Title: Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1)Author: Jamie McGuire
Genre: New Adult, Romance
Pages: 337
Published: July 1st, 2014
Summary: Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.
Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt.
Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red.
________________________________________________________________________________
Review: (Spoiler-free)
So, I don't know if you knew this but one of my all-time favorite books is Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. It was one of those you need to keep reading, but don't want to because you don't want it to end. When I heard every Maddox brother would have a book of their own, I was all for it.
Beautiful Oblivion is the first of the books in the series The Maddox Brothers, alas the first brother of Travis to have his story told. We get to follow the story from Cami's perspective, and one of the things I really appreciate is that she's a person of her own, with a different voice from Abby (Beautiful Disaster). I feel like often when spin-off series are made, they are too similar to the original story, character-wise. Beautiful Oblivion is not, instead it is compelling for it's own reasons.
Let's start off by swooning a little over Trenton. A lot, more like it. I don't know what it is, but every single one of those brothers have me drooling, and Trenton is definitely no exception. He is a tattooer, a bit rougher than his younger brother but with a soft side. He's light with an easy smile, but carries a sorrow that sometimes cuts through and calls for truth. Which is perfect for Cami who, bartender and all, is a bit tough herself but needs someone who one back down on her.
“I was just thinking now was as good a time as any to acknowledge that you’re perfect and it wouldn’t suck if you fell madly in love with me anytime soon."
There was this underlying secret, never outright named but always there, as to why Cami wouldn't just break up with her boyfriend and go be with her obvious right choice, Trenton. I had a feeling of what it was and was right too, but at times I felt it became a little too much - just tell him already, you know? It only bothered me a little, though. The story still had enough conflict to keep me going, witty dialogue and good pace.
I loved revisiting the places, the people, and I really liked how McGuire managed to make this a story of it's own, sometimes recognizing the characters from her first book but not letting them take over - this was the story of Trent and Cami, and it was good enough for me to read it again sometime. I definitely recommend it if you liked Beautiful Disaster, and if you haven't read that and think this one seems good, I'll recommend you start by reading it first. You'll get this story better if you do. Happy reading everyone!
The Maddow Brothers: (Links to Goodreads)
1. Beautiful Oblivion
2. Beautiful Redemtion (Review)
3. Beautiful Sacrifice
4. Beautful Burn
No comments:
Post a Comment