Review: Walking Disaster - Jamie McGuire

UK Cover

How much is too much to love?

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. Just when he thought he was invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Jamie McGuire's New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster Abby had her say. Now it's time to see the story through Travis's eyes.

Beautiful Series:
Beautiful Disaster
Walking Disaster
A Beautiful Wedding (Novella)
Beautiful Oblivion
Beautiful Redemption (release date to be confirmed)

Visit Jamie McGuire's website for more information

Review:
Anyone who fell in love with Travis Maddox when they read Beautiful Disaster will have been desperately waiting to get their hands on Walking Disaster to see the story again from his point of view. Although the story is essentially the same this version skips over some events from the previous book and adds a lot of extra scenes that we hadn't seen before so there is plenty to hold your attention as you read. I wouldn't recommend reading Travis's version of events until after you've read Abby's POV though because I think the way some things have been skimmed over would make it harder to follow this story if you're not already familiar with the way events played out.

Learning more about Travis's family and seeing the way his mother's death effected him really gives you insight into why he acts in the way he does. Travis makes no apologies for his behaviour and I don't always agree with his actions but now I feel like I can understand him so much more than before. Whatever you think about Abby and Travis's relationship (and I said in my review of Beautiful Disaster that it isn't exactly the kind of relationship we should be hoping to emulate!) there is something compelling about watching the two of them together. They push each other's buttons and they're constantly arguing but at the same time they have this undeniable connection that neither of them is able to walk away from.

We already knew from his behaviour that Travis has issues but seeing inside his head shows just how badly he has been hurt in the past and how much he deeply cares about Abby. One of the things I enjoyed most about Walking Disaster was seeing the relationship between Travis, his four older brothers and their father. The whole family lost their centre when his mother died but they have become even closer since then. The brothers argue and rib each other constantly but each of them would drop anything if one of the others needed them. We get to see a lot more of Trent and Thomas in this book which is fantastic because Jamie McGuire is planning on writing their stories in the future and I definitely want to spend more time getting to know them.

Fans of Travis are going to love getting inside his head in Walking Disaster, he is just as obsessed, possessive and overbearing as you expect him to be but he is also protective, caring and deep down incredibly vulnerable. If you already had a soft spot for him you're going to be head over heels by the time you finish reading this book!

Source: Initially received from publisher via NetGalley but I also received a print copy from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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Paperback:

US Cover

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