Review: Beautiful Redemption (#2 Maddox Brothers) by Jamie McGuire

My Thoughts

Enjoyable and fast-paced—this is a deliciously fun,
suspenseful Maddox Brothers story.

• Related Posts: Read an excerpt | My review of Beautiful Oblivion

Synopsis

If A Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. But what if he didn’t love you, first?

No-nonsense Liis Lindy is an agent of the FBI. Deciding she is married only to her job, she breaks off her engagement and transfers from Chicago to the field office in San Diego. She loves her desk. She is committed to her laptop. She dreams of promotions and shaking hands with the director after cracking an impossible case.

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is arrogant, unforgiving, and ruthless. He is tasked with putting away some of the world’s toughest criminals, and he is one of the best the Bureau has to offer. Though, as many lives as he’s saved, there is one that is beyond his reach. Younger brother Travis is faced with prison time for his involvement in a basement fire that killed dozens of college students, and the media want a conviction. Travis’s only savior is his unusual tie to the mob. In a deal that will spare his brother, Thomas has agreed to recruit Travis into the FBI.

Liis is stubborn, defiant, and yet somehow softens Thomas’s rough edges, making her the perfect agent to accompany him to the ceremony. Posing as a couple, they must travel to Travis & Abby’s beach vow renewal and give him the news, but when the pretending ends, she finds herself wondering if they were pretending at all.

In the second installment of the Maddox Brothers books, experience firsthand the mysterious world of the elusive Thomas Maddox, and how good love can be when you’re not the first, but the last.

My Review

Jamie McGuire delivers a suspenseful, angsty Maddox-style story with the tale of two people more alike than not. Two people whose pasts and presents collide in an unexpected way as they fall in love under intense circumstances. Their story, however, is not smooth and easy, in fact, it starts of with the best of times and the worst of times.

When FBI agent Liis Lindy moves to San Diego, she’s hoping to start fresh, leave behind Chicago and a fiancé she didn’t quite love to focus on her career. She has dreams. Aspirations. She’s married to her job and she is perfectly okay with that.

But when she lets herself go one night, dropping all inhibitions, her decision is temporary bliss turned chaos.

“How did I mess up my fresh start so thoroughly and before it had even started?”

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is all intensity and arrogance. He’s climbed the ranks quickly, known for being ruthless, ornery, but very good at his job. He was as much revered as he was feared in the office and when Liis begins to work for him, his usual ill-tempered behavior focused her way. Their relationship was antagonistic at first as McGuire builds that delicious sexual tension we love to devour, especially with Liis’ spirited, no-nonsense personality. She wasn’t afraid to challenge the un-challengeable Maddox, fueling the already charged dynamic between them.

“One day I was going to have to choose between Thomas and the Bureau, and I would choose the job. But every time we were alone, every time he touched me, and what I’d felt when I saw him with Camille, I knew that my feelings had become too complex to ignore.”

Together, they’re working on a case that involves Travis and is connected to a very dangerous group of criminals, in addition to the mob. I actually loved this part of the story, although I struggled a bit to understand how the various elements connected. I would have loved to see more action and careful explanation to further differentiate it from the other Maddox novels. Through the intensity and challenges, however, Liis starts to fall for Thomas, but soon realizes he is still in love with Cami (whom we met in Beautiful Oblivion). Despite Thomas’ words and actions, it’s clear he is still nursing his broken heart.

“I was miserable and angry because I loved a man who I couldn’t love, who loved someone else but loved me more.”

Thomas and Liis’ relationship is a push and pull, one that perhaps vacillated for a bit too long, but I was surprised to see how much I fell for Thomas, who was this great mix of hard and soft, ruthlessness and heart. I loved him! His emotions were more complex and gray, as he tried to carry too much weight upon his shoulders.

Some of the scenes felt a little rushed to me and there was a lot of goodness that could have been further developed, explored and smoothed out. But all in all, this felt like the most different Maddox Brothers installment, adding an edge of suspense and danger to the angst and sexual tension we’ve come to expect. Beautiful Redemption is a great pick if you’re looking to lose yourself in a fast-paced, dialogue-driven sexy read. I can promise you’ll be falling for Thomas Maddox from the very beginning.

“…being with you is worth the risk.”

Reading Order and Links

Each book can be read as a standalone.

Connect with Jamie

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.Her most recent novel, Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

She has also written bestselling contemporary romance Beautiful Disaster, and the Providence series.Jamie now lives in Enid, OK with her three children and husband Jeff, who is a real, live cowboy. They share their 30 acres with six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

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