Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The 27 Club | 2015 | Kim Karr | Buy |
| 2 | Toxic | 2015 | Kim Karr | Buy |
| 3 | The Set Up | 2016 | Kim Karr | Buy |
Kim Karr’s standalone novels give readers a chance to sample her writing without committing to a multi-book series. The 27 Club and Toxic, both from 2015, appeared during her most prolific stretch and show her working in the same emotional register as the Connections series while telling complete stories in a single volume. The 27 Club draws on the mythology of musicians who died at 27 for its romantic premise, giving it a more distinctive hook than a standard contemporary romance.
Toxic, also from 2015, and The Set Up from 2016 cover similar ground: complicated attraction, characters with histories that complicate their present, and the kind of emotional honesty that Karr brings to all her work. These are not soft-focus romances; the protagonists have real problems and real reasons to resist what is happening to them.
For readers new to Kim Karr, the standalones are a reasonable starting point. They give a clear sense of her voice and style without requiring any prior investment in a series, and The 27 Club in particular has a premise distinctive enough to stand out from the wider contemporary romance market.