****Possible spoilery things*****

I am reviewing both volumes of Wounded in one review, since that's how they flowed together for me.

I didn't write this immediately following finishing the books, because I needed to think about it a little. I think it would be easy to just dismiss them as books where Cory gets lots of guys hot after her and lives in a sexed up world, but that would be doing the books a disservice. There's a method to the mix. Especially as more of Green's background is revealed, along with the his past with Mist and Morena. Why he is the way he is becomes clear, and how he heals the way he does also becomes clear. It's also obvious that Cory needs someone for herself, and Bracken is the perfect person for that, partially because of his ties to Adrian, partially because he's just Bracken. I like him and how different he is than Green. I think she needs that too, but I also like that he and Green came to a sort of peace with each other (in the process of healing Bracken's hurt).

Maybe it's not a good idea to try to review both in one review, but in all honesty they're sort of blurred together in my head. At first I didn't like the idea that Cory was just "collecting" guys that were infatuated with her. But she tried to keep Nicky out of it, and Andres is actually good for her. Will anything come of the latter? I don't know, but he's a good guy to have around, and he's a gentleman, also with a tie to Adrian.

Then it struck me. Cory doesn't particularly want all of these guys falling all over her. She would be happy with Bracken and Green. Nicky was an accident. But she's growing up and taking responsibility the way Green takes care of his people--she will take care of and love Nicky because that's what Green does with his people, and she's a leader as well, and she will follow his example. The reason Green's Hill has flourished is because of his manner of leadership, so starkly in contrast with Mist/Morena and Goshawk. (I really like the Avian shifters). Green doesn't discriminate, which is why he has the loyalty of so many, and what causes Mist's downfall. Rule by love or rule by fear?

These two books are about Cory, yes, but they're also about Green, Bracken, Nicky, Renny, Max, Andres--the secondary characters that become more important because they are a circle of love and support. I like other relationships in the books: Grace and Arturo, Max and Renny. Max has really had an interesting transformation.

They're about what it means to rule, and how to rule, and how to take care of the people you rule. What to do with that sort of power. How to wield it, and how not to. What it is to twist it into something evil that hurts people, and causes loved ones to die, and what it is to embrace people for who they are and to care for one another. What makes people stand strong together, and what makes them fracture apart. How to balance priorities between one's personal life and one's life as a ruler. The sacrifices and the advantages.

So I've ended up liking these books quite a bit, and am looking forward to the next one. The fact that I'm still thinking about them in a thoughtful sort of way is a testament to the fact, in my mind, that there is much more that what originally appears on the surface when you examine it. Sure, you could just look at the books superficially and dismiss them, but there's a lot beneath the surface other than just a lot of hot and horny sidhe. :-) And if Bracken is the one on the cover, he is definitely one hot sidhe. ( )