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Beautiful #3
Almost Beautiful
The highly anticipated sequel to Jamie McGuire’s New York Times and internationally bestselling phenomenon, Beautiful Disaster.
Newlyweds Travis and Abby Maddox return from Vegas, hoping to one day leave Eastern State University’s fatal fire in the past. But when the FBI arrives in Eakins, friends quickly become enemies, and the Maddoxes fear their happy ever after could go up in flames.
Newlyweds Travis and Abby Maddox return from Vegas, hoping to one day leave Eastern State University’s fatal fire in the past. But when the FBI arrives in Eakins, friends quickly become enemies, and the Maddoxes fear their happy ever after could go up in flames.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 6, 2022
663 people are currently reading
12429 people want to read
About the author
Jamie McGuire
46 books42.8k 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 356 reviews
September 15, 2022
Why oh why did I read this? I’ve read every book in this series. And I’ve enjoyed them! Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster were my very first introductions into the new adult genre. I loved those books and they will always hold a special place. But this book…. What did I even read?
This book was all over the place. The editing was messy. We already know what happened to Abby and Travis through the multitude of other books in the series. It didn’t really add too much to the story at all. It was so repetitive! How many times must Travis play the ‘poor me’ schtick, that a girl like Abby could ever be interested in a messed up guy like him? And how many times do we need to have Abby reassuring him that she will never leave him? She loves him for who he is and blah blah blah. They confess their love for each other over and over and over…. We get it!! You love each other. And how many times must Travis refer to Abby as his wife? We know, you’re married. She still has a name. It was just so overused. The neediness of Travis and Abby was embarrassing. Grow up and accept that the vows you took on your wedding day! start living your lives without being constantly reminded that he/she could leave you at any moment because someone was late or had an argument! My goodness! I felt like I was talking crazy pills!
The inconsistencies with time were also rampant . This apparently took place in 2009 and early 2010. I’m sorry, but Instagram wasn’t a thing then. Instagram came out October 2010.. and even then, no one was scrolling and posting about this stupid fight or the memorial during that time. Also, Abby FaceTimed Travis in early 2010, when Facetime wasn’t around until later in 2010. The fashion choices and music were all not relevant to this time either. It was ridiculous. I’m a nobody and even I can figure out when certain things came about and all it took was a simple Google search to confirm it. The editing was basically nonexistent in this book.
Also, in what universe do men, who see Abby, who’s clearly with meathead Travis, come up to her and say she can do better? Am I missing something? Same goes for the women in this book who see Travis with Abby and are always throwing themselves at him? In real life this doesn’t always happen! Why is everyone always wanting to get with someone else who’s taken?? all the time??! It’s just not believable! People might check you out, but if you’re clearly taken, they back off. It’s so not believable.
The characters in this book were just insufferable. I don’t know if I was in a different frame of mind when I read the first two books in 2012/2013, but I don’t think so. This book was a massive train wreck. When the whole Maddox crew is together in one place, watch out. Secondhand embarrassment is flowing like all the desperate single men and ladies that flock to Travis and Abby.
If you’re a fan of this series, don’t read this book. Just… don’t. It’ll ruin what joy you have left and make you ponder your life’s choices. I still love Jamie and her other books in the series, just not this book. Am I going to see the movie for Beautiful Disaster? Of course! I’ve been playing it out in my head for years wondering what it would be like to see it made. I honestly didn’t mean to totally rip this book apart. But I’m such a fan of the series and I was severely disappointed with it!
This book was all over the place. The editing was messy. We already know what happened to Abby and Travis through the multitude of other books in the series. It didn’t really add too much to the story at all. It was so repetitive! How many times must Travis play the ‘poor me’ schtick, that a girl like Abby could ever be interested in a messed up guy like him? And how many times do we need to have Abby reassuring him that she will never leave him? She loves him for who he is and blah blah blah. They confess their love for each other over and over and over…. We get it!! You love each other. And how many times must Travis refer to Abby as his wife? We know, you’re married. She still has a name. It was just so overused. The neediness of Travis and Abby was embarrassing. Grow up and accept that the vows you took on your wedding day! start living your lives without being constantly reminded that he/she could leave you at any moment because someone was late or had an argument! My goodness! I felt like I was talking crazy pills!
