Review: Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

Title: Perfect Fifths
Author: Megan McCafferty
Published: April 14, 2009
Publisher: Crown
Series: Jessica Darling #5
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Pages: 258
Source: Library
Rating: 2.5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

*Warning: This book review contains spoilers for Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings, Charmed Thirds and Fourth Comings*

“We just want to be where we're supposed to be. We just want to be with the people we want to be with. I don't think that's asking for too much, ya know what I'm saying?”
― Megan McCafferty, Perfect Fifths

Synopsis
Captivated readers have followed Jessica through every step and misstep: from her life as a tormented, tart-tongued teenager to her years as a college grad stumbling toward adulthood. Now a young professional in her mid-twenties, Jess is off to a Caribbean wedding. As she rushes to her gate at the airport, she literally runs into her former boyfriend, Marcus Flutie. It’s the first time she's seen him since she reluctantly turned down his marriage proposal three years earlier–and emotions run high.

Marcus and Jessica have both changed dramatically, yet their connection feels as familiar as ever. Is their reunion just a fluke or has fate orchestrated this collision of their lives once again?

Told partly from Marcus’s point of view, Perfect Fifths finally lets readers inside the mind of the one person who’s both troubled and titillated Jessica Darling for years. Expect nothing less than the satisfying conclusion fans have been waiting for, one perfect in its imperfection. . . (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
The Jessica Darling series has taken us on a long and eventful journey, detailing the young adult years of one Jessica Darling who we cannot help but love even with all her imperfections. From teen angst and first love to broken hearts and college graduate woes, we have witnessed all of Jessica's mistakes and triumphs, trials and comforts. Alongside Jessica, we have experienced the thrill of accomplishment, the sting of betrayal, and the unconditional love of true friends and family. Everything that has happened in the last four books has led to a single outcome, the strange but true reunion of Marcus and Jessica. Three years have passed since they parted ways, but have their feelings really changed? While Perfect Fifths gives readers some much-needed closure and a few touching scenes, it fell far short of my expectations.

Review: Fourth Comings by Megan McCafferty

Title: Fourth Comings
Author: Megan McCafferty
Published: August 7, 2007
Publisher: Broadway Books
Series: Jessica Darling #4
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Pages: 307
Source: Library
Rating: 5 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

*Warning: This book review contains spoilers for Sloppy Firsts, Second Helpings and Charmed Thirds*

“I wish our love was right now.”
―Megan McCafferty, Fourth Comings

Synopsis
Is the real world ready for Jessica Darling?

At first it seems she's living the New York City dream. She's subletting an apartment with her best friend, working for a magazine that actually cares about her psychology degree, and still deeply in love with the charismatic Marcus Flutie.

But reality is more complicated than dreamy clichés.

When Marcus proposes, giving her only one week to answer, Jessica must decide if she's ready to give up a world of late-night literary soirees, art openings, and downtown drunken karaoke to move back to New Jersey and be with the one man who's gripped her heart for years. Jessica ponders this and other life choices with her signature snark and hyper-intense insight, making it the most tumultuous and memorable week of her twenty-something life. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
In Fourth Comings, Jessica Darling has graduated from college and is officially in "the real world." She lives in an apartment in New York City with not only her best friend Hope, but also her "friend" Manda and Manda's girlfriend Shea. She's struggling to pay off her college loans while also trying to have enough money for real food, not a ramen only kind of diet. She works as an editor at a pop psychology online magazine/journal called Think and babysits her niece Marin 10 hours a week, but even two jobs isn't enough when she's living in New York City, which isn't exactly cheap. On top of all this, she has only a week to decide if she wants to marry her boyfriend Marcus or leave him instead. If I were her, I would have exploded from all this stress a long time ago.

