Beautiful Failure Review & Giveaway

Title: Beautiful Failure

Author: Mariah Cole

Genre: New Adult

Publication Date: December 17, 2013

Tour Host: Dreams Come True Promotions

If you’re looking for a heartwarming story about a girl who falls deeply in love with a troubled boy who changes her life–a sob story with pretty metaphors and a million ways that’ll tell you how “broken” she is, STOP. Don’t read another word of this.

I’m not that type of girl.

My name is Emerald Anderson and I’m not going to bulls**t you: I flunked out of college after my sophomore year, I’ve been fired from every job I’ve ever taken, and I’ve never had a fully functioning relationship in my life.

I wish I could say that I had a cheerleader in my corner, someone who says, “No, Emerald–You’re great and you are good at something!” but I don’t. My grandparents are completely oblivious to my life, and my mother’s dying words to me were “You’re going to end up just like me one day. A beautiful nothing.”

She was right.

As I decide to start my life over and take two jobs that will forever change me–one from the inside, and one from the outside, I keep my mother’s words close to my heart so I can keep the sexy and mysterious Carter Black away.

He’s the first man who’s ever pursued me, the first man who seems bent on finding out why I am the way I am, but he’s wasting his time.

I’m not broken. I don’t need to be fixed. I’m perfectly fine being a beautiful failure…

Were you intrigued by the synopsis? I sure was. I thought, finally, a book that isn’t about a girl wanting to be rescued or even getting rescued. And that’s part of what made this book so good.

Emerald is what she is, who she is, and she isn’t sorry for it. Her mom did a royal job of screwing her up though. I usually hate blaming the parents, but I feel that it really was her mom’s fault. Not only was her mom a prostitute, but also an alcoholic. A habit that she shared and encouraged with Emerald at way too young an age. Anyways, her mom commits suicide (I’m not giving anything away, this happens right at the beginning), and leaves Emerald practically alone.

Emerald does go to live with her grandparents, her mother’s parents. They’re good people, but kind of oblivious and extremely religious. I commend Emerald for going on after her mom’s suicide, I really do. She can’t keep a job, but hey, at least she tries. Then one day working as a barista at Starbucks, she meets a good looking guy named Carter. She also makes her first real friend, even if she doesn’t know it at the time, Sarah. She notices that Sarah has a lot of really expensive things and learns that she works for an exclusive strip club. Emerald ‘interviews’ there and the patrons love her. And guess who she runs into. Yep, Carter! And on the side, Emerald has to attend court ordered AA meetings because she got in a little trouble.

So as you can see, Emerald’s been through hell. But she is such a strong character for it. Although she’s not always in the right, she definitely stands up for what she believes in. And the confidence this girl has, can I have some?

She is definitely wary of Carter, and it takes her a long time to warm up to him. And just when you think you know where the book is going, you don’t. I’d normally be a bit peeved at a cliffhanger ending, but I really can’t wait to read the next one!

It’s because it’s not all puppies and rainbows that I really enjoyed this book, and I definitely recommend it. And if you read it, read the author’s note at the end. It cracked me up.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars