Beautiful Disaster and I must say I think it did pretty well for the most part. One of the things I love the most is how I'm always blown away by the power of a Maddoxes love for their women. When a Maddox falls in love, he loves forever. This was such a beautiful story and I did not see that ending coming. WTH!!! I recommend this to everyone! Truly amazing!!!
“It means I'm a fuckup, but I'm going to get it figured out. I swear. Just... don't give up on me, okay?”
“I am the one, Cami. I’m it for you. I know because you’re it for me.”
June 10, 2018
3.5 Stars
Well now, that was one ”Say what?” endings!! Very intriguing to say the least, and now I am in need of answers!
Once again I was blown away by the unconditional love the Maddox brothers have for their women. This was Trenton Maddox story and I just wish I cared more for Trenton’s woman, Cami, than I did and also wish I would have enjoyed the storyline more.
I think I am still so hung over from reading the amazing story of Travis and Abby in “Beautiful Disaster” my expectations were probably way too high.
I will still continue with this series and look forward to reading more about the three remaining brothers. I mean, duh, they are as swoony as the dickens!
July 4, 2014
♥♥♥ 2.75 'I'm so sad' Stars ♥♥♥
*Le sigh* I don't know what to say about this one. I really don't want to dislike this one, but I am so disappointed. I absolutely LOVED Beautiful Disaster, and even enjoyed Walking Disaster a bit, only because it was in Travis's POV. So, when I hear his brother Trenton is getting a book, of course I'm freaking excited to read it. But after finishing it, I am still not sure what to rate it. It keeps changing from 2.5 to 3. We shall see what I decide.
My initial thoughts when starting the book, was that it wasn't bad. It starts off pretty good, and I did enjoy a few parts, but then something happens. I start to get this weird sense of Deja vu, and it's because I realize that this has a lot of similarities to Beautiful Disaster. I swear there are some conversations between them or things just said that Travis and Pigeon have to said to each other at one point or another. I even felt that in certain scenes these characters, Trenton and Cami, acted like Travis and Pigeon. I didn't mind that this book intertwined with Travis's book, but it was all just too similar. And I kind of didn't need to know what was going on with Travis when we already read his book.
I didn't feel Trenton and Cami had much of a connection, except for the initial wooing stage. After that, it just wasn't there for me. There were moments that did drag on a little. Especially the whole thing with T.J.'s secret. I also think the secondary characters were there in the same fashion they were in BD. They were there to cause drama and stuff. I also don't mind some extra drama, but I felt that the secondary characters were almost taking over what should be Trenton and Cami's book. The only problem is that I did not like Cami's best friend Ray at all. She was just...no. Did not like. I did like some characters, like Kody (who deserves SO much better) and Hazel (The badass piercing woman). So, not everyone was bad.
For the most part, I did like Cami, but she was also a bit annoying and stubborn. I did however, LOVE Trenton. I think he was awesome and sexy, as you expect a Maddox brother to be. He could also be very sweet and caring, I just wished Cami would have appreciated it more. I loved how amazing he was with Olive, who was so freaking adorable. Those moments made me melt completely!
I think I may have had my expectations too high...I don't know. I really freaking tried to love this book, like I know most will. I just think that Trenton's book needed more focus on his relationship with Cami, so we could see the build up and the relationship grow. And it definitely needed less drama from the other characters. I could have done without Ray being in it, but that's just me.
About the ending, if that was the big twist, then I think some characters should have reacted differently previous to this big reveal. Because it totally confused me that no one had freaked out before. I just didn't make sense at all, especially for people who saw T.J. All in all, I think it was just alright. These were the things that bugged me, but there were also a few good moments in the book that I did actually enjoy. I didn't love it, which saddens me deeply, but I REALLY do hope that if you give this a shot that you enjoy it WAY more than I did. I don't want to give up on this series, I really don't, so, I'm hoping the next Maddox brother book will be a whole lot better for me. I am going to continue to keep my fingers crossed.
July 2, 2014
4.5 Trent Stars
”It’s crazy feeling this happy…are you as happy as I am?”
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I completely devoured this book! It was a page turner, excitingly mysterious, angsty and had a limited amount of Pigeon scenes so for me it was good read!
Cami and her boyfriend T.J. barely see each other. They live in different states, his job is top secret while she is attending school and bartending at Red.
Jamie McGuire weaved Cami and Trent’s story amongst a large cast of characters and within the time frame of Abby and Travis’ story. The large cast of characters didn’t take from this story but added depth to the town and I’m sure for future books.
Cami and Trent had great chemistry and banter while she attempted to keep him in the friend zone.
”I was just thinking now was a good time as any to acknowledge that you’re perfect and it wouldn’t suck if you fell madly in love with me anytime soon.”
“I have a boyfriend,” I reminded him.
He waved me away. “Speed bump.”
When tragedy strikes and secrets are revealed…
”You’re going to find out. And when you do, it’s going to ruin everything.”
My only issue was Cami’s family dynamics weren’t resolved by the end which kind of left me wondering why. I thought her excessive amount of brothers and their kick ass mentality was a bit overboard (one brother would have been enough).
Amongst the friends at Red, Skin Deep and the college crowd, I enjoyed the story and all aspects and avenues that future plots could lead. There is a twist which I figured out very early, still the impact and the set up for future Maddox brother stories was laid out perfectly.
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”It’s crazy feeling this happy…are you as happy as I am?”
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I completely devoured this book! It was a page turner, excitingly mysterious, angsty and had a limited amount of Pigeon scenes so for me it was good read!
Cami and her boyfriend T.J. barely see each other. They live in different states, his job is top secret while she is attending school and bartending at Red.
Jamie McGuire weaved Cami and Trent’s story amongst a large cast of characters and within the time frame of Abby and Travis’ story. The large cast of characters didn’t take from this story but added depth to the town and I’m sure for future books.
Cami and Trent had great chemistry and banter while she attempted to keep him in the friend zone.
”I was just thinking now was a good time as any to acknowledge that you’re perfect and it wouldn’t suck if you fell madly in love with me anytime soon.”
“I have a boyfriend,” I reminded him.
He waved me away. “Speed bump.”
When tragedy strikes and secrets are revealed…
”You’re going to find out. And when you do, it’s going to ruin everything.”
My only issue was Cami’s family dynamics weren’t resolved by the end which kind of left me wondering why. I thought her excessive amount of brothers and their kick ass mentality was a bit overboard (one brother would have been enough).
Amongst the friends at Red, Skin Deep and the college crowd, I enjoyed the story and all aspects and avenues that future plots could lead. There is a twist which I figured out very early, still the impact and the set up for future Maddox brother stories was laid out perfectly.
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July 8, 2014
Reseña oficial, corta y sin spoilers XD: http://arcoirisdelibros.blogspot.com/...
1/5 porque Kody es demasiado genial al lado de todos los perdedores que salen en este libro.
Querida Jamie:
Cuando pensé que no podría existir algo peor que Beautiful Disaster vas y escribes Beautiful Oblivion. Beautiful Disaster es una “obra maestra” merecedora de premios y halagos si la pones al lado de Beautiful Oblivion. Con BD sentí algo que no siento muy seguido: ese repelús contra un libro que ciertamente es machista, y que muestra una relación destructiva y codependiente, pero también esa curiosidad morbosa de ver cómo terminaba ese train-wreck. Sentí curiosidad y en algunos momentos hasta pensé: tal vez, con un poco de terapiade electroshock y unos años en un manicomio Travis pueda convertirse en una persona medianamente decente. Incluso muchas veces pensé: Wow, si ignoras su lado-de-siquiátrico y sólo admiras sus abdominales y su actitud de perro guardián que seguro ayuda en una ciudad peligrosa, no está tan mal! Sí, en algunos momentos BD fue mi placer culposo, pero al final ganó el sentido común y fue una lectura mala que me mantuvo entretenida.
Lamentablemente con Beautiful Oblivion no sucedió eso, Jamie. Tal vez es porque ya estoy cansada de todos los wannabes de Travis que conocí después del verdadero y gran Travis, o tal vez es porque sencillamente te valió mierda copiar y seguir los patrones de tu propio (y más que mediocre) trabajo. Porque, tonta de mí, creí por un nanosegundo que todo lo que Travis y Trenton compartían era el ADN. Y también creí que Camille podría ser diferente a Abby…. Ni siquiera sé por qué lo creí.
Después de leer tuve que hacerme esta pregunta: ¿Perdí mi tiempo? Y la respuesta es clara, aunque no lo parezca: No, no lo perdí. Porque ahora tengo DOS enormes razones para decir que no eres la escritora para mí. Para decir que tu forma de escribir me parece bastante mediocre y que no entiendo el porqué del hype.
Ahora, Jamie, compartiré contigo lo que me molestó de tu libro:
1. Trent y Travis son prácticamente la misma persona. Lo que me lleva a preguntarme, ¿cómo el señor y la señora Maddox criaron a estos niños? O mejor, ¿de qué manera los crió el padre de estosengendros niños cuando se quedó viudo? Imagino cómo sería mientras crecían: 6 hombres temperamentales en una casa… Wow, simplemente wow.
Viendo a Travis yo pensé: Vale, es el pequeño, la oveja negra… Pero ahora dos hermanos violentos? Hmmm ya no empieza a ser una coincidencia… Y si después son tres, eh? Eso ya no sería nada divertido, porque sencillamente demostraría que 1) los genes Maddox no son de buena calidad, 2) que puede que el padre no haya hecho un buen trabajo, y no quería decirlo pero tengo que, 3) que tú no estás haciendo un buen trabajo. Te estás yendo por el camino fácil, Jamie, y si fuera tu fan estaría molesta. Pero no lo soy *shrugs*, así que te lo diré con mucho tacto: deja de escribir sobre lo mismo, mujer, que por eso terminan publicándose horrores como este. No vuelvas a copiar tu propio trabajo, no vuelvas a hacer un Travis 2.0 (Trent) ni una Abby 2.0 (Cami), porque es molesto y es como si no pusieras esfuerzo en darle algo interesante a tus fanáticos (y gente incauta que te lee por error… no yo, pero seguro habrá alguien), como si estuvieras aquí por el dinero, sabes? Y no querrás que la gente piense eso, verdad?
