INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.
Abby
Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the
appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has
enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at
college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly
challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.
Travis
Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby
wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a
floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus
charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her
into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain
abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s
apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea
that he has met his match.
Travis...I
LOVED Travis! Bad boy with a soft edge and real feelings. A big teddy
bear and fierce protector. Yeah, he had a bad temper and fought to make
money. His couch hosted a revolving door of one night stands. He
previously hadn't taken anyone seriously or cared about any other women.
But I loved seeing him change his whole life to bring Abby into it and
his devotion to her. Sure he made mistakes, but I could not blame him
since she was giving him such crazy mixed signals. He just wanted her
with him and she made it so hard.
A
pair of heavy black boots... a set of finely-chiseled abs, a bare,
tattooed chest drenched in sweat, and finally a pair of warm, brown
eyes.
"I'm
not a Barbie twin or one of your little groupies up there,"..."I'm not
impressed with your boyish charm, or your forced indifference, so you
can stop the antics, ok?"
Abby(Travis calls her Pigeon or Pidge)...
"You like Pigeon"..."It's a dove, an attractive girl a winning card in poker, take your pick. You're my Pigeon."
Now
she was a challenge for me. She really drove me nuts! She let her past
color her view on Travis from the beginning and would not really even
try to see him clearly. Her Behavior had me itching to back slap her
most of the book: pushing him away, stringing him along, throwing his
feelings in his face, making him jealous, running away often, being
indecisive, and not communicating well...She could act however she
wanted, but poor Travis was persecuted if he did anything wrong even
after she had broken up with him.
They
appeared as complete opposites at first, but you find out that they are
not that different after all. They form an unlikely friendship that
shocks their whole University.
"I don't want to sleep with you, Pidge. I like you too much."
Abby: "You think I'm too good for you"
Travis: "I can't think of a single guy I know that's good enough for you."
Abby: "You think I'm too good for you"
Travis: "I can't think of a single guy I know that's good enough for you."
Together
they are explosive, sweet, disasterous, and intense. One minute they
are happy, one minute they are miserable, and it is a constant assault
to your emotions. But like a train wreck, you still have to watch.
"I
know we're f**ked 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 f**king love you, Abby. I love you more than
I've loved anything, ever. When you're around, I don't need booze, or
money, or this fighting, or the one-night stands...all I need is you.
You're all I think about. You're all I dream about. You're all I want."
"You two are a disaster."
It doesn't matter what or why it is. When it's good, Kara...it's beautiful."
"I wish you and Travis would just get your shit together! You're a goddamn tornado! When You're happy, it's love and peace and butterflies. When you're pissed, you take the whole f**king world down with you!"
"You two are a disaster."
It doesn't matter what or why it is. When it's good, Kara...it's beautiful."
"I wish you and Travis would just get your shit together! You're a goddamn tornado! When You're happy, it's love and peace and butterflies. When you're pissed, you take the whole f**king world down with you!"
"The only thing I'm afraid of is a life without you, Pigeon."
I
seriously just wanted to hug Travis for most of the book and knock
sense into Abby. She finally redeemed herself in my eyes, but I was not
sure I was going to get there.
I
also loved their friends America and Shepley. Their relationship was
just as tied up and affected by the problems with Travis and Abby. But
they also provided a calm in the storm and comic relief as well. And
Finch was great too. Who does not love the sweet gay friend who is
always there for you? I thought Travis' brothers were so much fun and
hot alphas in their own right. Would love to see them get their own
books.
This
book made me swoon, hold my breath, scream, smile, cheer, pull my hair
out, and swoon again. I seriously could not absorb the pages fast enough
needing to know how it would all play out. It was a roller coaster of
emotions and a fantastic read. The characters were so well developed and
so intriguing. You really could feel Travis' emotions without his point
of view in this book since it was written so vividly, but still I
cannot wait to see Travis' full point of view in Walking Disaster coming April 2013.
All I can say to describe Travis and Abby is to be ready for a hot mess!
