War has taken everything from me. My family. My home. My innocence. In a country blasted by war and wracked by economic hardship, a young orphan girl like me has very few options when it comes to survival. Thus, I do what I must to live, to eat, and I try very hard to not consider the cost to my soul. My heart is empty, and my existence brutal.
The one impossibility in my life is love.
And then I meet HIM.
War is hell. It takes a chunk out of a man’s very soul to do the kinds of things war demands of you. You live with fear, you live with guilt, and you live with nightmares. If you haven’t been through it, there’s no understanding it. War leaves no room for love, no room for tenderness or softness. You gotta be hard, closed off, and ready to fight every moment of every day. Lose focus for a split second, and you’re dead.
Now the only thing that can save me is HER.
My Review:
Wounded by Jasinda Wilder
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I can’t lie… I struggled with this book, and I think it was mainly because of my ideals and my expectations that I did.
The story to begin with is a tough read. Rania and Hunter couldn’t be more different, an Iraqi girl and an American soldier. And I guess that’s why I wanted to give this a shot and see where it went.
Rania sells her body just to survive. She is disgusted by her actions but has no other choice, and I think Wilder did a wonderful job of showing us her life and what led to her becoming Sabah.
Hunter has nothing to live for, his family is gone, and the girl he thought he was going to marry is no longer a part of his life.
A moment in time in this war-torn country is what brings these two together. A moment to make a decision that would change both their lives forever.
I wanted to enjoy this story more… And to be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure why I didn’t. The writing style was well-done, the pacing was good, and the characters were intriguing and well developed.
I think where I struggled was with some of the very unrealistic things. The fact that Hunter is horribly injured yet still manages to defend himself capably against men who are at full capacity… the idea that Hunter learned her language well enough to carry on conversation in at most a couple weeks time. And also, the fact that I couldn’t really keep track of the amount of time he and Rania were together.
Plus there was the part that totally squicked me out. (view spoiler)
Another thing … (view spoiler)
I know… all that sounds like I hated this story, but I didn’t, I just found it be a bit unbelievable and I found it hard to suspend my belief in order to enjoy it. Believe me, this isn’t the first time that’s happened to me.
The good stuff – Again, I really liked the characters, the writing was really well-done and the beginning chapters that set up the story will definitely pull you in.
If you’re looking for something very different than your typical romance, a story where the characters are from two very different worlds and are able to overcome huge obstacles, definitely give Wounded a try.
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