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.
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My thoughts: I would ask you to all be patient with me while reading this review. I am going to try and keep it as spoiler free as always but the thing that bothered me the most about this book is the HUGE reveal at the end. As I sit and collect my thoughts I am finding that the things I loved the most about Beautiful Oblivion is also the same things that I didn't like. Let me explain...
The story takes place at the same time as Beautiful Disaster. While I loved Beautiful Disaster, and devoured it in one sitting, I have already read it, as well as Walking Disaster. So this book made the third in the same timeline/plot setting. Beautiful Oblivion aka Trent and Cami's story was almost clouded because I knew so much about certain things that were going to happen. We have seen them before...... twice. I found myself wishing that this book had taken place after Beautiful Disaster's end. Had that been the case Trent and Cami would have had their own story not a shared one. However, because I loved BD so much I found myself loving all the glimpses and parallels that occurred along the way. I told you it was frustrating!
The character similarities bothered me somewhat. I realize they are brothers and it has been said all along that the Maddox brothers were all alike. But I was just a little put off by HOW similar they were. Cami did something to upset Trent he went on a man-whoring spree. Just like Travis did. Cami has an awful deadbeat father. Abby had awful deadbeat father. Cami had boyfriend and Trent was friend-zoned. Travis, friend-zoned while Abby dated. I could go on but this reaches spoiler territory. But again, I love the way the story played out and I fell in love with Trent the same way I fell for Travis. I repeat.. frustrating.
Now the absolute biggest issue is going to require a couple of *editing bleeps*Throughout the entire book there seemed to be a secret that Cami was keeping from Trent about T.J. (the BF). I could not figure out what the big deal was, why did they seem to want to hide everyone. T.J. had a job he couldn't talk about. I assume(d) he is a cop of some kind (remains to be seen). So, I thought ok, job purposes she had to keep hush hush. T.J. makes a few appearances throughout the book and nothing seems out of the ordinary. Just a guy who has went his own way and his job has taken him to another state. A couple of people see him and nothing seems out of the ordinary when he is mentioned. Then the reveal comes and suddenly I am in WTF mode. I was like THIS was the big secret? This is what Cami was trying to hide from the world? I get it, I do. I feel like it is a clusterf**k of epic proportions and I am still not completely sure how I feel now. But and it is a big BUT...... why was this secret a secret in the beginning, before Trent? Why was T.J. and Cami so adamant that no one (from their hometown) know they were dating. I am hoping more light is shed on this subject in the next book. At this point T.J. is looking like a bit of a douche. "You were willing to mover her to California with you but you can't tell these people she is your girl?? Why T.J.? Why?" The flip side of this was the GASP WHUUUUUUT??? at the last line of the book. This made all of the other stuff seem small because the reveal was BAM. Again, the frustration!!!
I am excited to read the next book but I do have to say this. I pray the timeline/plot is original to the story and not another repeat of the same. If this happens I may actually give up on this series and I really, really don't want to give up on it. I happen to love those Maddox boys.
I will go ahead and apologize to anyone who is looking at the word vomit that is this review, thinking, "Ummm what?" But honestly this is exactly how I felt while reading this book. My feelings were all over the place. I loved the whole thing beginning to end, but I also disliked a wide majority of it. Makes no sense but it is what it is I guess. Leave me a comment if you have read it and let me know how you felt during/after you read it. I love to hear other people's opinions.
~S
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