2. Cami es Abby sólo que más “jodida”. Vale, volvemos a lo mismo, Jamie. Cami es tan Abby que es imposible no odiarla: viene de una familia jodida, con un padre que es un HDP, nunca ha sido apreciada por un hombre, no se considera guapa (cuando, es obvio que es guapísima) y al parecer tiene una autoestima tan baja que simplemente necesita a un hombre a su lado. No, por favor. No más de estas protagonistas tontas con vidas “trágicas” que se creen independientes pero que en realidad sólo están esperando a atrapar un marido. Para mí, disfrazar a una chica como independiente para después verla saltar directo al matrimonio es jodidamente molesto (y no tengo nada en contra del matrimonio, sólo que estas chicas son jodidamente jóvenes para eso. Pero es mi opinión). Pero vale, que puede que eso sólo me pase a mí y puede que tus fanáticos amen este parecido entre tus protagonistas, estas relaciones y los matrimonios precipitados. A lo mejor por eso volviste a escribir sobre los mismos personajes, no? Porque los fanáticos los aman… Sólo por eso.
3. La relación Cami-Trent. Sabes algo, para mí fue bastante curioso cómo Cami se quejaba de sus padres, de su relación jodida, de cómo él la maltrató y maltrató a sus hijos durante tanto tiempo pero ella jamás lo dejó, cómo su mamá era una sumisa y su papá un bastardo y bla bla bla, pero ella termina en la misma situación con Trent. No es curioso, Jamie? Ella termina también con un hombre dominante que golpea a su padre y hermanos (no sé en qué momento combatir violencia con violencia se convirtió en la mejor solución a un conflicto), que golpea a cada hombre que intenta entablar una conversación con ella, que amenaza a su jefe por hablarle mal y que amenaza con matar a su exnovio por seguir llamándola…
…Wow, no es curioso, perturbador y (aunque suene morboso) divertido al mismo tiempo? Cómo Trent tiene un temperamento tan fuerte que en un momento dado está tan enojado que ella se encoge como reflejo… Quiero decir, obvio él no iba a golpearla, duh, pero como es que una pobre chica que fue expuesta a tanta violencia en casa termina saliendo con un hombre que puede ser, en un futuro, como su padre?… No es eso muy morboso? No es demasiado? O soy sólo yo la que ve esta situación como un problema?...
Así como soy sólo yo a la que le parece terrible que un hombre use a una niña de cinco años para obligar a una chica a salir con él? O a lo mejor por eso esa niña está ahí, para probar que Trent es violento pero JAMÁS tocaría a una mujer o una niña, así que no hay problema… O sólo estoy leyendo demasiado entre líneas?
Ahora, cómo se enamoraron estos dos? Siento que me perdí una parte de la historia, Jamie, de verdad lo creo así. En un momento él se acerca y finge que no se acuerda de ella, al siguiente se están texteando, él aparece en su casa (porque esa no es una actitud de acechador ni nada), y después empiezan a hablarse más y… EN TRES CAPÍTULOS SON MEJORES AMIGOS? WOW! Y unos capítulos más tarde él está pregonándole su amor e intentando besarla y acechándola aún cuando ella tiene novio? Wow, eso evolucionó rápido. A lo mejor me perdí de algún mensaje secreto, porque en realidad no sentí el amor de estos por ninguna parte. Ahhhhh seguro que es porque Trent ha estado enamorado de ella desde el jardín de niños! Ja, tonta de mí. Obvio eso era suficiente para demostrar que su amor, a la madura edad de veintidós años, era verdadero, real y para siempre *rolls eyes*.
3. Las historias de los protagonistas. Jamás nos explicas qué pasó con el accidente de Trenton, cómo lo cambió, cómo lo afectó, qué fue lo que pasó, por qué odia que alguien más que él conduzca… Digo, me hubiese gustado saber un poco más de eso, porque, si lo nombras es porque importaba en el argumento, no? Y por el otro lado está la familia deAbby Cami… God, pobre chica. De verdad me hubiese gustado que al menos su pobre madre se separara de ese horrible hombre! Ya sabes, el maltrato sicológico y físico no está bien y enseñarle eso a los lectores no estaría mal, no? Al menos dejar claro cómo terminó la familia de Cami. O que, al menos ella intentara mejorar la relación con su familia y no decidiera a escaparse de todo ese rollo.
4. Abby y Travis. Seguro tus fanáticas suspiraron cada vez que leyeron a Travis y Abby. Seguro que sí, y tú escribiste de ellos todo el tiempo porque querías calmar su sed de Travis. OBVIO! Pero, sabes, Jamie, no es por ser mala onda ni nada, pero me hubiese gustado que usaras esos momentos tan profundos entre Travis y Cami para profundizar la relación de ella con Trent. No hubiese sido eso AÚN MÁS GENIAL? No sé, es mi opinión, pero obvio es tu libro y tú sabes más que yo.
5. Reagan. Es lo mismo que con Abby y Travis. Quisiera decir que su triángulo amoroso fue súper interesante, pero no es así. Creo que perdiste demasiado tiempo en ese tire y afloje entre ellos y lo pudiste haber invertido en los protagonistas. Pero obvio Brazil es súper hot y necesita su propio libro *rolls eyes*
6. El secreto. *sighs* No era algo que me esperaba, de verdad, pero me pareció un movimiento tan absurdamente bajo. Quiero decir, qué carajos pasaba por tu cabeza al crear un triángulo amoroso entre hermanos? Y solucionarlo todo en la última línea… Me estás jodiendo, Jamie? Creo que con esto se rebasó la copa. Soporté todo lo anterior porque, aunque no era esa tu intensión, me reí un montón con los diálogos insulsos y las situaciones interesantísimas entre nuestros protagonistas… Pero eso del final, esa es la bajeza más grande de este libro.
CON. LA. FAMILIA. NO. SE. JUEGA.
LA. SANGRE. ES. MÁS. ESPESA. QUE. EL. AGUA.
Quiero decir, qué rayos pasaba por la cabeza de Cami cuando se enredó con Trent? QUÉ COÑO ESTABA PENSANDO? Qué mierda es esta? ES DRAMA BARATO. Eso no era lo que me esperaba y fue lo que decididamente mandó este libro al fondo de mi lista. Quiero decir, una chica jugando a dos bandas con dos hermanos? WOW. Y que al final todo quede como si nada? Me estás jodiendo? Pero qué coño tiene esta chica que nadie le cantó sus tres verdades? Pero qué pasaba por la cabeza del imbécil de Thomas para no decirle a Cami: Oye, puedes decirle a mi hermano que soy tu novio. I MEAN, WHAT. THE. FUCK. Y cómo es que él seguía apareciendo una y otra vez… Oye, Thomas que ella está follando con tu hermano, joder, déjala en paz. Súperalo. Vete a contar arena a las playas de California. Y Cami… joder, en serio? Seguro que ella no tiene honor.
Y Jamie, restarle importancia descubriendo todo en la última línea fue la bajeza más baja de todas. Yo creí que Real era la peor lectura de mi vida y entonces apareciste tú, BO.
Puedo seguir y seguir sobre cómo esto está mal y eso, pero la vdd ya no vale la pena. Ya lo hiciste, ya lo leí, ya lo sufrí, y Trent y Cami ya viven felices para siempre, así que ya qué… Ya saqué mi enojo interno.
Sólo quiero terminar esto, Jamie, diciéndote: no vuelvas a cometer el mismo error. El mundo literario no necesita más Travis Maddox. Ya le has hecho daño al NA, así que si de pronto tú, una de las pioneras del género, decide escribir sobre chicos buenos y geniales que no tienen problemas de ira, entonces tal vez las otras te seguirán como ovejitas y este se convertirá en un buen género.
Hasta que eso suceda renuncio a leer otra de tus brillantes historias con brillantes tipos violentos y lindas chicas independientes que se casan y se mudan con su novio después de una corta relación de cuatro meses.
Paz y espero que sigas disfrutando de tu vida.
Atentamente,
Kath S.
1/5 porque Kody es demasiado genial al lado de todos los perdedores que salen en este libro.
Querida Jamie:
Cuando pensé que no podría existir algo peor que Beautiful Disaster vas y escribes Beautiful Oblivion. Beautiful Disaster es una “obra maestra” merecedora de premios y halagos si la pones al lado de Beautiful Oblivion. Con BD sentí algo que no siento muy seguido: ese repelús contra un libro que ciertamente es machista, y que muestra una relación destructiva y codependiente, pero también esa curiosidad morbosa de ver cómo terminaba ese train-wreck. Sentí curiosidad y en algunos momentos hasta pensé: tal vez, con un poco de terapia
Lamentablemente con Beautiful Oblivion no sucedió eso, Jamie. Tal vez es porque ya estoy cansada de todos los wannabes de Travis que conocí después del verdadero y gran Travis, o tal vez es porque sencillamente te valió mierda copiar y seguir los patrones de tu propio (y más que mediocre) trabajo. Porque, tonta de mí, creí por un nanosegundo que todo lo que Travis y Trenton compartían era el ADN. Y también creí que Camille podría ser diferente a Abby…. Ni siquiera sé por qué lo creí.
Después de leer tuve que hacerme esta pregunta: ¿Perdí mi tiempo? Y la respuesta es clara, aunque no lo parezca: No, no lo perdí. Porque ahora tengo DOS enormes razones para decir que no eres la escritora para mí. Para decir que tu forma de escribir me parece bastante mediocre y que no entiendo el porqué del hype.
Ahora, Jamie, compartiré contigo lo que me molestó de tu libro:
1. Trent y Travis son prácticamente la misma persona. Lo que me lleva a preguntarme, ¿cómo el señor y la señora Maddox criaron a estos niños? O mejor, ¿de qué manera los crió el padre de estos
Viendo a Travis yo pensé: Vale, es el pequeño, la oveja negra… Pero ahora dos hermanos violentos? Hmmm ya no empieza a ser una coincidencia… Y si después son tres, eh? Eso ya no sería nada divertido, porque sencillamente demostraría que 1) los genes Maddox no son de buena calidad, 2) que puede que el padre no haya hecho un buen trabajo, y no quería decirlo pero tengo que, 3) que tú no estás haciendo un buen trabajo. Te estás yendo por el camino fácil, Jamie, y si fuera tu fan estaría molesta. Pero no lo soy *shrugs*, así que te lo diré con mucho tacto: deja de escribir sobre lo mismo, mujer, que por eso terminan publicándose horrores como este. No vuelvas a copiar tu propio trabajo, no vuelvas a hacer un Travis 2.0 (Trent) ni una Abby 2.0 (Cami), porque es molesto y es como si no pusieras esfuerzo en darle algo interesante a tus fanáticos (y gente incauta que te lee por error… no yo, pero seguro habrá alguien), como si estuvieras aquí por el dinero, sabes? Y no querrás que la gente piense eso, verdad?
