The Hard Truth by Brittney Sahin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trading bullets for board meetings, or so he thought.

Connor Matthews, former Marine and gun for hire, is not what you’d call the quintessential businessman. But when his father’s unexpected passing leaves the family business to him and his brother, Connor agrees to take over until his brother finishes his last tour of duty. Connor resigns himself to a life of dull meetings and paperwork, but quickly finds himself mired in his father’s web of shady business deals. And in the midst of the mess is Olivia Taylor, his gorgeous and headstrong ex-girlfriend.

Since they last parted, Olivia has known nothing but grief, heartache, and loss. Despite it all, she’s built a life for herself — a life with no room for the likes of Connor Matthews. She’s survived more than most could endure, but Connor has the ability to ruin everything she’s worked so hard to achieve. She must put the past behind her in order to survive… but can she forgive the man who broke her heart?

The Hard Truth

A reunion story that surprises—gritty, grown-up and backed by addictive narration!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💚💜💙❤️
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪🧪
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋🙂🙃😍
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Dual Narration

In this third installment of the series, we shift into a deeper, more personal register with The Hard Truth, following ex-marine turned mercenary Connor as he’s reluctantly pulled away from global missions and back to his New York roots.

After years of avoiding home and his estranged family, Connor is summoned to attend his father’s funeral—only to discover he and his brother have inherited a $2 billion weapons tech company. With his brother still active-duty, Connor is forced into a temporary CEO role he never wanted, in a world he despises.

Enter Olivia, his college ex and a sharp-minded MBA now working for the oily Declan Reed, nightclub mogul and possible sleazebag. Olivia thought she left Connor—and their heartbreak—behind at NYU. Now they’re thrown back together through a business entanglement, each carrying old wounds and fresh secrets. Their chemistry hasn’t faded, but the tension is no longer just emotional—Connor is unraveling his father’s murky dealings, and Olivia may know more than she’s letting on.

Confession: I usually dislike second-chance romances. I miss seeing a love story unfold in real time, and backstory often feels like a lost chapter I didn’t get to read. But I stuck with this one because I enjoyed the first two books in the series and—honestly—I was in it for the narrators.

🎧 Narration Highlights:

The dual narration is a strong point here. Jason Clarke delivers Connor’s point of view with a gravelly, commanding tone that fits the character perfectly—sexy, grounded, and emotionally restrained. He’s become one of my go-to favorites. Ava Lucas, as always, brings poise and professionalism to Olivia’s voice, though I kind of hoped the series would experiment with a new female narrator as it had with the male roles in earlier books.

💬 Final Thoughts:

While some plot developments lean on familiar tropes and a few character decisions beg for more depth, the emotional undercurrent between Connor and Olivia, plus the backdrop of corporate intrigue and family legacy, kept me engaged. The secrets, the burn of regret, and the pull of unresolved passion made this entry a slow but satisfying build.

For fans of second-chance romance layered with secrets, sin, and smoky narration, this one just might win you over. Plenty of heat, emotional grit, and an actual reason to care when the characters circle back to their old wounds. Even as a second-chance skeptic, this one hooked me.

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