A World Apart by Camelia Miron Skiba

First Published: 18 December 2011
Publisher: Self-published
Length: 122,000 words
Format: Ebook
Finished Date: 29 January 2012

Blurb from Goodreads

In a war that’s not hers, she loses everything.
Everything she loses is because of him.
Forgiveness is not an option.
Or maybe...

Lieutenant Cassandra Toma, trauma surgeon in the Romanian National Army starts her deployment at a joint-unit air base on a wrong foot, clashing on her first day with her new commander, Major David Hunt. Her rebellious nature and sassiness rival her excellent performance in the operating room—the only reason why she's not reprimanded, or maybe not the only reason.

They meet. They clash. A forbidden passion consumes them with the intensity of an erupting volcano, leaving her heartbroken and him with tarnished honor and pride as an officer. The only way out for David is disappearing into the dangerous warzone in Iraq. Their flame was supposed to be over when destiny brings them back under the same roof, this time with a common goal—to find Cassandra's brother, Maj. Robert Toma, kidnapped by insurgents while on patrol.

To rescue Robert, Cassandra and David put aside their resentments, uniting forces against a common enemy. Trying to forget the painful past, Cassandra opens up to give David—and their love—another chance. What she doesn’t realize is that her anguish is the result of David’s impetuous action—one reckless choice he made for which she may never forgive him.

His mistake, his secret, could cost them both the love they've finally found.

My Rating

My Review

A World Apart was something so unexpected; I can’t help but say I love it. When I first began the book, I found it rather slow and a little dry. But as the book carried on, I found how amazing it was. It may not always have been very interesting, but it was certainly very touching. When I first picked up the book, I wasn’t expecting what I read at all. The level of emotions depicted in the book is just so amazing and so so real.

The thing I really liked about this book was that it truly showed the real horrors of wars and the sufferings that is faced by family and friends. It didn’t brush across all these emotions lightly, and that is something I really liked about it. I especially liked seeing how just one small baby could bring so much joy to them, could represent so much hope for them. The people in the book were really noble. Without regard for themselves, they would work hard to save others.

The main characters of this book is David and Cassandra. Both of them are doctors and super good ones at that. Right from the start, they have conflicts with each other and David makes a super wrong assumption about Cassandra that almost ruined their entire relationship. He thought she was married. It caused a lot of problems later on, trust me.

David is a very kind man. I like him a lot. It’s very obvious how much he loves her, I can see it in his every action. But as for Cass, I didn’t really feel it. She had an epiphany towards the end then I felt was a little weak, given that she just kept running away then blaming him for pushing her away. However, I really felt that David was a very realistic character. His actions were rather justified most of the time and I could empathize with him. I also liked his attitude towards treating others. And what he did for the woman he thought was wounded was truly noble. Perhaps not the best thing to do, but it was really really noble. Want to know what I’m talking about? Go read the book! It’s great, and I really recommend it!

Somehow though, as the story went on, I found myself not liking Cassandra. I think it’s because she only thinks for herself when it comes to feelings. Sure, I get that she’s protecting herself but a lot of the problems between them came about because she was hurt and refused to give him a chance. Then she blamed him when he left. Seriously? You didn’t want to talk to him, he thought he was in the wrong and thus decided to leave so that he wouldn’t cause any more harm and you blame him? But then again, she never actually put herself in other people’s shoes. Maybe its just me, but I found her to be quite self-centred and thus, I couldn’t like her. But I have to say though, the way she acted was very real, it wasn’t like some fairytale character who does everything right. I guess I just couldn’t connect with her. She’s nice to her patients and all, but when it comes to feelings, and grudges, I cannot stand her. But I really admired the love between her and her brother, Robert.

The plot was good. Though the characters didn’t really spend a lot of time together, when they were together, you could just sense that mutual attraction and David’s love for her. I liked the character development for David, not so much for Cass. I liked Cass in the beginning, I kinda hated her towards the end. Total opposite for David.

Anyway, the book was really touching. I vividly recall a certain scene where I was in tears. The pain felt by the characters were so real, I grieved alongside them. But at the same time, when the characters were feeling joy, I felt that urge to jump up and scream because everything was great! I was rather emotionally involved in the book. Most of the time, I did feel how the characters were feeling and I loved that about the book.

But I do have to say one thing though. The book was rather dry. Overall, the plot is good, but I found the dialogues and conversations to be rather flat. It wasn’t really witty or particularly memorable. The pace wasn’t to my liking too. Some parts were too dragged out and then all of a sudden a few weeks or months pass and I’m thrown for a loop. Descriptions were fine as a whole, I could kinda see it in my head.

All in all, I really feel that this book is something different. Perhaps not to everyone’s taste, it certainly isn’t a light read. But it is a good book to be sure, one that can leave you almost crying in sadness and suddenly crying out in disbelief. Because that’s what I did. A good book through and through. The emotions it brought me through was really something different and of course, as I’ve mentioned earlier, the best part is that the author didn’t try to cover up the pain, sadness, atrocities and ugliness of war. It was just laid out bare for us to see. It showed me how pointless war is, if I didn’t already know that. And yes, I can empathize more with the soldiers now and how every life saved means so much. 4.5 stars to be sure.