The inconsistencies with time were also rampant . This apparently took place in 2009 and early 2010. I’m sorry, but Instagram wasn’t a thing then. Instagram came out October 2010.. and even then, no one was scrolling and posting about this stupid fight or the memorial during that time. Also, Abby FaceTimed Travis in early 2010, when Facetime wasn’t around until later in 2010. The fashion choices and music were all not relevant to this time either. It was ridiculous. I’m a nobody and even I can figure out when certain things came about and all it took was a simple Google search to confirm it. The editing was basically nonexistent in this book.
Also, in what universe do men, who see Abby, who’s clearly with meathead Travis, come up to her and say she can do better? Am I missing something? Same goes for the women in this book who see Travis with Abby and are always throwing themselves at him? In real life this doesn’t always happen! Why is everyone always wanting to get with someone else who’s taken?? all the time??! It’s just not believable! People might check you out, but if you’re clearly taken, they back off. It’s so not believable.
The characters in this book were just insufferable. I don’t know if I was in a different frame of mind when I read the first two books in 2012/2013, but I don’t think so. This book was a massive train wreck. When the whole Maddox crew is together in one place, watch out. Secondhand embarrassment is flowing like all the desperate single men and ladies that flock to Travis and Abby.
If you’re a fan of this series, don’t read this book. Just… don’t. It’ll ruin what joy you have left and make you ponder your life’s choices. I still love Jamie and her other books in the series, just not this book. Am I going to see the movie for Beautiful Disaster? Of course! I’ve been playing it out in my head for years wondering what it would be like to see it made. I honestly didn’t mean to totally rip this book apart. But I’m such a fan of the series and I was severely disappointed with it!
September 9, 2022
I wanted to love this book, but it fell completely flat for me. I love the characters Abby and Travis but it feels like this is about squeezing out the last drabs of the characters.It certainly wasn't worth the money I paid for it, in the end of another of the beautiful series, we knew about the children, that Abby knew what Travis did for a living, this was just repeating it, sorry but very, very disappointing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 27, 2024
I really love this series. This is the best book yet. With the couple finally solidly in married life, all of their struggles are with the ongoing investigation and with treading water financially. I enjoy this much more than the college dating drama.
I hope she writes another one. She sets it up perfectly to keep going.
I hope she writes another one. She sets it up perfectly to keep going.
September 9, 2022
Oh this was all over the place. It dragged, it skipped time in a weird manner. I really debated if I was going to read this because I don’t think the author is a very nice or decent person. I skimmed a bit that seemed repetitive. I think I’m done with any more books about this group.
September 7, 2022
I am so excited to have received an ARC copy of Almost Beautiful in exchange for an honest review! Readers have been waiting for years to have a Beautiful Disaster sequel, and it’s finally here! I really loved this book! The story picks up after the end of Beautiful Disaster and following Travis and Abby’s new life as newlyweds while coping with the ramifications of the campus fire. I swooned, I cried, I cheered this story on until the end. It was a very easy read and the chapters were quick to go through. Now that the book is over, I’m so eager for more!
While this book is a direct sequel to Beautiful Disaster, I do recommend reading The Maddox Brothers books first for some moments in the story to make sense.
I loved it, and I hope there’s more to come for the Maddox family! :-)
While this book is a direct sequel to Beautiful Disaster, I do recommend reading The Maddox Brothers books first for some moments in the story to make sense.
I loved it, and I hope there’s more to come for the Maddox family! :-)
September 9, 2022
2.5 ⭐️
Travis y Abby siempre van a tener un lugar en mi cora porque eran mis favs cuando tenía 18 (jsjsjsjss lol ya sé) y pues no importa, siempre voy a querer leer más sobre ellos y sobre los Maddox.
Sin embargo, esta historia se me hizo tan irreal (? 🥴 se supone que nos da respuesta a muchas preguntas que teníamos pero varias veces se me hizo tan (????
En fin, estuvo entretenido volver a leer sobre ellos.
Travis y Abby siempre van a tener un lugar en mi cora porque eran mis favs cuando tenía 18 (jsjsjsjss lol ya sé) y pues no importa, siempre voy a querer leer más sobre ellos y sobre los Maddox.
