Kim Karr

Music has the power to heal, but not all broken hearts can be mended. Always in control, Xander Wilde considered life on the road to be a perfect fit for him. But when disaster strikes on the band’s latest tour, fate intervenes…and a newly single Ivy Taylor, the only girl he has 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 music…when suddenly she withdrew from the limelight—the same 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 to reclaim the powerful love they thought they had lost forever....

Mended

Anna Ureta

When reading novels about rock stars, celebrities, musicians and actors you usually read about them. What you rarely read about is a story about what goes on behind the scenes – about their managers and the people who take care of them. Mended is the love story revolving around the Wilde Ones manager, Xander Wilder, and the one who got away, Ivy Taylor. Or should I say, the one he let go. This novel is the PERFECT combination of romantic, sexy, and dramatic. It also shows you another side of the music industry you may not even know about, and reveals a big secret about the Wilder family.

Eighteen year-old Xander Wilder was only concerned about one thing – his beautiful, smoking hot girlfriend, Ivy Taylor. Ever since he first laid eyes on her he knew that she was something special, that there would never be another girl for him. But sometimes fate can be cruel and unforeseeable circumstances can pull apart the strongest of lovers. Because sometimes, when you love someone the best thing you can do for them is let them go.
Twelve years later, fate intervenes again and brings these two ex-lovers back together for a chance meeting. Ivy is now a rising star, engaged to her agent, Damon Wolf, and has become the lead singer for the Wilde Ones. Xander knows he needs to stay away but their history keeps pulling them back together, and sooner or later he knows he’s going to have to tell her the truth about what really happened the night he let her go. Both of them can’t help but feel the bond and the connection they share and it’s just a matter of time before they realize how much they need each other and mend what they’d broken.

Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed this novel, a lot better than I enjoyed Torn.
Xander and Ivy had so much depth to their story and so much history. I didn’t feel like it was 

I loved the history between Xander and Ivy, and I’ll admit to loving the drama. Certain drama makes for a good story, and makes for a good recovery. There was a lot of feelings being thrown all over the place; Xander not being able to control himself around Ivy, Ivy trying to be her own independent woman and keep Xander away, I mean come on…it was SO OBVIOUS they wanted each other, even when she was trying to friend-zone him. Eventually they got back together (yay!) and the truth about what happened finally came out.

 “Look at me, Ivy,” he commands, and I do. “You know why you said it – it’s because ou feel the same way I do. Look, we could only play the game – pretend we both didn’t feel what we felt the minute we saw each other at the poo, but I’d rather not. I loved you when i was fourteen. I loved you when I was eighteen and had to let you go. I’ve loved you for the last twelve years. And I love you now. Ivy – I love you.”

Personally, my favourite part wasn’t them getting back together, or the amazingly, hot, steamy, sex between them, but it was the side story, all the extra stuff about the Wilder family. The stuff I found most interesting was stuff about the music industry, about who owned what, all the secrets, the lies, the betrayals, and the BIGGEST SECRET that would change Xander forever (but I’m not going to tell you what happened because spoilers). I will admit I enjoyed the drama, and the use of a ‘bad-guy’ in this book. I think it gave it a lot more depth and an insight to how vicious the music industry can really be.

Mended was a great addition to the Connections Series by Kim Karr and a great read. Xander isn’t like your typical, hot artist/musician/famous type of male. He’s not the centre of attention, he’s just going with the flow, trying to keep his band together, to reach their full potential, and it just so happened the one that got away had somehow found her way back to him. Some of it seemed to drag on and was a little slow, but once you get to the halfway point everything picks up.

4/5 Hearts of Love

Check out the rest of my reviews at http://www.akiikomorireading.com

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

I think it's safe to say I'm officially hooked on Kim Karr's Connections series. I'm kinda kicking myself for waiting this long to begin reading it and I'm not feeling at all guilty for tossing everything else to the side to binge read this series. While each book tells a story unique to those characters, they're all real and passionate, sexy and romantic. I love how interconnected the characters are and that with each new novel we get a glimpse into the couples whose stories have gone before.

Mended is the story of Xander and Ivy. I flipping loved them together. I love a second chance story and this was one at its best. Xander and Ivy were high school sweethearts. They parted ways after a misunderstanding and each went on to live their own lives and build their own music careers. Now fate has thrown them back together on tour and things get rather interesting!