2. Cami es Abby sólo que más “jodida”. Vale, volvemos a lo mismo, Jamie. Cami es tan Abby que es imposible no odiarla: viene de una familia jodida, con un padre que es un HDP, nunca ha sido apreciada por un hombre, no se considera guapa (cuando, es obvio que es guapísima) y al parecer tiene una autoestima tan baja que simplemente necesita a un hombre a su lado. No, por favor. No más de estas protagonistas tontas con vidas “trágicas” que se creen independientes pero que en realidad sólo están esperando a atrapar un marido. Para mí, disfrazar a una chica como independiente para después verla saltar directo al matrimonio es jodidamente molesto (y no tengo nada en contra del matrimonio, sólo que estas chicas son jodidamente jóvenes para eso. Pero es mi opinión). Pero vale, que puede que eso sólo me pase a mí y puede que tus fanáticos amen este parecido entre tus protagonistas, estas relaciones y los matrimonios precipitados. A lo mejor por eso volviste a escribir sobre los mismos personajes, no? Porque los fanáticos los aman… Sólo por eso.
3. La relación Cami-Trent. Sabes algo, para mí fue bastante curioso cómo Cami se quejaba de sus padres, de su relación jodida, de cómo él la maltrató y maltrató a sus hijos durante tanto tiempo pero ella jamás lo dejó, cómo su mamá era una sumisa y su papá un bastardo y bla bla bla, pero ella termina en la misma situación con Trent. No es curioso, Jamie? Ella termina también con un hombre dominante que golpea a su padre y hermanos (no sé en qué momento combatir violencia con violencia se convirtió en la mejor solución a un conflicto), que golpea a cada hombre que intenta entablar una conversación con ella, que amenaza a su jefe por hablarle mal y que amenaza con matar a su exnovio por seguir llamándola…
…Wow, no es curioso, perturbador y (aunque suene morboso) divertido al mismo tiempo? Cómo Trent tiene un temperamento tan fuerte que en un momento dado está tan enojado que ella se encoge como reflejo… Quiero decir, obvio él no iba a golpearla, duh, pero como es que una pobre chica que fue expuesta a tanta violencia en casa termina saliendo con un hombre que puede ser, en un futuro, como su padre?… No es eso muy morboso? No es demasiado? O soy sólo yo la que ve esta situación como un problema?...
Así como soy sólo yo a la que le parece terrible que un hombre use a una niña de cinco años para obligar a una chica a salir con él? O a lo mejor por eso esa niña está ahí, para probar que Trent es violento pero JAMÁS tocaría a una mujer o una niña, así que no hay problema… O sólo estoy leyendo demasiado entre líneas?
Ahora, cómo se enamoraron estos dos? Siento que me perdí una parte de la historia, Jamie, de verdad lo creo así. En un momento él se acerca y finge que no se acuerda de ella, al siguiente se están texteando, él aparece en su casa (porque esa no es una actitud de acechador ni nada), y después empiezan a hablarse más y… EN TRES CAPÍTULOS SON MEJORES AMIGOS? WOW! Y unos capítulos más tarde él está pregonándole su amor e intentando besarla y acechándola aún cuando ella tiene novio? Wow, eso evolucionó rápido. A lo mejor me perdí de algún mensaje secreto, porque en realidad no sentí el amor de estos por ninguna parte. Ahhhhh seguro que es porque Trent ha estado enamorado de ella desde el jardín de niños! Ja, tonta de mí. Obvio eso era suficiente para demostrar que su amor, a la madura edad de veintidós años, era verdadero, real y para siempre *rolls eyes*.
3. Las historias de los protagonistas. Jamás nos explicas qué pasó con el accidente de Trenton, cómo lo cambió, cómo lo afectó, qué fue lo que pasó, por qué odia que alguien más que él conduzca… Digo, me hubiese gustado saber un poco más de eso, porque, si lo nombras es porque importaba en el argumento, no? Y por el otro lado está la familia de
4. Abby y Travis. Seguro tus fanáticas suspiraron cada vez que leyeron a Travis y Abby. Seguro que sí, y tú escribiste de ellos todo el tiempo porque querías calmar su sed de Travis. OBVIO! Pero, sabes, Jamie, no es por ser mala onda ni nada, pero me hubiese gustado que usaras esos momentos tan profundos entre Travis y Cami para profundizar la relación de ella con Trent. No hubiese sido eso AÚN MÁS GENIAL? No sé, es mi opinión, pero obvio es tu libro y tú sabes más que yo.
5. Reagan. Es lo mismo que con Abby y Travis. Quisiera decir que su triángulo amoroso fue súper interesante, pero no es así. Creo que perdiste demasiado tiempo en ese tire y afloje entre ellos y lo pudiste haber invertido en los protagonistas. Pero obvio Brazil es súper hot y necesita su propio libro *rolls eyes*
6. El secreto. *sighs* No era algo que me esperaba, de verdad, pero me pareció un movimiento tan absurdamente bajo. Quiero decir, qué carajos pasaba por tu cabeza al crear un triángulo amoroso entre hermanos? Y solucionarlo todo en la última línea… Me estás jodiendo, Jamie? Creo que con esto se rebasó la copa. Soporté todo lo anterior porque, aunque no era esa tu intensión, me reí un montón con los diálogos insulsos y las situaciones interesantísimas entre nuestros protagonistas… Pero eso del final, esa es la bajeza más grande de este libro.
CON. LA. FAMILIA. NO. SE. JUEGA.
LA. SANGRE. ES. MÁS. ESPESA. QUE. EL. AGUA.
Quiero decir, qué rayos pasaba por la cabeza de Cami cuando se enredó con Trent? QUÉ COÑO ESTABA PENSANDO? Qué mierda es esta? ES DRAMA BARATO. Eso no era lo que me esperaba y fue lo que decididamente mandó este libro al fondo de mi lista. Quiero decir, una chica jugando a dos bandas con dos hermanos? WOW. Y que al final todo quede como si nada? Me estás jodiendo? Pero qué coño tiene esta chica que nadie le cantó sus tres verdades? Pero qué pasaba por la cabeza del imbécil de Thomas para no decirle a Cami: Oye, puedes decirle a mi hermano que soy tu novio. I MEAN, WHAT. THE. FUCK. Y cómo es que él seguía apareciendo una y otra vez… Oye, Thomas que ella está follando con tu hermano, joder, déjala en paz. Súperalo. Vete a contar arena a las playas de California. Y Cami… joder, en serio? Seguro que ella no tiene honor.
Y Jamie, restarle importancia descubriendo todo en la última línea fue la bajeza más baja de todas. Yo creí que Real era la peor lectura de mi vida y entonces apareciste tú, BO.
Puedo seguir y seguir sobre cómo esto está mal y eso, pero la vdd ya no vale la pena. Ya lo hiciste, ya lo leí, ya lo sufrí, y Trent y Cami ya viven felices para siempre, así que ya qué… Ya saqué mi enojo interno.
Sólo quiero terminar esto, Jamie, diciéndote: no vuelvas a cometer el mismo error. El mundo literario no necesita más Travis Maddox. Ya le has hecho daño al NA, así que si de pronto tú, una de las pioneras del género, decide escribir sobre chicos buenos y geniales que no tienen problemas de ira, entonces tal vez las otras te seguirán como ovejitas y este se convertirá en un buen género.
Hasta que eso suceda renuncio a leer otra de tus brillantes historias con brillantes tipos violentos y lindas chicas independientes que se casan y se mudan con su novio después de una corta relación de cuatro meses.
Paz y espero que sigas disfrutando de tu vida.
Atentamente,
Kath S.
July 4, 2014
JAMIE MCGUIRE IS A ONE HIT WONDER
Is there a non-crude way to say: "McGuire shot her load in Beautiful Disaster and that's all she wrote, folks"?
This book is bad. Let me count the ways.
1. The story line is a repeat of Beautiful Disaster's storyline. A girl caught between two guys who eventually chooses the bad boy from whom she initially vowed to stay away. Hijinks and highly dramatic scenes of jealousy, violence, untempered emotions that the immature mistake for passion, and 'alphaness' ensues.
2. Half of this book is a rehashing of Beautiful Disaster from yet another point of view. McGuire's reliance on BD to supplement the utter lack of story here further evinces the fact that her work can only be described as being a one-trick pony.
3. The other quarter of this book is comprised of other people's relationships. These relationships are similarly stupid, high-strung and carried out without any sense of self or maturity.
4. We're down to a quarter. This last quarter however is halved and one eighth of the story focuses on Cami's family; on Cami's crazy, abusive, paint-by-numbers drama, tough girl producing, wrong side of the tracks heroine characterising family. This author needed a writing workshop to teach her how to sketch a villain. The heavy handed etching of Cami's father, brothers and even her enabling mother is so amateur. What's worse, they just fall off the page mid-way. No resolution, no conclusion. They just stop being featured. McGuire amazingly just forget about them. Did she hope her put-upon readers would too?
4. A five year old girl with the speech of a three year old, lisp spelling included, and the dialogue of an eighty year old church-goer. She was supposed to be precocious. McGuire failed here. And her inclusion, bored housewife syndrome?
5. The book has zero energy, originality, chemistry, or passion and this includes the connection between the MCs.
6. The copy editing mistakes, the grammatical errors, the absentee plot arc, the unstructured development, the missing tension, the menagerie of useless characters, the easily guessed mystery, and the anticlimactic ending all showcase McGuire's novicehood. This is just sad, she should have quit while she was ahead.
But there's a fate worse than being deemed "bad" that could befall a book. That is being boring.
Beautiful Oblivion is BORING.
Is there a non-crude way to say: "McGuire shot her load in Beautiful Disaster and that's all she wrote, folks"?
This book is bad. Let me count the ways.