Sin embargo, esta historia se me hizo tan irreal (? 🥴 se supone que nos da respuesta a muchas preguntas que teníamos pero varias veces se me hizo tan (????
En fin, estuvo entretenido volver a leer sobre ellos.
September 5, 2022
There is absolutely nothing I love more than an Abby and Travis story so when I heard this was coming out I was so ecstatic. I was lucky enough to be gifted an ARC by the Maddox maker herself and omg I can’t say thank you enough. Thank you for the ARC. Thank you for creating the wonderful Maddox men and thank you for giving more of Travis and Abby’s story.
If you loved Beautiful Disaster, Walking Disaster, and A Beautiful Wedding you will love this just as much.
It picks up right after they get back from Vegas and you get all the extras you were wanting then.
Absolutely loved this book and fingers crossed we get more Maddox in the future
If you loved Beautiful Disaster, Walking Disaster, and A Beautiful Wedding you will love this just as much.
It picks up right after they get back from Vegas and you get all the extras you were wanting then.
Absolutely loved this book and fingers crossed we get more Maddox in the future
November 16, 2023
Voto libro: 3.5
Per leggere la recensione in blog cliccare qui:
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Per leggere la recensione in blog cliccare qui:
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...
should-i-shouldnt-i
August 26, 2022Thought the sequel was out already. Apparently not.
Book 3 - Almost Beautiful:
The highly anticipated sequel to Jamie McGuire’s New York Times and internationally bestselling phenomenon, Beautiful Disaster.
Book 2 - Walking Disaster:
The story through Travis’s eyes.
Book 1.5 - Mrs. Maddox:
It’s Travis and Abby’s first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, from Abby’s perspective.
Book 2.5 - A Beautiful Wedding:
Everything about Abby and Travis’s elopement was top-secret . . . until now
Book 1 - Beautiful Disaster
Book 3 - Almost Beautiful:
The highly anticipated sequel to Jamie McGuire’s New York Times and internationally bestselling phenomenon, Beautiful Disaster.
Book 2 - Walking Disaster:
The story through Travis’s eyes.
Book 1.5 - Mrs. Maddox:
It’s Travis and Abby’s first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, from Abby’s perspective.
Book 2.5 - A Beautiful Wedding:
Everything about Abby and Travis’s elopement was top-secret . . . until now
Book 1 - Beautiful Disaster
December 11, 2022
!!!!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!
Okay after a full debrief and sitting on everything, I had to lower my original rating.
There some huge things I did not agree with.
FIRST. She changed the ENTIRE way Abby announced the pregnancy AND America ISNT pregnant yet.
TWO. Abby WAS unhinged in this book. Yes I wanted to see her emotions more BUT the way she was with Cami was uncalled for. Abby Hardly EVER has a poker face in this book except for the poker game at the Sig Tau house
THREE. I may have disliked Parker BUT she butchered his character. Like he wasn’t so sleazy in Beautiful Disaster OR Walking Disaster
FOUR. Jamie’s writing was WAY more aggressive in this book. TRAVIS WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED LEAVING ABBY.
FIVE. The whole subplot with her mother. WAS IT NECESSARY? Did her mom NEED to randomly show up? Did Abby really need to find out through Jesse that she died? AND identify the body? All for Abby just to come to the conclusion of feeling indifferent about her death? WHICH WE ALREADY KNEW FROM BD AND WD! Like there could’ve been a less traumatic way to do this IMO.
SIX. WHERE are her editors? I found MULTIPLE grammatical errors in this book that were just blatant. Did an editor actually read this or skim it? It almost made me not want to read it. This is not the author’s fault but in her editor instead.
SEVEN. Timeline issues. The universe is set in early 2000s. Yet in this book you hear about lots about updated technology, Uber, specifically. That wasn’t a thing back then. In BD and WD you have to hear the news from the tv m, Travis has a flip phone, etc. Yet in this book he orders an Uber?
Okay after a full debrief and sitting on everything, I had to lower my original rating.
There some huge things I did not agree with.
FIRST. She changed the ENTIRE way Abby announced the pregnancy AND America ISNT pregnant yet.
