This book was not what I expected. Not your standard story of veteran returns heals and gets a happy ending. Have a tissue ready for the whole book. This is one of the most heartbreaking lesfic books I've read.
Chrys is broken from her trauma in Syria. Yet she gets hired by the State Department to accompany a diplomat, Reyha. This story revolves around Reyha helping Chrys heal and get a new less violent purpose in life. She teaches Chrys to find some joy in a world full of violence. It also tells a bit about the story of the fight of the Kurdish women against the oppression of women.

This is a very good book but the topics are heavy and sad. All about keeping hope and fighting on.

I really wish I didn’t have to write a review for this book because its left me with no happy thoughts at all, In fact I found the whole thing depressing and too real for my mood, I absolutely loved Reyha the poor woman, she was so so nice (I feel really sad) but I just couldn’t force myself to like Chrys, her pity parties just pissed me off and made me dislike her even more, one of them really irritating characters I couldn’t feel any pity for as much as I tried, I’d say this book is dark and I’m pretty sure romance fans won’t like this book, there is a love story in there but the ending is really crappy, if I’d have known I would’t have touched it with a barge pole.
It’s a good book but it just wasn’t for me, I love happy endings too much....

This has been a very emotional book. It does not have an easy plot, since it includes many political questions, some of them very current and controversial. The narrative does not skimp on very crude details throughout the book. It makes you think and reflect on great questions and universal values, in the true nature of the human race. It really is not a superficial book. I'm still quite shocked, but I do not want to wait to do the review and strongly recommend the reading of this book. A jewel.

This book was given to me by NetGalley and Bold Strokes books in exchange for an honest review.

Talk about one of the most beautifully written and devastating books I have read in a long time.. Lets start at the beginning you have really a love story between a translator and the VIP woman she is translating for, although it doesn't really seem like Reyha need a translator, just someone to hang out with and see the sights. They fall in love very slowly ( for a book in this genre). You have a military injury that drives Chrys to be a really horrible person in the beginning and middle of the book, but she redeems herself by the end. You have Reyha who selflessly gives her life for literally no reason I can discern. Reyha seems a bit selfish, making someone fall in love with you just so that you die? I liked that they brought Mary back in the end and left it open ended. It kind of mirrors the book they were reading with Countess Olensky. Chrys ended up going back for her true love and hopefully things will work pout for them. Ultimately a happy ending but it was so tragic it took a lot out of me to finish it.

This book was tragic, heart wrenching and thoroughly engrossing. I will be recommending this to people because I loved it that much.

I really try more than ususal with Netgalley books, but: Giving up in chapter 8. The writing is so bland. These characters should be popping off the pages, they seem so interesting, have so much to offer to a story, but somehow they don’t.

...she learns that the most significant love is often the shortest lived. This is the line that captivated me throughout this entire emotional rollercoaster of a story. This read was so pure and heartbreaking because you know tragedy and sadness is coming but you are unsure when and how. Chrys Safis has a women that cares deeply for her as she struggles to recovery from her mental and physical injuries. Although Mary is there and Chrys loves her, it is not enough. Reyha Arslan is capable of great love and caring. Although Reyha has her own issues, her steadfast and patient support of Chrys is so beautiful. Reyha is strong and demanding but also caring and thoughtful. These women need each other to not only deal with day-to-day life but to heal. I was swept away with the emotion of the story and the goodness in people during very difficult mental and physical challenges.

I have to be honest, I was not sure about this book based on the description. Furthermore, I am not a big romance reader but I absolutely loved this book. Couldn't put it down. I was very impressed by the wisdom this book brought me. The twists and happiness amid Chrys' struggle. I think every person wishes for someone/a mentor like this in their life. I wish to live with the atttidue Rehya portrayed and saved many quotes from this book. I rarely read anything aside from murder-mystery but would unreservedly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity!

This is a beautiful and heart-breaking love story but it’s not a romance. Chrysanthi Safis returns from Syria broken – physically, mentally and emotionally. Part of her leg has been aputated, her body is scarred and she’s in pain. The beer and pills help her sleep a little but they don’t take away the nightmares. Her partner of seven years is at a loss because Chrys won’t allow her close to her and they no longer even share a room. Even though she’s fluent in numerous languages, her military career overseas is over.

Across the ocean in England, exile Reyha Arslan witnesses her assistant and good friend blown apart by a car bomb. She’s no stranger to losing a loved one as her husband, controversial Turkish MP, was assassinated six years previously. When she arrives in the US, she is to address the United Nations in an attempt to fulfil her husband’s work and the State Department insists on providing her with a liason and interpreter. What Chrys sees is a beautiful, elegant and dignified woman and finds she is unable to refuse the position, although she’s not really given a choice.

As much as there were times I struggled to like Chrys with her bitterness and rage, her pain, hallucinations and loss of control are so well-described that I found I couldn’t dislike her either. Her battle to bring herself back to any kind of enjoyment of life is powerfully expressed. Reyha has her own difficult past but her expression of it is so different from Chrys’. She’s the lightness to Chrys’ darkness which highlights how differently people experience trauma and tragedy.

Reyha’s life is in danger and their days are spent surrounded by security agents with the constant threat combined with Chrys’ paranoia keeping a strong thread of tension going. Chrys’ weekly group therapy sessions add another whole set of characters to the mix.

I’ve read a number of novels where the main character has had some trauma or returned from conflict area with injuries and PTSD but I don’t think I’ve read any quite as good as this. Chrys wasn’t given any easy-outs or nice characteristics to make her more likeable. I haven’t read a book that has emotionally engaged me and dragged me in quite as much as this did in a long time. It’s horrible and beautiful, amusing and sad, gentle and traumatic.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.