Title: Wounded
Author: Jasinda Wilder
Publisher: 277 Pages (December 2012)
From: the Author
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads

NOTE: This is a Adult novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+

Synopsis: 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.

Review: 3 Stars - Wounded by Jasinda Wilder is a book set in the middle of a war and told from two people who couldn't be more different from each other. Rania, the Iraqi girl who’s past and present broke my heart. And Hunter, the US Marine who has scars of his own, but nothing compared to that of the Iraqi girl taking care of him at his lowest.

Wounded is the perfect title for this book. I was really looking forward to reading this one and couldn't wait to start reading the second it was on my Kindle. I was a bit surprised with how the book started yet couldn't look away from Rania’s beginning. It wasn't until further on in the book that I really appreciated her bit of back story. It also made her life and story utterly heartbreaking. She’s been broken by the life she’s been dealt and doesn't know what love is. She hardly knew kindness too. That is until Hunter enters her life.

Hunter has his own scars. Wounded during a mission gone wrong, he’s saved by Rania who takes him into her home and helps him heal from his many gunshot wounds.

The beginning of their relationship is strained by war and by their language barriers. It’s during these moments that I loved reading the book. They found ways to communicate and together survive some pretty horrible circumstances. And yes, even in war there are worse things that can happen.

The story was good, I enjoyed the characters, yet there was something a bit off, which is why I am giving it 3 stars. Part of it was how things kind of went a bit fast when it hit a certain point in their relationship. It didn't feel real, and made me wrinkle my nose a few times. I also didn't understand how the US government allowed a couple of things to happen so quickly. If that’s really how it works, then wow, I can say I was a tad shocked.

For me I’d say that the best part of the story was watching Rania’s life change. To see her learning so many new things, and emotions that she should have known all her life. I just wish that there was more of that to read. Just when things had gotten to that point of the story things were just glossed over and with that I would have loved to have seen more of her transformation.

All in all, Wounded was a decent read with an intriguing story that was shocking, unexpected and filled with characters on their own life changing story. It’s about growth and finding a way to survive with the hand you’ve been dealt. I recommend this to anyone who’s not looking for a light and fluffy story because you won’t get that with this one. However you will get two characters fighting to make it in a world that’s crumbling around them. Enjoy.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.