Xander is probably my favorite guy in this series to date. While I'm not often bothered by characters who embody a stereotype, I'm even more pleased when they don't. Xander is one of those who stands out. He's a rock star who isn't a manwhore bad boy! He never did truly get over Ivy and he feels some guilt over how things ended between them. He was super sexy and swoony. Ivy was a fantastic female lead. She was strong and successful! She made some dumb decisions every now and then, but even the smartest female does. She didn't rely on a man and that made me happy. Even though he'd hurt her, she had never really gotten over Xander either... and who can blame her?

These two were so good together. I loved the banter between them. The sexual tension snapped and crackled nearly from the moment they set eyes on each other again. When the finally gave in to each other, the sexy times were hot. But it was also apparent they shared more than simply sexual attraction. They had very real feelings for each other and I cheered them on as they had a chance to work through their pasts and try again.

So, Mended wasn't all roses and rainbows. There were some moments that made me want to throw my iPad against the wall. You'll know those moments when you get there. Thankfully those issues are resolved pretty quickly.

Xander and Ivy's story made a great addition to the Connections series. I'm excited to continue reading more of this series now that I'm nearly caught up. Kim Karr's gained a fan in me.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

3.5 STARS

“Roses are so cliché. I prefer Ivy.”

What a wild ride this book was! I honestly had no idea what to expect going in to Mended. All I knew was that this was River’s hot older brother’s book, and it was a second chance romance. I’m a huge fan of second chance romances, and Mended turned out to be a passionate, intense one, with so many twists and turns I nearly couldn’t keep up. Fans of the series definitely won’t be disappointed with Xander and Ivy’s story.

When Xander Wilde was first introduced, we didn’t know much about him, but with Mended we finally get to see everything behind his facade. Xander and Ivy were high school sweethearts–I loved reading about the their past. Kim Karr did a wonderful job of blending both past and present. And teenaged Xander is seriously the sweetest thing! He and Ivy had their futures planned, and there was no question that the two of them would be together. Unfortunately, with Xander’s father’s suicide, Xander had to give up his future, and therefore Ivy–leading to a painful breakup and much heartache because of a lie.

Twelve years later, Xander is the band manager for The Wilde Ones and hasn’t seen Ivy since their breakup. Ivy is a famous pop singer and currently engaged to her agent Damon Wolf. But the second they see each other again, it’s as if no time passed at all. Xander wants Ivy again, fiercely, but he can’t do anything about it because she’s engaged. I loved being inside Xander’s head once they see each other again–Xander is so raw and passionate, and insanely jealous of Damon. He wants to tell Ivy the truth about the night they broke up, but would it even make a difference twelve years later?

My thoughts are drifting to seeing Ivy after so many years and how things could have been so different. When you believe a lie for so long… does it become the truth?

Mended takes you on a wild(e) ride from start to finish (hehe, see what I did there?). We have both Ivy and Xander’s POVs, and I could feel how deeply the two of them were heartbroken over each other, and still are.

“I’m sorry Xander… I just can’t be that close to you.”
I look down at her. “Why not? I’ve gone along with the friends thing, but clearly we both want more.”
Her voice cracks as she whispers, “Because, Xander, my body might want you but my heart doesn’t.”
The pain in her voice collapses everything I am, everything I have to give.

Ivy’s trying to protect her heart of Xander, but Xander won’t give up on her. He’s changed so much since he was eighteen–he has a stable job, his family healed, he’s strong and very much an alpha-male. So of course Ivy has a hard time resisting him.

“Look, we could play the game–pretend we both didn’t feel what we felt the minute we saw each other at the pool, but I’d rather not. I loved you when I was fourteen. I loved you when I was eighteen and I had to let you go. I’ve loved you for the last twelve years. And I love you now. Ivy–I love you.”

Xander is seriously the best! One second he’d be sweet talking Ivy, and the next, the dirtiest things would be coming out of his mouth! I loved it! ;)

But it’s definitely not an easy road for Xander and Ivy. Heartache, angst, and turmoil are constant throughout the book–Mended made me feel a wild jumble of emotions. I wasn’t too big of a fan once everything started getting twisty, and everything seemed to be resolved to perfectly for me, but overall I had a great time reading Mended. It kept me hooked and at the edge of my seat. Mended wasn’t perfect, but it’s definitely worth reading. I’m still not sure who I could choose between Xander over River though… ;)

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1AENco7
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1GMDGAG

Liked this review? Subscribe to Booklovers For Life for more!

Mended

Reviews