Wounded

Souls of London #3

by T.T. Kove

Life's about to take one hell of a turn. My life's been nothing but a struggle. The last three years, however, have been better. I'm in a committed relationship-like, hey, how did that happen? I've got several friends-good ones too! I've got my family-such as it is. Everything's good, but it's all shattered when my stepfather's released from prison. I know him better than anyone. I know he's vindictive. I know he hates e for putting him in prison for years. And I know someone's following me around, always out of sight. Everyone says I'm paranoid, and maybe I am, but what if he's out there to get me?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Abuse, Disability, Asexual, Romance, Amazon

316 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Writes queer romance, usually of the new adult, slice-of-life variety.

Find me:
www.acpress.co.uk
www.patreon.com/ttkove

Reviews

[Pati]

I was given an ARC by the author for a fair and honest review.

I hate disliking ARCs, I feel terrible about being negative about them however I must be honest and sadly there is not one thing that I liked about this latest in the Scarred Souls Series.

The author was honest when she said that this can be read as a standalone book but that's sadly because a good share of this story were scenes from Josh's first story. We were once again shown in graphic detail his rape and abuse by his step father, his cutting scenes, his suicide attempt,etc.etc. Though I didn't keep count of the pages I'd guess that more than half of this book is pure and simple scenes from Scarred, which is the first part of Josh & Damian's story.

I wish that I could say the above is my only problem with this story however, it's the least of my problems.

Here are some of the comments that I made along the way....

8.0% "Hell no it's a perfectly understandable, rational fear! It's got nothing to do with being borderline!!!"
9.0% "Why in the hell do we need to once again actually witness the brutal abuse of him as a child?!?! I can't understand why the author insists on showing us this horrific abuse and rape. SMH..."
9.0% "It makes no sense that he'd stay out wandering the streets after dark. No sense at all. When someone is that terrified they aren't going to do this!"
10.0% "Ummmm.... no. We were just told that he and Damian have been together for three years. Therefore it's been longer than three years that asshole was in prison. I don't remember exactly how long it'd been by the time that they'd met but I keep thinking that he'd told Damian that it had been 2 years."
10.0% " There's no way that Damian would be in bed asleep!!! It makes no sense at all! His mom would've alerted Damian about the situation AND they all would have been worried sick about him!! SMH... a decent editor should have been doing their job and pointing out these glaring discrepancies."
11.0% "and now this senseless conversation....SMH... I hate disliking ARCs, I feel terrible about being negative about them however I must be honest."
12.0% "Oh give me a break! Of course we now have to read this ridiculous tripe of not talking to his partner because, "he had enough on his mind." SMH"
23.0% "I know this series is based on scarred people. I know the author intends to show the darkness of it all. However, none of this makes sense. None of it is handled correctly. Not. A. Damned. Thing. *sigh*"
39.0% "OMDG! The ridiculousness just keeps getting worse and worse...."

From beginning to end I was thinking what's the point of this book. Filled with flashbacks that anyone who has read the previous books already read. Filled with silence, miscommunication, lack of communication. Filled with a seemingly uncaring,emotionally as well as physically absent boyfriend. Filled with the same things being repeated over and over again. As well as one very noticeably absent character that absolutely should have been included.... Who you might ask? Vincent, his psychiatrist!

I'm sadly left with thinking that the only reason for this book was to make money for the author as quickly as possible. I will not be continuing to read this series nor would I recommend it to anyone.

[**KAYCEE**]

**4 Stars**

This is your typical Ms. Kove book; which is to say dark and good. Wounded continues the story of Josh and Damian. I've said it before, I enjoy reading about "broken" individuals who find love, even if they think themselves unlovable. It's a rough ride, but worth it.

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

https://aspeccharactersoftheday.tumbl...

[Louan]

Wounded picks up Josh and Damian's story three years later. Life has gone on as well as someone with borderline personality disorder can. This time the story is completely from Josh's POV, and shifts back and forth from from the present to scenes of the terrible abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather. Disaster strikes when the shadow of his stepfather rears its ugly head once again.