TWO. Abby WAS unhinged in this book. Yes I wanted to see her emotions more BUT the way she was with Cami was uncalled for. Abby Hardly EVER has a poker face in this book except for the poker game at the Sig Tau house
THREE. I may have disliked Parker BUT she butchered his character. Like he wasn’t so sleazy in Beautiful Disaster OR Walking Disaster
FOUR. Jamie’s writing was WAY more aggressive in this book. TRAVIS WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN CONSIDERED LEAVING ABBY.
FIVE. The whole subplot with her mother. WAS IT NECESSARY? Did her mom NEED to randomly show up? Did Abby really need to find out through Jesse that she died? AND identify the body? All for Abby just to come to the conclusion of feeling indifferent about her death? WHICH WE ALREADY KNEW FROM BD AND WD! Like there could’ve been a less traumatic way to do this IMO.
SIX. WHERE are her editors? I found MULTIPLE grammatical errors in this book that were just blatant. Did an editor actually read this or skim it? It almost made me not want to read it. This is not the author’s fault but in her editor instead.
SEVEN. Timeline issues. The universe is set in early 2000s. Yet in this book you hear about lots about updated technology, Uber, specifically. That wasn’t a thing back then. In BD and WD you have to hear the news from the tv m, Travis has a flip phone, etc. Yet in this book he orders an Uber?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2022
I was really looking forward to this book, I really did enjoy it-it kept my interest and was able to finish it in 2 days. I loved the story continuation of abby and travis and the Maddox Brothers. Although this book was a bit disappointing due to errors and timeline errors that took me out of the book. Since this book is a direct follow up to beautiful disaster FaceTime, Instagram, uber, making calls from your car, jersey shore show,/Pauly D were not created yet. Also abby says she is going to get in and out burgers for everyone- that restraunt does not have any locations in Illinois (where the book takes place) small details like these really took me out of the story and I felt it was really lazy on the authors part for not working out these time lines and details before publishing. Also felt like 70% of this book waa Travis trying to decide if he deserves abby and always asking her if she was going to stay or she regretted marrying him-it became very repetitive.Overall I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next installment
November 6, 2022
I read Beautiful Disaster when it originally came out and was absolutely hooked. Since then I’ve read every Maddox Brothers book, every novella, and every spin-off that has come out. So when this sequel was announced, I nearly wept with excited tears. And while I did enjoy it, it did fall a bit flat for me.
Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good story and it was so nice getting more Abby and Travis, but I really needed more. After so many spin-off books that have continued the original storyline, I would’ve rather this book picked up where those ended as opposed to picking up where the original book did. I feel like so much more could’ve been done with a fairly new plot instead telling a story we already had a lot of the pieces to.
All in all, I did still enjoy this and will continue reading books in this series/universe (I know there are more set to come out soon so that’s exciting!) 🤩
Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good story and it was so nice getting more Abby and Travis, but I really needed more. After so many spin-off books that have continued the original storyline, I would’ve rather this book picked up where those ended as opposed to picking up where the original book did. I feel like so much more could’ve been done with a fairly new plot instead telling a story we already had a lot of the pieces to.
All in all, I did still enjoy this and will continue reading books in this series/universe (I know there are more set to come out soon so that’s exciting!) 🤩
September 6, 2022
OMG…I’m in love….AGAIN, or rather still!!! 🥰 I didn’t realize just HOW much I missed Travis, Abby, and all the Maddox’s until reading!!
It felt so wonderful and comfortable to fall right back into where we left off with Beautiful Disaster!!!! So many of our questions get answered and conversations I didn’t know I wanted to hear!! All the feels were felt!! We find out more of what happens after the fire at Keaton, Trenton and Cami’s accident, Travis getting recruited into the FBI, married life for Travis and Abby, another visit to Vegas and more! There’s plenty of Finch, America, Shepley, the Maddox Brothers and yes, even Parker….#%^* Parker!
The Maddox Maker has done it again with that McGuire Magic✨! It wasn’t just Almost Beautiful, it was Fucking Brilliant!!
