Review: Beautiful Disaster by Laura Spinella

Title: Beautiful Disaster
Author: Laura Spinella
Series: -
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: Berkley
Edition: Trade Paperback
Source: Publisher
Blurb:

Mia Wells's eco-friendly career goals are about to become a reality-but her life-altering moment is interrupted when an unexpected call ushers in her tremulous past. A man who's never left Mia's memory: Flynn, the enigmatic, passionate man whose disappearance broke her heart, has mysteriously resurfaced.

Now back in her life and in the hospital, Flynn is gravely injured. Mia keeps a bedside vigil-terrified that he will die, awestruck at the prospect of his survival. In a story filled with sweetness and suspense, Mia's what-ifs are endless. And Flynn's return ignites an achingly powerful tale about the most enduring love, one that is greater than honor, or friendship, or the passing of time.

This novel is set half in the present and half in the past. I don't usually like it when they're told that way, but it worked really well for this book. In the present we have Flynn, who has been in an accident and is in the ICU and Mia, an interior designer who rushes to the hospital even though it has been more than 12 years seen they have seen each other. The part of the story that's told in the past is about how Mia and Flynn met, how their relationship changed each other and then how Flynn left Mia so suddenly.

Mia and Flynn have a lot of chemistry and you can see the sparks fly through the book. Theirs is a story of redemption and long lost love. What I didn't like was how Mia was so heavily influenced by those around her and how it seemed that at times everyone else was making the choices for her, and she didn't complain much about it. In especific I'm talking about Roxanne, Mia's best friend, who was intruding in things that weren't any of her business all the time. I really couldn't stand her and most of the time I just wanted Mia to tell her to leave her alone, which sadly doesn't happen.

While it may sound like there is plenty of suspense, the truth is that the only thing you wonder is why Flynn left Mia without saying anything to her; the rest is a very complicated, sad and hopeful love story. This was an enjoyable read but I wish the ending could have been expanded and that Mia and Flynn could have spent more time together in the present.


Memorable Lines:
But then there was a gift, unlike any she had ever received. It floated into her ears on a path straight to her heart. The sound was raspy and weak, but familiar as her own skin, a deep voice breaking over that silent prayer.
"I was wrong. I thought this was hell, but I guess - this would be heaven."

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