1. The story line is a repeat of Beautiful Disaster's storyline. A girl caught between two guys who eventually chooses the bad boy from whom she initially vowed to stay away. Hijinks and highly dramatic scenes of jealousy, violence, untempered emotions that the immature mistake for passion, and 'alphaness' ensues.
2. Half of this book is a rehashing of Beautiful Disaster from yet another point of view. McGuire's reliance on BD to supplement the utter lack of story here further evinces the fact that her work can only be described as being a one-trick pony.
3. The other quarter of this book is comprised of other people's relationships. These relationships are similarly stupid, high-strung and carried out without any sense of self or maturity.
4. We're down to a quarter. This last quarter however is halved and one eighth of the story focuses on Cami's family; on Cami's crazy, abusive, paint-by-numbers drama, tough girl producing, wrong side of the tracks heroine characterising family. This author needed a writing workshop to teach her how to sketch a villain. The heavy handed etching of Cami's father, brothers and even her enabling mother is so amateur. What's worse, they just fall off the page mid-way. No resolution, no conclusion. They just stop being featured. McGuire amazingly just forget about them. Did she hope her put-upon readers would too?
4. A five year old girl with the speech of a three year old, lisp spelling included, and the dialogue of an eighty year old church-goer. She was supposed to be precocious. McGuire failed here. And her inclusion, bored housewife syndrome?
5. The book has zero energy, originality, chemistry, or passion and this includes the connection between the MCs.
6. The copy editing mistakes, the grammatical errors, the absentee plot arc, the unstructured development, the missing tension, the menagerie of useless characters, the easily guessed mystery, and the anticlimactic ending all showcase McGuire's novicehood. This is just sad, she should have quit while she was ahead.
But there's a fate worse than being deemed "bad" that could befall a book. That is being boring.
Beautiful Oblivion is BORING.
February 10, 2017
Jamie McGuire was one of the first writers to introduce me to the Romance genre and I really have to thank her for that. My background was generally Mystery, Thrillers and Horror, but after reading the Maddox series I was truly fascinated by all of its aspects and from then on, my focus changed.
After reading about Travis, I really enjoyed by how intense a Maddox could be, in both good and bad aspects. The temper, the unpredictability, the passion put in everything really drawn me in reading more and opened my curiosity in discovering the Maddox brothers one by one, because I was certain they have distinct elements.
Beautiful Oblivion is about Trenton, and boy, exactly like his brother, "trouble" is written all over his face. With the exact temper, whit, sarcastic lines and cocky attitude, he is pure Maddox. Beside all of this "maddox" elements, I discovered a tender and caring side of him, a hidden part that was totally in love with his childhood crush Camille.
The plot revolves around their relationship, over the development from friends to lovers and I guarantee you it will be amazing. Camille was my kind of girl. Growing up with 3 brothers, she was more than capable to handle a Maddox, putting him firmly in his place and expressing her POV. She was also in a relationship, and because of this, her affection towards Trenton was initially subdue.
Trenton on the other hand was relentless, a storm always on the bridge of erupting, and I loved seeing a person passionate but caring at the same time. As I was saying, their relationship developed at a slow pace, because Camille was guarded in her feelings for him and waited for her to be free in order to pursue another love relationship. I loved them together, even if at the beginning I consider them very different, Trenton managed to warm my heart and convinced me that he was a really good guy, overly in loved with Camille.
Of course I loved that in this book, family was a central focus. Exactly like in Travis's book, family is considered the most precious gift and everyone is willing to do any sacrifice in order to protect it. The brothers have such an unique bond and I really enjoyed seeing them all together, fighting for their unity. You will see by the end of the book what I'm talking about:)
5 stars
For more reviews please check https://readwithloveblog.wordpress.com
After reading about Travis, I really enjoyed by how intense a Maddox could be, in both good and bad aspects. The temper, the unpredictability, the passion put in everything really drawn me in reading more and opened my curiosity in discovering the Maddox brothers one by one, because I was certain they have distinct elements.
Beautiful Oblivion is about Trenton, and boy, exactly like his brother, "trouble" is written all over his face. With the exact temper, whit, sarcastic lines and cocky attitude, he is pure Maddox. Beside all of this "maddox" elements, I discovered a tender and caring side of him, a hidden part that was totally in love with his childhood crush Camille.
The plot revolves around their relationship, over the development from friends to lovers and I guarantee you it will be amazing. Camille was my kind of girl. Growing up with 3 brothers, she was more than capable to handle a Maddox, putting him firmly in his place and expressing her POV. She was also in a relationship, and because of this, her affection towards Trenton was initially subdue.
Trenton on the other hand was relentless, a storm always on the bridge of erupting, and I loved seeing a person passionate but caring at the same time. As I was saying, their relationship developed at a slow pace, because Camille was guarded in her feelings for him and waited for her to be free in order to pursue another love relationship. I loved them together, even if at the beginning I consider them very different, Trenton managed to warm my heart and convinced me that he was a really good guy, overly in loved with Camille.
Of course I loved that in this book, family was a central focus. Exactly like in Travis's book, family is considered the most precious gift and everyone is willing to do any sacrifice in order to protect it. The brothers have such an unique bond and I really enjoyed seeing them all together, fighting for their unity. You will see by the end of the book what I'm talking about:)
5 stars
For more reviews please check https://readwithloveblog.wordpress.com
July 19, 2014
It felt like just yesterday I was reading Beautiful Disaster, yet it felt like it took forever for Beautiful Oblivion to get here...
Cami didn't have a perfect life growing up, in fact she had a pretty shitty one. Working her way through college as a Bartender at the Red Door where she runs into the Maddox boys on a regular basis... but she grew up in this town, knows the reputation of these brothers.
For Trenton Maddox, his family has always been everything. Losing his mother years ago, his father, brothers and he share a bond - a promise to always take care of each other. But there is one thing missing from Trent's life - the girl.
Trenton begins to pursue Cami under the guise of friendship, but with Cami's absent boyfriend it suddenly turns into more. Suddenly a few hours of interaction while bartending turns into daily visits and Cami starts to ignore the feelings that are growing with each one of those days.
Trenton Maddox wasn't suppose to be the guy you'd fall in love with, fall into bed with - sure, but her heart was suppose to belong to someone else - but that doesn't seem to be the case once she gets to know the real Trent.
Let's just begin with a dose of reality... this story mirrored Beautiful Disaster a little, but I loved BD and I think I fell in love with all these boys during the prologue of Walking Disaster so in order for me not to love this would be hard. Then there is the absent boyfriend... cheating is typically a hard limit and the twist in this particular triangle should have made me see red... but again, the fact that T.J. was so absent and not really developed as a character allowed him to stay out of sight out of mind.
Now on to Trent. Better than Travis, nope. But that is not something that can be accomplished, Travis was just... well... Travis. I loved that he wasn't an asshole (I know, this coming from the girl that loves the asshole), he was persistent and manipulative in the ways he got to spend time with her - and it was adorable. He was swoony and funny all while still holding that flirty streak the Maddox boys are famous for. As for Cami, I liked her and was ready to love her but that twist that I mentioned before, yeah - that kept me from really loving her in the end.
I did feel like the twist in the plot that comes into play at the end could have been bigger. It wasn't hard to figure out where this story was heading as I found myself focusing on a few things and running through some of the scenarios in my head and solving the mystery pretty early on. The revelation of it all did seem a little flat, but at the same time it really wasn't the focus of this story.
I think this story will end up in the love it or hate it pile for some. And I can see the points from both sides clearly. But for me, I loved getting a glimpse back into Travis's life through new eyes and I loved the dynamic of BD and was not displeased to see the same formula used with BO. I have a feeling that the future books might change from this format just simply because the other brothers lead a different kind of life than Travis & Trent. I was starting to go cold on this author, needing something to pull me back in and this did it successfully.
August 8, 2014
4.5 I love Maddox Brothers Stars
If you are expecting Beautiful Disaster 2.0 and a Travis-a-like Hero, then you will be disappointed. With that said, I still enjoyed Beautiful Oblivion VERY MUCH
Beautiful Oblivion isn’t like Beautiful Disaster. There’s no “alpha” Hero, no crazy angst or intense storyline, but a sweet, light hearted read about a guarded girl being pursued by a tatted, but lovable boy.
I went into Beautiful Oblivion not knowing anything. All I knew is that it’s a story about one of the Maddox brothers. I like Trenton. No, he’s not like Travis. I find Travis to be a bit irrational and a little bit unstable. So, Trenton is more stable, rational and kind of like a puppy, in the sense, he purses Cami even though Cami has no interests in him and keeps on telling him that.
Having tats doesn’t make you the “bad” boy I guess.
Cami was hard for me to like because this book is **GASP** a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! Uggg, you know my thoughts on this.
I.AM.NOT.A.FAN.OF.LOVE.TRIANGLES
I just don’t get them, but I do read them. Cami is in a committed long distance relationship with T.J. T.J. is too busy to keep up with the relationship, but he’s a REALLY NICE GUY. Another pet peeve of mine is when both of the guys are GREAT! You kind of want to scream at Cami during many parts and question why she’s still with T.J even though they hardly see or speak to each other.
To each their own I guess.
Then at some point of the book, Cami “kinda” explains why she doesn’t want to be with Trenton, but we don’t know why until the end.
WHEN YOU FIND OUT, YOUR MIND WILL BE BLOWN
I’m still debating if this is a good or bad thing, but it’s definitely a thing.
Beautiful Oblivion is a decent read and mostly it’s about Trenton being okay with having a “friendship” with Cami. You will root for Trenton and want to slap Cami. Despite my frustration with Cami, the read is very adorable and sweet.
There’s no angst and everything is very tamed. It’s almost as if you are reading a book that isn’t written by Jamie McGuire. I’m not sure if I’m okay or disappointed in that. I kind of like it when authors change up their writing style, but I did love the crazy intense story of Beautiful Disaster.
Regardless, if you are expecting another Beautiful Disaster, you won’t get it, BUT Beautiful Oblivion is still a good read, it just has high expectations attached to it.
Series Order
REVIEW | AMAZON
AMAZON
If you are expecting Beautiful Disaster 2.0 and a Travis-a-like Hero, then you will be disappointed. With that said, I still enjoyed Beautiful Oblivion VERY MUCH
Beautiful Oblivion isn’t like Beautiful Disaster. There’s no “alpha” Hero, no crazy angst or intense storyline, but a sweet, light hearted read about a guarded girl being pursued by a tatted, but lovable boy.