TRAVIS AND ABBY ARE BACK!! Sooooo sooooo good!!! 🦋❤️🙌🏻
It felt so wonderful and comfortable to fall right back into where we left off with Beautiful Disaster!!!! So many of our questions get answered and conversations I didn’t know I wanted to hear!! All the feels were felt!! We find out more of what happens after the fire at Keaton, Trenton and Cami’s accident, Travis getting recruited into the FBI, married life for Travis and Abby, another visit to Vegas and more! There’s plenty of Finch, America, Shepley, the Maddox Brothers and yes, even Parker….#%^* Parker!
The Maddox Maker has done it again with that McGuire Magic✨! It wasn’t just Almost Beautiful, it was Fucking Brilliant!!
TRAVIS AND ABBY ARE BACK!! Sooooo sooooo good!!! 🦋❤️🙌🏻
March 7, 2024
O. Mój. Boże.
Jakie tu było nudne, nijakie i stuprocentowo amerykańskie. Brakowało tylko wybuchów w tle i mielibyśmy czysty amerykański absurd, który oglądasz jednym okiem z wyłączonym myśleniem. Nie polubiłam bohaterów w pierwszej części, a teraz lubię ich jeszcze mniej, bo jako małżeństwo tracą wiele. On wciąż jest toksycznym dupkiem, ona zachowuje się idiotycznie, razem są infantylni i nie do zniesienia. Cała akcja z FBI to jak wisienka na torcie i strzał prosto w twarz, bo większego absurdu nie wymyśliłabym nawet po pijaku.
Także miło, że to już koniec, nie polecam i mam nadzieję, że już nigdy się nie spotkamy (w trakcie słuchania kompletnie straciłam ochotę na książki o braciach Maddox, nie zrobię sobie tego).
Jakie tu było nudne, nijakie i stuprocentowo amerykańskie. Brakowało tylko wybuchów w tle i mielibyśmy czysty amerykański absurd, który oglądasz jednym okiem z wyłączonym myśleniem. Nie polubiłam bohaterów w pierwszej części, a teraz lubię ich jeszcze mniej, bo jako małżeństwo tracą wiele. On wciąż jest toksycznym dupkiem, ona zachowuje się idiotycznie, razem są infantylni i nie do zniesienia. Cała akcja z FBI to jak wisienka na torcie i strzał prosto w twarz, bo większego absurdu nie wymyśliłabym nawet po pijaku.
Także miło, że to już koniec, nie polecam i mam nadzieję, że już nigdy się nie spotkamy (w trakcie słuchania kompletnie straciłam ochotę na książki o braciach Maddox, nie zrobię sobie tego).
September 16, 2022
JAMIE DID IT AGAIN🥹🥹
I can’t believe this book. It’s not a lie if I say we have waited for this book too long.
If you’ve read the other Maddox books you could easily predict the events but somehow they were still exciting, exploring them from a whole another point of view. ALSO THE DUAL POV, I ATE IT.
I’m still crying but the same time laughing, screaming I knew even though I didn’t. This was perfect. One of my top reads so far💖💖💖💖
I can’t believe this book. It’s not a lie if I say we have waited for this book too long.
If you’ve read the other Maddox books you could easily predict the events but somehow they were still exciting, exploring them from a whole another point of view. ALSO THE DUAL POV, I ATE IT.
I’m still crying but the same time laughing, screaming I knew even though I didn’t. This was perfect. One of my top reads so far💖💖💖💖
to-buy
March 2, 2023how did I not hear about this?!
August 3, 2023
4.5⭐️
October 8, 2023
L’ho trovato abbastanza inutile
September 2, 2022
I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I am a huge Jamie McGuire Fan, I love the way that she writes. I love the Maddox boys and their whole lives. This book was the perfect addition to the family.
If you loved Beautiful Disaster you will definitely love this. It tells the tales of Abby and Travis' lives from the end of Beautiful/Walking Disaster, all the way through to A Beautiful Wedding, from there it sets up the storyline perfectly for A Beautiful Funeral.
It will make you giggle, cry, and hurt ...and yell "omg did she just throw it back to that" - let me tell you, she most certainly did. It will give you answers to the questions that have been keeping you up at night over the last 10 years, and as always - you'll end up wishing the maddox boy was yours.
