Okay, now I've read my fair share of 'bad boy' books. You know the kind. 'Oh, this guy is such a creepy jerk and he's stalking me but he's hot so it's okay'. Well let me tell you now, Travis Maddox is the worst of them. Yes, the impossible has been achieved and we finally have a romantic fantasy figure creepier than Edward Cullen.
Travis Maddox is not someone people should dream about being with. He's possessive, he's emotionally unstable, he flies into fits of rage and he punches every other guy who so much as looks at Abby. And guess what? He never gets called out on his behaviour! In the end him and Abby end up happily married and with matching, possessive tattoos. No, seriously. Abby literally ends up branded with his name like a prize cow.
So yes, Beautiful Disaster is one of 'those' books. In fact, laughably so. In the first scene Abby is wearing pearls and a cardigan just to emphasise how sweet and innocent she is, while Travis is introduced with a lengthy description of his tattoos and a scene which involves him bare-knuckle boxing. Only wait, there's a twist! See, Abby isn't the good girl everyone thinks she is. No, it turns out she has a secret...
Her father gambles. That's literally it.
Oh come on. That's not even an issue, especially since Abby's dad is naturally one of Travis's heroes so he just finds it cool. You know what would have been refreshing? If Abby's secret was she used to be a slut. Seriously, now that would have been worth reading. Travis would have to cope with his insane jealousy and confront the fact that he wasn't the only person she'd slept with. That would have involved working through his issues and you know, some actual conflict. Instead we get this half-baked subplot of her dad owing money to some mobsters in Vegas and god, who cares really?
Travis and Abby are without a doubt, the King and Queen of Dysfunctional Relationships. There is not one ounce of drama in this book which doesn't stem from one or both of them acting completely crazy. Side characters are hardly any better, with Abby's friend constantly urging her on to get with the crazy psychopath who completely trashed his apartment when he found out she left him and who chases away other guys when they're not even together. There is one reason and one reason alone to read this book-comedy value. The one upside is it isn't terribly written and I doubt anyone is actually stupid enough to believe this is what a relationship should be like.
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