Niina Mero: Wounds of Love

Can you go through love and war and come out a hero?

Author: Niina Mero
Finnish original: Romanssin Sankari
Publisher: Gummerus, 2021
Genre: romance, women’s fiction
Number of pages: 316 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis

Special Forces soldier Benedict Jay has come to Finland on leave to meet his brother Dorian–or at least that’s what he says. But his backpack carries a heavy secret and a mission to complete, and every step reminds him of the scars of war.

In Finland, Ben gets invited to a summer cottage in beautiful lake district, and, soon and surprisingly, love starts to blossom. But the happiness of the summer days and nights is disturbed by his past, and he must deal with it before he can turn over a new leaf. What kind of future can a man like him hope for?

Niina Mero’s Wounds of Love is a romance that, exceptionally for the genre, is written from a male perspective. Mero, who also broke with clichés and expectations in her previous novel, The Death of Romance, which was awarded the Kaarle Prize, shows us that heroes can be flawed, vulnerable and broken. You don’t need to be a perfect individual to achieve love.

The blend of mystery, melancholy poetry, and the main character’s informality works. The result is suspenseful, romantic, and funny.
– Hämeen Sanomat newspaper on The Death of Romance

Traditional masculinity makes an appearance, but the novel also features likeable, unique, deep male characters – a rarity in romantic literature.
– Bibbidi Bobbidi Book literature blog on The Death of Romance

Also available:
The Death of Romance (2019)

About the author:
Niina Mero