ajlacassie's review against another edition
2.0
meh, it was okay, maybe im losing my touch with new adult but i hopefully get it back cause i liket the others of the maddox brothers, this just didnt hit the spot
hhudgens's review against another edition
1.0
**I’m not hiding spoilers because there’s nothing to spoil.***
I was so looking forward to reading this book. I loved Beautiful Disaster, but everything after that had my expectations too high. Just as in Beautiful Oblivion, I wanted the crazy Maddox boy to knock me head over heels in angst, but just as in BO it didn’t happen in Beautiful Redemption. Once again I wanted to follow Travis and Abby out of the room and get back to the good stuff! You can’t make a character like Travis Maddox and tease that he has four older brothers just like him, then deliver Trent and Thomas as sane, rational, calm (except for the occasional bar brawl) people.
There was a complete disconnect from the very start on this one. Even though it was all told from the point of view of Liis I still feel like I don’t know anything about her. I couldn’t connect to her or Thomas. The main reason for that is Liis and Thomas were on an emotional seesaw. Every scene one of them was angry or sad or ignoring the other one. I kept feeling like I needed to go back and reread the last few pages. I kept thinking, “did I miss something?” All of a sudden one of them would be completely pissed off with nothing to set them off. There was not a good flow at all. I never understood their reasoning for their behavior. It was like the author decided that as long as they were fighting about something in each scene then it was angsty and dramatic and we would love it. I also didn’t enjoy the way everything was told instead of shown. Just because they were both FBI and “trained to read people” doesn’t mean that we should know every single emotion each of them is going through because it’s stated by one or the other of them. It went a little like this: “You’re mad.” “No, I’m not.” “Yes, you are. I can tell by your body language.” “Fine, I’m mad.” He glared angrily. Really? Does that sound entertaining? That was how the entire book was.
The synopsis of the story leads you to believe that this is mostly going to be about Liis and Thomas pretending to be a couple at Travis and Abby’s wedding. Then, once you get a little ways into the book another big plot point is going to be Thomas and Liis convincing Travis to join the FBI. That sounds really promising. However, the events from the time the plane landed to Travis agreeing to join are all about a ten minute read. I felt cheated. It was like I was gearing up for a big juicy 16 ounce rib eye and the author brought me an overcooked 8 oz filet mignon. We barely got to see any of them “pretending” to be a couple. I say “pretending” because they weren’t really pretending. They were actually a couple at that point right? Or wait…no, maybe not. They only acted lovey-dovey in front of other people. They stayed in the same room, but Thomas slept on the couch. They fought pretty much the whole time, but mainly about why they shouldn’t be a couple. Hm. There were no steamy scenes or even a point where they both just let go. Then the talk with Travis took about a minute and a half and we’re told that he finally agreed, but of course this makes Thomas an emotional wreck even though it was his plan. Gah. I’m getting frustrated just thinking through it all again. It was like Thomas and Liis could never make a decision and stick to it. They had to chew on their fingernails and cry and smash things because life isn’t the way they want it.
I could not get a read on either one of them. They couldn’t decide what they wanted, so I couldn’t hope either way. At least in BD, Travis wanted Abby and Abby didn’t want Travis until she did, right? Liis didn’t want Thomas and Thomas wanted Cami. Then Thomas wanted Liis. Then he didn’t. Liis wanted to be single the whole time until finally she died and decided that was a good reason to be with Thomas. It was confusing and ridiculous and I did not enjoy a single second of it.
I’m not sure I even want to read Taylor or Tyler’s stories. If they are anything like this one, I’ll pass.
I was so looking forward to reading this book. I loved Beautiful Disaster, but everything after that had my expectations too high. Just as in Beautiful Oblivion, I wanted the crazy Maddox boy to knock me head over heels in angst, but just as in BO it didn’t happen in Beautiful Redemption. Once again I wanted to follow Travis and Abby out of the room and get back to the good stuff! You can’t make a character like Travis Maddox and tease that he has four older brothers just like him, then deliver Trent and Thomas as sane, rational, calm (except for the occasional bar brawl) people.