I am a huge Jamie McGuire Fan, I love the way that she writes. I love the Maddox boys and their whole lives. This book was the perfect addition to the family.
If you loved Beautiful Disaster you will definitely love this. It tells the tales of Abby and Travis' lives from the end of Beautiful/Walking Disaster, all the way through to A Beautiful Wedding, from there it sets up the storyline perfectly for A Beautiful Funeral.
It will make you giggle, cry, and hurt ...and yell "omg did she just throw it back to that" - let me tell you, she most certainly did. It will give you answers to the questions that have been keeping you up at night over the last 10 years, and as always - you'll end up wishing the maddox boy was yours.
July 8, 2023
I promise you these books had me cheesing from ear to ear and crying like a baby next
September 8, 2022
I debated if I was gonna even get this book, but decided I should because I have been invested in the Maddox’s for years. I gave it a solid 4 stars.
October 11, 2022
3.5🌟
I was initially torn between giving this a 3 star or a 4 star rating so I settled on 3.5.
I was so excited to start this “sequel” and in a sense re-read a series that I absolutely fell in love with when I was 17. Trenton still has my heart 100% even though this book was in no way, shape or form about him; just had to put it out there.
The majority of this sequel was basically a regurgitation of Beautiful Disaster, main difference being the exchanging POVs between Abby and Travis. It didn’t really give us anything new but it filled a lot of gaps along the way and it was nice to see how other characters were perceived or what went on in their heads in different scenarios.
One thing that I still cannot get over is Abby’s initial major disdain and borderline hate towards Cami. Okay, we get it she dated Thomas and is now with Trenton. But like neither Trenton nor Travis really care that much, why do you? Anyways, that was annoying me a lot but I’m glad that they got over their differences.
Lastly, 17 year old me would’ve eaten this sequel up and given it a 5 star rating from the get go. Adult me on the other hand cannot get over some of the cringey dialogue. A couple scenes were also quite unrealistic, some of them sound like something straight out of a movie. With that being said, I’ll always have a soft spot for the Maddox brothers and will definitely re-read the entire series again.
I was initially torn between giving this a 3 star or a 4 star rating so I settled on 3.5.
I was so excited to start this “sequel” and in a sense re-read a series that I absolutely fell in love with when I was 17. Trenton still has my heart 100% even though this book was in no way, shape or form about him; just had to put it out there.
The majority of this sequel was basically a regurgitation of Beautiful Disaster, main difference being the exchanging POVs between Abby and Travis. It didn’t really give us anything new but it filled a lot of gaps along the way and it was nice to see how other characters were perceived or what went on in their heads in different scenarios.
One thing that I still cannot get over is Abby’s initial major disdain and borderline hate towards Cami. Okay, we get it she dated Thomas and is now with Trenton. But like neither Trenton nor Travis really care that much, why do you? Anyways, that was annoying me a lot but I’m glad that they got over their differences.
Lastly, 17 year old me would’ve eaten this sequel up and given it a 5 star rating from the get go. Adult me on the other hand cannot get over some of the cringey dialogue. A couple scenes were also quite unrealistic, some of them sound like something straight out of a movie. With that being said, I’ll always have a soft spot for the Maddox brothers and will definitely re-read the entire series again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2022
Book: Almost Beautiful
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“I had seen Travis rage, fall in love, fear for our lives, worry, and I’d see him at peace. Watching him as he realized he was going to be a father was absolutely my favorite”
In case you didn’t know this is the 3rd book of the beautiful disaster series, yes I am obsessed and I’m not ashamed at all!
Not much to say except that I’m so happy I finally got to read this book, I didn’t know I need it this much 😂🙊…
Travis Maddox is my forever favorite book boyfriend and my feelings for him only got bigger after this…💕🔥🙌🏾
In this book, we get what happened after they came back from Vegas, how those first months as a Young college married couple, and the afterward of the fire that changed it all for them…
Abby and Travis love each other so much, life will continue and now without the fights and easy money things got more real, the part that I enjoyed was that I got to see Travis more vulnerable, I got to see how deep his insecurities are and how much is too much for him when it comes to lying to protect Abby…
Abby is just too smart for him 😂 she can read him so easily, he didn’t even know she knew all about his little secret, we get to see and learn a little bit more about the other Maddox brothers and their wives, plus more of America and Shep because without them nothing would be possible
I didn’t get much of 🔥🌶🔥🌶 moments but I understand because the focus was on how they were coping with the drama and how Travis got into the job he never told Abby he was doing…
This is my favorite romance series and I won’t complain if more books come, I’ll drop everything and devour them just like I did with the rest….
