15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Compassion for Creatures of the Night
As a book critic, I have to temper my review of Wounded quite a bit more than the many five-star spectacles splashed across this page. Amy Lane's sequel to her admittedly exciting debut novel, Vulnerable, is a pleasantly satisfying continuation of the story of Cory Kirkpatrick and her band of elves, vampires, and shape-shifters living discreetly in Northern California...
Disappointed
I enjoyed the first book, Vulnerable. It had a fresh take on the genre and since it seemed to be the beginning of such a unique cast, I thought the follow ups would have more maturity and growth in the story line and character. Not so. I have time to read, and yet, this book dragged for me and was almost impossible to finish. Cory was suddenly someone else-- a far cry...
As a book critic, I have to temper my review of Wounded quite a bit more than the many five-star spectacles splashed across this page. Amy Lane's sequel to her admittedly exciting debut novel, Vulnerable, is a pleasantly satisfying continuation of the story of Cory Kirkpatrick and her band of elves, vampires, and shape-shifters living discreetly in Northern California. The book is a homage to the secret sexuality held captive by the many less than blonde beauties of America. Miss South Carolina, don't even try to understand Amy Lane's Little Goddess Series. The whole concept is most certainly over your head. Ms. Lane uses too many uncommon, polysyllabic words, and I know that the idea of a twenty-year-old, post-punk chickadee with cherry pits for gazongas is just too complex for you to comprehend! The rest of you, read on.
As you can read in the many other reviews on this page, Cory and her new clique of supernatural beings continue their adventures in Wounded. Much of the storyline takes place in San Francisco, where Cory has been sent to school by her giant elf lover, Green, at the conclusion of Vulnerable. The plot develops around the discovery of another band of elves, vampires, and such who have been controlling all the night creatures in the city for a very long time. The bad elves have declared war on the good elves and the game's afoot. Lest you expect the bloody action of vampire battles from this book, you need to know that Wounded is much more about love and relationships, and their power over all creatures, both human and non-human. I recommend that anyone read Vulnerable first in order to understand the subtle details of the relationships among the carefully created, complex characters in The Little Goddess Series. Amy Lane has done an admirable job of carrying the storyline forward in Wounded.
The only bad news is that few of the other reviewers have even mentioned the ridiculous number of, but albeit trivial, grammatical errors and typos in this book. The reader must stumble from one page to the next, and Wounded simply does not earn more than four stars based on this single issue. I have yet to read a book that would benefit more from a second publishing after a thorough editing and proofing stage had been completed. That said, I look forward to reading and reviewing the third Little Goddess book. Amy Lane is a very talented and entertaining author, and her composition deserves a better final result.
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I recieved this book for Christmas this year, after looking for books similar to Laurell K Hamilton's. I have to say, Amy Lane is one of the most creative and fun writers out there now! I read this book in one day and was disappointed when I finished it - because there was no more to read! I love all of the characters, and for those of you ladies who enjoy love scenes, this books has some of the hottest ones around! :) I highly recommend this book!! :)
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This is the second story to the Little Goddess Series. Wounded can be read on its own, but you won't want to miss how it all started with Vulnerable.
Cory leaves Green's Hill, to go back to school. She is wallowing in her grief for her beloved Adrian, which leaves her wide open to be wounded. A were creature befriends her then steals her `firsts'. Meaning all of her first memories surrounding her love for Adrian, her first kiss, her first time she made love, all of it. She wants them back!
Green loves Cory and would be her one and only, but he is a sidhe that heals through the power of touch and sex; he can't be there for her at all times. Cory's power is fueled by emotion and it's imperative that Cory find another true love to step in when Green cannot be there for her. It's the only way to keep her healthy. Green lets her go, thinking she needs to be away from him to come to terms with Adrian's death and to find another lover, but Green soon realizes he made a mistake in sending her away from the hill.
Braken is a sidhe who can call blood at will. He and Cory butt heads more times than not, but the attraction is obvious. He knows they are destined to become lovers, but he never expected it to be forced upon them because of necessity.
Nicky is an Avian were-creature. When they mate, it is for a lifetime. Rejection from this mate could mean his death. When Nicky realizes he's chosen the wrong leader to follow, he will do anything to make things right again, but he never thought it would cause him to be bounded to two people who are not in love with him.
When Cory is attacked, Green and others from the hill come to her aid. They set out to recover her lost memories, but stumble upon more than they bargained for. Together they uncover the plot that sent Adrian's murderer to Green's Hill and they come face to face with the being who feeds off other's first memories for power. Green's past comes back to haunt him and he fears it may change the way his people perceive him.