I went into Beautiful Oblivion not knowing anything. All I knew is that it’s a story about one of the Maddox brothers. I like Trenton. No, he’s not like Travis. I find Travis to be a bit irrational and a little bit unstable. So, Trenton is more stable, rational and kind of like a puppy, in the sense, he purses Cami even though Cami has no interests in him and keeps on telling him that.
Having tats doesn’t make you the “bad” boy I guess.
Cami was hard for me to like because this book is **GASP** a LOVE TRIANGLE!!! Uggg, you know my thoughts on this.
I.AM.NOT.A.FAN.OF.LOVE.TRIANGLES
I just don’t get them, but I do read them. Cami is in a committed long distance relationship with T.J. T.J. is too busy to keep up with the relationship, but he’s a REALLY NICE GUY. Another pet peeve of mine is when both of the guys are GREAT! You kind of want to scream at Cami during many parts and question why she’s still with T.J even though they hardly see or speak to each other.
To each their own I guess.
Then at some point of the book, Cami “kinda” explains why she doesn’t want to be with Trenton, but we don’t know why until the end.
WHEN YOU FIND OUT, YOUR MIND WILL BE BLOWN
I’m still debating if this is a good or bad thing, but it’s definitely a thing.
Beautiful Oblivion is a decent read and mostly it’s about Trenton being okay with having a “friendship” with Cami. You will root for Trenton and want to slap Cami. Despite my frustration with Cami, the read is very adorable and sweet.
There’s no angst and everything is very tamed. It’s almost as if you are reading a book that isn’t written by Jamie McGuire. I’m not sure if I’m okay or disappointed in that. I kind of like it when authors change up their writing style, but I did love the crazy intense story of Beautiful Disaster.
Regardless, if you are expecting another Beautiful Disaster, you won’t get it, BUT Beautiful Oblivion is still a good read, it just has high expectations attached to it.
Series Order
REVIEW | AMAZON
AMAZON
Want to read
December 4, 2013 Special thanks to Jamie for sending me this recommendation!!!!
I LOVE GOODREADS!!!!:)
SO EXCITED!! CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK!!!
I LOVE GOODREADS!!!!:)
SO EXCITED!! CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS BOOK!!!
Want to read
May 8, 2014
Deep breaths!! We FINALLY have a blurb and release date!!! JULY JULY JULY!!!!!!!!
Read
July 3, 2014NOTE: DNF'd at 33%!
Warning: This book contains a love triangle
(This could take a while....)
I don't read books that:
A) Recycle old characters and put new names on them.
B) Trash the main star all to make a buck.
C) Rely on previous main star to display similarities in "new star." Oh, I don't know, dimples, tattoos, overall physical demeanor...No.
D) Recycles similar stories.
Trenton=Travis
Cami= Abby Abernathy. (Note: A bad girl knock off of her.)
Raegan=America.
Some might disagree with me, but all you have to do is swap the names out and read it that way, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
EXAMPLES (with names replaced)
Travis's left dimple sunk in when he grinned. “Then we know each other.”
“Not necessarily.”
Travis laughed again. “You want a drink?”
Travis shook his head, smiled, and then, before taking another swig, said, “They always do.”
“It’s a small town. You shouldn’t have burned all of your bridges.”
He lowered his chin, his famous charm turning up a notch. “There’s a few I haven’t lit a fire under. Yet.”
I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled.
Oh, and a spoiler:
Something worthy of mentioning: McGuire focused too much on the side characters and not enough on Trent and Cami. There was no chemistry between the two leads.
To McGuire & Co:
You're breaking up the band Yoko!
Warning: This book contains a love triangle
(This could take a while....)
I don't read books that:
A) Recycle old characters and put new names on them.
B) Trash the main star all to make a buck.
C) Rely on previous main star to display similarities in "new star." Oh, I don't know, dimples, tattoos, overall physical demeanor...No.
D) Recycles similar stories.
Trenton=Travis
Cami= Abby Abernathy. (Note: A bad girl knock off of her.)
Raegan=America.
Some might disagree with me, but all you have to do is swap the names out and read it that way, and you'll see what I'm talking about.
EXAMPLES (with names replaced)
Travis's left dimple sunk in when he grinned. “Then we know each other.”
“Not necessarily.”
Travis laughed again. “You want a drink?”
Travis shook his head, smiled, and then, before taking another swig, said, “They always do.”
“It’s a small town. You shouldn’t have burned all of your bridges.”
He lowered his chin, his famous charm turning up a notch. “There’s a few I haven’t lit a fire under. Yet.”
I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled.
Oh, and a spoiler:
Something worthy of mentioning: McGuire focused too much on the side characters and not enough on Trent and Cami. There was no chemistry between the two leads.
To McGuire & Co:
You're breaking up the band Yoko!
July 2, 2014
Trent Maddox has entered my world ❤️
July 1, 2014
So, although I liked this book and didn't want to put it down, I just didn't love it. There wasn't a wow moment, or a time when i was swooning over Trent. I liked him though, he's a Maddox for crying out loud. This also takes place during the time Travis meets Abby, so he does have cameo!
Cami and Trent have grown up together since grade school. Cami is very well aware of the Maddox boys. The fighting and the long line of girls. But she has her own boyfriend, TJ. That's never around. We get a couple phone calls, texts, a couple of really short visits. He lives in California, and she isn't allowed to tell anyone who he is, that they are dating, or what he does for a living. Hell she doesnt even reallly know what he does. It's a huge cloud of what the fuck. As he's away, she gets closer to Trent.
This is very low on the angst, pretty much non existent. Even though this is in Cami's POV, I had no doubt how Trent felt about her. He wanted her and he was going to do whatever it took to get her. Boyfriend be damned. And that's what he does. And TJ, he kind of is in the background...
There really wasn't much cat and mouse with these two. She holds on to her secret tight. Her roommate's boy drama was a part of the story line and at times was more interesting than Cami. Cami's brothers seemed like a bunch a meat-heads though. I mean, for 4 brothers you would think they would want to protect their sister, but they were the complete opposite. It's hard to give details because that would be spoilers... For those wondering the level of "hotness". Its low. Really low. For the Maddox brothers being great with the ladies, you dont really get a taste of that. There is one scene, kinda fade to black sex. Trent is more sugary sweet, although he does get into a couple fights, which was more of a turn on. He's not as rough around the edges as Travis was, and I admit I missed that trait.
I also felt there was a lot of outside crap interfering in their story. Her parents drama. The douche bag brothers. Reagan's drama (although entertaining). Her two jobs and that drama. If there was less outside crap, maybe they could have had more time for sexytimes, or dating,just something..I also think the book missed the mark in portraying the unattainable Maddox boys. Hell, Trent wasn't running from Cami! He was chasing after her!
The ending? Well, it was a bummer for me. I guessed early on her secret, and I secretly hoped I was wrong. That there would be another curve ball thrown in. But there wasn't. Sadly. It was revealed and the story was over. Just like that. Reveal, THE END...
Like I said, bummer. Because I had a lot of questions that are unanswered and if the next books are about the other brothers, guess I wont get my answer
Cami and Trent have grown up together since grade school. Cami is very well aware of the Maddox boys. The fighting and the long line of girls. But she has her own boyfriend, TJ. That's never around. We get a couple phone calls, texts, a couple of really short visits. He lives in California, and she isn't allowed to tell anyone who he is, that they are dating, or what he does for a living. Hell she doesnt even reallly know what he does. It's a huge cloud of what the fuck. As he's away, she gets closer to Trent.
This is very low on the angst, pretty much non existent. Even though this is in Cami's POV, I had no doubt how Trent felt about her. He wanted her and he was going to do whatever it took to get her. Boyfriend be damned. And that's what he does. And TJ, he kind of is in the background...
There really wasn't much cat and mouse with these two. She holds on to her secret tight. Her roommate's boy drama was a part of the story line and at times was more interesting than Cami. Cami's brothers seemed like a bunch a meat-heads though. I mean, for 4 brothers you would think they would want to protect their sister, but they were the complete opposite. It's hard to give details because that would be spoilers... For those wondering the level of "hotness". Its low. Really low. For the Maddox brothers being great with the ladies, you dont really get a taste of that. There is one scene, kinda fade to black sex. Trent is more sugary sweet, although he does get into a couple fights, which was more of a turn on. He's not as rough around the edges as Travis was, and I admit I missed that trait.
I also felt there was a lot of outside crap interfering in their story. Her parents drama. The douche bag brothers. Reagan's drama (although entertaining). Her two jobs and that drama. If there was less outside crap, maybe they could have had more time for sexytimes, or dating,just something..I also think the book missed the mark in portraying the unattainable Maddox boys. Hell, Trent wasn't running from Cami! He was chasing after her!
The ending? Well, it was a bummer for me. I guessed early on her secret, and I secretly hoped I was wrong. That there would be another curve ball thrown in. But there wasn't. Sadly. It was revealed and the story was over. Just like that. Reveal, THE END...
Like I said, bummer. Because I had a lot of questions that are unanswered and if the next books are about the other brothers, guess I wont get my answer
July 31, 2014
Update: July 8, 2013
GOOD GOD!!!! FINALLY!
Update: July 29, 2014
What in all honesty just happened????
... in an alternate universe.
I don't even know how to begin with this one as I am UTTERLY heart broken mostly because I own both ebook & hardcover paperback version of this and all I want to do is just wedge it under the coffee table so it doesn't wobble.
Don't get me wrong... I DON'T WANT to give it a 1 star... I don't want to be annoyed by this... I don't want to be offended by this... But here we are a year later after my initial shock and surprise of getting more of Maddox brothers... we get THIS.
It is a great story... if you remove the potholes... and I'm sorry you 3/4/5 stars givers - you are deluding yourself into thinking there aren't HUGE potholes in the story. Most of events and incidences don't make any sense. You can justify it that it's a YA/NA book and it's the story about self discovery and growth... UMMMM NO! it is not. I loved Beautiful Disaster from messed up Trav to naive Pidge AND at least they stayed stable their characters. They were well formed along with support cast that just MADE SENSE.
I do not want to go any further into spoiling details for those that still want to take this journey (if you want to PM me and I can vent and maybe you can talk me off the ledge).