There was a complete disconnect from the very start on this one. Even though it was all told from the point of view of Liis I still feel like I don’t know anything about her. I couldn’t connect to her or Thomas. The main reason for that is Liis and Thomas were on an emotional seesaw. Every scene one of them was angry or sad or ignoring the other one. I kept feeling like I needed to go back and reread the last few pages. I kept thinking, “did I miss something?” All of a sudden one of them would be completely pissed off with nothing to set them off. There was not a good flow at all. I never understood their reasoning for their behavior. It was like the author decided that as long as they were fighting about something in each scene then it was angsty and dramatic and we would love it. I also didn’t enjoy the way everything was told instead of shown. Just because they were both FBI and “trained to read people” doesn’t mean that we should know every single emotion each of them is going through because it’s stated by one or the other of them. It went a little like this: “You’re mad.” “No, I’m not.” “Yes, you are. I can tell by your body language.” “Fine, I’m mad.” He glared angrily. Really? Does that sound entertaining? That was how the entire book was.
The synopsis of the story leads you to believe that this is mostly going to be about Liis and Thomas pretending to be a couple at Travis and Abby’s wedding. Then, once you get a little ways into the book another big plot point is going to be Thomas and Liis convincing Travis to join the FBI. That sounds really promising. However, the events from the time the plane landed to Travis agreeing to join are all about a ten minute read. I felt cheated. It was like I was gearing up for a big juicy 16 ounce rib eye and the author brought me an overcooked 8 oz filet mignon. We barely got to see any of them “pretending” to be a couple. I say “pretending” because they weren’t really pretending. They were actually a couple at that point right? Or wait…no, maybe not. They only acted lovey-dovey in front of other people. They stayed in the same room, but Thomas slept on the couch. They fought pretty much the whole time, but mainly about why they shouldn’t be a couple. Hm. There were no steamy scenes or even a point where they both just let go. Then the talk with Travis took about a minute and a half and we’re told that he finally agreed, but of course this makes Thomas an emotional wreck even though it was his plan. Gah. I’m getting frustrated just thinking through it all again. It was like Thomas and Liis could never make a decision and stick to it. They had to chew on their fingernails and cry and smash things because life isn’t the way they want it.
I could not get a read on either one of them. They couldn’t decide what they wanted, so I couldn’t hope either way. At least in BD, Travis wanted Abby and Abby didn’t want Travis until she did, right? Liis didn’t want Thomas and Thomas wanted Cami. Then Thomas wanted Liis. Then he didn’t. Liis wanted to be single the whole time until finally she died and decided that was a good reason to be with Thomas. It was confusing and ridiculous and I did not enjoy a single second of it.
I’m not sure I even want to read Taylor or Tyler’s stories. If they are anything like this one, I’ll pass.
sunnydee's review against another edition
4.0
Im Deutschen gehört der Band ja zur Beautiful Reihe, aber man kann ihn sehr gut auch ohne das Vorwissen der anderen Beautiful Bände lesen. Es hat zwar durchaus mit der Handlung aus den anderen Bänden zu tun, aber es geht doch zum größten Teil um das Pärchen und alles andere wurde gut erklärt. Das volle Leseerlebnis bekommt man natürlich trotzdem nur wenn man die komplette Reihe liest.
Ich hatte natürlich große Erwartungen an das Buch, weil mir der Vorgängerband um Trenton so wahnsinnig gut gefallen hat. Dieser Band handelt nun von Thomas, den wir ebenfalls bereits aus dem Vorgängerband kennen. An Trentons Band reicht er leider nicht heran, aber er konnte mich trotzdem gut unterhalten. Alles Zwischenmenschliche und die super sympathische Maddox Familie konnten mich wieder voll begeistern. Lediglich da FBI Thema war nicht so meins. Liis lernt Thomas kennen als sie an ihre neue Arbeitsstelle kommt. Naja, eigentlich schon vorher, aber das lest mal schön selbst. Es war auf jeden Fall klasse. Etwas mehr als die erste Hälfte spielt dann viel um die FBI Arbeit und ihre Kollegen und natürlich wie sie sich immer näher kommen. Beide wollen eigentlich keine Beziehung, aber die Anziehung zwischen den beiden ist groß. Das ganze war wirklich toll geschrieben. Als es dann zu Travis (Thomas' Bruder aus dem ersten Band der Reihe) Gelöbniserneuerung geht und man wieder die ganze Maddox Familie um sich hatte, war es wie nach Hause kommen. Ich liebe die Brüder und Jim (der Vater). Ihre Beziehung zu einander ist so direkt und ungezwungen. Einfach herrlich. Und es ist toll wie sie jemand neues in ihren Kreis aufnehmen.
