BLOG TOUR: TORN BY KIM KARR [Review + Giveaway]

Rock star River Wilde brought Dahlia London back from the brink of hopelessness with his unwavering love and devotion. But their entangled history is about to test the strength of their relationship…

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?

Where to find Torn: 

Goodreads | Amazon | B & N 

eArc received from Author for honest review 

Our Review:

Several months ago I saw many great mentions of Kim Karr's Connected. So being the avid 1-click addict that I am, I purchased it...got distracted...meant to read it...and, well...forgot. When we were lucky enough to read and review the second book in the series, Torn, I was super excited because I now had a great excuse to bump up Connected in my reading line up. So for those of you who haven't read Connected...go get it and read it because you will miss the full River and Dahlia experience if you try to read Torn first.

*Blushes* I so did that too. The cover was seriously the bomb (& I don't really care if it isn't cool to say that anymore) and a man named River...hello hot rocker. While I enjoyed Torn a lot more, getting to know River and Dahlia and crew in Connected was a good time that lead to me finishing one book at 1:30 a.m. and thought I'll just read a few pages of Torn to get the feels for it, and one chaptered myself into a finished book at 4:30 a.m. solidifying that Shel thinks I am cray cray, and I am really tired! 

So Connected ended with my heart in my throat. I was all "WHAT.THE. FUCK." and "NOOOOOO!!!!" and "Courtney, hurry up and read this so we can talk about it!". I just knew that phone call at the end was going to put a screeching halt to the happily ever after I wanted so much to read. Damn Ben. GAH!!! As you can guess, he puts a major kink in the plans and continues to muck things up for me ahem..River and Dahlia.

It is all about us isn't it! Even in death that dude is still a huge pain in the ass. But these sorts of messages had me responding "NOOOO, Don't say these things to me...I am not excited to read this book..don't torture me." But as I've already said I stayed up until right before Shelley got up for work reading it so clearly I am all bark, no bite. 

The twists and turns that River and Dahlia must endure are infuriating and I felt for both of them each time a new effed up situation came their way. I have to give Kim Karr credit here, her writing made me cringe, yell, groan, rage, smile and melt...and MORE as River, Dahlia, Ben and the other cast of characters tried to figure out how to make sense of life now that Ben was alive and well. It seemed like each time hurt feelings were smoothed over or miscommunications were talked out and we were headed to happy days, SOMEONE would muck it up and I'd feel compelled to remove myself from reading or smash my Kindle. 

Hahaha, speaking of smashing things...I sent a text to happily sleeping Shelley at 1:21 a.m. that was all screamy caps saying "NNNOOOOOOO!!!!! SHIT!!!! IF SHE EVEN THINKS OF NOT BEING WITH RIVER IM GOING TO BREAK MY F--CKING IPAD THROWING IT ACROSS THE ROOM...Just an FYI lol." because yeah I'm a drama queen, and moderately meant it. They had an incredibly bumpy road ahead and I was dealing with some major anxiety.

I loved River and Dahlia's love story. I am a closet romantic, I suppose, and I am enamored with the idea of two people finding each other against all odds. I loved how hard they worked to make the relationship work. But most of all, I loved how deeply they loved each other. LOVED it! I loved that Dahlia finds a new family in River's and between his family and Ben's family she has people who love and adore her and want the best for her. After all she's lost, it was nice that she finds this kind of love.

River really made me over the top love Torn. Some parts of Connected were a little slow going for me, but once you get through the crazy ending and then start Torn I felt like Kim is hitting an incredible stride as an author and it was one heart pumping moment after another. River and Dahlia are both dealing with a lot of things this time around, but it was even more daunting with big decisions for River..for him and Dahlia, for him and his band The Wilde Ones and for him and his brother and sister. 

Who did I not love? Effing Ben. Douche Lord extraordinaire. He's so arrogant and cocky and while I actually had moments of sympathy for him...I...GAH.. just did NOT like him. He was so focused on what he wanted that he took no care to think of how his actions would effect others. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of him as this series continues and I'll be interested in seeing how or if he redeems himself.  

The jury will be out on my opinion of him when he appears again until the very last page I'm afraid. It will be an incredible redemption story if he can pull it off...but the things he did and how selfish he was...there are no words for how much I hated his character.

I could go on and on...but I'll leave you with this--in addition to the steamy love scenes, the interesting and fun secondary characters we'll see further in the series, and the LACK of a cliffhanger (hallelujah!)...the love story alone makes this one you definitely must read. Can I say again, like times a million, that I kind of love River Wilde. He was always trying so hard to be the person that Dahlia needed and deserved for him to be, but this time around had to do a little bit of taking too. Hey for mature adult communication for these two! Woot woot! 

Shelley: 4 1/2 Stars
Courtney: 5 Stars

About Kim Karr:

I live in Florida with my husband and four kids. I've always had a love for reading books and writing. Being an English major in college, I wanted to teach at the college level but that was not to be. I went on to receive an MBA and became a project manager until quitting to raise my family. I currently work part-time with my husband and full-time embracing one of my biggest passions—writing. 

I wear a lot of hats! Writer, book-lover, wife, soccer-mom, taxi driver, and the all around go-to person of the family. However, I always find time to read. One of my favorite family outings use to be taking my kids to the bookstore or the library. Today, my oldest child is in college and my twins are juniors so they no longer go with me on these outings. And although I don't need to go to the actual store anymore because I have the greatest device ever invented—a Kindle, I still do. There's nothing like a paperback. So now my four year old and I make dates out of going to the bookstore--it's time I love and cherish.

I like to believe in soulmates, kindred spirits, true friends, and Happily-Ever-Afters. I love to drink champagne, listen to music, and hopes to always stay young at heart. <3

Social Media:

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