They clashed and burn it seems like at every turn but be prepared to be
sucked in. If you are looking for a light read, I HIGHLY suggest you
look elsewhere.
“I wish you and Travis would just get your shit
together! You’re a goddamn tornado! When you’re happy, it’s love and
peace and butterflies. When you’re pissed, you take the whole fucking
world down with you!”
This book blew my mind. The emotions in it
were so damn powerful that at some parts it ramped up my anxiety. I was
so emotionally invested in the book that I laughed, cried, and almost
threw the book across the room. I yelled and cursed Abby to no end for
her endless stringing along with Travis. I thought how in the hell could
she be so stupid, how could she be so oblivious. At other times I
thought what in the hell is wrong with her, she should not have to put
up with that crap. I must admit I hated her for a good chunk of the
book, and then she won me over!
“How can you not know? It’s obvious to everyone else but you!”
“You
know why I want you. I didn’t know I was lost until you found me. I
didn’t know what alone was until the first night I spent without you in
my bed. You’re the one thing I’ve got right. You’re what I’ve been
waiting for, Pigeon.”
Abby, well that chick pissed me off too no
end. Another heroine who ran and continued to run until about the middle
of the book where I thought maybe she would smarten up, but yeah then
she went right back to running until the end. I understood her rule of
no bad boys, especially when you find out the type of life she was
brought up in, but she never truly gave Travis a fair shot. She strung
him along; she was so in love with him but denied both of them and dated
someone she thought would fit better on paper. She was his best
friend, and he was hers. She was blinded to the fact that he was
changing for her, trying to be that guy she could need and want. Towards
the end, though she made me proud. She finally stopped running and gave
her heart what it wanted.
“You love me?”
“It’s the tattoos.”
I
was cursing out Travis for being so stupid in some parts too, I thought
move on Travis. It is not healthy. You just won her over, you
personally saw her demons, and yet you are still acting like a jack a**.
He messed up just as much as she did. Especially when they came back
from Vegas when he decided to put something of lesser value before her.
“And to the absolute fucking horror of losing your best friend because you were stupid enough to fall in love with her.”
Their
relationship is by far not one of the healthiest, but their push and
pull just sucks you along. Their love and hate for each other, is the
focus through the whole book. You never know where you are going to be
around the next turn. She ran and he chased, and then she ran some more
and he chased even harder. Abby gave in and then Travis would push
harder than she was ready for and she ran again. It was a never-ending
cycle for these two. They both used other people to hide behind and to
get over the other. Causalities in this game of war they played. Those
two were like volcanoes ready to explode. Lack of communication was a
MAJOR problem between them.
“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.”
Travis was damaged; he used girls for one thing
and one thing only. Tatted and an absolute bad boy, he had no concept of
having a girl for a friend until Abby came along. No one could figure
them out. He fought for a living, and he fought those who bothered her.
Our boy was massively jealous of anyone who went around her. Travis had
no clue how to tell her he loved her. He moved me, he made me feel his
pain and suffer with him. There was a depth to him that many didn’t
see, no one ever got close enough for that, until her. She brought out a
different side to Travis, and she drove him absolutely crazy while
doing it.
“I meant about your major. You don’t look like the criminal justice type.”
“Why?”
I scanned the tattoos covering his arm. “I’ll just say you seem more criminal and less justice.”
This
book was an emotional roller coaster. I remember telling my hubby what a
hot mess it was and around page 110, I was so upset and ready to throw
it across the room, but I just could not put it down. It has been a very
long time since a book has moved me such as this one, and I LOVED that
while there were sex scenes they were not graphic and they did not take
away from the story in any form. It was always about Travis and Abby;
they controlled you through the book.
“It wasn’t just me, and it wasn’t just him, it was what we were together that was the exception.”
“It’s us, Trav. Nothing makes sense unless we’re together. Have you noticed that?”
Jamie McGuire
Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.
Her most recent novel, Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She has also written bestselling contemporary romance Beautiful Disaster, and the Providence series.
Jamie now lives in Enid, OK with her three children and husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.
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