Review: Walking Disaster

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.

Title: Walking Disaster (Beautiful ~ Book 2)
Author: Jamie McGuire | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website
Publication Date: April 2 2013
Publisher: Atria Books 
Length: 488 Pages
Add it to your TBR Pile: Goodreads
Buy It: Amazon US / Amazon UK

Source: Direct from Publisher via NetGalley
Cover Love: Love it, perfectly fitting for the series.
Point of View: 1st person, following Travis

My Rating: 4 Stars

Holy hell, how long have we been awaiting the release of Walking Disaster?  For me at least it seems like absolute ages.  I've had a countdown on my cubical at work for months and months...  And now here it is, the day is upon us.  We are finally back into the story of Abby and Travis and even better, we are in Travis' head.  What a great place to be...

“Maybe it was just me.  Maybe it was just me and her.  Maybe together we were this volatile entity that would either implode or meld together.  Either way, it seemed the moment I met her, my life had been turned upside down.  And I didn't want it any other way.”

This is where I warn you that of course you must read Beautiful Disaster before you read Walking Disaster.  This is in no way shape or form a stand alone novel and if you have not read book one you will be lost.  It also wouldn't hurt to have read it recently.  I actually read Beautiful Disaster twice in 2012 (the 2nd time in December) and I feel like I could have actually benefited from reading it again closer to this release.

“It might sound hypocritical to the women who have passed through my apartment door, but if they carried themselves with respect, I would have given it to them. ”

Travis is everything I expected him be.  Crude, rude and ultimately loveable.  It is true, you either love him or you loathe him.  I for one love him.  I love every single alpha male bone in his body.  But you know what, even saying that seems weird because I don't really see him as an alpha male.  Abby has all of the power in their relationship and if you didn't get that vibe in Beautiful Disaster then you will for sure see it when reading it from Travis' point of view.

Yes he tries to control the situations around him.  He has never felt this way about a girl before and it scares the hell out of him.  But again, it is all Abby.  She controls every aspect of what happens and it is unfair for people to dislike Travis as a character because they see him as an alpha, domineering jerk.  Maybe he tries to portray himself in that manner but once you are in his head you will see his true nature.

“Once she kissed me, my heart slowed, and every muscle in my body relaxed.  How much I needed her terrified me.”

I enjoyed every single moment of Walking Disaster but I don't feel like it was long enough.  I know, you see that it is 488 pages and you think that is pretty long.  But you have to remember this has three things that Beautiful Disaster did not.  A prologue, a 'new' chapter at the end that takes place just after the original ending and an epilogue.

“One of these days you're going to fall in love, son.  Don't settle for just anyone.  Choose the girl that doesn't come easy; the one you have to fight for, and then never stop fighting.  Never”

Unfortunately I feel that McGuire sidestepped quite a few important scenes and actually copped out on a few of the hard hitting ones.  For example, **NOTE: Please move to below the next quote if you want to skip any spoilers** I was saddened that we did not get to be a part of their first meeting from Travis' point of view.  I wanted to know what was going on inside his head when he first saw her.  You only get a little bit of a think back about it.  Also the singing... how can we not have been in his head when he started busting out in song to 'Satisfaction'?

And the hard hitting scenes?  For one when Travis brought back two girls to his apartment.  I knew this was going to be a horrifying thing to read from his point of view but I was ready for it.  I needed it.  I wanted to know what was going on in his head if anything... but nope.  Skipped.  Travis was apparently too drunk to remember himself so we go from the bar to the next morning in the blink of an eye. 

*sigh*  Beautiful Disaster was filled with so much angst, love, betrayal and intense emotion.  I know you have to have read it to fully appreciate Walking Disaster but still I would have liked to experience those emotions again through Travis' eyes.  It just seemed a bit rushed and ultimately that makes me a little sad.

“You think... you think if maybe you focused on all the bullshit you had to endure with her, that'd make it easier?"

I sighed. "I've tried. I keep coming back to the same thought."

"What's that?"

"Now that it's over, I wish I could have all the bad stuff back... just so I could have the good.” 

So it is at this point when you may be asking why I have given Walking Disaster four stars when I have spent most of my review complaining about things.  Well, at the end of the day, I loved Beautiful Disaster.  It was easily one of my favorite books I read in 2012.  Even though parts were skipped how could I still not love what we did actually get to experience through Travis' point of view?  Yes I think it could have been made more epic but it was still highly enjoyable.

Also, the new chapter/ending and epilogue are worth five stars on their own.  They are amazing and it is nice to have the ending extended and to see where they are in a few years to come.  So sadly this is me saying goodbye to Abby and Travis.  Your life and love has been the ultimate rollercoaster ride but from both points of view I loved every minute of it.

I took a deep breath, and shut the bedroom door behind me. Even though we'd put each other through hell, we'd found heaven. Maybe that was more than a couple of sinners deserved, but I wasn't going to complain.