One second.That was all I needed.My gun in my hand, my finger on the trigger, I waited.Yesterday I had been driven by revenge. Yesterday my life had been measured in a single act. Yesterday I did not have the taste of her on my lips. Today was different. I wanted more than justice. I wanted the life I had been robbed of.Except twelve men with guns drawn were standing between me and her, and I … with guns drawn were standing between me and her, and I should have been dead already. But they made a crucial mistake. They underestimated my resolve.
I pulled the trigger.
*HARD JUSTICE is not a standalone story. It is the second book in the Alpha Antihero Series.
The Alpha Antihero Series:
HARD LIMIT
HARD JUSTICE
HARD SIN
HARD TRUTH
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Candle. Oh to know the origins, my heart! Candle was a contender already but after this one he’s possibly the ultimate. The dedication that this author puts into these books is unrivaled. You don’t come out unscathed. Ever. AND I LOVE IT!! I cannot wait for the next one.
Oh. My. God. I am FURIOUS with Sybil Bartel right now – in the best way possible. This book… I can’t even begin to describe the tension and heartache for Candle’s character. Let me tell you… How he got that nickname? It’s nothing like you ever imagined… This is one you’ll have to read for yourself to find out.
Words, there are so many that come to mind about this next installment of the Alpha Antihero series and Tarquin and Shaila’s story. Gripping, suspenseful, unique, serious, and humorous are just a few. What amazed me was the nature of the book and what it’s about is so monumentally huge and yet the author still made me laugh and smile. I feel like it’s a skill she is outstanding at. It is a rare gift for one to find such a perfect balance within a story such as this. There were some tears as well because it pulled me in and sunk deep into my heart. The characters are phenomenal and their journey together while coming from two different worlds is so unique as I said above that it made the dynamics of the story so crazy good. I’m on the edge of me seat waiting for the ending and so happy I had the pleasure to read the first two parts.
Wow! This is an intense story, it also ends in a serious cliffhanger. These characters seem so much older than they actually are, and the hero’s over the top actions bothered me in some cases. I do give them each some latitude because of the ways they grew up. I’m just glad I waited until all of the books were released before reading them. This isn’t my favorite by this author, but I did enjoy the book.
I’ve been waiting for Candle’s story to come out for YEARS! This is the second story and CANNOT BE READ AS A STANDALONE. It hit me right in the feels. I’ve never felt so broken over a character before. I shared every emotion right along with Candle and Shaila. My heart literally broke right along with Candle’s. This book is a good example that things don’t always turn out how you plan. Here it is, a week later, I am still at a loss for words (I know I wrote some above).
My heart is BROKEN. Just. Broken.
In several of Ms Bartel’s previous books, her readers have been given slices, glimpses of Tarquin ‘Candle’ Scott. And these were NOT flattering or positive views of a hard cold SKILLED & LETHAL man.
Not. At. All.
And Ms. Bartel who writes (IMO) the most amazing Heroes, well she’s writing a stellar series on the making of that anti-Hero.
Of how Candle came to be. And it isn’t a pretty or sweet story.
When exposed to a ‘villain’ such as Candle, especially when we’re rooting for those he’s fighting against or obstructing, we don’t think about just HOW the bad guy BECAME the bad guy. So, Ms. Bartel is detailing it in Candle’s series.
And my heart, at least through book #2, is aching for him. ACHING.
From his upbringing in a cult to his near death experience (see Hard Limit book #1) & now his fight to survive with his woman Shaila . . . . GAH! His spirit & strength he was born with & IS all his but it was molded & pounded & tempered like Toledo steel by hate, prejudice, insanity & isolation from everything outside of the cult & the teachings of the cult leader & his fanatically loyal followers.
Now in the outside world with Shaila, the woman who saved his life & the one to whom he’s pledged his life, strength & protection, he fights to survive not only his enemies, but Shaila’s too. And these enemies are powerful, evil & determined to find Tarquin & Shaila.
The young lovers hide in the Florida swamp alone, planning how to create a future together.
But not everything can be planned for & sometimes people’s lives are irrevocably & tragically altered by others despite all best intentions & hopes.
This is a haunting, heartbreaking, emotionally gutting story that helps readers understand exactly what H*LL & damnation Tarquin clawed his way out of in order to survive. But in surviving the blast of that forge, Tarquin was burned away leaving Candle. Humanity was burned away leaving a lethal weapon.
The way Tarquin is written, the way he spoke, the way he he felt & acted towards Shaila was deft: you both admired him & ACHED for for him at the crippling effects of the isolation of the cult life & teachings he’d endured. And Shaila is a wonderfully written heroine, spunky & tough & smart & mouthy, she gives Tarquin delicious challenges, pushes back & LOVES him intensely.
And how he gets his sobriquet . . . . It has to be read in order to truly feel the impact.
Tarquin’s story put me in mind of a portion of “Recessional”, a poem by Rudyard Kipling:
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
His heart may not be humble or contrite &, at least for now, he may not one of the bigger players on the field & his heart was sacrificed. But the Captains & the Kings forged a merciless & lethal weapon named Candle. Have ignited a flame into an inferno. And Candle into their inevitable nemesis.
This one carved out my heart, hurt me, made me better understand & empathize with the man who became Candle. Ms. Bartel’s writing just sucked me in & didn’t let me go. The reader is subsumed into the story, on tenterhooks for the characters, hoping with fingers crossed for everything to be alright.
You’ll feel the hot humidity of the swamp, feel the mosquitos, hear the palmettos rustle in the breeze. It is a book where you will be deeply invested in, & care about, Tarquin & Shaila, sincerely loathe the villains & find the plot irresistably compelling.
It is haunting, beautifully written, has romance & unwavering fidelity, steam & tragedy, betrayal, loyalty & determination, suspense, danger & tension.
I loved it.
And I have come to love Candle . . . .
Hard Justice is the second installment in a trilogy that is different from anything else you will read. It is hard, gritty, entertaining, and so damn delicious. Tarquin Scott is Alpha through and through, which Sybil Bartel has come to be known for. If you want a book series that grabs you from the get go and doesn’t let go, start with Hard Limit, and read this next! 5 Explosive Stars!