MENDED – Kim Karr
Connections Series, Book 4
NAL (Trade Paperback and Digital)
ISBN: 978-0-451-47067-6
June 2014
New Adult Romance

Los Angeles, California – The Present

Throughout high school, Xander Wilde, the oldest of the Wilde children, and outsider Ivy Taylor loved each other. Time brings uncertainty, and between a disaster in his family, and Ivy's greedy, dependent mother, the two young lovers parted. Xander and his younger brother River followed in their father's footsteps and started a band. River was the songwriter and singer, Xander the band manager.

Newly-married River doesn't want to go on the road, but he does when a voice problem develops with his replacement lead singer. In an unexpected situation, Xander meets up-and-coming singer Ivy Taylor again just as River has a family crisis and leaves the tour. Knowing the band is without a lead singer, Ivy volunteers her talent for the duration of the tour, and things change once again. Ivy had been engaged to her controlling agent, Damon Wolf (a very accurate name for a villain). She suddenly breaks the engagement, but with the success of the tour, Damon stalks Ivy and seeks revenge against Xander.

Author Kim Karr has a very distinct voice, and the emotional issues in this story will carry every reader to the last page. Ivy and Xander have a very hard road to mend their past and create a new future, and her mother and her former fiancé cause horrible problems. Past issues for both haunt them and both are reluctant to trust the other. The writing is stronger than in DAZED, and again, explicit sex scenes are part of the story line. Yet, the insights into the business and lifestyle of a band's road trip, the dynamics between the characters, bad choices, and the issues presented, make this an irresistible read. An interesting idea of a ‘playlist' for each chapter gives readers music to relate to in each chapter. I'm looking forward to the day when this can be fully integrated into the reading experience.

Robin Lee