Tea, Books, Crannies and Nooks: September 2012

Sunday, September 23, 2012

From the shelf: Beautiful Disaster by Jaimie McGuire

The ebook I just finished last September 21, another thanks to my cousin Ate Sandy which for me is another day book (meaning I could finish it in a day) is Jaimie McGuire's "Beautiful Disaster"

Jaimie McGuire's "Beautiful Disaster"

This is a story of bringing two dysfunctional individuals who came from disastrous backgrounds brought together with the promise of eternal bliss through a bet, but they had to overcome the issues first. Abby Abernathy wanted to lay low in her new life together with the support of her best friend America escaping her dark background from Wichita to Eastern University. America, better known as Mare, has a steady boyfriend in college named Shepley who has a cousin named Travis Maddox. Travis is a popular ladies man and to top it all off, fights underground for a quick buck..he never loses that is why he is called Mad Dog. He also has straight A's (which contrasts his character). The night they met is when Shep and Mare asked Abby to watch Travis' fight resulting for her to be pushed and being sort of saved by Travis. They met and eventually became just friends to Travis' confusion; he wasn't used to that term..he was used to ladies flirting at him and throwing themselves at him just to gamble for the pleasure of the night with no promise of tomorrow. They became friends and when the girls' dorm had their heaters broken, Mare and Abby became Travis and Shep's temporary roomates. And because of a lost bet Abby had to stay with Travis for a whole month. That is where their story begins.

My opinion? I am deeply touched by how Travis loves Abby but horrified on the way he handles things. I know that this is the reality and most of the time it happens but seriously, Travis is freaking me out..stalking, hitting a person, losing it just for Abby is a weird way to cope up with things. Travis being pushy and not listening to reason most of the time puts me in the edge that I'm literally giving opinions on not letting Abby get back together with such an idiot (that made me laugh at myself). To give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he wasn't used to having someone dear in his life other than his family (which are all male, father and brothers) that he thinks he should protect her. I hate how he becomes so possessive that it seems like he's a freaking stalker but love at how deep he loves Abby and would give the whole world to her at any cost. Their relationship is a roller coaster ride but of course..a happy ever after. I love their gay friend Finch, he was always there for her even him crawling on the dirty bathroom floor just to get into the stall and hug Abby while crying is definitely sweet *spoiler alert*. There was a time while I was reading that I was wishing he was a guy to save Abby but sadly he isn't. Oh, there's these sweet things Travis did, giving her the nickname "Pigeon" and him giving her a puppy which she named "Toto", an inside joke because she came from Kansas.

Some said that "Beautiful Disaster" is the YA version of 50 shades and I protest to that. Why does everyone connect everything to 50 shades. Although there are similarities, *cough* they had sex *cough*, it wasn't that explicit and BDSM-y. The story focused more on the confusing and possesive love Travis has for Abby and both of the protagonists has serious issues especially the female character. Would I recommend this book? I was curious, yes, that everyone called it the YA version of 50 shades but we have to remember that book reviews can be disheartening and misleading in a lot of ways that the only way to judge it is to read it yourself. So, would I recommend this book? Yes, I would if you are looking for a challenging read; challenging, meaning that you have to open-minded to enter a world of a possible dysfunctional reality.

"Beautiful Disaster" gets: ★★★★ (4/5)

I guess everyone deserves a happy ever after no matter how hard it has been...

Till the next read..

Friday, September 21, 2012

From the shelf: "The Stranger I Married" by Sylvia Day

While I was lounging on the net just to find good recommendations (via Good Reads), my cousin Ate Sandy gave me a bunch of e-books..as promised (yey~). And because reading has always been my first love, I was ecstatic and tried it at once.

Sylvia Day's "The Stranger I Married"

First up was Sylvia Day's novel "The Stranger I Married". The book would be classified as a historical-romance novel with a hint (or dash) of erotica. Okay~ so I was awakened (?) to that particular genre because of my curiosity on the 50 shades bandwagon months before (I think I read the trilogy about around May) ~more on my 50 shades infatuation later (that would be another post)

The story revolves around the lives of Lady Isabel Pelham, a widow who fulfills her sexual desires on different paramours but never willing to give her heart again and the dashing, rogue a.k.a. ladies man Gerard Faulkner, Marquess of Grayson who changes mistresses similar to changing clothes. Grayson offered her a marriage of convenience saying that this way he could get out of the other ladies' delusions of marriage and she could do whatever she wanted without letting her men fall in love with her. He, married but ecstatic that his love Emily would bear his child and she, left alone. It was the perfect setup since they agreed to stay as friends. Not until he heard the devastating news about Emily that made him disappear without a trace for 4 years...that's where the story starts.

My opinion? All stories on marriages of convenience (most of the time) would eventually drag into someone getting hurt, and this was no exception. The only redemption is how the characters would settle their differences and clean out their issues. In this case, Pel (Isabel)'s issue was that she was afraid to give her heart and be vulnerable in front of someone else again after what her late husband did to her. Grayson was afraid to repeat everything and lose someone he cares about..again. I think the story lacked of conversations between Pel and Grayson out of the bedroom (though the steamy scenes were described enough) about them talking about serious stuff. But I guess the turning point about the issue on children did satisfy me. I loved the Abigail - Rhys side story which was like a spin-off on the main protagonists story.

I would recommend this book if anyone is looking for a one-time thing, sort of a past time. This was a simple read and I sort of breezed through it. But still, it was entertaining.

"The Stranger I Married" gets ★★★ (3/5)

Till the next read...