I hadn't read the previous books in the series before starting Beautiful Oblivion, but for the most part I didn't have too many problems with understanding this story. I do think that it would have been better to have read the others first that way I would have been more familiar with the characters and their back story though. While I liked parts of this book, there were other things that I really didn't care for. I am curious to read the rest of this series though. 
 I loved Trent. He was amazing. He was so sweet and patient, and really sexy. I loved how great of a guy he was and that he was so much deeper than you would ever expect. I thought that he was so cute with Olive and it just made me love him more how he was always so happy to spend time with her. Cami I struggled with though. I honestly didn't understand her and her actions. She had moments that she really seemed to be turning things around and finally seeing what was right in front of her. But then she would revert right back and do something that would really irritate me. She wasn't the strong and sassy girl that she was supposed to be and that she first came off as. She seemed indecisive and wishy washy, and it got very annoying. She was also a bit weak, and I hated how her family treated her and the fact that she put up with it. She deserved better, and I really wanted to see her fill them all in on what had happened and really get the truth out there. I kept waiting for her to put them in their place, but it just never happened. I thought that her and Trent had so much chemistry and I couldn't wait for them to finally figure things out between them. 
 I felt like the majority of this story was pretty slow. I kept waiting for something to happen and it just took way longer than I had hoped or wished for. I found myself getting frustrated with the characters and the story, and losing interest because it felt like was happening. I will admit that I didn't see the twist coming with this one. I think part of that was because I hadn't read any of the rest of this series, so I wasn't familiar with the characters at all. But I will say I was completely shocked and left asking WTF just happened! 
 I thought that Jamie McGuire's writing style was really good though, and I am definitely going to read more from her in the future. I will say that I thought that the narrator Phoebe Strole did a great job reading this story as well! I loved her voice and felt like it really fit Cami. She brought her to life so well, and I felt like she really was the perfect choice to read this story. She did a wonderful job of differentiating between characters, and it was always clear who was talking. If I were to rate this book strictly on the audio narration, I would definitely give it 4 or 5 stars. But the story itself kept this one from being a higher rating for me. I am definitely ready for the next book though, and I can't wait to go back and read the previous ones to get to know all the characters better. 
 **Audiobook provided by Simon & Schuster**