Book Review: Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Author: Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #2
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: April 2nd 2013
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Source:NetGaley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Can you love someone too much? Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.

Forgive me if I start by ogling...err...staring admiring the prettiness of the cover *drools* *deep breath* Okay I'm back :D

I have to say that I liked more being in Travis's head than in Abby's. For one, we got to understand Travis a lot more. I think the beginning of this book explains a lot about why Travis is the way he is and why he has trouble committing to someone. It also helped me understand why he's so jealous and possessive of Abby. I'm not saying it's normal, but it's a good reason. 

Then there's the part that proves me that I wasn't wrong when I thought Abby wasn't the innocent girl she seems to be. I think Walking Disaster shows how completely irrational she was at times. In certain moments I felt like she was more heartless than Travis was with his previous one night stands. At least Travis was honest with what he was offering those girls he met before Abby and what they shouldn't expect from him. Abby though was all smiles one minute and then the next she was completely opposite. Again, I think that had she been fully honest and talk with Travis and tell him exactly how her childhood was instead of just saying "it was bad" most of the fights and bad moments could have been avoided. Or at least they could have been just a little bit less difficult. 

What I loved was the ending. It was different and unexpected and I think it showed that both Abby and Travis finally matured and had that long talk they needed to have to sort things out. It was unique and perfect for these two. 

Cover Reveal: Bathing Beauties, Booze and Bullets by Ellen Mansoor Collier

Bathing Beauties, Booze and Bullets by Ellen Mansoor Collier
Publication date: April 2013
Genre: New Adult Jazz Age Mystery

Synopsis:

It’s 1927 in Galveston, Texas—the “Sin City of the Southwest.” Jasmine (“Jazz”) Cross is an ambitious 21-year-old society reporter for the Galveston Gazette who tries to be taken seriously by the good-old-boy staff, but the editors only assign her fluffy puff pieces, like writing profiles of bathing beauties. The last thing Jazz wants to do is compare make-up tips with ditzy dames competing in the “International Pageant of Pulchritude and Bathing Girl Revue.”

She’d rather help solve the murders of young prostitutes who turn up all over town, but city officials insist on burying the stories during Splash Day festivities. After Jazz gets to know the bathing beauties, she realizes there’s a lot more to them than just pretty faces and figures. Jazz becomes suspicious when she finds out the contest is sponsored by the Maceos, ruthless Beach Gang leaders and co-owners of the Hollywood Dinner Club, where the girls will perform before the parade and pageant.

Worse, her half-brother Sammy Cook, owner of the Oasis, a speakeasy on a rival gang’s turf, asks her to call in a favor from handsome Prohibition Agent James Burton—an impossible task that could compromise both of their jobs and budding romance. While Agent Burton gives her the cold shoulder, she fends off advances from Colin Ferris, an attractive but dangerous gangster who threatens Sammy as well as Burton. In the end, she must risk it all to save her friends from a violent killer hell-bent on revenge. Inspired by actual events.

Also in this series:

Book 1 purchase links:
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Flappers-Flasks-Foul-Play-ebook/dp/B008QRJ0XM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359147380&sr=1-1&keywords=flappers%2C+flasks+and+foul+play
Barnes & Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/flappers-flasks-and-foul-play-ellen-mansoor-collier/1112135350?ean=2940044699434&itm=1&usri=flappers%2c+flasks+and+foul+play+collier

----

AUTHOR BIO

Ellen Mansoor Collier is a Houston-based freelance magazine writer/editor whose articles, essays and short stories have been published in several national magazines. Formerly she's worked as a magazine editor, and in advertising and public relations (plus endured a hectic semester as a substitute teacher). She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Magazine Journalism, where she enjoyed both coffee and colorful cocktails. A flapper at heart, she’s the owner of DECODAME, specializing in Deco to retro vintage items (www.art-decodame.com).

Teaser Tuesday #21

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

“There was a curse.
 There was a girl.
 And in the end, there was a grave.
I never even saw it coming.”

I really can't find the words to say how much I'm loving this book. I haven't finished it yet, but I love it! Now I just need to buy the other 3 books and I'll be all happy :)

What's your Teaser Tuesday this week?

