I actually think chronological order within the story's timeline is a mess for this series and wouldn't recommend it. 'A Beautiful Wedding' is set during the timeline of the first book, but reading it there interrupts the pacing. Publication order keeps the reveals and emotional beats intact. Start with the original 'Beautiful Disaster'. If you're still invested after that, the alternate perspective in 'Walking Disaster' feels like a reward, not a requirement.
Publication order, no question. The author wrote them in that sequence for a reason, building the world and the Maddox family lore piece by piece. If you read 'Walking Disaster' first, you spoil all the mystery and tension of 'Beautiful Disaster'. Half the fun of the original is being inside Abby's head, trying to figure Travis out alongside her. Knowing his internal monologue from the start would completely deflate that.
Plus, the later books like 'Beautiful Oblivion' expect you to already know Travis and Abby's legendary status within the family. You'd miss a ton of the weight behind those references. It's like showing up to a sequel without seeing the first movie – you might follow the plot, but the emotional payoff just isn't there. The order is release date: 'Beautiful Disaster', then 'Walking Disaster', then 'A Beautiful Wedding', then move into the Maddox Brothers series.
Honestly, jumping straight into 'Beautiful Disaster' felt like hitting a wall for me. The character dynamic that everyone loved just read as kind of toxic and immature on my first pass. I only started to appreciate the series more when I went back and read 'Walking Disaster' afterward, which gave Travis's side of the story. That extra context completely changed how I viewed their initial conflicts. It made the events of the first book feel less one-sided. Publication order might be the intended path, but starting with the alternate perspective book might actually work better for some readers who need that extra layer to buy into the central relationship.
For the spin-offs and the newer 'Maddox Brothers' books, I'd absolutely follow publication order. You'll catch all the little cameos and understand the family dynamics so much better. Reading 'A Beautiful Wedding' after the main two is essential, though it’s more of an extended epilogue than a full novel. Trying to slot it in chronologically between scenes would ruin the flow the author built. Stick with how they came out, but don't be afraid to revisit the core books in a different sequence if the first one doesn't click.
2026-07-11 14:30:56
4
View All Answers
Scan code to download App
Related Books
Raw & Ruined: Short Romantic Sins
Elly
0
32.2K
Raw and Ruined: Short Erotic Sins
Step into a world where desire doesn’t ask permission and shame is just foreplay.
Several merciless, sweat-slick stories that don’t seduce—they take.
No slow burns.
No sweet nothings.
Just skin slapping skin, nails carving lines down backs, mouths full, thighs trembling, and the kind of orgasms that make your vision white out and your voice break.
These stories are greedy.
They bruise.
They stain sheets and memories.
They leave teeth marks and handprints and the delicious ache of being used exactly the way you secretly always wanted.
These are not love stories.
These are lust stories.
Short. Sharp. Unapologetic.
And they will leave you throbbing, aching, and reaching for someone—or something—to ruin you next.
Raw and Ruined: Short Erotic Sins
Because sometimes the dirtiest thing you can do… is let yourself be devoured.
What does the underboss of an infamous crime family have in common with a spirited primary school teacher? Absolutely nothing, except a marriage of convenience, of course.
When Lionel Tyson defaults on a gambling debt and offers his most prized possession as collateral, Austin Hawthorne is underwhelmed. But in desperate need of a housekeeper and permanent child minder, he knows he’d be an idiot to look a gift horse in the mouth. So, against his better judgement, he accepts an offer he should absolutely refuse.
Marybeth Tyson is horrified to learn that not only is her father wanted by loan sharks, but he has also sold her off to a mafia boss. Bound by duty and pushed by guilt, she agrees to give Austin Hawthorne one year of her life, despite common sense screaming at her to run the other way. After all, how hard can pretending to be madly in love with someone be?
It’s all fun and games until play pretend becomes all too real, and an earth-shattering secret from Austin’s past comes to light, threatening to destroy his second chance at love with his dogged pursuit for answers. Betrayal, especially at the hands of his older brother Blake and long-time friend, Andrei Ivanov, is a bitter pill to swallow for Austin, and letting them off scot-free is not an option. Driven by his unquenchable thirst for revenge, Austin will stop at nothing to get to the truth, even if it means destroying decade-old friendships and fragile ties to The Corporation.
2022 Val Sims. All rights reserved. No part of this novel may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author and publishers.
Power. Obsession. Pleasure. Pain.
Behind every Alpha lies a dangerous hunger—and these men don’t ask for permission. They take what they want.
Sinful Alphas is a scorching collection of interconnected dark romance stories featuring dangerously possessive Alphas, forbidden desires, obsessive love, and heroines who find themselves caught between temptation and destruction. From ruthless pack kings and morally gray billionaires to primal mates, secret arrangements, revenge seductions, and enemies who crave each other far too much, every story explores the intoxicating line between dominance and surrender.
These aren’t sweet love stories.
These are tales of obsession so consuming it burns. Passion so addictive it destroys. Desire so sinful it feels dangerous to crave.
