Release Day Post, Review & Giveaway: Blurred: Kim Karr
Blurred (Connections #3.5)Add to Goodreads
A Connection Series Novella featuring Ben Covington
The story before the love story….
When he lost the only woman he’d ever loved, it seemed there was nothing left to live for.
Even as a boy, all Ben Covington ever wanted was to spend forever with Dahlia London, the beautiful girl next door...then one life-altering decision tore them apart and he was forced to leave her.
Now, despite having returned to win her back, he’s still alone. She’s with someone else—someone she’s never going to leave.
Resigned to a future without his former girlfriend, Ben numbs his broken heart in a haze of liquor and women. But then the only woman who ever even turned his head while he was with his girl reappears unexpectedly. And he’s never forgotten their one incredible night together. But will Ben’s destructive behavior destroy his future with her before it even begins?
Read an excerpt from Blurred
I'm alone and left to pick up the pieces to a life I don't have. Rock bottom. It's a phrase I ever thought I'd use to describe myself, but it's the only one that fits.
Oh Ben Covington...I have liked him, hated him, been pissed at him, tolerated him, felt sorry for him, and gone back to liking him a little better in the course of the other books. But I could not totally be a Ben fan because I was totally Team River Wilde. So I was ready to dig in and see how I would feel bout Ben now that he is not really a threat. I was looking forward to getting into his head.
Ben spent most of his young life protecting his girl, Dahlia. But in the process of protecting her, his whole life derailed and he also lost her to someone else. And after suffering another loss, Ben is at rock bottom. He is broken, hopeless, and making poor choices.
I fall into a routine...same thing, different day, I go out, get drunk, come home, and descend into oblivion. But the numbness from the alcohol is starting to wane and the pain isn't fading as quickly anymore.
After taking a sabbatical to get his head together, Ben finally has to return to real life. He is trying to get back on track, but is still also dealing with various issues from his past.
Bell Wilde and Ben have a history and that is another situation from his past that he cannot forget. He was drawn to her before, even when he should not have been. Now in the present, they still seem to have a magnetic pull to each other, but a past that was left unresolved.
One night with her had fulfilled every fantasy I ever had but I couldn't risk my future on a fantasy.
But Ben is in a transitional period. He is trying to let go of loss, grief, and guilt. He is making baby steps towards trying to create a new life. He has to face his past, figure out what he wants out of life and deal with current issues before he can even think of moving forward. He is searching for new connections and trying to find purpose and focus now that he is coming out of the blur of booze, women, and despair he was drowning in.
Like the other books in this series, there are connections with characters and plot lines...some major and some small. But the little details and cross overs are part of the fun. We see some of our old friends from previous books and meet some new ones. New additions to Ben's friend line up are Ruby, Beck and Kale. I really liked all of these new characters and they all have a place in Ben's reaffirmation of life. We also get a bit more with Ben's longtime best friend, Caleb and his brother, Jason(who is also Ben's ex brother-in-law), and Ben's sister Serena, and nephew, Trent..
This novella is Ben's story of loss, disappointment, despair, acceptance and hope. His life is an ongoing process. It was changed drastically by multiple events and he is trying to pick up the pieces to find a way to be whole again. It is told in Ben's point of view and we follow along as he faces obstacles, makes choices(some good, some questionable) and tries to find his way. He is at a cross roads and can only hope that he has made it through the worst parts and will eventually find a smoother road.
I think about my life and the choices I've made, finally understanding I can't change any of them. I can only move forward which I'm trying to do each and every day.
So did Ben win me over? He's getting there. I felt sympathy for him. I felt his loss, pain, and lack of direction. I can see under it all he is a man looking for kinship and purpose. He just has to fully come out of the blur he has been living in and go after it.
I am looking forward to more with Ben and Bell in Frayed. They obviously have chemistry, a connection, and history. And she just keeps entering both Ben's life and head space. But she is a good match for him. She is stubborn, strong willed, and at least attempts to appear uninterested. Ben will have his work cut out for him. Not only with Bell herself, but with dealing with all other influences in their lives that have been affected by their pasts.
I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. Quotes are from ARC and subject to change.
Our 5 star reviews
What if a ‘Once in a Lifetime’ could happen twice?
Suffering from a past full of tragedy, Dahlia London's soul has been left completely shattered. Happily ever after is a far cry from reality in her world. But, when she is reconnected with her past, the bonds that form are irrefutable.
When River Wilde, lead singer of The Wilde Ones, comes back into Dahlia’s life, the intensity that fires their relationship combined with underlying feelings that have never died lead her to believe she has met her soulmate.
Struggling with confusion as old connections fade and new ones begin, Dahlia's grief begins to lift--but guilt remains. River wants to be the one to mend all that is torn within her.
But with a past that is never really gone, can their future survive?
Torn (Connections # 2):
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Our 5 star reviews
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?
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Dazed (Connections #2.5)
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Buy AMAZON /B&N/ iTUNES/KOBO
Kim's 4.5 star review
Kim's 4.5 star review
See the Dream Cast from the author
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Jagger Kennedy never went looking for fame, he just fell into it. After scoring a major modeling contract, his clean-cut good looks and charm catapulted his career. But when his actress girlfriend breaks his heart, he moves to L.A. to try his hand at acting. He’s not looking for love—he just needs to make a change.
Aerie Daniels is a woman in control … until she meets Jagger. Her surprising connection with him leaves her dazed and it’s unlike anything she’s ever felt. But just when she lets her walls fall, she makes a startling discovery about Jagger that breaks her fragile heart into a million pieces.
To keep from losing the woman who’s changing his world, Jagger is willing to give up anything—including his career. But even that might not be enough to regain Aerie’s shattered trust…
Mended (Connections #3)
MUSIC HAS THE POWER TO HEAL ALL…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 Wilde Ones’ 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 pop 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 at reclaiming the powerful love they thought they had lost forever....
He didn’t think, he didn’t question—he just acted.
What she wanted, she took—without regard.
It was only one night, but it changed everything.
It was only one night, but it changed everything.
After losing his fiancée, Ben Covington is unsure he’ll ever love again. But he’s so deeply drawn to Bell Wilde that he’s thrown for a loop. Maybe it’s purely sexual chemistry that’s igniting their spark… or maybe it’s his second chance at love.
Bell has just gotten her life back on track and may not be up for the challenge of Ben Covington. But once they’re reunited, there’s no holding back—even if a secret from Bell’s past just might shatter them both.
Upcoming:
They each had a plan.
They knew what they were doing.
Until love got in their way.
Flawed (Connections #5)
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Expected 2015
They knew what they were doing.
Until love got in their way.
This is not a romantic suspense novel. It’s a novel about learning to care for more than just yourself when it’s the last thing you want.
Gemma Ross is a woman who knows loss. She’s a woman of strength and determination. She has a plan—to get back what was taken from her. The cost is irrelevant even if it means losing who she is.
Caleb Holt is a man driven to see justice served, the only problem is his drive has no boundaries. He’s intense, short tempered, and sometimes brooding. His life is his work and just like his work, his personal life he has no boundaries. He’s a lot like James Bond, when it comes to women —love them and leave them is his motto. He leaves women in his wake. He says he has to because of his job, because he’s a ghost. That is until his next assignment leads him into the arms of Gemma Ross, the kept woman of the man he’s trying to take down and the woman who steals his heart.
When two people who are used to counting on only themselves collide, can they open themselves up enough to let the other in? And even if they can, the biggest question they have to prove to each other is, “Is this real or just a game?”
Is Caleb willing to risk it all for her? And even if he is—is Gemma willing to do the same? Can a relationship built on lies survive?
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.
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