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“I had seen Travis rage, fall in love, fear for our lives, worry, and I’d see him at peace. Watching him as he realized he was going to be a father was absolutely my favorite”
In case you didn’t know this is the 3rd book of the beautiful disaster series, yes I am obsessed and I’m not ashamed at all!
Not much to say except that I’m so happy I finally got to read this book, I didn’t know I need it this much 😂🙊…
Travis Maddox is my forever favorite book boyfriend and my feelings for him only got bigger after this…💕🔥🙌🏾
In this book, we get what happened after they came back from Vegas, how those first months as a Young college married couple, and the afterward of the fire that changed it all for them…
Abby and Travis love each other so much, life will continue and now without the fights and easy money things got more real, the part that I enjoyed was that I got to see Travis more vulnerable, I got to see how deep his insecurities are and how much is too much for him when it comes to lying to protect Abby…
Abby is just too smart for him 😂 she can read him so easily, he didn’t even know she knew all about his little secret, we get to see and learn a little bit more about the other Maddox brothers and their wives, plus more of America and Shep because without them nothing would be possible
I didn’t get much of 🔥🌶🔥🌶 moments but I understand because the focus was on how they were coping with the drama and how Travis got into the job he never told Abby he was doing…
This is my favorite romance series and I won’t complain if more books come, I’ll drop everything and devour them just like I did with the rest….
September 13, 2022
This book was disappointing to me. I’ve read Beautiful Disaster probably 5 times now in the last decade and absolutely love it. I love the entire series— I own physical and electronic copies of each book.
Almost Beautiful didn’t add anything to the story of Abby and Travis because we know how they end up. We know their children, careers, secrets, etc, so this story added nothing new. Felt boring at times and a little cash grab banking on the success of this series.
Almost Beautiful didn’t add anything to the story of Abby and Travis because we know how they end up. We know their children, careers, secrets, etc, so this story added nothing new. Felt boring at times and a little cash grab banking on the success of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2022
The typos. The inconsistencies of the timeline. The repetitiveness. The modern/pop-culture references like FaceTime & Saweetie. This felt like 90% filler.
3.5 stars bc I love Travis. That is all.
3.5 stars bc I love Travis. That is all.
Read
September 8, 2022That epilogue was so worth it. I want to see Travis being a daddy. Too cute.
November 8, 2024
So I liked Beautiful Disaster and LOVED walking disaster, but this book was so different and far from realistic, I had a hard time getting into. At the end of the first two books, the H is at his last fight and it's being held in a basement on campus. Right after the fight, a lantern fell on to a bunch of the covered desks and of course the whole thing went in flames. They had a harrowing escape from the fire, barely made it out, many people died. That's where this book starts, it's all about the fire being investigated. Somehow, they decide their best course of action is just to say they weren't there 🙄🤦🏼♀️ Okay, of ALL the defenses you could come up with, you really think you are going to convince people that the fighter wasn't there? Seriously? 😂 There were like a dozens of people there, you think no one got the fight on camera or photo? Or would know who the fighters were? Like that would have been basic *basic* information! If they knew about the fights, there's no way they didn't know about he fighters, especially since he's the main one. So that's the first dumb thing. The second dumb thing is how big of a deal they tried to make it! I mean sure it would have been tragic and I assume the people responsible would get at least first-degree arson charges, maybe involuntary manslaughter, so it's definitely a legitimate worry, but he was just one of the fighters, he didn't set anything up and then they had the FBI come in and investigate! Which how would that even happen? That's only for national cases! This was in the basement of a college campus in the heart of Illinois.l , far from international. What's even sillier is they go to ALL this work and ALL this trouble, even going to Vegas and getting married to create an albi and in the end, none of it matters, they are basically fucked anyways, but then the H's brother turns out to secretly be an FBI agent this whole time and not just that, he's the lead investigator into this case! 