You can see these review and check out my Goodreads here.
First I would like to thank the Reading Café because if not for them and their giveaway I would not have gotten this book! I was over the edge ecstatic when I received an email saying I won the Mended in a giveaway. I had read the first two books in the Connections series and have been waiting patiently for Xander’s story.
Mended is set a few months after River and Dhalia’s story in Torn and we also get to see them again, which I loved because we get to see how they have evolved from Torn and where they are in their lives. While it was great to see them again I could not believe how into Xander’s story! Usually I hate series that change POVs and usually I never read them due to me hating change of any kind but Mended had me reading till the end.
Brief Summary
Xander is managing The Wilde Ones and while on their tour the lead singer, who had taken River’s spot, damaged his vocal chords, stressing Xander.
Until Ivy Taylor, the only girl he has ever loves, offers to take the spot as lead singer till the tour is over. Ivy was to become the next big pop star, she had the looks, voice and talent but that all came to a stop when she announced her engagement to Damon Wolf who is also her agent.
Ivy still haunts Xander, from their painful break up so many years ago and it all gets that more real when she joins the tour and vice versa for Ivy. Life on the road is tough and these two forces know they should stay away from one another but that love that was supposed to have been diminished has suddenly ignited and so is a second chance between them. However her now fiancé is controlling and will do anything to keep her from being free.
As much as I loved River’s story in the first twoConnections books I won’t lie about how much I adored Xander’s part in this story, his voice and just him alone. In Connected and Torn we see Xander as a big, strong and intimidating guy who looks as if he would never let his armor down but once we readers get a peak through his eye, everything we saw and thought is, poof, gone.
Xander is a big softie on the inside, especially when it comes to Ivy. Goodness I absolutely loved reading how his and Ivy’s relationship was when they were younger and it was so adorable how in love they were! You could clearly see it while you are reading, the adoration they had for one another, the heat between the two, and the passion as well. We also feel and see the pain he had to go through when he and Ivy were through and how it affected him to how he is today. I loved this vulnerable Xander, I loved seeing the real him and not the fake Xander mask he struts around in.
Ivy is such a diamond in his eyes and I thought it was cute going through her mind. How shy she is around him, the nervousness she gets being around him and how she describes him was spot on! She says something along the lines that while River was handsome in the boyish cute way, Xander was handsome is the rugged man way and I could not agree any more with her.
I was happy when the two still had feelings for each other and it only helped that I also loved second chance love books. What was also a winner was that this love story wasn’t instant love but a slow burn that you felt deep down and never wanted it to end. I wish their were more books like that I am grateful the Kim Karr initiated that in Mended.
The book had me in bed reading all day. No snacks for Alyssia. Just reading. And once I was done I wanted more. I still want more. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the ending but a little sequel to this sequel wouldn’t hurt either (:
Overall I give this book about 4.5 Xander loving stars! I look forward to more books by the author and from this series that I have yet to read though I know they will be amazing.
Thanks for reading!
Over and out.
A Book Fanatic Obsession 