There are certain events that happen in this book that make absolutely no sense and even though this one has a great twist to the story line... there is absolutely nothing that corroborates the twist... If being vague and again full of story potholes corroborating the twist... ummm sure it supported it.
I'm sorry... but not for me and perhaps I will rethink this rating further... but I can not give it more even if it means I burn some bridges. S'il la vie.
GOOD GOD!!!! FINALLY!
Update: July 29, 2014
What in all honesty just happened????
... in an alternate universe.
I don't even know how to begin with this one as I am UTTERLY heart broken mostly because I own both ebook & hardcover paperback version of this and all I want to do is just wedge it under the coffee table so it doesn't wobble.
Don't get me wrong... I DON'T WANT to give it a 1 star... I don't want to be annoyed by this... I don't want to be offended by this... But here we are a year later after my initial shock and surprise of getting more of Maddox brothers... we get THIS.
It is a great story... if you remove the potholes... and I'm sorry you 3/4/5 stars givers - you are deluding yourself into thinking there aren't HUGE potholes in the story. Most of events and incidences don't make any sense. You can justify it that it's a YA/NA book and it's the story about self discovery and growth... UMMMM NO! it is not. I loved Beautiful Disaster from messed up Trav to naive Pidge AND at least they stayed stable their characters. They were well formed along with support cast that just MADE SENSE.
I do not want to go any further into spoiling details for those that still want to take this journey (if you want to PM me and I can vent and maybe you can talk me off the ledge).
There are certain events that happen in this book that make absolutely no sense and even though this one has a great twist to the story line... there is absolutely nothing that corroborates the twist... If being vague and again full of story potholes corroborating the twist... ummm sure it supported it.
I'm sorry... but not for me and perhaps I will rethink this rating further... but I can not give it more even if it means I burn some bridges. S'il la vie.
August 22, 2014
I've been contemplating how I feel about this book and what I should rate it.
I didn't love it.
Not even sure if I liked most of it.
But I do know I didn't hate it.
And that's where my problem comes in...I'm not sure how I feel about this book. One thing is for sure Ms. McGuire has an addicting writing style that makes it hard to put her books down.
A couple months ago I requested my local online library buy this book for their collection. Most books I've recommended for the library to buy NEVER make the cut. So imagine my surprise Tuesday night when I got an email letting me know that this book was ready for me to pick up. I got an even bigger surprise when I found out that it was an audio book because I'm a fan of audio books.
The moment I saw this cover I fell in love with it. The vibrant colors of a peacock feathers are eye catching and the name got me too.BEAUTIFUL OBLIVION! To be oblivious, is that beautiful? Sometimes it is if you can just go about you life without distractions.
Trent and I were both oblivious to Cami's "secret". Maybe if I hadn't been listening to this one I would have picked up on it sooner but I have to say when it was revealed I was so frustrated by the lack of COMMUNICATION that I wanted to throw something. I don't get why that "secret" couldn't be revealed. Maybe as the series goes on I'll understand why it was such a big deal that it was kept from everyone. I'm still left with some questions:
The drama with Cami's roommate love life was something I didn't care about. I really just wanted to hear about Trent and Cami along with the glimpses of Abby and Travis we got to see. The storyline parallels Beautiful Disaster's book.
I've been very tempted to re-listen to this one before it has to go back to the library to see if I'd feel differently knowing what I know or *if* I'd still be frustrated by the lack of communication and drama. I guess the extra drama with the roommate and her love triangle was something I could of used less of.
After some thought I'm going to mark this one 3.5 stars because I did enjoy some of it but the drama was over the top at times and most of it could have been eliminated had Cami just shared her secret.
“Anything to do with the Maddoxes is never boring.”
SERIES:
Goodreads has this listed as book #3 of the Beautiful series BUT Amazon and Jamie McGuire have it listed as The Maddox Brothers series (book #1).
The Maddox Brothers will be four novels chronicling the exciting, romantic, and sometimes volatile road to love for the Maddox brothers. To find out when book 2 will be released click here.
July 10, 2014
4 Oblivious Stars
The younger sister of four brothers Cami never had a easy life. Their brothers are the only thing that makes sense in her life and although they are fiercely protective she is strong and independent… and slightly broken.
Working at The Red Door and again having a weekend canceled with her boyfriend she ends up creating a friendship with Trent Maddox and used to be around men she believes that’s what they’ll always be: friends.
Until Trent falls in love and you know what happens when a Maddox boy falls in love. It’s relentless and it’s forever.
But Cami has secrets that can jeopardize everything. Big secrets.
And when all come clear, could her secret be the only reason why a Maddox boy walks away from the girl he loves?
Rating: 4 Stars.
Storyline: A great story with another perfect Maddox boy. I didn’t liked it as much as BD and sometimes it looked like the author was trying to force it to be the awesomeness that BD was, and that’s just not possible. But still, an amazing NA reading that you shouldn’t miss.
Writing Style: First person, female POV. Solid and addictive writing.
Character Development: Cami was a great heroine: strong, fierce and protective. Bonus for not being whinny and annoying. Trent was nearly perfect. I loved him and I dare to say, as much as I loved Travis. He was another perfectly imperfect Maddox boy. And because of that end, I can’t wait to read the book of the next Maddox brother!
Steam: Hot scenes.
HEA:
The younger sister of four brothers Cami never had a easy life. Their brothers are the only thing that makes sense in her life and although they are fiercely protective she is strong and independent… and slightly broken.
Working at The Red Door and again having a weekend canceled with her boyfriend she ends up creating a friendship with Trent Maddox and used to be around men she believes that’s what they’ll always be: friends.
Until Trent falls in love and you know what happens when a Maddox boy falls in love. It’s relentless and it’s forever.
But Cami has secrets that can jeopardize everything. Big secrets.
And when all come clear, could her secret be the only reason why a Maddox boy walks away from the girl he loves?
Rating: 4 Stars.
Storyline: A great story with another perfect Maddox boy. I didn’t liked it as much as BD and sometimes it looked like the author was trying to force it to be the awesomeness that BD was, and that’s just not possible. But still, an amazing NA reading that you shouldn’t miss.
Writing Style: First person, female POV. Solid and addictive writing.
Character Development: Cami was a great heroine: strong, fierce and protective. Bonus for not being whinny and annoying. Trent was nearly perfect. I loved him and I dare to say, as much as I loved Travis. He was another perfectly imperfect Maddox boy. And because of that end, I can’t wait to read the book of the next Maddox brother!
Steam: Hot scenes.
HEA:
June 21, 2014
“I’ve had a lifetime of wrong. You’re the only thing that’s right.”
I should probably start this review with a small confession—I was not a Beautiful Disaster groupie when everyone was proclaiming their undying love for Travis “Mad Dog” Maddox and naming their daughters Abby. Not because I did not like it, but simply because I never read it when it was first released, and thus never embraced the craze. As curiosity got the better of me and I finally decided to dive in, while I appreciated why this story was loved so desperately by so many readers out there, I think I was too old to swoon over nineteen-year-old bad boys and obsessive first loves. But I totally got it. I got why this story, this tumultuous type of relationship, appealed to such a wide and varied audience, and how it earned such a loyal cult following by providing the reader with the type of escapism that reminds us all of our first loves, of how impetuous our young hearts once were, and of how crazy and hot-headed that first rush of hormones truly made us. This book, once more, is a reminder of it all, albeit on a more subdued level, but still succeeding in re-awakening the memory of those troublesome years when we were finding ourselves, our place in the world around us, and navigating through life on our own for the very first time, regularly losing ourselves in the oblivion of it all. And all the while adamantly believing that every feeling, every emotion, every mind-blowing ‘first’ was the sum of all we would ever get to experience in life.
“No one has ever wanted someone as much as I want you.”
As we return to the delicious world of the Maddox brothers and the young women who steal their hearts at last, we finally get to know Trenton “Trent” Maddox, Travis’ elder brother and the son their widowed father depends on the most. A bad boy of sorts just like his younger brother, Trent’s heavily tattooed façade and hot temper give the impression of walking through life without feeling deeply or becoming emotionally attached to anyone, but nothing could be further from the truth. Beneath this defiant mask hides a sensitive and heartbroken young man whose fear of experiencing loss again, coupled with never having faced his past traumas, have made him a brewing pit of anger and irritability. But just like every fire has a source, every yin has its yang, and Trent’s ‘antidote’ comes in the form of a brown-haired pixie with curves in all the right places and an outspoken personality to match.
“It’s a small town. You shouldn’t have burned all of your bridges.”
“There’s a few I haven’t lit a fire under. Yet.”
Camille “Cami” Camlin is the girl next door, the oldest child and only girl in a family of all boys, a young woman whose confidence does not stem from the effect she has on the opposite sex, but rather from her self-awareness and determination to be independent in life. And unlike most females of her age, she has remained impervious to the Maddox charm while growing up, and even more so in her early twenties as she has watched them add notch after notch to their headboards. Trent and Cami have known each other all their lives, but were never friends as such. His reputation has always preceded him and thus made him an unwelcome dating candidate in her eyes.
“I’d seen him flirt, seduce, and evade since we were kids. There was absolutely no trick Trenton Maddox could play that I wouldn’t be ready for.”
However, when a Maddox sets his mind on something, he is not to be easily persuaded to change it, and once he enters Cami’s life, Trent is there to stay. Ignoring all her insistent attempts to drive him away and discourage his efforts, he makes himself at home in her daily life, becoming a friend she didn’t know she needed, loyal and protective, all the while not making it secret that he wishes for more. Or that not even Cami’s long distance relationship with a boyfriend she rarely sees would deter him from pursuing her.
“I was just thinking now was as good a time as any to acknowledge that you’re perfect and it wouldn’t suck if you fell madly in love with me anytime soon.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Speed bump.”
The more time they spend with one another, and the more he treats her as if the world revolved around her, the more she starts questioning everything else in her life and facing it all one by one. Trent represents the mess, impulsiveness and uncertainty her past has taught her to fear and avoid at all costs, but he is also the mirror of many qualities she has always wished to eradicate in herself, and the more she allows herself to accept him as he is and all that he embodies, the more she starts accepting those traits in herself, no longer perceiving them as flaws. On the other hand, Cami is a grounding force for Trent’s volatile Maddox gene, his desire to make her love him making him want to be the type of man to deserve her affections. They are opposites in so many ways, and yet when they are together, those differences are what makes them so perfect for one another.
