Wounded

By: Jasinda Wilder

Narrated by: Greg Sule Wilson, Alexandria Stevens

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for adults only. Wounded is a full-length standalone novel, approximately 70,000 words.

©2013 Jasinda Wilder (P)2013 Jasinda Wilder

Amazing!

This audible is the best narrated book.I have heard so far. Loved the depth and use of different voices throughout. loved the book and cried when it was over!!! Amazing writing, I am looking forward to reading more from Jasinda Wilder.

My Heart was Wounded ....

OH this book book was so good and sad. I love a book that can make me feel like you are there. I dont need to say much just that you will not be upset that you got. They were some funny parts, on the edge of your seat parts, and aww I love him parts, and some no dont let him do that parts, and some I hope she does not do that parts etc...Its worth a credit yes. JW is a great author and GW and AS are great narrators. Happy Listening!

I WAS COMPELLED TO LISTEN...Heart Wrenchingly Good

What did you love best about Wounded?

The story pulled you in and would not let go...from beginning to end. Beware, this is a tearjerker.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hunter and Rania were both just everyday people doing the best they could, in their war torn environment. This is definitely a story of survival, redemption, adjustment and eventually love.

What about Greg Sule Wilson and Alexandria Stevens ’s performance did you like?

Their voices and inflections were spot on. They made you feel that you were there with them, seeing the world through their eyes and hearts.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

OMG...I don't know how many times I cried, but I felt better after, each time.

Any additional comments?

I don't usually go for war stories, but this one should not be missed. Jasinda Wilder is an amazing storyteller. I listen and I could see everything in my mind, as if it were a movie. I'm looking forward going to the movies with Jasinda again. Just got a few more of here books in my library.

Deep Story for Young Love

Any additional comments?

Well what can I say, I love Jasinda Wilder, and to have a chance listen to yet another audiobook of hers I was excited. I didn’t read the synopsis on this one , I jumped head first and I was floored! WOW… this book is more darker than I have read in awhile, and at first it took me a minute to figure out what type of book this was, but when I figured it out, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It was a good book don’t get me wrong, but I did have alot of questions.

This is the first audio book that I have listened to where the male and female characters shared a chapter, When the female was speaking we had a female and when the male was speaking the male was in. It was different than what i was used to due to that fact, but it blended well with two narrators. The narrators themselves really got in the role of Hunter and Rania

The story takes place in Iraq, Rania a young Arabic girl struggling to survive in the war of Iraq. She turns into a prostitute, and witnesses death all around her. She has no family, no mother, no father, and her brother was now dead. At this point she meets Hunter, the American solider that she saved from interchange of American soldiers and Iraq soldiers.

Hunter is an American Solider, serving in Iraq. With no family, and his best friend Derrick dead, himself injured now, he turns to Rania. Rania does not speak English and Hunter only speaks English. Hunter watches while she prostitutes- and has that sick feeling that he doesn’t like. Rania has to do this- she does this to survive, to eat. However my question is why would Hunter want to engage with a prostitute? Diseases? . But I than have to turn that side of my brain off and realize that Wounded is about sacrifice, healing and surviving and of course love!

At this point , the story moved fairly quickly, and the characters fall in love and get married quickly.

The book couldn’t be read in one sitting for me- well listened :).. It was pretty deep at some points that I had to walk away.

Over all, I enjoyed the story- was it realistic? Yes

Would I recommend to others? Only if you are into the dark stories

Was the narration unique”? Yes- with dual POV made the book more interesting.

Worst narration ever! Loved the story

I first read this book in 2013 and loved it. Jasinda Wilder is hit or miss with me tho. This book was on sale for $1.99 so I bought it so I could listen to it this time. I hate to bash narrators, really, especially since I got the book so cheap. But.....I just couldn't stand it. Over dramatized. Each narrator read their own male/female parts, rather than differing POV. It was strange hearing it this way complete with "heavy breathing" and "heavy sighs" and "grunts". And with the over dramatization at the end, it really made the writing sound extra cheeeeeezy. I wanted to cringe and vomit, and I am no prude. Sorry Greg and Alexandria. I'm sure you two narrate better than I could, but the direction the producers took with this book was way off.

