Blog Tour: Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire

Welcome to my stop on the Beautiful Oblivion tour hosted by Atria Books!

Today I am excited to share my review with you all, as well as an exciting tour giveaway!

Beautiful Oblivion (Maddox Brothers #1)
   by: Jamie McGuire

Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Atria Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Source: e-ARC received from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 336 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks
My Rating: 4/5 stars

The Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster phenomenon continues in the first heart-pounding new adult romance in The Maddox Brothers series.

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. 

As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.

In the first installment of the Maddox Brothers books, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.

 

 

When I first heard the Maddox brothers were getting their own books, I was really excited. I completely fell head over heels with those boys in Beautiful Disaster and I knew each of them would have their own story to tell and that it would be a wild ride to see who would capture these fun-loving, family oriented boys' hearts. We were briefly introduced to Trent and Cami in Travis's story, so we were already somewhat familiar with their characters.

 

Pacing: I felt Beautiful Oblivion moved along at a good pace. I was engaged from the start and couldn't stop reading! We also have a slower building relationship between Trent and Cami and I really liked that we saw their friendship first. Their flirtatious banter was sweet, sexy, and fun and it really made you root for them that much more upon seeing how well they complemented one another.

 

Storyline: I really enjoyed Trent and Cami's love story. It isn't cut and dry and it's actually quite complicated. Cami and Trent grew up in the same town, having attended the same schools, and are both aware of who the other is. Cami bartends at the Red Door bar, where Trent and his brother Travis frequent, but she is not on the market. Trying to make a long distance relationship work is difficult as it is, but to be constantly put on the backburner because their job is more important than you? Talk about a rough time. Cami knew going in that it would be hard and that their time together would be limited, but still she wants to make it work. How many disappointments can one endure before they just can't anymore? Trent saunters into Cami's life and refuses to be pushed away. This begins a rollercoaster ride of a friendship riddled with conflicting emotions and extreme sexual tension, as well as the threat of something greater that could ruin everything these two have built....

 

It's also worth noting that the story takes place along the same timeline as Beautiful Disaster, so we do see several events coincide from that story only from Trent and Cami's point of view. It was interesting to see Travis go through his range of highs and lows with Abby and see it from an outsider's perspective.

 

Characters: I enjoyed Trent's character a lot more than I did Travis's. Travis was a bit too much of a hothead for me. Trent was still a hothead, but he wasn't nearly as bad as Travis. Travis let a lot of his anger dictate his actions, where Trent was a bit more subdued. I liked that about Trent. He was calculated and didn't fly off the handle like his brother unless he felt it was necessary. (Which was usually in defense of Cami.) Trent isn't perfect though. He made some choices that have me shaking my head at him, but I shouldn't be surprised coming from a Maddox boy. What I love most about Trent his is dedication. He is extremely loyal to those he cares about and would do anything for them. We see this tenfold with his father and it just made him that much more endearing to me. He is persistent in his pursuit of Cami and it's amusing how undeterred by her boyfriend he is. However, when a Maddox boy falls, he falls hard and we really see that with both Trent and Travis in this book.

 

I liked Cami, but she frustrated me a little bit. I didn't understand why she would stay with this boyfriend who can't make her a priority and make time for her. What is the point in even being in that relationship? I know, I know. She loves him. When you're in love, you don't always think rationally and when you remember how you felt when it was all shiny and new, you don't want to let go of that feeling. Trent coming into her life makes her question those feelings and she has to do some soul searching to find out what she really wants. She is pretty resistant to Trent and is determined to keep him at arm's length, even despite his boyish charms and persistence.

 

She's spunky and fun and I really enjoyed seeing her give it back to Trent. She doesn't have the best family situation, and I really felt my heart go out to her because of how dysfunctional her family was. Being the oldest, she takes a lot of the blame and shoulders a lot more burden from her brothers than she should.

 

In addition to seeing Travis, we get some great new side characters. Raegan, Jason, Kody, Olive, Hazel, and Cal all helped fuel the storyline and I liked how their interactions with Trent and Cami played such a vital role. I really do feel like I know these characters after reading this book and I like that McGuire didn't let them fall by the wayside.

 

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this one, but I did call the big twist at the end. My overly analytical brain couldn't quite wrap around the HOW's and the WHY's of the twist though. There were too many other questions flooding my brain and I still am not sure they were answered. The ending was very creative on McGuire's part, but I almost wish it didn't end with the line it did, because of all the questions it raised. Fans of the series should definitely pick this one up, as they will fall in love with Trent and Cami's love story- it's messy and complicated at times, but it really is beautiful to watch these two finally get it together and just let themselves fall and experience that something greater they were both unconsciously searching for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JAMIE McGUIRE is the New York Times bestselling author of A Beautiful Wedding, Red Hill, Walking Disaster, Beautiful Disaster, and The Providence trilogy. She and her husband, Jeff, live with their children just outside Enid, Oklahoma, with three dogs, six horses, and a cat named Rooster.

                                                    Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

 

Atria Books:

 

Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

 

 

 

 

Click the above image to enter the tour giveaway!