“Have you ever wanted something that you knew you shouldn’t have? That it was wrong on every level, but you knew you needed it?”
This is in essence a story of two people becoming each other’s passage into adulthood by giving one another the courage to grow up and face their fears. It’s a story that held me enthralled from the very beginning, happy as a clam to indulge in the simplicity of the fantasy of a ‘bad boy’ falling for the ‘good girl’, of a boy pursuing a girl relentlessly, shamelessly and with all his might. I did feel throughout the entire story, however, like I was missing a vital clue, a key of sorts to unlock the motivation behind the heroine’s actions, and I have to admit that until the very last page, she was a paradox to me. But then everything came together all of a sudden, the puzzle pieces all magically falling into place and I found myself speechless, frantically cataloguing the clues we were given unsuspectingly, and finally understanding her character. A few gaps in the story still left me wishing they had been explored and capitalised on more to make it an even more cohesive and emotionally richer storyline, especially references to past events that clearly affected the characters in a way that they now needed to overcome them. But I am hoping that subsequent instalments in this brand new series will fill those gaps and that as we got a new glimpse into Travis and Abby’s story, we will get a similar one into Trent and Cami’s as well.
This book is an absolute treat for the Beautiful Disaster fans out there, old and new, and one cannot help but fall in love with yet another Maddox brother. It left me greedy for more and with a sudden interest in getting “cashmere comfortable”.
“I’m a f*ckup, but I’m going to get it figured out. I swear. Just . . . don’t give up on me, okay?”
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July 8, 2014
*****4.5 STARS*****
(BR with Melissa, Dee, Tiffany, and Sharon)
I had my doubts when I first heard about this book.
After being a bit disappointed with the books that followed "Beautiful Disaster", I wasn't setting up high expectations for this one.
I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I really loved this book!!!
This story seems to take place during the same time period of "Beautiful Disaster". Cami Camlin works as a bartender at the Red Door, a local bar that the Maddox brothers frequent. She's known the Maddox brothers since grade school, although she thinks that they don't know that she even exists. She's completely mistaken!!
She's also dating a mystery man, named TJ.
TJ lives in California and has a job that keeps him away from her most of the time, and is also for whatever reason,so top secret, he can't divulge what he actually does.
On a night off, while hanging out at the bar, Trenton decides to make his move. Even though Cami is upfront with him about TJ, Trenton pursues her but plays it off as friendship at first.
He is so charming and persistent that eventually Cami finds it pretty hard to deny her feelings that are growing for Trent.
I loved little Olive and the relationship Trent had with her. It made him all the more swoonworthy!!
It appears as though we have another Maddox brother to fall in love with!!!
I never had an issue with Cami.
She had a pretty volatile family life due to her alcoholic father and trouble making brothers.
She saves up money and moves out on her own to escape that drama but when one of her brothers gets in trouble, she takes on a second job at Second Skin to help him pay off a debt.
This story, to me, was not about cheating or even a love triangle.
TJ was barely around and Cami was forthright with TJ and Trent.
She did keep a secret for TJ and that was supposed to be the big mystery in the story, but Melissa figured that one right away, and I started to see all the clues pointing to what TJs deal was.
He was the person in the wrong in this situation.
Cami does realize that Trent is the one she wants to be with and there is some painful angst that will occur around this time!!
I felt like it took forever to get to the sexy times and that maybe we could have had a little more between Cami and Trent, but I wasn't disappointed.
I was swept away by how deeply Trent loved Cami and his protectiveness over her.
"Because I've been in love with you since grade school, Chamomile. And everyone knew it. Everyone."
I really loved this one but I had to deduct points for the lack of an epilogue, the abrupt ending, and the secret TJ forced Cami to keep, which made no freaking sense to me!!
(BR with Melissa, Dee, Tiffany, and Sharon)
I had my doubts when I first heard about this book.
After being a bit disappointed with the books that followed "Beautiful Disaster", I wasn't setting up high expectations for this one.
I was pleasantly surprised at just how much I really loved this book!!!
This story seems to take place during the same time period of "Beautiful Disaster". Cami Camlin works as a bartender at the Red Door, a local bar that the Maddox brothers frequent. She's known the Maddox brothers since grade school, although she thinks that they don't know that she even exists. She's completely mistaken!!
She's also dating a mystery man, named TJ.
TJ lives in California and has a job that keeps him away from her most of the time, and is also for whatever reason,so top secret, he can't divulge what he actually does.
On a night off, while hanging out at the bar, Trenton decides to make his move. Even though Cami is upfront with him about TJ, Trenton pursues her but plays it off as friendship at first.
He is so charming and persistent that eventually Cami finds it pretty hard to deny her feelings that are growing for Trent.
I loved little Olive and the relationship Trent had with her. It made him all the more swoonworthy!!
It appears as though we have another Maddox brother to fall in love with!!!
I never had an issue with Cami.
She had a pretty volatile family life due to her alcoholic father and trouble making brothers.
She saves up money and moves out on her own to escape that drama but when one of her brothers gets in trouble, she takes on a second job at Second Skin to help him pay off a debt.
This story, to me, was not about cheating or even a love triangle.
TJ was barely around and Cami was forthright with TJ and Trent.
She did keep a secret for TJ and that was supposed to be the big mystery in the story, but Melissa figured that one right away, and I started to see all the clues pointing to what TJs deal was.
He was the person in the wrong in this situation.
Cami does realize that Trent is the one she wants to be with and there is some painful angst that will occur around this time!!
I felt like it took forever to get to the sexy times and that maybe we could have had a little more between Cami and Trent, but I wasn't disappointed.
I was swept away by how deeply Trent loved Cami and his protectiveness over her.
"Because I've been in love with you since grade school, Chamomile. And everyone knew it. Everyone."
I really loved this one but I had to deduct points for the lack of an epilogue, the abrupt ending, and the secret TJ forced Cami to keep, which made no freaking sense to me!!
December 16, 2015
Wow, yo no esperaba encontrarme con lo que me encontré al leer a los hermanos Maddox, sobre todo a Trenton porque, vamos, a Travis aún no lo he leído, jajaja. Pensé que este iba a ser un libro súper cursi, romanticón y meloso, pero no... y eso me gustó aún más. Maravilloso Desastre es un libro que se lee de un tirón, tanto porque la historia sencilla te atrapa, como por el encanto de cierto chico Maddox lleno de tatuajes y la personalidad decidida de Cami. A eso súmale un misterio que se niegan a contarte hasta, literalmente, la última línea de la última página y tienes un page turner. O sea, en serio ya entiendo por qué todos adoran los libros de Jamie McGuire, pues ¿qué mejor que una combinación de novela contemporánea, chicos guapos, chicas fuertes, misterios y un pelín de picante? Jajaja.
Pero bueno, Maravilloso Desastre nos cuenta un poco la historia de cómo las vidas de Trenton Maddox y Cami se van entrelazando poco a poco, rodeadas de un montón de circunstancias bastante peculiares. Trenton tiene la etiqueta de chico duro y mucha gente lo culpa por la muerte de su novia en un accidente automovilístico y... bueno, además es un Maddox, y todos saben que los Maddox pueden causar un montón de problemas y dejar un montón de corazones rotos por ahí. Cami, por otra parte, es una chica muy fuerte que se ha independizado de su familia porque realmente son un asco, no hay otra manera de decirlo, y por eso trabaja en el bar Red Door, que es donde se reencuentra con Trenton. El punto aquí es que todo es tremendamente complicado porque Cami tiene un novio misterioso al que llama TJ, pero va a empezar a enamorarse de Trenton, al mismo tiempo que él de ella.
Como les decía, este no es un libro supremamente complicado, pero aún así engancha muchísimo. Desde las primeras páginas te vas derritiendo de amor y de ternura con todos los gestos bonitos que hace Trenton por Cami, pero también te cabreas un montón por todo el secretismo y las dudas de ella. Además, no estoy muy segura de esto, pero, vamos, creo que es así, el libro tiene un montón de guiños a la primera saga o a los primeros libros de Jamie McGuire, los de la historia de Travis con Abby, así que es súper interesante ver, así sea levemente, cómo se van desarrollando las historias paralelamente.
¿Qué me encantó del libro? Trenton. Pero no por ser el típico chico guapo... sino por ser un chico guapo, que se preocupa por su familia, que quiere con el alma a una niña súper pequeña a la que cuida y por bajar todas sus defensas cuando está con Cami. Y sí, es que su personalidad es encantadora de pies a cabeza, nada que hacer con respecto a eso. ¡Alerta! ¡Isa se acaba de enamorar de otro personaje literario que no existe!
Cami también me pareció un personaje formidable porque no es la típica chica tonta en apuros a la que un chico le guiña el ojo y ya cae rendida a sus pies, no. Ella es una luchadora, que sabe pararle los pies a quienes quieren hacerle daño y que puede valerse por sí misma. De ella no me gustó la relación de amistad que tiene con Raegan... pero es quizá porque Raegan me cayó fatal. Es todo lo opuesto a Cami y... no, no soportaba su masoquismo con respecto a volver con un gilip*llas que se nota no la quería ni lo más mínimo. En fin.
ADORÉ a personajes como Koby y Hazel porque hacían del libro algo supremamente ligero y con tonos muy diferentes a los que le daban Trenton y Cami, soo... chapeau!
Mi única queja con respecto al libro es... y esto sólo lo entenderán quienes lo hayan leído... BABY DOLL, ¿EN SERIO? XD
Pero bueno, Maravilloso Desastre nos cuenta un poco la historia de cómo las vidas de Trenton Maddox y Cami se van entrelazando poco a poco, rodeadas de un montón de circunstancias bastante peculiares. Trenton tiene la etiqueta de chico duro y mucha gente lo culpa por la muerte de su novia en un accidente automovilístico y... bueno, además es un Maddox, y todos saben que los Maddox pueden causar un montón de problemas y dejar un montón de corazones rotos por ahí. Cami, por otra parte, es una chica muy fuerte que se ha independizado de su familia porque realmente son un asco, no hay otra manera de decirlo, y por eso trabaja en el bar Red Door, que es donde se reencuentra con Trenton. El punto aquí es que todo es tremendamente complicado porque Cami tiene un novio misterioso al que llama TJ, pero va a empezar a enamorarse de Trenton, al mismo tiempo que él de ella.
