"Easy" by Tammara Webber

"Choosing to be with you isn't a difficult decision, Jacqueline...It's easy. Incredibly easy." 
-Tammara Webber, Easy

Easy. One Word. Multiple meanings. Immediately reading the title, and seeing a couple on the front cover, my first thoughts were not leaning towards the traditional connotation of the word. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, so I downloaded the sample onto my Kindle. I originally discovered the book through Jamie McGuire's (author of Beautiful Disaster) Facebook page, so I figured if she promoted the book, I should give it a go. A sample on a Kindle is usually the first chapter, and for this book, it simply was not enough. It sucked me in from the first page, and I read it's entirety in less than 48 hours.

The Halloween party was a bust, mostly because Jacqueline's ex was a member of this particular fraternity. She knew it would be a bad idea to attend the party so soon after the break-up, but she was the designated driver. Considering her best friend, Erin, just stumbled up the stairs hand-in-hand with Chaz, it was safe to say that leaving the party without her would be fine since Erin would probably be there all night at this rate. Jacqueline walks to her truck, and barely get the door open when she is shoved face-down into her seat. Recognizing the voice hissing crude remarks at her, she begs Buck to get off her. No amount of begging was going to stop this drunken frat boy from getting what he wanted. As soon as his hand starts pulling her skirt higher, she begins to squirm and make a useless effort to escape. Nothing works. On the verge of conquering his prey, Buck shoves Jacqueline's face into the seat to muffle her screams.

Suddenly his weight is lifted from her. She didn't hesitate to jump to the other side of the truck. Buck was no longer there. A stranger had pulled him off of her and was basically beating his bones into the pavement of the parking lot. She was stunned. As soon as the stranger knew Buck was immobile, he made sure Jacqueline was all right.

And that was the first time she saw him: Lucas. After a nasty breakup and the incident tonight, how can Jacqueline trust anyone, especially this guy. Who's to know? But it definitely won't be easy!

That's all I'm going to leave you with as far as a summary goes. I basically just summarized the sample, or the first chapter, because that is how it got me hooked. I thought it might get my readers hooked in the same way.

 Tammara Webber brings love, terror, power, and joy all into one book. The main character, Jackie demonstrates elements seen in all different types of college girls, making the book appealing to all different personalities.

Like in my last review, this book is not recommended for young eyes. Most of the content may be too mature for those under the age of 16.

Webber focuses on the subject of rape in many aspects of her novel. It's not one of those "it will never happen to me" situations. It can happen anywhere, anytime. Jackie was attacked by someone she thought she was friends with. Luckily she was saved before anything more serious occurred. I know that this was just a fiction book, but it made me realize I need to be aware of these situations. I believe Webber wrote this book with that mindset: to make people see the reality and to show the importance of reporting the crime. In the back of the text, there is a section titled "Sexual Assault Survivor Resources." The majority of rapes or attempted rapes are not even reported. Here are the resources listed in the book:

RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest -National Network): www.rainn.org
National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE
SOAR (Speaking Out Against Rape): www.soar99.org
NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center): www.nsvrc.org
Rape Treatement Center: www.911rape.org

Webber also wrote Between the Lines, a trilogy. I have not read this series (YET)! However, judging by her writing in Easy, I can assure you that her other books are just as phenomenal.

"Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire

"I knew the second I met you that there was something about you I needed. Turns out it wasn't something about you at all. It was just you."
-Jamie McGuire, Beautiful Disaster

Being a writer and, of course, a reader, I hate to judge a book by its cover; however, I know that the cover should bring in a potential reader. Walking aimlessly through Books A Million one night last fall, I was desperate for something to read. I continued to walk by a paperback book that was gray and dull with a butterfly captured in a jar. I had never heard of this book or even the author for that matter. Something about this book was pulling me in already because the cover was unique enough to make me wonder what made the disaster beautiful. So, I read the back of the book and instantly wanted to know the story of Abby Abernathy.

