*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I will never get back the week of my life it took to read this book. Had I not agreed to read and review it, I would have dropped it long before finishing. And then I realized it had a sequel, so I didn’t even get to have a concrete ending. However, it could have had the world’s worst cliffhanger, and I still wouldn’t pick up the second book.

This book has two types of characters: stupid (Stacy) and out to get her (everyone else). Her parents are controlling, judgmental, and overbearing; they are stereotypes of what I’m sure a lot of people believe is wrong with conservative Christians. Pretty much everyone in Malaguay is evil scum. Stacy is lured there under false pretenses and is sort of passed from one guy to another—really, though, she doesn’t even seem to mind. Except when she’s beaten or raped, but then she gets over it until next time. Lather, rinse, repeat. Even the Americans in Malaguay, like the guy who runs the orphanage (Pearce) and the CIA operative (Devon) are rather unsavory. Devon offers Stacy threat after threat to convince her to help him; he even carelessly says he could rape her without repercussions.

But I think Stacy is my biggest problem in this book. She suffers from extreme Middle Child Syndrome. She is extremely judgmental of everyone. She gives out her home address to strangers on the internet. She decides to leave the country to meet a guy she met online, going into a country that has travel warnings about it. The list goes on. Simply put, Stacy is probably the most idiotic character I have ever encountered. No joke.

She’s in love with Felipe until she’s in love with Miguel until she starts having feelings for Tomás, and then she makes googly eyes at Brody at the end. Let’s focus for a moment on Miguel (whom Stacy believes is at least 10 years older than she is)—he beats her, he rapes her, he cheats on her, he threatens her life multiple times, etc. And yet she still vacillates between wanting him (because he’s so sweet sometimes) and disliking him (not even hate). Tomás is married to a girl he doesn’t like, beats her, likely rapes her, admits to sharing his wife and other girls with his best friend, and is just a stellar guy overall (ha). But Stacy becomes rather fond of him, even feeling passion for him when he kisses her.

Something else that really bothered me throughout the book was the casual attitude toward rape and abuse. It wasn’t just that the abusers acted like it was their right to do those things, either. The women, Stacy included, seemed to accept it as almost normal. Miguel raped her and beat her horribly, but she was jealous when she found him cheating on her. She found comfort snuggling up to him at night. She even enjoyed being intimate with him.

How this book has any good ratings baffles me.

Two other complaints:
- Some incorrect Spanish (one example: “promoter” instead of “prometer”).
- A character has a miscarriage that lasted like two seconds. First, the pregnancy wasn’t even to a point where she could take a pregnancy test, which happens ALL the time without women even knowing it’s more than a period. Second, her bleeding was over after a few painful cramps and a visit to the bathroom. That’s not how a miscarriage works.

Note: Swearing, including uncounted f words. Rape, threatened rape. Physical abuse. An idiot protagonist.

I'm pretty torn about this book.
It is a very fast read (I read it in one evening)
It is interesting, but its not really good.

Its the kind of book you start, and want to know what happens, but don't overly enjoy.
There was a cliffhanger as I assume there will be more books. However I have no real desire to read the other book.

The characters were not likable, the protagonist frustrated me and I just could not get behind the story.

My Review: I really wanted to love this one. I gave it all the chance in the world but it just wasn't for me at all. This book is so bogged down with abuse and then on the next page it downplays that abuse and I just could not go any further. DNF



Go Into This One Knowing: Rape, Abuse

This subject matter was hard to read. Although from the description I thought I would enjoy reading this one the language and mindset of Miguel was just not something I wanted to endure.
This one just wasn't for me!

This one was a tough book for me to get through. Not because it wasn't good, but because of the subject matter. Stacy goes to meet someone she met online (not her best choice) and is lured to another country. I had a few problems with how the story progressed but it was well written. I will recommend that we purchase it.

This book starts out, very hard to read. It feels egotistic and dangerous.
When we first meet the female protagonist, she is talked about as though she is an object, something with no feeling or emotion. And we soon see that, that is exactly how she is treated.

This book is incredibly confronting, yet well written.