Not Your Usual Romance

This book is grouped in the erotic section and although there are sex scenes the overall focus of the book doesn't follow the usual theme of erotica. The story was dark following an Iraqi young woman who turns to prostitution to keep herself from starving after her family was killed and a US Marine who is lonely after catching his high school sweetheart cheating on him before he deploys to Iraq. The author gave a vivid view of life in Iraq for a young girl who lost her family in the first war, dessert storm and 10 years later "weapons of mass destruction" war and it is not pretty. The narration was "so so". Alexandria Stevens was better than Greg Wilson. I found his narration to be obnoxious at times and wished he could bring it down a notch. As a reader of romance novels, I am amazed how quickly the characters fall in love and get married to the point I roll my eyes. However, this book was realistic and I could completely see how the characters were united.

So-So read for me

Would you try another book from Jasinda Wilder and/or Greg Sule Wilson and Alexandria Stevens ?

Jasinda Wilder - I love to pieces. I read some of her books in one day that I can't put down, but this one... not so much. I'm actually writing this review during the last 20 minutes of the audiobook.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jasinda Wilder? Why or why not?

Absolutely, Jasinda is an excellent writer and I have read most of her books. I'm debating just buying Derek's story as an ebook rather than the audiobook, the blasphemy was too much for me the most. I realize it's reality but it was distracting in this book.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Greg Sule Wilson and Alexandria Stevens ?

I really like Gabriel Vaughan, Piper Goodeve, Grace Grant, and Sebastian York.

Was Wounded worth the listening time?

I'm not sure, I wish I would have read it to see if it was the narrators or if it was the story.

Wow...words will be tough with this one.

If you could sum up Wounded in three words, what would they be?

Sad, Sweet, Inspirational

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hunter. He seems like a lost soul with no really family or connections. Through the story you watch him grow up and turn into a real man. The things he sees and experiences through war are rough and he has a very forgiving heart. It gives you hope that some of these guys coming back from overseas have a different side to them - that anyone can love or be loved.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't know if I can say I had a favorite because this was a difficult book. I was so sad at so many points and through the characters witnessed a lot of heartbreak. Sometimes I had to put it down because it was hard to listen to the things they both went through.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, you will need to put it down, it is difficult to listen sometimes. It is a great book and in the end you will be glad you finished it but there is a lot of sadness and death.

Any additional comments?

This is not a book that I would listen to again but I'm really glad I made myself experience it.

Fantastic work of art!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Wounded to be better than the print version?

Jasinda Wilder has written an incredible book! I started reading it and thought it wasn't going to be for me because of the subject matter, but after I got the audio and listened to it, it is an incredible work of art. I have listened to it three times so far. The story is amazing and the voices reading this book are amazing. Stick with it and you will not be disappointed!!

Great idea; wounded narration

Jasinda Wilder can write some great stuff (Falling Into You, Falling Into Us, Falling Under). 'Wounded' is not one of them although the concept is excellent. The story of a soldier and the story of a young Iraqi girl winds itself from two roads onto one. The research put in to this novel to make it authentic was very good and gave credibility to the story as well. The characters were fairly well developed although they could have been fleshed out a bit more (at least Hunter, the lead male). The narration, however, was terrible. It started out pretty good (hence the two stars instead of one) but both narrators 'acted' the parts and WAY OVER did them. I was embarrassed to listen to the 'erotic' components and could no more connect the voices/emoting with the characters than fly to the moon. A good narrator becomes the character(s). All I could thing of when these narrators were emoting was them and not the story. I wish I had read this book prior to listening to it because now, all I will hear if I read it is the dreadfully overwrought 'acting'. And, there were many times the narration sounded like it was coming from a well...back echo. When the narrators were NOT blasting your eardrums with the overkill, they were actually quite good...but those times were few and far between.

The story lost some credibility with the enduring 'erotica' while Hunter was in 'agony' from his wounds. I find it hard to believe that a wounded soldier would be focused on sexual activity when he is gravely wounded. But, I'm not a guy...so maybe so. In any event, I finished it even though there were times I just turned it off and said "Oh, puhleeze". I can recommend the book but not the audio version.