Die Charaktere sind klasse. Liis ist herrlich taff und selbstbewusst. Thomas ist ziemlich wechselhaft und kämpft gegen seine Gefühle für Liis an. Seine kleinen Eifersuchtsdramen fand ich super unterhaltsam. Weniger konnte ich seine Gefühle Cami betreffend verstehen und fand dass Liis da wirklich sehr geduldig und verständnisvoll war. Die Nebencharaktere waren auch wieder klasse. Vor allem Val, eine Arbeitskollegin von Liis, hat mir mega gut gefallen. Aber es gab auch andere interessante Charaktere.
Der Schreibstil von Jamie McGuire gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut. Er ist locker leicht und vermittelt Emotionen unglaublich authentisch. Alles wird aus der Sicht von Liis geschildert und das passte sehr.
*Fazit:*
5 von 5 Sternen
Auch wenn mir das Buch nicht ganz so gut gefallen hat, wie der Band davor, so wurde ich doch wieder sehr gut unterhalten. Die Liebesgeschichte und die Familiengeschichte war wieder richtig klasse. Auch die Freundschaften haben mich sehr unterhalten. Lediglich das FBI Thema war nicht so meins. Ich kann das Buch definitiv empfehlen.
Reihe:
Beautiful Disaster
Walking Disaster
Beautiful Wedding
Beautiful Oblivion
Beautiful Redemption
...
Ich hatte natürlich große Erwartungen an das Buch, weil mir der Vorgängerband um Trenton so wahnsinnig gut gefallen hat. Dieser Band handelt nun von Thomas, den wir ebenfalls bereits aus dem Vorgängerband kennen. An Trentons Band reicht er leider nicht heran, aber er konnte mich trotzdem gut unterhalten. Alles Zwischenmenschliche und die super sympathische Maddox Familie konnten mich wieder voll begeistern. Lediglich da FBI Thema war nicht so meins. Liis lernt Thomas kennen als sie an ihre neue Arbeitsstelle kommt. Naja, eigentlich schon vorher, aber das lest mal schön selbst. Es war auf jeden Fall klasse. Etwas mehr als die erste Hälfte spielt dann viel um die FBI Arbeit und ihre Kollegen und natürlich wie sie sich immer näher kommen. Beide wollen eigentlich keine Beziehung, aber die Anziehung zwischen den beiden ist groß. Das ganze war wirklich toll geschrieben. Als es dann zu Travis (Thomas' Bruder aus dem ersten Band der Reihe) Gelöbniserneuerung geht und man wieder die ganze Maddox Familie um sich hatte, war es wie nach Hause kommen. Ich liebe die Brüder und Jim (der Vater). Ihre Beziehung zu einander ist so direkt und ungezwungen. Einfach herrlich. Und es ist toll wie sie jemand neues in ihren Kreis aufnehmen.
Die Charaktere sind klasse. Liis ist herrlich taff und selbstbewusst. Thomas ist ziemlich wechselhaft und kämpft gegen seine Gefühle für Liis an. Seine kleinen Eifersuchtsdramen fand ich super unterhaltsam. Weniger konnte ich seine Gefühle Cami betreffend verstehen und fand dass Liis da wirklich sehr geduldig und verständnisvoll war. Die Nebencharaktere waren auch wieder klasse. Vor allem Val, eine Arbeitskollegin von Liis, hat mir mega gut gefallen. Aber es gab auch andere interessante Charaktere.
