Summary: Angsty, real and sweet. It was great to get into the mind of Travis Maddox! Stars: 4.5 stars! Main Characters: Travis Maddox and Abby AbernathySummary: Angsty, real and sweet. It was great to get into the mind of Travis Maddox! Stars: 4.5 stars! Main Characters: Travis Maddox and Abby Abernathy Themes: Love, overcoming the past Genre: Contemporary romance What I ♥ The Most: Better understanding what Travis was thinking in so many of the scenes. I also loved reading about the interaction between him and: Shepley, his dad and his brothers. If You Liked This Try: Fallen Too Far and Never Too Far by Abbi Glines – another duo of 5-star books! *************************************************************
“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.”
Awww, my sweet, sweet Travis Maddox. It was so great to hear his thoughts, understand his feelings. If you think you love Travis after Beautiful Disaster (see my review), I think you will love him even more after Walking Disaster.
He’s such a flawed individual, but with such honest intent and with such a good heart. He feels to much, he gets too angry, he is irrationally overprotective and perhaps, he loves just too fiercely.
Before I began reading, I was honestly a little worried about what to expect in this book. I wondered if it would be a struggle to read, a simple re-hashing of BD, but I was surprised that there were many new parts… some completely new and some extensions of scenes we read about. I was really glad I re-read BD just before starting WD, as it had been over a year since I had read it. I remembered a lot of the story, but the specifics were fuzzy, so going from one book to the next help me to better connect the scenes and understand the subtleties.
The prologue was a sweet, heart-wrenching surprise that helped me understand what solidified Travis’ desire to look for something special.
“Attraction, sex, infatuation, love and then heartbreak. That was the logical order. And it was always the order. But not for me. No. Fucking. Way. I decided a long time ago I would feed on the vultures until a dove came along. A pigeon.”
It was fun to see how the relationship between Travis and Abby initiated through his eyes. While reading BD, I hadn’t really thought that he questioned the pull he felt towards Abby so much, but through his POV, you realize he is constantly at battle with himself and his emotions.
“Abby. She’s a pigeon. A demonic pigeon that fucks with my head so bad I can’t think straight. Nothing makes sense anymore.”
What I WAS surprised at was how I felt towards Abby. I thought that being on the receiving end, in other words, seeing her through Travis’ eyes… I felt, quite frankly, like she was really bitchy.
“I discerned two things: she didn’t talk much, and when she did she was kind of a bitch. But I don’t know… I kind of dug that about her.”
Ok then, Travis… but I didn’t dig it. I thought that she could’ve been a lot nicer to Travis SO many times. In multiple instances, Travis laid out his heart, vulnerable and wanting, and she was just mean back. So I wanted her to soften up a bit more… to realize that Travis was trying so hard to be the man he thought she deserved. Ok, maybe I’m getting a little protective of Travis myself, but I truly felt for him. He had struggled and suffered enough! I will say, however, that I love the mushier parts in the end. Yes! I’m a girl, I love HEAs and I love it when the two main characters are fully together and happy!
And the epilogue! It was perfect!!! I won’t say anything to avoid ruining it for anyone, but it was such a great surprise and a lovely close to this great duo of books! I truly loved it!!!
Overall, I think Jamie McGuire did a really good job of explaining Travis–I totally got him. I love him. I think he’s just so real and this book helped me better understand his internal battles and how he helped to overcome them and how he became a better man.
“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.”
Summary: Sweet and engaging! Travis Maddox has got to be one of the best book boyfriends out there!!! Stars: 5 I-LOVE-TRAVIS stars! Main Characters: TraSummary: Sweet and engaging! Travis Maddox has got to be one of the best book boyfriends out there!!! Stars: 5 I-LOVE-TRAVIS stars! Main Characters: Travis Maddox and Abby Abernathy Themes: Love, overcoming the past Genre: Contemporary romance What I ♥ The Most: I really do ♥ Travis Maddox. I love pretty much everything that comes out of his mouth. It's a mix of romance and realness... complete, heartfelt honesty. And I love the story. If You Liked This Try: Fallen Too Far and Never Too Far by Abbi Glines - another duo of 5-star books! ***********************************************************************
So this is the second time I read this book and since I didn't get to write my review the first time (I wasn't blogging then), I'm excited to do it now after re-living this story I love so much!!!
So, what can I say that hasn't already been said about this book? I love it! I was totally sucked in, even a second time, to the story of Travis and Abby.
Bad boy Travis Maddox fights in The Circle--an underground fighting ring at Eastern University. Bulging muscles, covered in tattoos and known for the gobs of women surrounding him, he is infamous at Eastern. Then he meets Abby Abernathy at one of his fights. A girl in the crowd, in her pink cashmere sweater, which is now splattered with blood from the fight.
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Abby came with her BFF America, who is the girlfriend of Travis' roommate, Shepley. And at the fight, he affectionately calls her Pigeon. Travis immediately realizes that she's different. She's not like the other girls that throw themselves at him. In fact, Abby is doing everything possible to make him leave her alone. But Travis is persistent and begins to lay down the charm.
"I'm not impressed with your tattoos or your boyish charm or your forced indifference, so you can stop the antics, okay?"
Travis is completely amused by Abby.
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"I can't figure you out. You're the first girl that's ever been disgusted with me before sex. You don't get flustered when you talk to me, and you don't try to get my attention."
But they agree to become friends. I loved reading their banter, their push and pull, and how they come together, slowly relenting to their mutual attraction. They spend so much time together--studying, going to parties, snuggling in bed--that the unlikely pair just seem to be right.
"It wasn't just me, and it wasn't just him, it was what we were together that was the exception."
After Abby loses a bet, she has to stay with Travis for a month. It's during that time that they really fall in love. And I too, really fell in love with Travis. I adore just how fiercely he loves Abby. He's crazy over-protective... yes. But he is so expressive and honest about how he feels, despite him feeling unworthy. They are both flawed for their own unique reasons, but you can't help but feel they have to be together. Abby continues to push him away at times, her reason rooted in her hidden past.
"I know we're fucked up, all right? I'm impulsive and hot-tempered, and you get under my skin like no one else. You act like you hate me one minute, and then you need me the next. I never get anything right, and I don't deserve you... but I fucking love you, Abby. I love you more than I've loved anyone or anything, ever. When you're around, I don't need booze or money or the fighting or the one-night stands... all I need is you... You're all I want."
But as the story progresses, Travis' tendency to mess up prevails and Abby's stubbornness and fear of the past breaks them apart. These were some tough parts to read because I just wanted them to be together!!!
"...To girls that break your heart... And to the absolute fucking horror of losing your best friend because you were stupid enough to fall in love with her."
This is a great romance book with great characters! Again, even after the second time reading it, I loved it and couldn't put it down. It's endearing, engaging and a joy to read. I loved reading about how both Travis and Abby evolve... how they both come to terms with their pasts, how they each become better people and how they each realize that they need each other.
I just finished my re-read (third) in preparation for The Book of Life and I couldn't have loved it more. It's a thoughtful, well-researched, well-wriI just finished my re-read (third) in preparation for The Book of Life and I couldn't have loved it more. It's a thoughtful, well-researched, well-written paranormal romance. Mixing magic and history, the story represents everything I love about reading. It's a rich story that is suspenseful and exhilarating, romantic and sexy, introspective and didactic. Love it!...more
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