I found this book to be a few shades darker than Scarred (which for me was really dark) where we at least had flashes of what I won't say are happy times, but warmer moments of Damian and Josh's building relationship. Wounded delves deeper into why Josh is the way he is, the pain, and fear his lives with on a daily basis, this book was just one long feel where I spent most of it with a clenched stomach. We see a couple suicide attempts, and each time Damian shows he'll stand by Josh's side no matter what. I would have loved to see Josh have some peace, he seemed only be able to even just remain calm when he was in Damian's presence. There seemed to just be a constant stream of terror for this poor kid. My heart breaks for him, I think it will be a long time Josh before he will have any happiness if he ever does, just too much has happened to him.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Heather Rawlins]

Phew, this is not a light romantic read. But it’s a great follow up to Scarred Souls. I love Damian and Joshua. Neither are perfect, their relationship is far from perfect, but their love keeps enduring. I can’t imagine living either of their lives, but I enjoyed peering into their story and hope there is more to come. If you want to read a book that has love this is a great place. It isn’t pretty, but sometimes it’s nice to read a story that doesn’t get tied up in a neat little bow (not that I don’t love those too) but it’s nice to step out of my comfort zone and stretch a little. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Diane]

This book is not meant to be read as a standalone as it's the continuation of Josh & Damian's story which was in book 1. I forgot just how broken poor Josh is. It's a major struggle for him to live with his demons. He was so very severely abused for 10 yrs by his step father and he attempted suicide several times. Damian loves him with everything he has. I don't know if Josh is every going to have a normal life. I hope that at some point in the future we may get a glimpse of them & see that Josh is doing so much better. Things in this book are even worse for our boys as the demon from Josh's past comes back and does some really horrible things.

[Ashley E]

Josh and Damian's story is not an easy one, and this volume is no exception. It's difficult to immerse yourself in the mind of someone as hurt as Josh and come out on the other side intact yourself. That said, the relationship between them is something pretty beautiful. Brace yourself, but appreciate the ride.

[myvic4ri0uslif3]

I loved this book. I love this whole entire series. Let me first say though that while I suppose Wounded technically can be read as a standalone I do not recommend it. Now you don't have to read the whole series (although I think you should), but you're really going to want to read Scarred first. I'm saying this because this is a heavy story and you're going to want to know these characters and how/why they are going through what they are. It's also somewhat repetitive. I don't mean that in a bad way, like that could imply. It's just that Josh is dealing with lifelong mental health issues and that is a huge part of who he is, and affects his day to day life. So everyday is a struggle, therefore everyday he's dealing with his afflictions, and that's what I mean by repetitive. And the only reason I mention that is because if you don't understand where he's coming from and you haven't had a chance to fall in love with him and care about his struggle and well being, it's harder to truly appreciate what he's going through. This book is written in such a way, really well done, that you could read it on it's own, but you're really not going to enjoy it nearly as much. In the first book, you'll fall in love with Josh and Damian. You'll see how they came together and why their very unconventional relationship works for them. And I have to say kudos once again to the author for staying true to the characters and who they are both in the first story and then in this one also. If you're looking for a book with sex you'll want to read Inked and Broken. If you are okay with love and non-sexual romance then you should snap this book up. It was great to see Josh and Damian again. To see that they're still so much in love. To know that even though life still is a struggle they're there for each other and making it through and we can believe that that's going to be the case for a very long time to come. And what happens in this story or rather the ultimate outcome, gives hope that perhaps soon Josh can breathe a little easier and maybe not struggle quite as much and start healing and better coping in some regards now. And yes, I'm aware that was very vague, but I don't want to ruin the experience of this story by giving anything away at all. So, If you've read Scarred and enjoyed it, then you'll want to read this too. If you haven't read Scarred, then go ahead and buy Wounded, but buy/read Scarred first and enjoy falling in love with them and routing for them all at once.

Also, I received an advanced readers copy and volunteered to leave an honest review. You'll notice though that this is a verified purchase. That's because I jumped at the chance to read this early, but had to "own" it and have it on my Amazon bookshelf with the rest of T.T. Koves' books.

