I am so giddy to finally be able to get my hands on the paperback copies of Connected and Torn. These books were in my best reads of 2013 and River became firmly entrenched in my heart!
If you have not read these books yet I beg you to do so - they are a definite HAVE TO read!
First in the series is.........
CONNECTED
SYNOPSIS
What if a “Once in a Lifetime” could happen twice?
In Dahlia London’s world, happily ever after is a far cry from reality. Her soul has been left completely shattered by tragedy. But a surprising reunion with someone from her past is about to give her a reason to love again…
When rock star River Wilde comes back into Dahlia’s life, their super-charged connection runs deeper than either of them ever expected. The more time they spend together, the more intense their relationship becomes, and Dahlia believes at last she has found her soul mate.
But as old bonds fade and Dahlia’s grief begins to lift, her guilt and confusion remain. River desperately wants to be the one who mends what’s been broken—but with a past that refuses to stay buried, is it possible for their future to begin?
TRAILER
REVIEW
My rating = An emotion packed FIVE!
Read November 2013 and January 2014
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for my honest
review
WOW. Yes that word left my lips as I read the last word of
this book. Yes it is a cliffhanger (which as I had the next book Torn sat
waiting, it didn’t leave me hanging) but OMG what an amazing ending for this
book. I absolutely did NOT see that coming but whoo hoo what a shocker. I loved
it! So good I read it twice.
Dahlia London is having the time of her life at college with
her bestie Aerie and her hot boyfriend Ben who she has been with since forever.
He is her North, South…yes you get the picture? He was her everything. This
love was for eternity. So there I was getting all loved in with the story then…BOOM
...the scene stealer happened.
Aerie drags Dahlia to see an upcoming new band at the local
bar and this was to be a major event of a night for Dahlia that years later
would have prominence for her. She locks eyes with the singer, River and they
instantly feel the intensity of their connection. Now whether it was fate or
the stars not being aligned, she doesn’t hang around when he needs to get back
on stage but that night would be forever embedded in her psyche.
Fast forward five years and Dahlia has gone through the
ultimate tragedy that anybody could endure that has seen her in the depths of
despair and grief. This part of the book had me in pieces, I was in bits and
wailing like a banshee. However I will point out that Ms Karr did this
brilliantly, she was spot on with the descriptive emotion that Dahlia would be
going though. So heart breaking. But then in the aftermath it had the reader
questioning what was hiding within the plot? Was there more to this that meets
the eye? But then the next chapter pulls you out of your wailing and WTFery and
you find yourself rooting for Dahlia to let go.
After years of mourning she
eventually starts to see she needs to move on if she is to ever recover which
brings her to kick starting her career in the media and is sent to do an interview.
An interview with a nearly famous rock star on the brink of global success –
River. Yes River Wilde from The Wilde
Ones – the little known at the time band from the bar where she first met River
all those years ago.
OK now I think that is enough spoilerism because let me tell
you dear reader you are in for a treat. River Wilde is the bomb! He is one
stupendous and absolutely gorgeous rock star with a heart. What I love about
River is that he isn’t a sleep around, drug taking ho. Oh no. He’s lush and
even better he has never forgotten Dahlia and once they both acknowledge they
still remember that night? Well a beautiful love story evolves. With a lot of hot sex. Yeah!
Then as we are all getting gooey eyed and sighing into the
kindle, Ms Karr gives us one hell of a curve ball that delivers whiplash! OMG –
What. The. Hell? Brilliant, brilliant. Classy suspenderama time.
So did I like this book? No. I LOVED this book! There was no
hanging around either as I was straight onto Torn to find out what the heck was
going to happen next. An amazing 5 stars read.
BUY LINKS
(Paperback)
*********
Next up is...............
TORN
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SYNOPSIS
Rock star River Wilde brought Dahlia London back from the brink of hopelessness with his unwavering love and devotion. But their entangled history is about to test the strength of their relationship…
Dahlia was certain she had found true love and met her ‘Once in a Lifetime’ when she reconnected with River. But Dahlia’s world comes crashing down when someone from her past resurfaces, and all of River’s carefully hidden secrets are exposed.
River wants to show Dahlia that life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass—it’s about dancing in the rain. But how many times can one broken heart be mended? Will River and Dahlia be able to stay together or will they be torn apart?
REVIEW
My Rating = A sensational FIVE!
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for my honest review
This is book two in the Connections series and carries on immediately after the first book Connected which left us with that amazingly brilliant cliffhanger. I was therefore definitely eager to dive into Torn and find out what the clusterfook had happened.
So right when the reader is skipping with the unicorns and singing with the harps because Dahl and River are on the way to Vegas to get married, the phone rings. What happens next has you reading with your eyes peeled back and gulping for air. Oh my how can I survive this? But I did. Just. And I loved every blipping minute of it.
In Torn, the relationship of River and Dahl is tested to the ultimate and they both need to learn to trust and believe in each other, no matter what is thrown at them. Yes there are frustrations and, on River’s part, a lot of bottle smashing and glass table toppling but wowzers it’s an amazing read. I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for the Oh NO. No. Don’t do it. I kept on waiting for the bad to happen, the angst to build to epic proportions, but each and every time both River and Dahl kept surprising me. They worked things out! They talked! This is what I loved about this couple – they didn’t go out of their way to deliberately hurt each other. But there was a heck of a lot of disaster being thrashed at them.
I don’t want to give too much away, especially if you have not read Connected, but the cliffhanger and what was delivered there has a major impact on River and Dahl’s relationship. It was like we were in a perpetual spin cycle – as soon as one thing got sorted and cleared up another one would come around. It was both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. But fantastic to read!
The relationship went from strength to strength and it was delightful to see it evolve to the beautiful ending. The erotic interludes continued to entice and engage with jaw dropping reactions! Sizzling and steamy!
Xander (River’s brother) was also a revelation in this book. I started to look at him in a different light. Whereas in Connected I thought he was a bit of a prick, I actually started to fall for him in this book. He could just about become as sweet and sexy as his brother (can't wait for the next book – Mended coming in June)
I can’t actually say I didn’t like any of the secondary characters, I loved them all. But that is the power of Ms Karr’s writing, she just draws you in and delivers them to you in a way you can’t help but embrace them. Even Sadie, the silly woman – could she not see she did not have a chance. Nice bit of angst there though but again River didn’t revert to type like some other have in some rock star reads. Oh and on that note it was lovely to have other famous characters from other brilliant books make an appearance. Jake! Kellan! Rawr!
This book was so much more than I thought it was going to be and no it was not the angst driven love triangle which would have pained me to go through, no it was much, much more. An absolute diamond of a read and this series one of the best I have ever read. Another five stars for Ms Karr. I love you more!
BUY LINKS
(Paperback)
GIVEAWAY
Fabulous prizes in the grand giveaway!
$50 Amazon Gift Card
5 signed book plates
10 Paperbacks of Connected
(to be mailed directly from Penguin)