Sunday Book Soundtrack #9: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Sunday Book Soundtrack is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books, where I share some of my bookish soundtracks. Since I discovered my passion for reading years ago, I've discovered that more and more of the songs I loved remind me of certain books. So I thought I'd share my playlists with you. If you want to listen to the songs, I'll post a link to a Youtube videos for each and every title. No copyright infringement intended! I'll try to find the official videos for each song. There's no set number for each playlist, sometimes I might have 10, sometimes 5, sometimes if I'm one of my moods I'll have 15. If you want to read more about this feature, click the "show more" button below. 

I read with music. If there's no music, I can't read. And not just read, but almost anything, like studying of cooking or doing chores around the house. The only time I don't have music is when I sleep. And during exams, but that's a different story.

Sometimes it happens that a certain song and a book or a scene from the book I'm reading sort of... click. It's like they were made for each other. At least for me. And so I will almost always think of that particular book when hearing that song. I thought I'd share my book soundtracks with you.

Keep in mind that I have a very... weird taste in music. You'll find mostly rock music, country or the 80s-early 90s music in these lists. I might use some "contemporary" songs from now and then, but don't bet on it being something other than those particular genres. Also, not always the songs will be in English. If I have a link to a translation for the lyrics, I'll post it. If you like a song I'm using, that's fine. If not, that's fine too, just don't say I didn't warn you.

The songs aren't always on a book's playlist for their lyrics. Sometimes they're there for an instrument or for a feeling I get when hearing them. Also, I won't always mention what scene I used them for. If it's not a spoiler, I'll share the scene, if it is a spoiler, I'll let you guess.

Anyway, I hope you like my playlists :)

This week's book soundtrack is for Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (read my review here)

1. Nazareth - Hair of the Dog - I believe this song is perfect for when Travis is fighting :D
2. Lenny Kravitz - American Woman
3. Marilyn Manson - mOBSCENE
4. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
5. Motley Crue - New Tattoo 
6. Maroon 5 - Daylight (I just heard this version of the song today and I think it's perfect for Beautiful Disaster)

Book Review: Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Author: Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #1
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: August 14th 2012
My Rating: 4 cups
Blurb (from Goodreads):

The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby needs—and wants—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

I have a confession to make. Before I read Beautiful Disaster I broke one of my rules and I read some reviews for this book. If you look, you'll see how mixed they are, so I was a little weary.

Based on the reviews I read though, I formed a plan in my head: don't fall for Travis. You know how I love the bad boy heroes. I didn't want to care for him too much. Well, good luck with that! Because, like Abby says, "it's the tattoos". I couldn't do it. But let me get back to Travis a bit later.

Beautiful Disaster and the companion book, Walking Disaster, are proof that there are more sides to a story and that you shouldn't judge one person using only information from one side. I'll tell you about that next week, when I review Walking Disaster.

I felt like both Abby and Travis are broken people. Abby never had a normal childhood and Travis... well, we don't know much about him, really. Because BD is told from Abby's POV I can see why most readers didn't like Travis. I mean, he was acting crazy, he was a little too violent at times (though not physically towards Abby), he was possessive and angry. I'm not trying to make excuses for him, but Abby didn't really come across as innocent to me. She was a little naive at first, but when she figured it out, she wasn't exactly fair to Travis. One moment she wanted him, the next she wanted nothing with him.

I liked America and Shep. They were both good friends for Abby and Travis and their love story was cute. Though at times both America "Mare" and Shep exaggerated at times with some of their fights, I think they'll make it in the end.

The thing I can think about that didn't... well, it wasn't as I'd expected it was. Abby's childhood. We know her dad wasn't great father material, we know she had to do stuff to get him out of trouble, but we're told that, not shown. There's one or two scenes where we actually get a glimpse of what Abby might have gone through in her past. I wish there were more of them or that there were scenes where she would remember something similar. It would've made me understand her more than I did.

I don't know if Abby and Travis would make it in real life. Maybe, maybe not. What I do know is that I liked their story and I think they do have a chance to make it. Oh, one thing I recommend. If you haven't yet read this book, I think you should wait and get both Beautiful and Walking and read them back to back. That's what I did and I'm glad I did it that way.

