The enchantress of passion, sex and Rock ~N~ Roll,
Kim Karr, overwhelmed me once again in “Mended”, the third installment in the
Connections Series. I adore this series.
River has become one of my favorite romantic heroes and I was hesitant
in taking on Xander’s story for fear that the magic created by Dahlia and River
could not be achieved. Nonetheless, I
can never get my fill of Kim’s storytelling, so I attacked Mended and happy to
say that I was proven wrong. Karr hits it out of the park once again. She
concocted a new spell and I fell in love with Xander and Ivy.
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Xander |
I have to confess, I was a bit tainted by Xander’s character. In the first two “Connections” books. He came across as a pushy, unfriendly (especially to Dahlia) smart ass. But, by page
5 of Mended, I was over it. Xander wormed his way into my good graces with his
sexy and dominating ways. Even at a young age, Xander had a commanding
presence. I like seeing into Ivy and Xander’s blossoming relationship ~ And their pool house escapades. He was sweet, sincere, and knew his
heart and soul would forever belong to Ivy. But sometimes life forces one to
make rash, irrational decisions. Xander, for reasons buried deep in his heart
and with good intentions, turned Ivy away. His life was filled with turmoil and
tried to shelter her from his chaos. (Really dumb move). Turning Ivy away led them both down a path of
heartache that neither of them would recover. It would take over a decade for
them to cross paths again, and give Xander the opportunity to right his wrongs.
During their separation, Ivy became a famous
recording artist while Xander threw himself into his work. Managing the band
was his priority, which distracted him from heartache. He poured himself into the band’s fame and
success. Destiny miraculously presented an opportunity, which brought Ivy back into Xander’s world. Making the most of a second chance, he worked hard to repair the years of pain and damage, which existed between them. His
focus now, to rebuild their friendship, trust and rekindle their passion. Still
in love after all these years, slowly their foundation is rebuilt and a
friendship ignites into full blown sizzling desire. Xander is adorable and romantic. So swoon worthy.
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Ivy
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Ivy… Conflicted between the need to protect
herself from Xander and her heart that still aches with the need only he could satisfy. After all these years, she yearns for his touch, his lust,
and his love. Her mind wins, at first, but Xander worked hard to crack the armor and made his way back into Ivy’s
favor. Oh, how I love the chase… and
once caught, these two create heat. And the realization of how deeply she
loves Xander is heart warming. She sacrifices all - her heart, her happiness,
her freedom - all for the love of her life. She is devoted to Xander even if forces
are ripping them apart. I don’t agree on how she went about it ~ it created
more emotional drama for Xander and conflict with the evil douchebag that is
Damon. But Xander was even more determined to reclaim what is his, (love the
Alpha mentality) Damon be damned, and won’t stop until Ivy is permanently in
his life and his bed. Total macho sexiness.
A Kim Karr story would not be complete without a
healthy dose of angst mixed with suspense and drama. I crave theses tense
moments and I was not disappointed. Damon Wolf, you are an evil, rotten lousy
son-of-a-bitch. What a bastard…. I loved hating him. His jealousy consumed him and ate at his dark
soul to the point of trying to destroy Xander. It gave me great joy and
satisfaction when Xander had his big “Screw You Damon” moment.
The journey of a lost Xander finding his way back
home into Ivy’s loving embrace was amazing.
Another great read gifted to us from the talents Kim Karr
possesses. The perfect mixture of raw
sex, angst, drama, tears and joy. I was
so happy to see River (swoon) and Dahlia (My heart ached for you!!) Can hardly
wait to see what Ben’s story has in store for me.
