And brought me back from being too far gone: BARBED WIRE HEART.

Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, what a brutal, violent story--but one that will completely capture your attention.

Harley McKenna has been raised by her crime boss, backwoods drug dealer dad, Duke McKenna, since the death of her mom. He's isolated her and kept her tough and hard, just like daddy, to take over his businesses (meth, running guns, etc.) one day. No one messes with Duke McKenna, or his baby girl.

The McKennas have always warred with the Springfields. Carl Springfield murdered Harley's mom, changing the entire path of her life. Now that she's coming of age, it seems like they are coming for Harley too. Harley feels like she only has one option: to (literally) burn down everything her father has built to make her world (and the town) safe again.

Sharpe tells Harley's story in a very effective "now and then" format, but it also sometimes made me want to scream, because I needed to know what was happening now... NOW!

This is a violent story, filled with plenty of killing and abuse. There's a side story about the Rubies, a group of women who Harley tries to protect from domestic abuse. Sharpe does an excellent job of illustrating how women can be attacked, yes, but also how they are often underestimated and overlooked, leading them to overtake men.

Overall, this story runs a bit long, but I still found it incredibly compelling (and dark). I listened to part of it via audio while driving to another state for work, but wouldn't recommend it--the audio is nothing special and it's hard to differentiate amongst the characters.


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