Mended by Kim Karr

The publisher has generously offered us a giveaway (print) copy of Mended.

Our winner is…Mary Jo.

ORDER A COPY: Mended: The Connections Series

Publisher: NAL
Publishing Date: June 3, 2014
Paperback: 320 pages

Rating: 4 stars

Music has the power to heal, but not all broken hearts can be mended.

Always in control, Xander Wilde considered life on the road a perfect fit for him. But when disaster strikes on The Wilde Ones’ latest tour, fate intervenes…and a newly single Ivy Taylor, the only girl he ever loved, steps back into his life.

After moving past her painful breakup with Xander years ago, Ivy was poised to become the next big name in pop music… when suddenly, she withdrew from the limelight the day she announced her engagement to her controlling agent, Damon Wolf.

Xander knows he should keep his distance. But once they’re on the road, he can’t resist pursuing her for a second chance. Yet a jealous Damon can’t let her go—and he’s keeping dangerous secrets that could destroy them all.

When the three of them come together, everything falls apart. But if Xander and Ivy can hold tight to the bond that connects them, they just might have a chance at reclaiming the powerful love they thought they had lost forever….

Everything is set for the Wilde Ones’ new tour. They have found a replacement for Xander’s brother, River, and Zane has come in as the new lead singer. The new band sounds great and the crowds have been very supportive of the change. Xander finally has hope that the tour will finish without any further drama. But when illness takes Zane out for the rest of the tour, it might just be the end of the Wilde Ones. How can he get another singer who the crowds will accept?

Then his deepest dream and worst nightmare walks back into his life. Ivy Taylor was the only girl Xander ever loved but he pushed her away so that she could pursue her dreams. Dreams he just couldn’t be a part of after high school. The fact that she walks back into his life, makes his heart speed up, but the fact that she is bringing a fiancé  with her, kills any hope he might have of once again having his dream girl.

As Ivy woos the crowd, Xander tries to woo his way back into her life. He wants to talk about what happened in their past, but he is afraid to find out that a confession wouldn’t matter to Ivy. As Xander and Ivy once again grow closer and begin to rekindle the love neither could forget, Ivy’s manager/fiancé will do whatever he must to get Ivy back, including ruining Xander’s career.

THOUGHTS:
I really like the characters that Kim has given us in this series and am looking forward to sister Belle’s story. Xander was a character that had to grow on me. I disliked confrontational Xander from Connected and Torn who was unhappy that River would put Dahlia before the band. I definitely liked him by the end of Torn and certainly liked him in this story, and I liked Ivy right from the start.

Although I thought the breakup seemed a bit silly, I tried to think of it from the perspective of the 18-year-old Ivy who was pretty and talented but also shy and uncertain. I guess at 18, the misunderstanding between them could be seen as the end of the world without need of any further discussion.

The reunion of the characters was drawn out longer than it needed to be by the fact that whenever Ivy wanted to speak about what happened, Xander didn’t want to, and if Xander wanted to set the record straight, Ivy just wanted to leave the past in the past. They both still loved the other, but we couldn’t sync them to talk it through.

There were also two plot twists at the end of the book and she used them to tie up some loose ends, but I felt that it was too much. We could have gone with either/or in the twists and enjoyed the story. Using both to muddy the waters between Xander and Ivy was just overkill.

Regardless of the too many plot twists, this was still a quick read and a good story with well written characters and a lot of potential for more.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Kim Karr is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romance, including her sexy New Adult romance series, Connections. She describes herself as wearing a lot of hats–writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all-around go-to person of the family. However, she always finds the time to read. She believes in soul mates, kindred spirits, true friends and Happily-Ever-Afters, and loves to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart. Kim lives in Florida with her husband and four kids.

• Website: http://www.authorkimkarr.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKimKarr
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorkimkarr
• Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6644044.Kim_Karr

Bonus mended excerpt link to Kim’s blog –> http://bit.ly/1j6lZLH

Favorite Scene:

“Just give me a minute to change and I’ll meet you in the back lounge.”

I make a skeptical noise over her choice of movie and she flashes me a grin before leaving the room.

“Okay, Mr. Push-ups, let’s hear your story,” she mock demands as she enters the dimly lit lounge I’m already sitting in watching the all-time classic movie Stripes.

I swivel around in my chair and glance up. “Chicks dig me, because I rarely wear underwear and when I do it’s usually something unusual.” I grin, quoting John Winger’s most awesome line from the movie.

She giggles and flops into the chair next to mine. “God, I haven’t watched this movie in years.”

“Me either.” I almost say Not since the last time I watched it with you, but I don’t.

“Can we watch this instead?”

I give her a charming smile. “Sure, if you insist.” Like she has to ask me twice about skipping what I can only imagine to be a chick flick.

She has no makeup on, but she doesn’t need it. And when her face is a blank canvas, her eyes seem to always sparkle. Her hair is piled loosely on top of her head, and as she swivels to hoist her feet up on the table, the oversized neckline of her sweatshirt exposes a hint of lace. Fuck, we haven’t been alone like this until now, and I want nothing more than to pull her off that chair and onto my lap.

We sit next to each other for the rest of the movie and even talk over it at times. But the closest our bodies come to touching is when I kick my boots up on the coffee table next to her bare feet.

“Don’t put your shoes on the furniture,” she comments and taps her toes against my boots, shoving my feet down.

I make an amused face. “Yes, ma’am. We don’t want to mark up the fine furnishings.”

She giggles and I toe my boots off, then kick my sock-clad feet back up, where her toes remain very close to mine. Friends, I keep reminding myself. I can do this–establish what we had through friendship first. But no matter how many times I say it in my head that doesn’t stop me from feeling the way I feel towards her.

The credits roll. Her feet graze mine for a few long moments–one purpose or by accident, I don’t know, but my body reacts instantly to her touch. She looks at me, biting her lip, and the sight sets me on fire. I rise from my chair, ready to pounce, but she stands at the same time and yawns. “It’s late. I’m going to call it a night. Thank you for watching that with me.”

“Good night, Ivy. I really enjoyed the movie and the company.”

She scurries out of the room without turning back, and for a minute I consider chasing after her, but I head to bed instead.