 

Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Of Silver and Beasts by Trisha Wolfe

Of Silver and Beasts (A Goddess Wars Novel)

by Trisha Wolfe

Release Date: June 1, 2013
Genre: New Adult Dark Fantasy
Cover Reveal Organized by: YA Bound
Cover Designed by: Steven Novak

Summary from Goodreads:

In the sand-covered queendom of Cavan, the goddess once saved a young Kaliope’s life, preventing the mercury her father attempted to hide in her blood from reaching her heart. Now, a cybernetic clamp filters it, but the silver streaks swirling faintly beneath her skin are a constant reminder that she’s different.When nineteen- year-old Kaliope is chosen as head of the Nactue Guard, she becomes the sworn protector to her empress.
 In the midst of an invasion on a neighboring land, Kaliope is placed in charge of guarding Prince Caben, the last heir to his kingdom. But when they’re attacked by the feared Otherworlders, Caben and Kaliope are abducted and taken below to a realm where they must fight for their life in a caged arena. 
Kaliope struggles to protect her princely charge, keeping him and herself alive while battling inhumanly opponents, and trying to save the stolen, sacred relic that will restore her empress’s life force and all of Cavan. And if she can somehow awaken the goddess within her, she may save what’s most important.

***Excerpt***

I open my mouth to say something comforting, but I’m unsure of what. In this moment, I’m reminded that I know little about him. Other than the sarcasm and desire to understand nothing of my queendom, he hasn’t allowed me past the surface.
But then, I have my own walls, hiding things I’d never want him or any other to know. And I understand that need to hide them. You can’t trust anyone.
“Caben…” I start, but still can’t find the right words.
He lowers his hand from his face, never taking his eyes off the glinting water top. 
“You’re right,” he finally says. “Let’s find the access to Lilly’s section.”
A hollow pang hits my chest, and I’m not sure why. Something in his voice sounds lost, broken. I imagine the gears around my heart spinning faster, trying to keep up with my racing heart. When he sidesteps me, I reach out and grab his arm.
“Caben, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine, Kal,” he snaps. “We have work to do.”
“No, I’ve said something to offend you.” I drop my hand, but keep close to him, not allowing him to leave my side. Goddess, trying to understand the male brain is harder than anything in protector training. I’ve heard people say that you have to tip-toe around a woman’s emotions, but a man’s ego is every bit as fragile, if not more so.
He releases a heavy breath through his nose and walks back to the pool. He sits down along the edge and rolls up his pants, then slips off his boots. “I honestly don’t think Bax or his goons will be returning tonight.” He sinks his bare feet into the water and sighs.
Glancing at the back of the cave, I plant my hands on my hips. We don’t have time for indulgencies, but the prince is still my charge. If it were my empress, I’d give her anything she’d ask for. Allow her as much time as she needed to collect herself. I have to watch over his mental state as well as protect him, so I try to push the pending need to find Lilly aside and sit down next to him.
“Here,” he says, turning his hand out near my crossed feet. “You have to feel this.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “I can remove my own—”
“Have you never been pampered a day in your life?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow. “I know that the Nactue are fierce and will put a hurt on any man for touching them. But try to relax.”
“Is that the rumor in Perinya?”
“What?”
I bite my lip, suddenly regretting my blurt. “Nothing. Never mind.”
From the corner of my eye, I see his lips pucker into a pinched smile, as if he’s trying not to. “Ah,” he says, like he’s made some great universal connection. “Well, there are many whisperings about the Nactue. Some I dare not repeat for fear I’d leave here missing a limb, but that’s one, yes.” He takes my booted foot and begins to unlace it. “I’ve heard that the empress’s protectors are untouchable—forbidden to give themselves to men. And that they’ll snap a man’s neck just for making an advance.”
My mouth drops open. Appalled, I counter, “That’s not true.”
“All right,” he says, as if he hasn’t just insulted my very existence. “It’s only rumors. Things men jaw about in pubs. The unattainable woman is a fantasy, Kal. Don’t be offended.”
“Unattainable?” I grit my teeth, trying to maintain my composure. “Tell me, prince. Do men in your country just go around bedding every woman they can in order to keep them compliant?” I shake my head. “If their fantasy is a woman that would have nothing to do with them, it seems to me it’s their way of feeding their egos after being rejected.”
His eyes widen. “No! How does your brain come up with these—” He bites off his words, his lips thin as he presses them together. “Look, it was a joke.”
I nod, many times. “Another joke. I’m glad that our hard work and sacrifice is amusing to the men of Perinya.”
Caben lets out another sigh and slowly pulls off my boot. His warm fingers skim my calf as he inches up my pant leg. “Just stick your foot in,” he says, then adds lower, “while I stick mine in my mouth.”
Unexpectedly, I laugh. “At least it’s now clean,” I say. “Would you like some help getting it to your face?”

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