Ms. Lane's has created memorable characters that you will fall in love with. You will feel their heart wrenching grief, their genuine selflessness, and their undying devotion. You will learn more about the characters you came to cherish in Vulnerable, and you will find her new characters irresistible. At times, the sex is erotic, graphic and goes beyond gender, but it is beautifully told and is essential to the story. The emotional depth makes this tale realistic. You'll feel welcomed into Green's world upon the hill.
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After reading Vulnerable I didn't know how I'd feel about Wounded. I thought I'd miss Adrian too much to enjoy it. I was oh so wrong. It was touching to see the process of Cory (and Green and Bracken) learning to get past the death of Adrian. It was the strength of all three together(along with the help of Grace the vampire, Arturo the former Aztec god elf, Renny the werekitty, Max the cop, Niky the avian & Andres the yummy new vampire) that made it possible for each of them to move on. None could do it alone.
The relationships changed as they learned to depend on one another. Cory accepts her need of other men and her responsibilty to Green's and Adrian's people. Green accepts that he can't belong to Cory alone(nor she to him) due to his position as leader of his people. And Bracken comes into his own as both a man as Cory's lover and an integral part of the community as Green's warrior. And during it all Adrian's memory is carefully preserved.
The book itself shows amazing progress. The story flows. The characters grow, show more depth and seem more real. Again I laughed and cried. Again Amy Lane made me feel. The residents of Green's Hill are becoming family and I look forward to Bound and seeing where they go from here.
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What do you do when the whole world as you know it falls apart? When that happens to Cory, she runs away to college in San Francisco with her friend, a were-kitty. They meet a were-hawk who steals a select few of Cory's memories, and with them the last of her will to live. Sex, vampires, elves, new love, signs, portents, and awesome powers are needed to restore order. This is a real page turner with inspired plot twists, satisfying character development, and lots of hot paranormal sex.
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Amy Lane's second installment of what will hopefully be many future installments in this series is outstanding and builds on the characters and plots introduced in "Vulnerable," yet stands on its on as an enjoyable and refreshing change in fantasy literature. In this series, the characters' eroticism is healing and positive, not cruel and sadistic, as is seen in much of the current literature. The characters are interesting and provide a fresh view of the faerie and other fey creatures. The elements of the story have a new edge and twist from the traditional "faerie" that makes this series stand out from the infinite crop of modern fantasy. Clearly, this is a series in which there are many more stories to be told, and hopefully the author will continue!!
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The ugly: The only thing ugly in this book is the lack of editing. Distracting, yes. It doesn't make this not worth reading, however.
The bad: In Vulnerable, Cory was insecure. She seems much more confident in Wounded, but I found her to be more...needy and melodramatic, I guess. I had a couple questions that didn't seem to really get answered, but it's possible I missed one and the other may get cleared up in the next book.
The good: Green is still a lovely character. Everyone should have someone like him in their life. And all I can say about Bracken is that I want to have his babies. He's that yummy. For me, these two carried the book.
The plot was good and kept me interested throughout. Ms. Lane introduced a few more characters that I think we'll see in the next book, which I already have and will begin to read soon. The bad guys in this book actually seemed to be bad, as opposed to the bad guy in Vulnerable, who I thought was just pathetic.
So, in conclusion, while this is not a perfect book, it's still an entertaining read and I recommend it to anyone who is willing to overlook its unpolished state.
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I LOVED this book. I did not read her first book "Vulnerable". I know I missed a great deal in the first book but enough was rehashed with this second work that I didn't feel lost. Now I wish I would have read them in order and prolonged the experience. She is fantastic writer and I can't wait to read more of her work. This is one I hold on too and reread many times!!!
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This is, quite honestly, the best work of fiction I have read so far this year. In her second novel, Amy Lane has managed to paint an almost perfect picture of how all encompassing grief can be. Her descriptions of loss and longing, of pain and suffering are both eloquent and accurate. She has managed, yet again, to carry her readers into a world that is both foreign and familiar, introducing us to new and loveable characters while expanding upon those we came to love in the first novel. The story line is, again, great and equally as well written as in the first novel. The dialogue is so distinctive that at times, I felt myself believing Cory and Green and Bracken and their entourage to be real people, hearing their voices in my head. The sex is graphic, erotic, beautiful, and absolutely necessary to the telling of their tale. The typos are plentiful, but don't detract from the story (other than to annoy me by slowing me down :].) I cannot recommend this book, or this author, strongly enough.
Again I am left with only one question. When will we be graced with the third installment of this series????????
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