Book Review: A Beautiful Funeral (Maddox Brothers #5)

About the Book:
Title: A Beautiful Funeral (Maddox Brothers #5)
Author: Jamie McGuire
Pub. Date: Aug. 15, 2016
Publisher: Jamie McGuire, LLC
Pages: 238
Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Losing has never been easy for a Maddox, but death always wins.

Eleven years to the day after eloping in Vegas with Abby, Special Agent Travis Maddox delivers his own brand of vigilante justice to mob boss Benny Carlisi. Vegas's oldest and most violent crime family is now preparing for vengeance, and the entire Maddox family is a target.

The secret Thomas and Travis have kept for a decade will be revealed to the rest of the family, and for the first time the Maddoxes will be at odds. While none of them are strangers to loss, the family has grown, and the risk is higher than ever. With brothers against brothers and wives taking sides, each member will make a choice—let the fear tear them apart, or make them stronger. 

Review:

It's no secret that The Maddox Brothers have a special place in my heart (well 1 more than the others, but I still love all of them). However, I had my ups and downs with the individual stories Jamie wrote about each brother. Some were okay (which was more because it wasn't exactly what I was expecting for the character) and some were great. But overall, I enjoyed the spin-off series she did. I knew with this one though, Jamie was going to break my heart. And break my heart she did...into a thousand tiny little pieces. To say this is an emotional book is an understatement, but in more ways than one. I personally think this is the best one of the entire spin-off series, and it's hard to say goodbye to all of these characters. I'm not going to spoil who dies, but I will tell you that it's 2 people who you might not expect. Everything about this book was perfectly written, and I'm glad I got to say goodbye (albeit a tearful goodbye) to these characters that have been near and dear to my heart for so long.

Told from multiple POVs, the story focuses mainly on Travis and the fallout from his actions oh so long ago. I did like the multiple perspectives, but I will say that sometimes it got to be a bit much. There were a couple times I didn't feel it was necessary to include a character's perspective, but at the same time I didn't mind. Every character gets their chance to speak their mind, and this helped the story feel more well-rounded and complete, as well as move the story along to the emotional conclusion that we all knew was coming. It was also fun to see how all of these characters have changed (or not changed) since we last left them. There were a few surprises and some not-so-surprising things, but all in all Jamie did a fantastic job at further developing the characters and showing how they have changed over the years. I will say there was one thing that I didn't like, which was Cami only because I thought she came off as more of a brat in this one. There was just something about her behavior that rubbed me the wrong way, and I couldn't get over it after I finished the story. 

“From the moment you become aware of a secret, the inevitable question arises: what price will you pay to keep it?” 

There is plenty of Travis in this book and thank god for that! I missed him so much, and it was a thrill to be able to read either from his or Abby's perspective. While I don't agree with every decision he and Abby made, I do understand their reasoning behind it. It actually kind of made sense in some ways why they did what they did. And to be able to see that emotional, tender, and caring side of Travis again...lord almighty it was fan-freakin-tastic! 

Even though you were clued into some things, there was still a lot of suspense with this book, and Jamie definitely kept me glued to the page. I seriously didn't want to stop reading this and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I knew there was a crap ton of sadness headed my way, but I didn't expect it to affect me as much as it did (apparently I was deluding myself while reading that Jamie's amazing writing abilities weren't going to make me cry...I know, silly me). The ending (while kind of silly because it could have easily been prevented and then it would have been a HAE and that's all I want) is emotionally charged and heartbreaking. As I said, there are 2 deaths--both of which occur in the same scene--and both are equally as sad. The one character who died, I had pretty much predicted would die just because of how he/she was acting throughout the story (certainly didn't make their death any less emotional though). But the other character's death shocked me and I was a mess. 

Just as she’d promised, we were together again, in a moment of no sickness or pain—only love. And when love was real, so was forever.” 

Overall, I think this was an epic way to end the Maddox Brothers saga, and it was harder to say goodbye than I thought. I can't thank you enough Jamie for giving us these amazing siblings and their respective partners. You made us all feel like part of the Maddox family, and we'll continue to be apart of their family for a long time to come. I highly recommend reading this novel if you liked any of the stories Jamie wrote about the brothers. Even if you hated the spin-off, I still think you should read this story because it truly is a remarkable conclusion that will leave you with those same feelings you had when you first picked up Beautiful Disaster. 

Happy reading :)

~Cassie