Der Schreibstil von Jamie McGuire gefällt mir ausgesprochen gut. Er ist locker leicht und vermittelt Emotionen unglaublich authentisch. Alles wird aus der Sicht von Liis geschildert und das passte sehr.
*Fazit:*
5 von 5 Sternen
Auch wenn mir das Buch nicht ganz so gut gefallen hat, wie der Band davor, so wurde ich doch wieder sehr gut unterhalten. Die Liebesgeschichte und die Familiengeschichte war wieder richtig klasse. Auch die Freundschaften haben mich sehr unterhalten. Lediglich das FBI Thema war nicht so meins. Ich kann das Buch definitiv empfehlen.
Reihe:
Beautiful Disaster
Walking Disaster
Beautiful Wedding
Beautiful Oblivion
Beautiful Redemption
...
marleer's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't really a big fan of Thomas in Beautiful Oblivion, but in this book, he was actually pretty okay. He's still not my favorite Maddox Brother, though. I think that's still Trenton. I was surprised that the drama was actually pretty limited in this book, compared to the other books, but I liked that. I also love how the books in these series all tie together in some way. It was interesting to see the issue with Travis from another perspective. I'm excited for the next one, because I feel like we don't know a lot about the twins yet.
amylittleford's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely adored this book! It is definitely my favourite in the series so far! Finding out what we did at the end of the last book meant that this one had so much more meaning. This book and the rest of the series was self published and I felt like you could tell McGuire was no longer held back! We have spicy scenes five pages in! Thomas being the oldest brother (each book focuses on one of the brothers) meant that this book was the most mature and reflected that.
Liis is such a great main character and is so fierce and independent which I really love to see! And she didn't have to compromise on that with the love interest (Thomas). Watching their relationship twist and change made for a great read. Again, I love how McGuire links all the books and the situations involved in each book! This book has me even more excited to continue on to the next three in the series!
Amy x
Liis is such a great main character and is so fierce and independent which I really love to see! And she didn't have to compromise on that with the love interest (Thomas). Watching their relationship twist and change made for a great read. Again, I love how McGuire links all the books and the situations involved in each book! This book has me even more excited to continue on to the next three in the series!
Amy x
abartley73's review against another edition
5.0
I'm just going to start off saying that I'm incredibly biased when it comes to Jamie McGuire. She's been my favorite author since I picked up Beautiful Disaster a year ago and fell in love with her writing. She is the only author who writes books that can keep me interested enough to read the entire book in under 24 hours. I would have finished this book in one sitting if I hadn't been working so much this weekend!
I also want to say that if you have any intentions of reading this book, and you haven't read Beautiful Oblivion yet, then close out of this review now. I think it's impossible to talk about this book without spoiling the last one. People who have read Beautiful Oblivion will understand :)
So I've been dying to read this book since I heard it was coming out. I had planned on preordering it and just never got around to it because life has been hectic. I finally had it in my hands 2 days ago, and I dropped everything else I was doing, besides work, to finish this, and it was so worth it.
I want to start out by saying that I wasn't really looking forward to reading about Thomas. I feel like Beautiful Oblivion paints him in a bad light. Everyone falls in love with the Maddox boys, but after reading the last book, I was nervous that I would still end up disliking him after reading this. I'm not sure why I doubted her writing at all, though, because as she always does, she made Thomas just as perfect as Trent and Travis.
I really feel like Beautiful Oblivion and Beautiful Disaster had the same type of storyline. Both Maddox boys were immature, violent, badasses that needed a girl to settle them down. I loved both of them from the beginning of those books, but I wouldn't have wanted to read another book just like that. She did a fantastic job of keeping with the Maddox theme, but doing a completely different type of storyline that did have its similarities, but kept its uniqueness. I mean, who doesn't want to read about two badass FBI agents that should be together but are too stubborn to do it?