Review: Charmed Thirds by Megan McCafferty

Title: Charmed Thirds
Author: Megan McCafferty
Published: April 11, 2006
Publisher: Broadway Books
Series: Jessica Darling #3
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Pages: 359
Source: Library
Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

*Warning: This book review contains spoilers for Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings*

“That's what all love comes down to, doesn't it? We help others only as much as they let us.”
― Megan McCafferty, Charmed Thirds

Synopsis
Jessica Darling’s in college!

Things are looking up for Jessica Darling. She has finally left her New Jersey hometown/hellhole for Columbia University in New York City; she’s more into her boyfriend, Marcus Flutie, than ever (so what if he’s at a Buddhist college in California?); and she’s making new friends who just might qualify as stand-ins for her beloved best friend, Hope.

But Jessica soon realizes that her bliss might not last. She lands an internship at a snarky Brooklyn-based magazine, but will she fit in with the überhip staff (and will she even want to)? As she and Marcus hit the rocks, will she end up falling for her GOPunk, neoconservative RA . . . or the hot (and married!) Spanish grad student she’s assisting on a summer project . . . or the oh-so-sensitive emo boy down the hall? Will she even make it through college now that her parents have cut her off financially? And what do the cryptic one-word postcards from Marcus really mean?

With hilarious insight, the hyperobservant Jessica Darling struggles through her college years—and the summers in between—while maintaining her usual mix of wit, cynicism, and candor. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
Not even a year ago, I had no idea who Jessica Darling was. That is unbelievable. After falling in love with this series, Jessica Darling has become such a solid fixture in my life. I think to myself regularly, what would JD do? The Jessica Darling series is witty and hilarious, emotional and thrilling, and I find myself continuing to love each book as I watch Jessica grow into herself.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire Book Review

Title: Beautiful Disaster
Author: Jamie McGuire
Published: May 26, 2011
Publisher: Jamie McGuire
Series: Beautiful #1
Genre: New Adult Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 416
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3 stars
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

“It's dangerous to need someone that much. You're trying to save him and he's hoping you can. You two are a disaster." I smiled at the ceiling. "It doesn't matter what or why it is. When it's good, Kara... it's beautiful.” 
― Jamie McGuire, Beautiful Disaster

Synopsis
The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate percentage of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance between her and 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 needs—and wants—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. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
Beautiful Disaster rendered me speechless. No lie. When I finished, I sat there, mouth hanging open, and completely at a loss for words. I simply could not believe I had read a book with an average premise, characters that I should despise, and a plot that was an emotional roller coaster and still didn't utterly despise it. I devoured this book; I might as well have inhaled the pages, as I flew through them so fast. I wouldn't call Beautiful Disaster a spectacular read, or consider it mind-blowing in the slightest, but it was certainly entertaining.

To preface my review, Beautiful Disaster has been receiving its fair share of negative reviews attacking the author and the book. But people must realize that there are going to be times when you don't like main characters or how they behave. Abby and Travis are both messed up, which is understandable considering their pasts, and that makes them such a perfect match because they both have issues and are the only ones who can probably put up with each other. By creating these characters, McGuire is not implying that she condones their behavior. Just like an author who writes a book with a murderer or rapist isn't supporting their behavior (an extreme comparison, I know). The director of Dexter isn't saying serial killers are acceptable. The same goes for Beautiful Disaster. Travis and Abby are two screwed up individuals that somehow find an unsteady love and try to hold onto it despite their faults. The accusations against the book and author are ridiculous. If you don't like the book, that's perfectly alright. Everybody has their different interests. But please don't call the book  or author anti-feminist or woman-hating just because it reveals a darker reality. In the case of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff was far from a wonderful person towards Cathy and vice versa. Does the book display wrong, unhealthy behavior? Sure. So does The Bell Jar and a hundred other classics. Don't even get me started with Lolita (loved it but it disturbed me greatly).

As for the author attacking reviewers and tweeting about their one star reviews, I have nothing to say on that. I'm reviewing the book, not the author.