This was an okay read. Stacy's lack of common sense, irrational thinking, and inconsistent emotions were the only negatives. Every guy that lays eyes on her finds her attractive so the instant love between her and three other guys at three separate times in the novel is pretty ridiculous. From a psychological viewpoint, this story is a great example of Stockholm syndrome and manipulation from someone older. None of the characters were developed since each only showed up a handful of times, but the plot was strong and differed away from the typical teen suspense plot. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The dark synopsis caught my attention and I was excited to be approved for War Bride. The prologue was strong but I quickly realized this wasn’t going to work for me. I wanted a dark, gritty book about being trafficked and instead I got an unbelievable, insta-lovey story. Stacy was frustrating to read and I have a hard time believing someone could be that clueless. She didn’t have a strong back story, everything was just so rushed and convenient.

DNF at 60%

WARNING: Review will contain triggers of rape and abuse and some plot spoilers.

I really tried to give this book a chance, I really did, the reviews are promising and the premise is really interesting, but it just goes to show that not even a hyped up book will be everybody's cup of tea.
"He loves his country, but sometimes he wonders how it would have felt to grow up without war and violence - in a place where a life mattered."

War Bride is the first in a trilogy and it's safe to say that I won't be touching the next two books at all.

In this story, we follow Stacy Degray, who has met Felipe online in a poetry forum, regardless of the strict limitations her parents propose on her internet use. When she finds out her dad has had an illegitimate child with another woman, she tells Felipe, who persuades her that now is the best time to take a vacation to Malaguay to see him and give her parents some space. When she lands in Malaguay she captures the eye of the dictator's son, Miguel, who will stop at nothing to put Stacy right where he wants her.

My main fault with this book is the main character. Each component of this book reflects her flat personality; the prose, the dialogue, the introspection. Although the situations she found herself in were shocking, I kept waiting for her to kick it up a notch rather than constantly reverting into the submissive vessel that the author uses to showcase naivety against foreign politics.

Stacy always seems to highlight then downplay the trauma and war that holds Malaguay in it's steely grip. She compares their horrific experiences to her incredibly sheltered childhood and her perpetual fear of disappointing everyone. The juxtaposition of learning about these people's parents and sisters being raped and killed in front of them, to Stacy complaining about the standard her parents hold her to only serve to make me dislike her immensely.
"In a sense, he is right - I'm totally clueless about what people have to endure in Malaguay or similar countries, but admitting this to him is impossible. He would probably throw it in my face any chance he gets to ridicule me about my sheltered childhood. The constant fear of being a disappointment to everyone because the bar is just too high to manage is totally foreign to him."

Regardless of the war that is terrifying Malaguay, Stacy never seems to take off her rose-tinted glasses. The abrupt ending of her and Felipe's romance and the immediate beginning with Miguel - who previously was described only as cold and intimidating - is a clear representation of the novel as a whole; ideas that haven't truly played out, rushed timing, and no momentum.

Honestly, I felt like she was a lost sheep that decides to fight in a war she doesn't understand. A war that doesn't even suit her character. She is supposed to be extremely religious and frowns upon violence, yet she joins the Malaguay military?! She also seems to have opinions on anything small-minded like gossip amongst the foreign girls that are staying at the compound, yet she doesn't have any opinions in the more serious matters, like the war she is fighting in? She is a totally lacklustre character with no substance.

So, now that I've had a good rant, this is the reason I stopped reading:
*contains spoilers*
"Though Miguel was totally wrong with some of the things he's done, I'm equally at fault."
...

Miguel RAPES her, he's KIDNAPPED her, he CHEATS on her and HITS HER AROUND, and she justifies it as... "equally her fault"?

Nope.

No.

No way.

Sorry but no.

This is where my interest stops. I will never support something that attempts to romanticise and justify abuse just for the sake of shocking entertainment.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

** spoiler alert ** Thanks to the publisher for a copy to read and offer my honest opinion.

Stacy is a naïve young girl who leaves America with hopes of young love, with a guy on the internet. I'm going on a limb here but the summary makes the book sound darker than what it really is, in my opinion. I love dark romances but this is just a book about a dumb girl who thinks she is grown.

What did I like? The book does a good job of making her situation look bleak and hopeless. Stacy really is just a stupid girl who has likely bit off more than she can proverbially chew. Her marriage and the pretenses of all the characters is likely to give you whiplash.

Would I buy this book? Not after having read it. Its really not a dark romance even though she is at times treated horribly but what did you really expect.

Thoughts for the author? The summary of this book or synopsis...does not really fit this book. If nothing else the synopsis should downplay the events and then what happens is really a surprise. I hate synopsis that make me hope for darkness only to deflate like a balloon. This is not really a dark book, and I really felt like Stacy was just naïve because of her sheltered upbringing.

Three stars.....