Battle Scarred
Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty still hasn't found what he's been searching for: a normal life. At his job, Luke is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield, none more so than the abused children brought in by a pretty redheaded social worker.
For Devon Manning, being a social working is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time--unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues.
A Desire to Heal...
When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he's been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon's emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs...
Review:
Review:
Confession: I struggle with my weight. Daily. Every day I have to CHOOSE to eat (mostly) healthy and exercise. When I get sick or really stressed out, that all goes downhill and I start with the chocolate and Chik-Fil-A. All of this is compounded by the fact that I am a Registered Dietitian and I consider looking healthy to be part of my job description.
So you can imagine that reading about someone who is effortlessly too skinny, (less than 110 pounds on a 5'4" frame) can't gain weight despite multiple attempts to eat more, and gets even skinnier during times of stress would bother me. It does. In fact, I will go so far as to say that Devon in Fragile worked my last nerve, not only because of her weight, but because I just didn't like her.
I'm sure that Devon being all the things I've just described barred Shiloh Walker being able to endear her to me, but all the same, there were times when I didn't think I could get through this book. There were times, when Devon's life and sanity were threatened, that I watched events unfold with a cold, calculating disinterest. That's so unlike me! When I read a book, the characters become real to me and I take them into my heart. I almost wanted a bad ending, solely out of my own disdain. I can't believe I just admitted that!
With all that said, fans of romantic suspense will probably like Fragile. The love story was too sappy and the bedroom scenes were too much for me, but I guess that's expected with this genre. Fragile has caused me to reexamine my reading choices of late, and I've decided that I'm through with romance (except for the delicious Black Dagger Brotherhood). There's just not enough to romances to hold my interest.
Just One Gripe:
The repetitiveness of the love story. Instead of developing it, we just get to read tons of dialogue with the two main characters parroting back how much they love each other. Been there, done that...
The Best Thing About This Book:
I liked Quinn. His scenes were the only things that entertained me.
Appropriate for a younger audience:
No
Score:
Characters: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Setting/Imagery: 2/5
Originality: 2/5
Ending: 4/5
Total Score: 12/25
Great review, and I think you make an excellent point. Being tiny and much too thin is far too prevalent in YA culture and books these days. I've struggled with anorexia and bulimia for almost ten years now, and I loathe these characters that are "so thin and can't gain weight." It makes them rather despicable to either end of the spectrum, in my opinion. :)
ReplyDeleteYou won an award- you can view it here: http://blkosiner.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-won-award.html
ReplyDeleteKind of random...but since you're a R.D. have you ever thought about doing some posts about good cookbooks or books about nutrition? I'm a real health nut, so I think it would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlison Can Read
Well will pass on this one then since it left much to be desired. Too bad.. have to start get the Black Dagger Brotherhood series soon.
ReplyDeleteYou know just reading the blurbs on the two characters I was already turned off. Two very broken people making it work is a really hard thing. It doesn't make for romance I want to read anyway. And you're right about the weight thing. Though, many depressed people tend to lose weight, many gain weight to try to forget their problems. Why doesn't someone write a book about some pleasantly plump women getting all the attention from men and upstaging the rail thin Barbies???? Heather (so much not a Barbie)
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