😂 Does he let his little brother off the hook? Of course not! He strong arms him into becoming an informant for the FBI and makes him not just inform on that case, but join on a multi-year, international mob bust they're working on and they're going to make him go work undercover for this mob boss who KNOWS his wife. The brother knows this is why Abby left him the first time and not only is he going to make him go do this thing his wife ADAMANTLY doesn't want him involved in, he's going to give the added layer of danger by sending him undercover without any real training AND make him lie to his wife about what he's doing.The FBI honestly thinks they can hide all of this from the a expert people reader who has been trained her whole life to notice the most minor details?😂🤦🏼♀️🙄 OMG, it's even worse as I'm writing it out and thinking about it. Then the time line is a huge cluster! It was either badly messed up or was so confusing you couldn't get the time frames straight. Regardless, you just kinda had to go with it. I enjoyed the first 2 books enough that it made seeing the characters interact enjoyable, but that's the only real redeeming quality. I'm not sure why she decided to take it in this direction, it's so different from the original storyline and wasn't really well thought out. I did enjoy the epilogue though, when Abby finally calls out his brother's wife on the whole making Travis work undercover thing. It was very satisfying. All-in-all if you didn't really enjoy the first ones, you should definitely skip this one.
September 11, 2022
I really really wanted to love this book, I really did… but I couldn’t. I liked it fine, but to be honest it fell really flat. So much of what was in it you get from bits and pieces of the Maddox Brothers’ books, so there’s some redundancy there. Plus much of this book came from a wattpad series that Jamie McGuire did so that made it very familiar as well, not that I didn’t want to see that all in book form (I never finished reading it on wattpad because I just lost interest in the chapter at a time format), it just didn’t feel very new the way I was expecting. I noticed some inconsistencies where things were written in this book like it’s present day, but in truth it’s still 2010 (based on when this takes place in reference to the original book). References to Uber (which had just started in 2009 and likely wasn’t running in a small town in Illinois) and songs that just came out this year. There were a few other things that just really made it feel thrown together. There were even things like when they bought their car that lined up differently timing wise from the original story. Just weird stuff that didn’t add up. There was also some sort misprint in the paperback where a part of a conversation is missing. It just randomly jumps to a completely different sentence. It just felt sloppy, like it was trying to milk just one more book from Travis and Abby’s story. Now the book still gets 3 stars because I do love Travis and Abby and I love all of the Maddox characters and there were a few bits and pieces in this that I really liked but overall it really left me wanting and feeling unsatisfied. I’d have loved the sequel to be more about Travis’ time working with Thomas and all that entailed… this all just felt like old news.
November 21, 2022
If you've read the other books in the series, there is no need to read this book. You've already read it all in Mrs. Maddox and A Beautiful Wedding. This book is just repeating what we already know. We already know where there are after one of the epilogue, because it's 11 years later. We know what Travis does for a job, we already know what he does with Benny and Abby's dad, we know how many kids they have...we know everything
So I'm not really sure what the point of this book was. I love Travis and Abby, but this was really overkill on this story. I don't need to read more about this stupid fire. We already dealt with all of it in previous books. Why give us an epilogue that shows so far into their lives to then bring us back to rehash things that don't need to be rehashed?? We already know what happens.
This book was all over the place too. We had probably 150 pages of Travis being insecure which was getting really old. Then it's like we throw in Brandon to what? Try to add something?? It didn't work for me. Too obvious and too far-fetched at the same time. I'm also not sure any of this is how undercover FBI or police investigations work either.
So I'm not really sure what the point of this book was. I love Travis and Abby, but this was really overkill on this story. I don't need to read more about this stupid fire. We already dealt with all of it in previous books. Why give us an epilogue that shows so far into their lives to then bring us back to rehash things that don't need to be rehashed?? We already know what happens.
This book was all over the place too. We had probably 150 pages of Travis being insecure which was getting really old. Then it's like we throw in Brandon to what? Try to add something?? It didn't work for me. Too obvious and too far-fetched at the same time. I'm also not sure any of this is how undercover FBI or police investigations work either.
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