I don't always connect with female characters because a lot of authors write them as weak protagonists. I don't want to spend hours reading about whiny, can't do anything theirselves, females. I don't relate to that, and I find it irritating. But she writes these strong female characters that I instantly understand and can relate to. While I can't say I like Liis as much as I liked Cami, I still really liked her. She's strong and independent and can hold her own. The main problem I had with her was her incessant whining about him still loving Cami. I get it. I really do. No one wants to be with a man that still loves another girl. But she didn't need to bring it up and argue with him about it every other chapter. I do feel like there could have been a little more depth to the story if it didn't focus on that as much. With that being said, it really didn't deter me at all from loving this book. It wasn't an annoyance or complaint, just an observation.
I also love the fact that this is a series, but not a typical one. I struggle with finishing entire series because I get bored reading about the same characters book after book. I think that's why this series works so well for me. She manages to weave all their stories together to where you get a glimpse of the past characters we know and love so much and where they are now, without it being the same old story over and over again. Trent, Travis, Cami, and Abby were all in this book so we could see where they are now, but then it went back to Liis and Thomas. It just works, and I adore it.
I absolutely love this series and can NOT wait for the next book to come out! Huge 5 stars!
I also want to say that if you have any intentions of reading this book, and you haven't read Beautiful Oblivion yet, then close out of this review now. I think it's impossible to talk about this book without spoiling the last one. People who have read Beautiful Oblivion will understand :)
So I've been dying to read this book since I heard it was coming out. I had planned on preordering it and just never got around to it because life has been hectic. I finally had it in my hands 2 days ago, and I dropped everything else I was doing, besides work, to finish this, and it was so worth it.
I want to start out by saying that I wasn't really looking forward to reading about Thomas. I feel like Beautiful Oblivion paints him in a bad light. Everyone falls in love with the Maddox boys, but after reading the last book, I was nervous that I would still end up disliking him after reading this. I'm not sure why I doubted her writing at all, though, because as she always does, she made Thomas just as perfect as Trent and Travis.
I really feel like Beautiful Oblivion and Beautiful Disaster had the same type of storyline. Both Maddox boys were immature, violent, badasses that needed a girl to settle them down. I loved both of them from the beginning of those books, but I wouldn't have wanted to read another book just like that. She did a fantastic job of keeping with the Maddox theme, but doing a completely different type of storyline that did have its similarities, but kept its uniqueness. I mean, who doesn't want to read about two badass FBI agents that should be together but are too stubborn to do it?
I don't always connect with female characters because a lot of authors write them as weak protagonists. I don't want to spend hours reading about whiny, can't do anything theirselves, females. I don't relate to that, and I find it irritating. But she writes these strong female characters that I instantly understand and can relate to. While I can't say I like Liis as much as I liked Cami, I still really liked her. She's strong and independent and can hold her own. The main problem I had with her was her incessant whining about him still loving Cami. I get it. I really do. No one wants to be with a man that still loves another girl. But she didn't need to bring it up and argue with him about it every other chapter. I do feel like there could have been a little more depth to the story if it didn't focus on that as much. With that being said, it really didn't deter me at all from loving this book. It wasn't an annoyance or complaint, just an observation.
I also love the fact that this is a series, but not a typical one. I struggle with finishing entire series because I get bored reading about the same characters book after book. I think that's why this series works so well for me. She manages to weave all their stories together to where you get a glimpse of the past characters we know and love so much and where they are now, without it being the same old story over and over again. Trent, Travis, Cami, and Abby were all in this book so we could see where they are now, but then it went back to Liis and Thomas. It just works, and I adore it.
I absolutely love this series and can NOT wait for the next book to come out! Huge 5 stars!
agustinap's review against another edition
3.0
I love me some Maddox story. They are not only gorgeous but very protective of their women and once they fall in love nothing will stop them until they get her. I enjoy learning more about Thomas and Liis. I like how she give an epilogue in which wraps it up and you know how they end up. Waiting for Tyler and Ellie's story now!
duntax's review against another edition
4.0
Fell in love with the third Maddox Brother in a row... I love how they all are the same and yet so different. Real brothers :D
pebblespenguin1's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book! I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one, especially after finishing 'Beautiful Oblivion', but I was pleasantly surprised. I won't say much else because I don't want to put any spoilers in here. Great read!!!