Nikki Soarde Reviews

Added October 7, 2005

Mortal Wounds

Author: Nikki Soarde
Publisher: Cerridwen Press
Available At: www.cerridwenpress.com
Publishing Date: June 2005
Genre: Fiction: Suspense/Mystery/Romantic
Format: Ebook download in PDF/HTML/LIT
Price: $7.99
ISBN: 1-4199-0262-8
Author Email/Website: www.nikkisoarde.com
Reviewer: Safiya Tremayne
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Love, lies, loss, betrayal, hope and new beginnings abound in Nikki Soard's Mortal Wounds. Soard's tale is unique in that it is told in three parts and takes place over the course of twelve years. Readers meet the hero and heroine at the moment they receive their mortal wounds.

1987

For seventeen-year-old Veronica Lichty, nothing ever changes. Life in the quiet, peaceful Mennonite community moves at a slow sleepy pace, with change rarely coming at all. Everything in Veronica's life changes the moment she meets Jesse Ward.

Jesse is completely different from the other males she knows. He's bright, vivacious, and swears like there is no tomorrow. In short, he is exactly the type of male her parents would want her to avoid at all costs. But with Jesse, Veronica, or as Jesse calls her Ronni, feels alive. Her spirit sings and she knows true happiness. The two secretly date, enjoying every moment together and dreading the day Jesse leaves for college.

The night before Jesse leaves, he plans a romantic evening for them and asks her to join him. Ronni says no, but will definitely join him in the spring. Several weeks later, she tells her family she is pregnant. They want her to marry one of the local boys immediately and she refuses. She'll have the baby; give it to her parents to raise, and leave to start a life for herself elsewhere. All she asks is when Jesse comes looking for her, they tell him exactly where to find her.

--------

1996

Captain Wolf Mercredi had found love on a battlefield. One of the UN Peacekeepers in Bosnia, he was walking through the city when he heard a noise in one of the abandoned houses. He investigates and finds a woman; his honor kicking in he offers to find her shelter. Lubica refuses saying she has to find her baby. While Wolf thinks she is a bit delusional, he nevertheless takes her back to the base with him.

The next morning he awakes to find Serbian police in his barracks looking for Lubica. Just the fact, they were able to get past the NATO guards is enough to make him angry, yet is the fact they were determined to take Lubica at any cost, restores his hope at finding her daughter. How could he come to care about someone so much in such a short period?

Against impossible odds, Wolf and his troops are able to rescue Lubica's daughter. Using his connections, Wolf secures a place for them on a plane to England, promising to join them in a few months when his commission is up. Against his judgment, he accompanies the two to Lubica's former home so she may say goodbye.

---------

1999

On a camping trip in the middle of nowhere, Wolf is surprised when a young girl stumbles in his camp. No longer a soldier, his instincts take over and he offers her shelter and gently questions her. Little Leah is scared and refuses to tell him where her home is. She asks him to help her find her birth mother, a Veronica Lichty, living in Kitchener. He doesn't want to destroy Leah's dreams, but he does caution that they may not be able to find her birth mother.

Her daughter was here. The daughter she had given up eleven years before was standing on her doorstep with a gorgeous man. Ronni doesn't know what to think or what to do. She'd never planned for something like this and doesn't react very well.

Wolf is furious. How could she treat her own daughter that way? It didn't matter that she gave her up, her daughter was frightened and needed her. But then again, her mother was a performer so who knew what she into.

Despite their immediate dislike of each other, Ronni and Wolf can't deny their attraction. But can they work past their differences of opinion and do what is best for Leah? Especially when Leah reveals her biggest secret?

In an instant, Ronni's past comes back to haunt her and the truth will have widespread and devastating results. Will the love and support of both her daughter and Wolf be enough to heal the wounds she received as young woman?

Unforgettable, amazing and heartwarming are just a few words to describe Mortal Wounds. Soard's tale is completely and utterly emotional. The reader is pulled into Ronni and Wolf's lives, experiencing every single emotion, with some events hitting so hard you're unable to read as your eyes are filled with tears. One of the ways Mortal Wounds differs from most fiction is the way the Wolf and Ronni cope with what happens and how their relationships heal their wounds. The worlds introduced in this book are familiar, yet Soard's descriptions paint them in a new light. For example, the Mennonites: in so many ways they are very much like the Amish but a few things set them completely apart. It certainly opens the reader's eyes to the different cultures that exist.

I have to admit this was one of the harder reviews to write because of the way it affected me. Soard's writing is sublime and I was (and still am) at a loss as how to describe how much I enjoyed and loved this story. I can only say...Mortal Wounds stays with you long after you finish the last page. A true keeper.

Return to top of page.

This page was last updated on January 1, 2008

This page and all its contents are Copyright© 2002-2008 In the Library Reviews and the individual reviewers. Except where noted, all graphics are Copyright© Eos Development and are used with permission. All book covers are Copyright© their respective publishers and are used with permission. The In the Library Reviews logo is Copyright© 2002 by In the Library Reviews/Sharyn McGinty. Site maintained by In the Library Reviews.