From goodreads: 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.
I wanted to really love this book because of the subject matter. I hadn’t read any books that were set during the Iraqi war and I was completely intrigued. However, after I finished reading Wounded, I felt disappointed because this book could have been powerful and the love story could have been amazing.
My concerns with the overall story was the life of Rania didn’t feel genuine and her voice seemed very much American, not one of an Iraqi woman. My other huge concern was where she worked, in a Mosque. Could that happen? Maybe. I certainly don’t know much about life in a Muslim war-torn country but it seems highly unlikely that one would able to perform that kind of work in a Mosque. Even Raina’s love/hate relationship with Allah seemed one-dimensional. I guess the bottom line is, it didn’t feel genuine even though I have very little knowledge on the Muslim religion.
Hunter is the perfect Hollywood hero but if you are that badly injured how can you possibly be turned on??? The relationship between Hunter and Raina seemed rushed, causing it to seem, I don’t know…not believable. Sometimes the best romance stories are the ones that are slow building with an attraction that’s palpable and that’s what I wanted for Hunter and Raina.
This book did the 3 and 2 star dance and ultimately I decided on 3 stars because of the simple fact that there were things that I thought were great. The language barrier moments felt completely authenticate and I enjoyed them thoroughly. The way they taught each other words in order to communicate was absolutely heartwarming and the love story itself is sweet even though I wanted it to be amazing.
While this book didn’t WOW me, it just may impress you as it did for plenty of other readers. So if you need a steamy romance…this book has your name on it! 
This is what sometimes makes books set in other countries so hard to read – the fact that the characters who aren’t supposed to be Western still feel like they are.
Hi Lexxie!!! My apologies for the late reply but my blog has been acting rather funny!
Anyway…I totally agree with your statement. Wounded had such potential, it really did but ultimately as a reader I need to believe the story…even if it’s just fiction, I need to believe it. 