Review and Giveaway: Frayed

Frayed (Connections - Book 4) by Kim Karr

Publication Date: 09/02/2014
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: New American Library
Genre: New Adult
Pages: 448
ISBN-10: 0451470680
ISBN-13: 978-0451470683

(Received for an honest review from New American Library)

Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Indiebound

Kim Karr on the WEB: website, twitter, facebook, goodreads

Books in the series: 

Connected

1. Connected
2. Torn
3. Mended
4. Frayed

Coverart: Click the Image for a larger, clearer view of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from, Frayed, courtesy of the author's website

Synopsis:

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.

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 Wilde has just gotten her life back on track and may not be up the challenge of Ben Covington coming back into it. However, once the spark is reignited…there’s no stopping it. But even if they both manage to pull together their frayed hearts, a secret from Bell’s past just might shatter them both.

Thoughts:

Kim Karr's Connections series continues with her latest book, Frayed. Readers who enjoy stories about redemption will find Frayed right in their wheelhouse. Ben Covington: determined, selfish, sexy. This character has his faults, but Karr transforms the way readers see him in the final book in this series. Ben shares a past with Bell that readers will find heartbreaking. Finding their way back to each other is a rush that will leave anyone who reads it well satisfied. Filled with passion, heart and emotion! A great conclusion to a great series!

What I liked:

Ahhh, Ben! This character has been a hard one to figure out from the beginning of this series. Kim Karr gives the reader a little more insight into Ben's character in a novella that came out right before this book called, Blurred. Readers who have followed this series will want to check that out before reading Frayed, because I think they will understand Ben a lot better. Ben is a very sexy character throughout the series, but he is not without his faults and I think readers who are considering this book will find it hard to see how Kim Karr will be able to redeem Ben from his past mistakes. 

Ben was never meant to be with Dahlia and that was evident from the onset of the series, but his actions with Bell still did not sit well with some readers, me being one of them. When Ben and Bell shared their first night together, Ben was still with Dahlia. In my mind that made him a cheater. Once a cheater, always a cheater. But I will have to say that Kim Karr is a master at changing the mind of the reader. She is able to take the reader into Ben's mind. To allow them to see why he did some of the things he did and how, like most of us, he is only human. And let's face it, humans are really good at screwing up. I loved the way that Karr was able to make Ben real, faults and all and to how she showed the reader he was worthy of his own happy ending. 

Bell is a great character on some levels and a little lacking on others. She wants to get her life on the right track and make something of herself. She realizes that her attraction to Ben might not be the best thing for her, but she can't deny her feelings. She has been through a lot and I applauded her for that, but she still let's her boss treat her badly. I wanted her to stand up for herself and tell him to shove it. But, I understood why Karr allowed this. It made the reader see Bell as more vulnerable and I think that was really necessary to the story. 

Ben and Bell have some strong chemistry going on in this book and it was as enjoyable to read as the heart wrenching parts of the story were. They don't have it easy and their relationship is fraught with a lot of obstacles. Things that happened in the past come back to haunt them, but through it all they have this amazing chemistry. There passion for each other in and out of the bedroom was steamy and felt extremely real. I think readers will be drawn to them and share in their struggles because they want this kind of tension and romance to exist. Karr simply does a fantastic job of bringing their love for each other to life.

What I didn't like:

I have always had an issue with characters who cheat, but Kim Karr really made me give that a hard look in this book. Ben cheated on Dahlia, and that was a huge thing to overcome, but I think as a reader I realized that sometimes we don't know all of the circumstances, the hidden and buried things in a person's life and past that might make them do things that are outside a reader's comfort zone, but not outside the realm of possibility. 

Bottom Line:

Wow! I think Kim Karr did an amazing job with this story. Readers come full circle with Ben as this series concludes. Ben is still Ben. He's still a little selfish, a little too in the moment, but he's also real and honest with his past and his present. I found myself believing in him in spite of myself. I wanted this happy ending and I think readers will too. You can't miss this one, it's too good!

Frayed is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 5 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

About the Author:

Kim Karr is the New York Times bestselling author of the popular Connections series, including Connected, Torn, and Mended. She lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She’s always had a love for books and recently decided to embrace one of her biggest passions—writing.

Giveaway Details:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of Frayed by Kim Karr.

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