Candace's Reviews > Wounded

As I write this review, I'm feeling a little bit torn. I listened to the Audible version and I think that I would have enjoyed this story more if I had read the Kindle version. Somewhere around 75% in, the male narrator seemed to go into a "roid rage" or something. Both the narrators seemed to become extremely animated, making the story, especially the sex scenes, seem overdone. The male narrator, especially, killed it for me. He was just too much! He took an emotional, heartfelt and serious story and turned it into a comedy, when nothing about this story was meant to be funny.

However, aside from the turn for the worse in the narration, the story was gripping. This is one of those stories that tugs at your heart and makes you feel grateful for your blessings. Up until the narrator turned into some hyped-up Rambo, even the narration was fantastic.

Telling the story of a young Iraqi girl that is forced to prostitute herself to survive, this book spans over a decade, beginning during the first Gulf War and picking up again during the second. Once a scared 12 year-old forced to trade her body for food, she is now a young lady that has been trapped in her trade by social stigmas. She hates the things that she must endure, but knows that it is the only thing keeping her from starving on the streets.

Haunted by the murder she committed years earlier, when she witnesses a different American soldier in need of help, she sees a chance to redeem herself. Acting in the spur of the moment, she decides to hide the soldier away and help him heal. She knows that her choice places her in grave danger, but it is a risk she's willing to take.

As she slowly nurses her soldier back to health, their relationship grows more intimate. He doesn't like the things that she is forced to do to survive, but admires her strength and kindness. It takes everything he has not to defend her from these predatory men that she sells her body to, but he can barely stand, much less fight.

Eventually, things come to a head and their secret comes out. From that point forward, the story gets pretty unrealistic, although it remains entertaining. Everything works out in the end and we get a HEA.

Overall, I give it 3 1/2 stars, rounded up. If it hadn't been for the over-the-top narration, I probably would have enjoyed it more. It was a great story, but avoid the audio unless you could use a good laugh.