Inside this collection, you’ll find:
* Possessive Alpha males
* Enemies-to-lovers tension
* Forced proximity
* Forbidden attraction
* Mates, secrets, betrayal, and obsession
* Explicit spice, emotional chaos, and addictive twists
Some loves save you.
Others ruin you beautifully.
Enter at your own risk.
Sinners & Saints: A Collection Of Dark Romance Stories
Mary Samantha
10
469
This author once failed as a heroine… and returned as something entirely different.
Not as a savior.
But as the villain.
And she didn’t come back empty-handed.
She brought secrets.
She brought sins.
She brought a story that was never meant to be read.
Sinners & Saints is not just a collection of dark romance stories—
It is a confession.
A warning.
And a door best left unopened.
Within these pages lie twisted love stories where desire and destruction walk hand in hand, and every choice comes with a cost.
So the question is simple:
Will you turn away…
or step inside anyway?
Book One of the BEAUTIFUL SERIES.
After a night of heavy drinking and clubbing with friends in a vacation in L.A, Miranda Rose finds herself waking up completely beside the world famous Satellite Patrol lead vocalist, Hugo Saintclare. She wakes up with no memories on how she ended up having with the handsome crooner. Realizing that she gave up her virginity to the charming vocalist, she felt ashamed of herself for things that she doesn’t know what she could have done with Hugo during their steamy and drunken one night stand.
Out of embarrassment and the blurry details, she tried to push that event out of her head by moving on. She kept everything to herself knowing the global fanbase that the band has and how possessive his fans are when it comes to issues. Miranda didn’t want to ruin Hugo Saintclare’s career and remained silent trying to forget about what happened that sinful night.
Seven years later, fate plays with her and Hugo, they end up meeting each other again by accident. Knowing how things ended when she left his hotel room seven years ago, she was scared of the possible changes this will cause in her life together with Benedict.
Will there be a second chance for something they had, now that they have crossed each other's paths for the second time or will it remain as something that is beautifully unfinished?
"One steamy night full of lust. One mistake never expected."
CONTAINS
BOOK 2 Beautiful Pieces
BOOK 3 Beautiful and Bounded
Esme was compelled to marry Jasper by her parents. It had been two years. Her husband never paid attention to her as he should give to her as his wife. He was a good person but a worse husband.
She knew. He was seeing someone. She never tried to find it out. Her parents died. So she was trying to fulfill her parents' last wish.
Livia! Her best friend, one day forced her to go to the club with her.
There she met him, Carlos King. He stole her innocence, her heart……. That night, she cheated on her husband.
Esme was a good woman, trapped in an unwanted marriage. To escape, the daily torture of her husband negligence.
She shouldn't have spent the most passionate night with a stranger in the club.
But she wasn't ashamed of cheating on her husband.
Trying to piece together the timeline for Jamie McGuire's 'Beautiful Disaster' books drove me crazy until I found a spreadsheet online. The main series is straightforward: start with 'Beautiful Disaster', then 'Walking Disaster' which is the same events from Travis's perspective—it's essential, don't skip it—and finally 'Beautiful Oblivion' onward for the Maddox brothers. But the 'Beautiful' series timeline overlaps with the 'Maddox Brothers' books in a weird way.
Where it gets messy is deciding whether to read 'A Beautiful Wedding' novella after 'Walking Disaster' or slot it in chronologically. Personally, I read it after finishing both main books because it felt like a bonus epilogue, and jumping into it mid-flow would have ruined the pacing. Some fans swear by reading the Maddox books in publication order, but if you're a completionist who hates timeline jumps, there are lists that interweave every novella and spin-off chapter by chapter. Honestly, following one of those rigid orders sucked all the fun out of it for me; I preferred just binging each couple's story consecutively.
I’ve also seen people start with 'Beautiful Oblivion' because it’s about a different Maddox brother and technically starts earlier in the timeline, but then you miss the inside jokes and cameos that only make sense if you’ve read the original. My two cents: read 'Beautiful Disaster' and 'Walking Disaster' as a pair first, then tackle the rest in publication order. The timeline isn’t complex enough to justify a massively complicated read order, and the later books are more like companion pieces anyway.
Okay, so you're asking about the order for 'Beautiful Disaster' and its spin-offs. I binged this whole series last year and the order totally matters for catching all the nuance. Absolutely read 'Beautiful Disaster' first—that's the core Travis and Abby story. Don't even think about skipping it. Then, you've got 'Walking Disaster', which is the same events from Travis's point of view. Some people say you can skip it, but I think it adds a lot, especially understanding his obsession.
After those two, you can move into the spin-offs. 'A Beautiful Wedding' is a novella that slots in right after the main book, detailing their Vegas trip. It's short but kinda fun. Then the series shifts to other couples. 'Beautiful Oblivion' is about Trent, and 'Beautiful Redemption' is about Thomas. They exist in the same world with cameos, so you'll appreciate those nods more if you've followed the originals. I tried reading 'Beautiful Oblivion' first and was so confused by the references to 'that Maddox brother' that I had to backtrack.