Book Review | White Trash Beautiful – Teresa Mummert (White Trash Trilogy, Book One)

White Trash Beautiful
By: Teresa Mummert

Series: White Trash
Book # in Series: 1 of 3
Genre: Emotional Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 9th, 2013
My Rating: ✮✮✮½
My Reading Format: Physical Book

Synopsis:

A word-of-mouth bestseller that’s captivating readers with its honesty, grit, and headstrong heroine, White Trash Beautiful is a story for anyone who has ever felt trapped in life, cheated by love—and longed for something more . . .

Cass Daniels isn’t waiting for her knight in shining armor. She knows that girls like her don’t get a happily ever after. Not if you live in a trailer with your mom, work at a greasy spoon diner, and get leered at by old men. Maybe that’s why she puts up with Jackson—her poor excuse for a boyfriend, who treats her like dirt. Cass has learned to accept her lot in life. That is, until he walks into her diner. . . .

His name is Tucker White, and he’s different from any man Cass has ever known. Tall, tattooed, and bad-ass gorgeous, he’s the lead singer of the rock band Damaged. From the moment they meet, Tucker sees something in Cass he just can’t shake. Something beautiful. Something haunted. Something special. And he’s determined to find out what it is—if only he can get her to open up and let him in. . . .

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Cass Daniels doesn’t need a white knight to rescue her. What she needs is to save up enough tips from her waitressing job and leave this crappy life behind. A task which is fading further and further away due to her boyfriend and her mother’s drug addiction. At a young age, Cass learned the only person she can depend on is herself. That is, until, a mystery man comes riding into town on a motorcycle and sits in a booth in her section. Cass is about to learn the slight fact that fate works in mysterious ways.

Tucker White is finally living his dream of becoming a musician. His life is now heading in the right direction, until he steps into a run down diner located near a trailer park and meets a waitress who is about to turn his world around. Tucker is used to women falling at his feet, and the fact that Cass does the opposite of that is refreshing and starts to become his new addiction. Until her boyfriend steps into the diner, and he realizes maybe he was put in this town and this place for a reason. Cass needs someone to protect her, and he may just be the man to do it.

My Thoughts:

I purchased the White Trash Trilogy by Teresa Mummert at my old local used book store close to eight years ago. Any book that sparked my emotional curiosity, back in those days, immediately was pulled from the shelf and placed in my shopping cart. Last night, My phone battery had died, so I went to my personal library and selected a random novel to read, until my battery charged. That book was White Trash Beautiful by Teresa Mummert, and I completed this book in under four hours. Teresa Mummert is a new to me author, and I have to say, she took me on the emotional journey I was hoping to go on! Let it be known, this novel comes with a few heavy triggers such as domestic violence (physical abuse, mental abuse, emotional abuse) and drug addiction. If these are triggers for you, I highly recommend you skip this novel.

Let’s start with Cass. I really liked Cass’s character and the emotional guilt and turmoil she deals with on a day to day basis regarding her boyfriend’s drug abuse issues. The details regarding her guilt and her inner monologue had me believing this tale was factional instead of fiction. It showed that she was willing to do whatever it took to help those in need, no matter how much they refused the help. I have to say, Cass was a warrior in this novel. But sometimes, the warrior fails in the end and that is when my heart broke for this woman over and over again. I dropped a ½ star due to the fact that I wanted to see more light shine from Cass. It was discussed that she loved to sing and wrote lyrics. I wanted more of a glimpse into this fact. I understand, this is only the first book in their trilogy. I just wanted to know more of who Cass is outside of turmoil happening at home.

And then we have Tucker White. I freaking loved his character and the white knight persona that Teresa Mummert gave him. Tucker was swoony, considerate, and caring when it mattered most. He was also very protective of Cass. And due to his past, one would say they don’t blame the man for forcing his alpha persona in the matters that needed it most. I dropped a ½ star because I wanted to see Tucker more in his element. Maybe a moment where Cass and Tucker harmonized or something like that. Just an introduction into what’s to come. That’s all I wanted.

And the last reason why I dropped a full star on my rating. And initially gave White Trash Beautiful a 3 ½ star rating. I felt like the ending was rushed. The climactic point between Tucker and Cass’s boyfriend and the domino effect of what occurred after was told in a rushed way. Honestly, It lost the emotional impact for me. I needed more depth into these moments of grief and reflection. I wanted more.

Overall, I did enjoy Cass and Tucker’s friendship that merged into a relationship. But honestly, I was holding on to hope that Cass’ boyfriend and her mother would get the help they needed. The ending came as a shock to me. I was not expecting any of that to happen. Which leads me to expressing the trigger warnings again. These are brutal domestic violence warnings! Please, do not read this book if you have experienced domestic violence. With that being said. I’m really curious to see where Tucker and Cass’s journey leads to next. I’ll be diving into White Trash Damaged soon.

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