Review: Not Your Ordinary Novella
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 1, 2014
Rating: 4.5 starsKim Karr has a superpower. She is able to delve deep into her Connections series and plan out stories for all of her characters – both the main characters and secondary characters. She never throws something in hastily and she almost always has a plan. She plants the seeds and lays the groundwork so that by the time you read her stories, it all fits together like a puzzle. This, to me, shows tremendous insight into the world she created. Every piece of her puzzles fit together to form a beautiful picture and DAZED is no exception.This story is a novella – meaning it is not a full length novel – but it is a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. It introduces a new character, River’s cousin Jagger, as he moves to Hollywood. Jagger is a model and looking to break into the acting world. By happenstance, Aerie and Jagger meet and there is something special between the two of them. The story tells the beginning of their relationship and how Jagger got Aerie to loosen up and live life without control or fear. I look at this story as a snapshot into the beginning of their relationship.In all honesty, I was never really a fan of Aerie while reading Connected or Torn. She just seemed too controlled or rigid for me. That being said I was able to come around to her.  By allowing me access into her head, I was able to truly understand why she was the way she was. I may not have agreed with all of her actions in this story but I certainly understood them and found that she grew tremendously within such a short story.Jagger is just filled with yummy goodness and a whole bunch of random tidbits. He is a unique guy and he intrigued me the moment he referenced a story book character while referring to Aerie. He just had this air about him – he was confident, cool, calm and quite perfect for Aerie.Fans of this series will be thrilled to know that there is a bunch of Dahlia & River in this one and even a surprise or two that will pop up. There were times that I felt the story spent a bit too much time going over Dahlia & River’s history, but maybe that’s because I’ve already read Connected & Torn. I also sometimes felt like a lot of time was spent describing the layout of the room the characters were in or what they were wearing, which was a bit much for me. However, it did paint a very vivid picture for me and played out like a movie.This story wouldn’t be complete without some Kim Karr angst thrown into the mixed. Don’t worry there is nothing that will make you yell or throw your Kindle. However, this wouldn’t be the Connections series if a few surprised didn’t pop up along the way.Before I end, I just want to mention how much I love Kim’s theme for this novella – Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. It really fit the story and the characters quite perfectly and was woven into the book seamlessly without getting too hokey. Bravo to Kim Karr for yet another book in the Connections series.