[Caro]

*** In order to be able to fully understand “Wounded”, you should have read “Scarred Souls” first. ***

In this fourth book in the Scarred Souls series we learn more about Josh and Damien, the couple from “Scarred Souls”. As not to spoiler anything, I will keep my review short.

“Wounded” was not a romance for me. There was the influence of the relationship between the MC Josh with Damien, but it was not about said relationship. In this quasi-sequel we see what happens after their precarious happy ending and when reality comes crashing back in. It was more a tale of standing up for yourself, fighting and friendship. But that’s ok, I liked it despite.

In this book cutting (self-harm) and rape is a huge issue. But even if the cutting may be relatively graphic, there is no explicit sex in this book. The rape is hinted at, not detailed described though. But I would say that people who are sensitive to this subject should be warned.

TT Kove writes very emotional stories about pretty realistic problems. Her writing is flawless and I choked up a time or two. Her characters are adorable, I would like to be friends with them in real life, too.

All in all, I rate “Wounded” with 4 stars and can recommend it to everyone who loved “Scarred Souls”.

*** Thank you TT Kove for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! ***

[Lisa1269]

“Maybe two scarred souls can make each other whole.”
Much like it’s predecessor, this book knocked the breath out of me, clawed under my skin and didn’t let go until long after I had turned the last page. TT Kove certainly doesn’t pull any punches in this follow up to Scarred Souls, there is no whitewashing Josh’s ongoing struggle to maintain some semblance of normalcy in his life as he continues to battle his personal demons. I agonized with him, paralyzed by the helplessness that suffocates him and the self loathing that defines how he sees himself. For all the weight of reading about the damage inflicted by Josh’s step-father however, there is a brightness that seems to radiate from the connection between Damian and Josh that soothed my raw edges and gave me something to cling to. Both characters have been deeply wounded, but there is never any question about whether they are better together than apart or whether they realize how important they are to each other, they simply radiate love for each other. This is not the book you want to pick up if you are looking for something light and fluffy, there are moments that are absolutely gut wrenching and it definitely touches on some disturbing topics, but it is such an incredibly compelling story that it was impossible for me to put it down.
Please note that I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book.

[Anthony]

I enjoyed this book so much that I had to go and buy the rest of the series. Though this book is part of a series, I read it as a stand-alone. The Story is about a young man. Josh is a very broken young man that Self-harm's as a form of coping mentally with the years of abuse by his father. The only good thing in Josh's life right now is Damian.

Damian is Josh's rock, and even more so when news breaks out that Josh's stepfather Andrew has been released from prison. This sends Josh spiralling out of control and into a paranoid frenzy. Which includes the return of self-harming. But no matter what Damian is there for him. Through the nightmares, through the self-harm, he is there for Josh.

A very deep and powerful story of good over bad. And of a strong bond between the two young men that can not be broken.



I received a free arc copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Lynnette Hartwig]

Trigger Warning: Child Rape and Abuse

This book was very intense. It was believable but at times very difficult to read, especially when Josh either remembered the past or had a nightmare. This book felt very real but it captured my attention from the beginning of the story and I just couldn't put it down. T.T Kove has a way of telling a story that is amazing. This book was much darker then it's predecessor but one I felt needed to be told. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book that is centered on reality.

I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon Hatt]

This is not a happy story but it is a love story, one born from two broken individuals. There are elements for mental disease, child abuse, and cutting, as well as other disturbing issues. Josh and Damian are incredible characters that have an unbelievable journey to weather and remain intact and together and reading their tale is at times heartbreaking and then heartwarming. I have read the entire series and it is without a doubt a tear jerker at times but astoundingly well written, engaging and real.
**I voluntarily chose to review a copy of this book and I have not been compensated in any way**

[Kaila]

This was truly magical. I loved seeing the characters from the other stories as well as the ones from this story which are amazing. I loved seeing how Josh has to grow... he had so much to get through and handle... he is wonderful and so sexy. It was so beautiful and wonderfully written. I am so glad i got to review it