Como les decía, este no es un libro supremamente complicado, pero aún así engancha muchísimo. Desde las primeras páginas te vas derritiendo de amor y de ternura con todos los gestos bonitos que hace Trenton por Cami, pero también te cabreas un montón por todo el secretismo y las dudas de ella. Además, no estoy muy segura de esto, pero, vamos, creo que es así, el libro tiene un montón de guiños a la primera saga o a los primeros libros de Jamie McGuire, los de la historia de Travis con Abby, así que es súper interesante ver, así sea levemente, cómo se van desarrollando las historias paralelamente.
¿Qué me encantó del libro? Trenton. Pero no por ser el típico chico guapo... sino por ser un chico guapo, que se preocupa por su familia, que quiere con el alma a una niña súper pequeña a la que cuida y por bajar todas sus defensas cuando está con Cami. Y sí, es que su personalidad es encantadora de pies a cabeza, nada que hacer con respecto a eso. ¡Alerta! ¡Isa se acaba de enamorar de otro personaje literario que no existe!
Cami también me pareció un personaje formidable porque no es la típica chica tonta en apuros a la que un chico le guiña el ojo y ya cae rendida a sus pies, no. Ella es una luchadora, que sabe pararle los pies a quienes quieren hacerle daño y que puede valerse por sí misma. De ella no me gustó la relación de amistad que tiene con Raegan... pero es quizá porque Raegan me cayó fatal. Es todo lo opuesto a Cami y... no, no soportaba su masoquismo con respecto a volver con un gilip*llas que se nota no la quería ni lo más mínimo. En fin.
ADORÉ a personajes como Koby y Hazel porque hacían del libro algo supremamente ligero y con tonos muy diferentes a los que le daban Trenton y Cami, soo... chapeau!
Mi única queja con respecto al libro es... y esto sólo lo entenderán quienes lo hayan leído... BABY DOLL, ¿EN SERIO? XD
July 3, 2016
3.5 - 4 ★'s
This is the story of Trenton (Trent), Travis' brother, from Beautiful Disaster. He's a tattoo artist trying to do the right things. Cami (Camille) works at a local bar, The Red Door, and just wants to have a normal, happy life.
Let me just start this out by saying there is no way you cannot compare this to Beautiful Disaster. Trenton and Travis are a lot alike so the way they talk, act and go after things are very similar.
Trenton has a mission and her name is Cami. Apparently, he's been in love with her since they were kids and everyone has known it but her. It's not really clear why he picked now to go after her but there's no stopping him once he decided to. His POV would have made things so much more amazing.
Cami took a bit for me to warm up to. She's just a bit rough around the edges but once you find out why, it makes you understand her even more. I liked that she was taking charge of her life and she didn't let anyone, even Trent, take that away from her.
I didn't feel this book was that steamy. There was a lot of sexual tension but when things finally got going, it kind of drizzled out. I almost felt like I missed something.
There is a bit of a twist going on. Cami actually has a boyfriend although he is long distance and basically absent. There's a lot of mystery as to who he is but it's not too hard to figure out. He does cause a lot of problems between Trent and Cami even after Cami breaks up with him. I did love how things came out in the end.
One of the main problems for me was the lack of emotional intensity. This book's timeline is about the same as Beautiful Disaster and some of those events overshadow this ones. The last 10-15% did provide some much needed drama but unfortunately, it wasn't enough for me.
We got a lot of other drama though through Cami's roommate, Raegen, and Cami's family. Raegen has some boyfriend issues of her own and Cami's family is just whacked. Her Dad is out of control and all her brother's name start with "C"...it was really confusing to keep them straight except for Coby who has issues of his own. I would have loved to have less of them and more of Trent and Cami.
However, Olive was one of the best parts of the book! She is the five year old daughter of Trent's neighbor who Trent has taken quite a liking to and her to him. Some of the things that come out of her mouth are sooo adorable!
Overall, a decent read and I did enjoy it. It would be hard to live up to Beautiful Disaster's success. Hopefully, the next book will be better although I don't have a clue who it will be about!
Favorite quotes
♥ “I’ve got a bottle of Crown at my apartment and some lunch meat. Let’s drink until we throw up ham sandwiches.”
♥ “You were pretty comfortable today.”
“Comfortable? I’m fucking cashmere.”
♥ “I needed to get my mind off of you.” When I didn’t respond, he turned to me. “I would let a girl rescue me from that torture every night of the week, but even when I was with someone else, all I thought about was you.”
“That’s not really . . . a compliment,” I said.
♥ “I am the one, Cami. I’m it for you. I know because you’re it for me.”
♥ "The first time I saw you on the playground, I knew what beauty was. The first time you ignored me was my first broken heart. I thought I was playing this right, from the moment I sat down at your table at the Red. No one has ever wanted someone as much as I want you."
♥ “I’m going to marry you someday.” I smiled.
“When pigs fly.”
He shrugged. “I can put a pig on a plane. No problem.”
“Okay, when you dance around in a thong to Britney Spears in front of your dad. That’s when we’ll get married.”
He took in a long, deep breath, and then blew it out. “Challenge accepted.”
♥ “I know you don’t believe me, but I really have loved you since we were kids,” he said quietly. “And now I get to love you ’til we’re old.”
*BR w/Melissa, Patty, Denisse and Tiffany!*
This is the story of Trenton (Trent), Travis' brother, from Beautiful Disaster. He's a tattoo artist trying to do the right things. Cami (Camille) works at a local bar, The Red Door, and just wants to have a normal, happy life.
Let me just start this out by saying there is no way you cannot compare this to Beautiful Disaster. Trenton and Travis are a lot alike so the way they talk, act and go after things are very similar.
Trenton has a mission and her name is Cami. Apparently, he's been in love with her since they were kids and everyone has known it but her. It's not really clear why he picked now to go after her but there's no stopping him once he decided to. His POV would have made things so much more amazing.
Cami took a bit for me to warm up to. She's just a bit rough around the edges but once you find out why, it makes you understand her even more. I liked that she was taking charge of her life and she didn't let anyone, even Trent, take that away from her.
I didn't feel this book was that steamy. There was a lot of sexual tension but when things finally got going, it kind of drizzled out. I almost felt like I missed something.
There is a bit of a twist going on. Cami actually has a boyfriend although he is long distance and basically absent. There's a lot of mystery as to who he is but it's not too hard to figure out. He does cause a lot of problems between Trent and Cami even after Cami breaks up with him. I did love how things came out in the end.
One of the main problems for me was the lack of emotional intensity. This book's timeline is about the same as Beautiful Disaster and some of those events overshadow this ones. The last 10-15% did provide some much needed drama but unfortunately, it wasn't enough for me.
We got a lot of other drama though through Cami's roommate, Raegen, and Cami's family. Raegen has some boyfriend issues of her own and Cami's family is just whacked. Her Dad is out of control and all her brother's name start with "C"...it was really confusing to keep them straight except for Coby who has issues of his own. I would have loved to have less of them and more of Trent and Cami.
However, Olive was one of the best parts of the book! She is the five year old daughter of Trent's neighbor who Trent has taken quite a liking to and her to him. Some of the things that come out of her mouth are sooo adorable!
Overall, a decent read and I did enjoy it. It would be hard to live up to Beautiful Disaster's success. Hopefully, the next book will be better although I don't have a clue who it will be about!
Favorite quotes
♥ “I’ve got a bottle of Crown at my apartment and some lunch meat. Let’s drink until we throw up ham sandwiches.”
♥ “You were pretty comfortable today.”
“Comfortable? I’m fucking cashmere.”
♥ “I needed to get my mind off of you.” When I didn’t respond, he turned to me. “I would let a girl rescue me from that torture every night of the week, but even when I was with someone else, all I thought about was you.”
“That’s not really . . . a compliment,” I said.
♥ “I am the one, Cami. I’m it for you. I know because you’re it for me.”
♥ "The first time I saw you on the playground, I knew what beauty was. The first time you ignored me was my first broken heart. I thought I was playing this right, from the moment I sat down at your table at the Red. No one has ever wanted someone as much as I want you."
♥ “I’m going to marry you someday.” I smiled.
“When pigs fly.”
He shrugged. “I can put a pig on a plane. No problem.”
“Okay, when you dance around in a thong to Britney Spears in front of your dad. That’s when we’ll get married.”
He took in a long, deep breath, and then blew it out. “Challenge accepted.”
♥ “I know you don’t believe me, but I really have loved you since we were kids,” he said quietly. “And now I get to love you ’til we’re old.”
*BR w/Melissa, Patty, Denisse and Tiffany!*
July 3, 2018
***3.5 Stars ***
This is book one in The Maddox Brothers series! Honestly, I was very hopeful that this was going to be another awesome read like “Beautiful Disaster!” Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted it to be just as good; it fell short for me. One of the biggest factors was the heroine; Cami... I felt she was too closed off in her feelings for Trenton Maddox. There were big reasons why she was stand offish in the beginning... but it got old very fast, and by the time more than half the book was over... I had enough of her indecisiveness.
Trenton Maddox was an absolute sweetheart... he really was... but he put up with way too much crap from Cami... in fact, there were times I felt he was kind of whipped when it came to her. He deserved way better. The secret that Cami had didn’t come out to the very end, and it left me scratching my head. I’m still trying to figure it out. I would have never guessed it, and it almost makes me want to go back and reread the book to see where I might have missed clues!!!
All in all, this was just an ok read for me. I’m hoping the next Maddox brothers instalment will be way better!
This is book one in The Maddox Brothers series! Honestly, I was very hopeful that this was going to be another awesome read like “Beautiful Disaster!” Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted it to be just as good; it fell short for me. One of the biggest factors was the heroine; Cami... I felt she was too closed off in her feelings for Trenton Maddox. There were big reasons why she was stand offish in the beginning... but it got old very fast, and by the time more than half the book was over... I had enough of her indecisiveness.
Trenton Maddox was an absolute sweetheart... he really was... but he put up with way too much crap from Cami... in fact, there were times I felt he was kind of whipped when it came to her. He deserved way better. The secret that Cami had didn’t come out to the very end, and it left me scratching my head. I’m still trying to figure it out. I would have never guessed it, and it almost makes me want to go back and reread the book to see where I might have missed clues!!!
All in all, this was just an ok read for me. I’m hoping the next Maddox brothers instalment will be way better!
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