3.5 StarsI love it when a book takes me somewhere unexpected. From the synopsis I took Connected to be a love story with a strong focus on healing a tragic past. Connected is that at its root, but there is more than that. There is also a certain amount of mystery and intrigue that was an unexpected surprise for me. It's that part of the story that really sticks out in my mind.Dahlia's life has been a tragedy of pretty epic proportions, no denying it. A chance meeting, or two, with River changes her life's trajectory. In a matter of days she goes from sullen with no real future plan to happy, in love and, most importantly, hopeful.It may be a quick path to love but it wasn't entirely unbelievable and Dahl's struggle with how quickly her heart moved and with the cloud of guilt following her around felt very real. She's conflicted about moving on from her past but being with River, who is absolutely adorable in a pretty damn sexy way, makes her feel things she never knew were possible. It's a sweet and passionate romance.Back to the intrigue though. Most of Connected revolves around the day to day romance and blooming love of River and Dahlia. Almost tediously so, but throughout the story there are little hints and clues to tell us there is more to Dahlia's past than she understands. There are some huge secrets and lies that lie just beneath the surface and when they are revealed...it will me with a major explosion. The reader is given a small bite of that at the end of Connected, which is really a cliff hanger of an ending. A big one. But, as I said it was this part of the story that sucked me in and where my mind keeps traveling back to. I loved trying to read between the lines to figure out what really was happening.Connected is a good solid read. It has it's flaws, most notably was the repetition. I get characters have their quirks or tells but they seemed overdone and forced at times. The dialogue at times too was a little forced and awkward.I am, however, quite invested in many of the characters and am excited to see where the series goes as many of the future titles will revolve around the side cast of players.
