Frayed (Connections #4) by Kim Karr

Frayed

Mrs Alcide

Ben Covington loses everything when a story he is investigating gets too dangerous and he is forced to join the witness protection program.  In order to keep everyone he loves safe, he must fake his own death and sever contact with everyone from his life, including his fiancée Dahlia.   When the threat goes away, he is able to go back home but everything around him has changed, and his fiancé is with another man. Trying to navigate his new life, Ben has to go through many obstacles in order to find happiness, and S’belle just may be the one thing in order for him to be truly happy.  If only he can make her believe that…

Kim Karr writes another fantastic story!  Before reading Blurred and Frayed, Ben has always been the villain of the story, the cheater, and the one that ruined his own life for selfish reasons.   After reading Blurred you start understanding his intentions, how he was honestly trying to be selfless by faking his death.  

When he gets back and his life is completely different, he turns to alcohol to help him get through the days.  After pretty much hitting rock bottom he decides the life of drinking isn’t one he wants. 

S’belle and Ben have a past.  S’belle is the woman Ben cheated on Dahl with in college.  There was a spark then and there is a definite spark now.  Bell doesn’t want her family to know she is hanging out with Ben because she doesn’t want to open that kind of awkwardness for everyone.  

I really loved Ben and Bell together.  They balance each other out and they are connected more than they realize with their pasts. 

I really recommend this book, even if you didn’t care for Ben and Bell in the previous books pick it up anyways, they will definitely grow on you!

4/5 Fangs

MrsLeif

We have love to hate Ben, at least I did. I've always been a River fan so when Ben came back I had a serious aversion to him. Since I know River's relationship is safe reading about Ben and Bell made it easy.

Ben Covington has matured. He changed his ways and after hitting rock bottom in Blurred, he is finally healthier. He knows what he wants and despite knowing that pursuing Bell may cause a lot or drama, he follows his instincts. No one has ever had the effect Bell does on him and this time it feels right. 

For her part S'belle Wilde is in a job she isn't sure she likes but she doesn't want to fail. Seeing Ben again at one of the events she's handling makes her want to be with him again. She won't deny her attraction to him but given him her heart is a completely different story.

Ben will have his hands full convincing her to have a relationship.

I liked the way these two characters have evolved. They tried to stay away to avoid hurting others but they are also determined enough to know that there is more to them than passion. 

I like being in Ben's head. He's a hard worker, gracious employer, good friend, great brother and uncle. He tries his best to make Bell comfortable with him and doesn't push the family issue.

Bell was easy to like and I was rooting for her happiness.

There are glimpses of the prior couples and is nice to know they are all moving on. 

I wonder what's next for this series.

“Sometimes you have to chase what you really want because everything in life worth having won’t fall into your lap.”

4/5 Fangs

MrsNorthman

I have to be honest, I wasn't as excited for Ben and Bell's story as I was for the other couples in the series. Ben has never been a guy that I was interested in reading a book about.  There is no way that he could ever compare to River, Jagger or even Xander in my mind.  But, suprisingly, he grew on me during this story.  Kim Karr was  able to turn this selfish cheater into I guy that I actually liked at the end.

If you've read the other books in the series, you know that Ben and Bell betrayed Dahlia years prior.  Ben cheated on her one night back in college with Bell.  They spent a really intense night together.  Don't get confused though, Bell wasn't innocent either. She knew that he had a girlfriend and pursued him relentlessly anyway.

Years later, when Ben and Bell run into each other, the spark between them is still there.  There is no denying that they are hot together.  But, trying to form any type of relationship other than sex, would be impossible and her family would never accept him.  Especially since they know the big secret that she's  been keeping from Ben.  In an attempt to push him away she suggests they should just be friends, without the sex.  But somehow that only brings them closer and she can no longer keep the secret that is tearing her up inside.  It shatters Ben, especially since even Dahlia knows.  But being the selfish guy he is, he only thinks of himself.  Until he wakes up and realizes what he really wants and needs, S'Belle.

"I want to be the one who makes you smile for no reason.  I want to be the one you can't stop thinking about. I want to be the one who rocks your world."

In my mind what makes it okay for Ben and Bell's past not to doom them, is Dahlia and River.  They are amazing together. So it's easy to see that Ben and Dahlia were never meant to be together in the end.  I'm happy that Ben and S'Belle found their own happily-ever-after regardless of what anyone else thought.  As always, it was great getting a chance to see the other couples.  Kim Karr has such a knack for creating intense connections, it's what really makes her books so great.

4/5 Fangs 

A complimentary copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.