Connected

In Spiritu Et Veritate #4

by Zoe Reed

Summer's almost over, and the wolves and Abby are excited to start a new school year. But things don't go as planned, and Camille and Luna get targeted for experimentation with a deadly serum that turns werewolves rabid. As the serum forces Camille to confront the darkest parts of herself, the others find rising conflicts in different aspects of their own lives. The rush to save Camille and Luna from the serum will bring them all closer, but the decisions they have to make in order to survive will have lasting, dire consequences.

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult, Werewolves, Supernatural

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2018

About the author

AS OF JANUARY 1, 2024, ALL BOOKS WILL BE PUBLISHED UNDER THE PEN NAME Z.R. REED

Reviews

[Dide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is certainly the best so far and by a wide margin.
Abby's pov really makes this so much more than what I have read in past books.
Then add the relationship tangle and the ensuing intrigues and action and I can't wait to know what tha author has cooking up for the next in series.

[XR · Rating 5 out of 5]

The suspense! The hot as fuck moment! The betrayal! The heartache and all of the feelings! My goodness this was quite a ride and I loved every freaking moment of it.

I never thought I'd love characters more or their relationship, but Kyla and Camille, Abby and Luna... I love them. I wish they were real people so I could be friends with them and be a part of their little pack amongst the pack.

I only have one question for Zoe Reed. When does the next book come out?

[Glitchlight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written bad book

To preface, I really like Zoe Reed's writing and other work, and I've enjoyed the In Spirit and Truth series almost entirely, barring Book 2's terrible communication between the leads and mopey tone, which still works given the central cast is teens. And I absolutely have to say, this book is well written and the characters are given good dramatic beats, tensions, and dialogue.

It's just that everything about the plot feels so unnecessary. Previously, even when dealing with dark plots, there were a lot of moments of levity and character building throughout out that, as both the villains of Books 2 and 3 were slow burn conspiracies. This time Camille is abducted within the first few pages and suitably, almost all of lighter moments are entirely squeezed out of the story, leaving a book where the leads are less confident, flirty, and funny, and much more stressed out and desperate.

You do not need to perform any in depth analysis to recognize that almost everything about the main plot has more holes than a sponge. Why does a human even know about the werewolf blood connection given Book 2 firmly establishes that it's extremely rare and even wolves think its a myth? Why do none of the werewolves, including Camille especially noted as having good smell, detect any of the obvious ambushes that happen in their territory even when they're on guard? Why has almost every peripheral character established in the previous three books become a bit character? I could go on but I don't need to; the plot falls over like tissue paper even within the context of the series because it would not work at all if the protagonists approached the story in the same way they did in the previous books.

The exact flaws aren't really the point. This book is a very rocky inflection point for a series that didn't seem to have an overarching plot thrust, and the events of this book are to set up the 'Nothing will ever be the same again' atmosphere of the ending with a clear motivating thrust for at least two more books. That's fine. And they'll carry the scars of this event, with Camille's wolf now permanently rabid and Luna losing an arm. But like, why are those necessary? If you made an antidote for something once, why couldn't you make it again? The story doesn't even address it with a half-assed "all the serum was destroyed and I based it on that" because that would have the obvious answer of "don't use it then and we can analyze this to make more antidote since this could be a problem in the future." And, Luna's the comic relief character; did she genuinely need an arm removed to have a compelling character arc?

To reiterate, I still have a great deal of respect for Zoe Reed and I still like components of this book (there's a bit in the middle that's pretty fantastic where the main plot pauses for a bit, feeling like an intrusion from a better book), but this book is deeply flawed and deeply worrying. Hopefully this just ends up being a bumpy adjustment for a series to be more of a dark supernatural political thriller instead of the monster of the week that inevitably kidnaps people. But if future books lose the charming lighter moments that the previous books had, I don't know if I can say that it would be an improvement.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

camille’s POV in this book made me physically sick. there was one point where i considered skipping her chapters because it was causing me so much pain.

this book takes a significantly darker turn than the previous 3. not that they’d been really lighthearted or anything but this one is darker on every level. and i love a dark book but that was not what i was expecting from this series let me tell you that.

also cliffhanger??? it’s been 5 years since this book came out i need book 5 before i eat my eyeballs??

also i need camille, abby, and kyla to get on with it and admit that they all like each other because i was losing my mind this book.

[Marta Minder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great installment

We are waiting on a continuation to this one. A bit of a cliffhanger without all the questions answered. This is the 4th in the series and even could be a stand alone but I would recommend reading them all. We are following the story of Camille, a born werewolf, and her girlfriend Kyla, a turned werewolf. This deals with prejudice, kidnapping and relationships. No spoilers here just read the books and enjoy.

[Shaunette · Rating 4 out of 5]

🤞🏿

Despite the faster pace, Connected is honestly one of my favourite books in this series, thus far. It is heart-wrenching, comedic, and muy caliente. Its also remarkably inclusive in comparison to the other books which is a huge plus for me because it SO IMPORTANT that people see themselves and are able to relate to characters in the books that they read!! At the end of this book, Abby is about to embark on a difficult journey and I can’t wait to read what happens next!

[Neva FANIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down until I've finished it. The different POV really tell the story in a way that build tension, and the characcters are just so good. The author really did an excellent job here, from all his book I've read it's my favorite one

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

ahhh Reye you did it again... I adored this series

[James Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This series keeps getting better. The character development is well done. The flow hooks you so the first read is one go cover to cover.

[Ola · Rating 1 out of 5]

A moglam zakończyć na 1 tomie i zyc w kojacej nieswiadomosci...