Review: 4 1/2 Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2014
“Invincible” has an incredible message underlying the romance. Sex trafficking is a huge issue and it doesn’t just happen in other countries. American women are at risk. And the author of “Invincible,” Alana Albertson, brings attention to that in her work.I think “Invincible” had a great plot. I loved the idea of a (single) military soldier going to a brothel to…ah, relieve, himself. ‘Cuz let’s face it. If they’ve been on a boat for weeks at a time or in some country cut-off from civilization they’re gonna want to, um shaboink.  Just the way it goes. So he goes to get him some and walks into a sex trafficking situation. Great story. I loved it.I also really liked how Patrick and his buddies took care of business, but I think the action could have been drawn out a little more. I think that was too rushed—too easy. Also, the “boat” and Dave were just a little too convenient. I know, I know, you’re all scratching your heads and saying, “Huh?”  But read the book…it’ll all make sense. But even with this two issues, I still liked the plot a lot.Where the book really took a nose dive for me is how the woman they saved just magically got over being kidnapped, repeatedly raped, forced to take drugs which eventually she became addicted too, was passed around from brothel to brothel, beaten, and so on and so forth. She didn’t need therapy. She didn’t have issues with sex, in fact she wanted to jump into bed with Patrick just days after being rescued. The only thing that “troubled” her after her ordeal were certain sounds. They made her “jumpy.”Okay, so let me say this. I liked the book. I liked the characters. But I just didn’t buy how quickly Annie got over her five years in captivity. Nope. Not even the strongest woman would walk away from that and not have issues of some kind.I liked the author’s writing style, and that she gives dual POVs. I felt I was able to get inside both character’s heads and feel their emotions. But I did have issues with some of the dialogue.  For example:“Is this because you still have a problem because I was a sex slave?”There isn’t anything wrong with the sentence. It just doesn’t seem natural to me. I don’t think she would walk around calling herself a “sex slave,” which she does more than once. I think most women would find an alternative term. Maybe just refer to it as “my past,” or something similar. But, again, this is just my opinion, and, really, had no bearing on me enjoying the book.The best part of the book, but unfortunately, again, I felt it was too short, was the situation with Annie’s family after she returned home. Ohmigosh! That was great, in a sick twisted way. I loved it! (What does that say about me? HA!) I think it should have played a bigger part in the book and the boat scenes a lesser role. Because I thought the family angle, especially the father, was great. But I also wanted to know what was going on with the ditzy mother. Was she in on the whole thing? Or was she just oblivious and living in another world? Either way, it was a great twist.Bottom line: I liked the story a lot. I had a few issues with it. They didn’t detract from me enjoying the book, but I think they kept a really good book from becoming a really awesome book. I still recommend it and would definitely read more of the author’s work.And like I mentioned earlier, the book brings up a very important issue that all women need to be aware of.