Beautiful Disaster is absolutely a perfect title for this book. It gives the hint to the main plot in the story. Abby is the "good girl" tagging along with her best friend, America, and America's boyfriend, Shepley, when she meets him: Travis. Although this seems like the typical storyline of running into true love spontaneously, it's not. Travis is in the middle of fight ring and winning. He spots her in the crowd and stops the fight just to talk to her. Not impressed, she doesn't swoon over him, which is completely opposite from the majority of the other girls. Seeing her reaction as a challenge to win her over, he makes a bet with her: if he loses the fight, he will abstain from sex for an entire month, but if he wins, she has to stay at his place for that month.

Travis is the "bad boy" that all girls (good or bad) basically drool over. He is muscular, he has the tattoos, he puts on the "Mr. Cool" attitude, and he loves having a good time. Not to mention, he is nice to just look at. Abby knows she needs to be anywhere but with him. Nothing good can come from hanging around Travis Maddox. THE Travis Maddox. Oh, she has the heard the stories around her college campus, and she needed to stay away. Far away.

Obviously, he wins the fight. Travis - Mad Dog - Maddox doesn't lose fights. Looks like Abby is moving out of the dorm for a month and in with Travis. I'm not giving anything away, don't worry. If he lost the fight, that wouldn't be much of a story now would it? It's what happens and changes in the lives of Abby and Travis that really makes the reader fall head-over-heels for this book. It's not the average love story.

I've recommended this book to...well everyone when the opportunity presented itself. The ones who read it finished it within a day or two. It's just THAT good! Beautiful Disaster is simply an incredible, passionate, intriguing page-turner! Jamie McGuire really knows how to make the reader feel what Abby feels and brings the reader to care for her, as well. Her writing is the perfect amount of descriptive. Also, I loved the reality of the book. By "reality" I mean it's not an unrealistic romance novel like a Nicholas Sparks piece. Don't get me wrong, Sparks writes beautiful books, but it gives girls very high expectations. McGuire, however, created a male role that is not perfect. He makes mistakes, gets angry, and is definitely no prince charming. He is a real character. Never does he use fancy poetic words, he just talks as anyone else would. It's so easy to relate to the book.

Now, if I have young followers, I would not recommend this book for you. It is a mature book. There is language, as well as sexual content. Once you are older, though, it's definitely worth the read!

The sequel, Walking Disaster,  is just as intriguing! It is the same story, but through Travis's point of view! Because I loved Beautiful Disaster so much, I literally waited up until midnight for Walking Disaster's release, and I began reading it the second it downloaded to my Kindle. (I pre-ordered it, of course)! So, as soon as you read Beautiful Disaster, make sure to read Walking Disaster! You won't want to miss it!

Hopefully, this has sparked your interest enough to purchase and read Beautiful Disaster as well as Jamie McGuire's other books. (I've read them as well...BRILLIANT!) Feel free to leave your comments, questions, opinions, and remarks right here on the blog, or LIKE the Drunk On Books Facebook page (CLICK HERE) and leave your thoughts there! I'd love to hear feed back! If you have a book suggestion, don't hesitate to let me know! I will read and review a requested book.

What to Expect

I've always loved and had a passion for reading. Since moving to Troy, I've basically become addicted to it. Just last semester I read 5 novels, but I didn't even start the first one until October. That's a lot of leisure reading for a college student! I always MAKE time for reading. For Christmas, my boyfriend got me a Kindle, so now I'm constantly reading because I don't have to go to a store to pick out a book.

This week was the beginning of the spring semester here at Troy University, and my professor in my very first class gave me the idea to begin this blog. He spoke very highly of blogs and discussed how many writers have been discovered by the blogs. Also, many journalists are required to maintain a blog for a company. I decided to begin this new blog to write reviews on the books that I read. I will be posting once a week. Hopefully, you, as the reader, will discover new books to read as well as new authors. Don't worry, I will still continue to write on my first blog as well! (www.courtneybrookepatterson.blogspot.com)

Thanks for visting my brand new blog at www.bookwasted.blogspot.com!

Also, I will take suggestions for books and/or authors! Just leave comments on the blog and I will do my best to get to them!

Happy Reading!