TAKING FIRE - by Lindsay McKenna

TAKING FIRE

Lindsay McKenna

HQN

ISBN:  978-0-373-78505-6

March 2015

Contemporary Romance

This latest military romance from the very talented Lindsay McKenna takes readers back to the rocky Afghanistan mountains.  Khat Shinwari is a Marine Corps Sergeant who lives in the shadows of the caves, undercover, sending intelligence back to her base.  The descendent of Afghans who grew up in California, she is relatively undetected until she confronts a small team of US Navy SEALS who are ambushed by the Taliban.  She ends up saving one of them, Michael Tarik.

Michael, although wounded, is startled when he wakes up to the beautiful view of Khat as she tends to him in the personal space she occupies in a cave.  As he waits to recover and become strong enough to leave, he becomes more aware of her as a soldier who has endured capture and torture, a survivor who is passionate about stopping the Taliban and in particular, the heinous Sangar Khogani, chief of the Hill Tribe.  Khat’s relationship with her horses is particularly endearing as they are her partners in her work in the rocky, mountainous area.

This novel is a richly drawn, emotional story of these two soldiers and their devotion to their work.  It also describes, in beautiful detail, the ways they begin to understand each other and their developing love.  I have to say that I probably enjoyed these two characters more than those from any other of the novels in this series.  They were so human, so cleverly drawn by this author, that I lost myself in their story and in the triumph of their courage.  Bravo Ms. McKenna!

Reviewed by:  Jeri Neal

Rating:  4 1/2