WoundedRating: 5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


Note: Wounded is the sequel to Vulnerable and this review relies on knowledge of the events that transpired in Vulnerable to make sense, and may contain spoilers.

Cory and Renny left Green’s hill months before and their absence, especially Cory’s, is palpable. It seems that Cory has left a gaping void with her move to San Francisco for school. Cory’s power and link to Green allows her to call Green for help one night and when Green, Bracken, and Grace arrive, they find Cory beaten and bruised, but the biggest harm that befell Cory is that her memories of Adrian have been stolen.

More is at stake in San Francisco than Green, Cory, or Bracken could have imagined as a new presence, Goshawk and his shape shifting birds, has set up shop with a simple goal to take over the city. Green discovers that the events at home, which ended in hundreds of deaths, could have been avoided if they had not been betrayed by one of their own kind. Green confronts the traitor, demanding answers, getting none.

Green knows that regardless of the betrayal, he and his people will be the ones to eliminate the threat to San Francisco, and ultimately to themselves. In the meantime, Cory and Bracken’s attraction, or rather love, is gaining strength, but when Cory receives a distress call from Bracken, the group goes on high alert, and make plans to scour the city and save Bracken and Grace.

I thought Vulnerable was a powerful story. I was also sure that Wounded would not, could not live up to its predecessor. Was I ever wrong. I found that the characters developed significantly, and I mean all of the key characters demonstrated growth and added complexity, especially Green and Cory, and that the feel of the story became more intense (and that is saying a lot).

I really liked seeing a more human side to Green in regards to his relationship with Cory, and not to sound like a bastard, but Cory and Renny’s struggle to succeed away from Green’s hill was compelling, sad, and, to be honest, one of my favorite parts of the story. The months at school truly cemented my feelings that Cory is one hell of a strong woman and more than up to the challenges set before her. Something also worthy of note was that the large and diverse cast of secondary characters supported the story and MCs perfectly and were, with very few exceptions, easy to remember, follow, and just as interesting and engaging as they were in Vulnerable.

I found the change of POV by chapter to yet again be effective and had no difficulty following the switches as the characters’ styles were easy to differentiate. Lane did a very good job with the setting as well. Her familiarity with San Francisco is apparent and her descriptions were clear and concise, allowing me to visualize what the characters were discussing and where they were during the high tension portion of the story.

There was one line that caught my eye and I felt the need to include it as my final thought, since I find myself guilty of this at times:

“…mortals live far too short a time to complicate their lives with that much bullshit”

So to enjoy this and other witty, heartfelt, and funny lines, pick up the Little Goddess series and if you are wondering what happened to the M/M, have no fear, Cory is not a one man woman, and her men are pretty hot and open-minded…

A review copy of this book was provided by Dreamspinner Press.

jason signature