Alright, I got off track. Enough defending the book and author and on with the review. I found Beautiful Disaster to be both painful and lovely. It had such a tragic beauty to it. I love books with dysfunctional, complex characters, and Travis's and Abby's relationship was, well, a beautiful disaster (hence the appropriate title). Both of them made stupid decisions, and I didn't love them all of the time, but I became invested in their relationship, hoping they could finally reach some happy balance. It's like watching a car crash, not being able to tear your eyes away, because Travis and Abby have far from a perfect relationship. There are many devastating moments, but there are also touching, heart-warming scenes that moved me.

I think the plot synopsis for Beautiful Disaster is a bit misleading because I wouldn't necessarily call Abby a "good girl". She loves to drink at clubs and parties. She's not a wild woman, but she can put them down. I couldn't help but like her despite how she leads on both Travis and Parker (oh poor Parker) and has trouble accepting her feelings for Travis. I liked how she wasn't the stereotypical, dorky girl, who doesn't know she's gorgeous and is corrupted by the bad boy. As for Travis, I think most people expect him to be more abusive than he actually is. He never physically abuses Abby, although he's not squeamish about throwing punches when it comes to men that approach her or insult her. He's never verbally abusive either (at least to Abby). Yes, he has jealousy issues and is extremely overprotective. And he treated other girls, besides Abby and America, like crap. Did I support that? Of course not. But he isn't the monstrous boyfriend I was expecting. Though he certainly isn't perfect. 

I loved that Beautiful Disaster took place in a college setting unlike the usual high school scene. For the most part, I'm not a fan of books that take place in high school because I don't want to read about high school drama. I had enough of that when I went to school. Of course, college has its own drama, but I like having the main characters older. With college students, you don't have to deal with the parental supervision and the characters constantly fearing that they'll be grounded because they snuck out late to see their vampire boyfriend or whatever they do in the YA book you're reading. The college scene was very realistic, especially the parties, and I found myself loving all the characters, especially Shepley and America. While the frat brothers and football players acted like jerks at times, they had their nice moments and were very amusing. 

While Beautiful Disaster had me hooked from the beginning, I must admit that I found the storyline to be a tadbit predictable, as it's a story I've seen unravel many a time. It's an overused plot line, one I am all too familiar with where the "player" suddenly changes his ways in order to catch the one girl that can "fix" him. It may not have been unique, but somehow, I still enjoyed it. There were no unexpected twists or surprises, and I wasn't blown out of the water, but I still couldn't put it down. It's a fast-paced, addictive read that has you flying through the pages despite its unoriginality. 

My main complaint with Beautiful Disaster is that it was hard for me to completely buy Travis's shift from one night stands to full commitment. Yes, many girls want to be the "exception," the one who tames the bad boy and makes him commit, but we all know it's unlikely to happen. Abby was actually Travis's exception because after he met her, no other girl mattered. Travis did a complete 180 in such a short amount of time. He turned into this clingy, love-stricken guy who buys a girl a puppy for her birthday. While I loved that he changed and transformed into the guy Abby was looking for, I wasn't completely convinced. He did have some flaws still and some definite anger issues (not directed towards Abby), but he turned out to be a devoted boyfriend after being a hook up guy for so long, which is entirely unrealistic. Oh, and I also wasn't a fan of some of the names. Just me being nitpicky, but seriously Brazil and America? Where's Germany, Australia, and Cuba? 

This was a long review, but I had to express my feelings about this book fully. I hate that people are having to defend their love for certain books. I enjoyed it, and I'm still not entirely sure why. I don't think this should be a series, and I'm upset this is not a standalone as I initially thought. The ending had closure for me. Walking Disaster, expected on April 16, 2013, will tell the events of Beautiful Disaster from Travis's POV. I'm not a big fan of books that are essentially the same story told from a different POV, and I have to admit this seems rather pointless. I doubt I'll read it, but it may be a series to consider if you like reading a story told from multiple POVs.

Happy reading,

Courtney