Book Review: Talon (Uncompromising #1) By Sybil Bartel

Talon
(Uncompromising #1)
By Sybil Bartel

Beware this series is a spin off series for the Unchecked Series by this author. I'd recommend you starting the other series before reading this one. It will put things in perspective and you won't find yourself lost or feeling like you are missing half the story. 

Talon

I surf.

I f*ck.

I pretend to smile.

Two years ago my life was perfect, until it wasn’t. I scattered my wife’s ashes then walked away from the Marines. I didn’t think I had anything left to lose.

I was wrong.

The blonde showed up at my surf shop, beaten and stabbed. I did what I was trained to do—I stitched her up. I didn’t have a clue who she was and I told myself I didn’t care. Until they came looking for her.

I swore I’d take my last breath before I let anyone else hurt her except I didn’t know she was keeping a deadly secret. Now I had two choices, her life or mine.

Marriage and combat taught me the same thing—I was no one’s hero. And I was about to prove it.

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Check The Other Books In This Series:

(Linked to my review)

My Review:

*This review is solely based on the 78% of the book that I read.

This book should have a second working title: Torture. As I'm writing this review I'm having a mental argument with myself if I should power through the rest of it or not. This is one of the most infuriating books I've read in my life (consider that I've been piling up books since 2009).

The BIGGEST issue I have with this book is the main protagonist: Nicole. In the beginning, it was really sweet and cute, how quiet she was, but after that initial meet I've just had enough. Talon has put himself in danger more times then I can count for her and yet she still finds it in herself to not listen to him, to keep huge secrets from him and to almost get him killed several times because of her idiotic actions. She's a car wreck waiting to happen and I can't help but want to throw her in front of the truck to get it over with. She also doesn't have a backbone and that only made it worse. One moment she's quiet and in her little world with her (as Talon describes it) 'cold eyes' and the next she's crying for an abuser and she's sorry Talon almost got hurt and blah, blah, blah. I've had enough of her.

Thanks to Nicole, I ended up hating Talon just as much. I understand he has a hero complex and wants to save Nicole, but he has to understand that he can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved. He can take her out of a bad situation, but as soon as he's distracted she's going to put herself right back in it and make him save her and have him almost die in the process. 

I also found out halfway through this book that this is a spin off series. It was only then that I understood why half the story seemed to be missing every time Talon mentioned someone named Leigh and compared Nicole and a lot of situations to her. To say the least, I felt left out of the story and it didn't have the emotional attachment that the author probably wanted to invoke in me (the reader). Would it kill someone to put the words 'Spin Off Series' in the synopsis of this novel?

By digging through this books Goodreads page I found out that the next book will feature Neil and I will be picking it up. Why you ask? Well, I really liked how this book was written and the flow of it all was really well thought out. I only despised one element: The main character Nicole.

My Favorite Quotes:

"A man is not defined by his circumstances but by his reactions."

"[...] Hate wasn't the opposite of love. Indifference was."

"Sometimes you give up on the best choice and settle for the only choice."

My Rating: