Good morning all! Here are the winners of the e-book drawings from Kendall McKenna and MLR Press are:
The Final Line: Sally -n- Sean (which is perfect!) halliday.sally@yahoo.co.uk
Pick of Recon Diaries title: Ilona F. felinewyvern@googlemail.com
Thanks to all who participated! We have had wonderful comments and a great time.
Finally, our weather seems to have evened out into a semblance of spring and the day is truly glorious. The sun is shining, the day is warming up and a slight breeze is ruffling the remaining cherry blossom petals on the trees that line the streets of my neighborhood. My hostas are now at least 4 inches above the ground, my early azaleas are starting to bloom, and the trees all around are raising almost single handedly the pollen count for the entire Metropolitan area. In fact all my gardens are shaking off their winter doldrums, waking up to the warm spring sunlight and recent nourishing rains.
I love this time of year, the season of rebirth and new growth. For me, spring is something I also internalize, a time for changes inside as well as out. I look at the house and think “time to spruce up a bit, hmmmm, new paint job for the living room?” or maybe just the time to start donating or throwing away those unused or rarely used things around the shed, in the basement or in my closet, definitely my closet. Time to buck up and get rid of those size 8 jeans that have not seen the light of day since my late twenties or those gaucho pants I so dearly loved in my 30’s. And what do you know? Jumpsuits are back, but maybe not in that military green and Pointer Sisters style. I know all trends come back around in time, but really, I doubt I will ever see that size again no matter what Weight Watchers tells me! Why have I kept a bike helmet when I don’t ride a bike? And what did I think I was going to do with that broken hand turned coffee grinder? Wait until it was an antique? In that case, my basement is full of antiques to be, just waiting for their time in the sun. Kind of like me. I do admit to looking in the mirror and thinking that perhaps a swath of purple would look amazing in my hair and that maybe a visit to the new tattoo parlor that just opened up might just be the thing to add to my calendar.
Hey, its spring and the possibilities are endless, promise of new growth, any type of growth, is everywhere. Why not just go with the flow and see what’s new around you? New places to explore, new people to meet and always new authors and new books to take along with you on your journey. Here are some books you might want to consider:
This is what our week ahead in reviews looks like:
Monday, April 15: Fire for Effect by Kendall McKenna
Tuesday, April 16: The Good Fight by Andrew Grey
Wed., April 17: The Fight Within by Andrew Grey
Thursday, April 18: Highland Vampire Vengeance by J.P. Bowie
Friday< April 19: Loving Hector by John Inman
Sat, April 20: Into This River I Drown by T.J. Klune
That’s the plan at any rate. I think I have gotten over my snit fit with Into This River I Drown, at least enough to offer a reasonably objective review. We will see on that one, rarely does a book make me want to cheer and smash things as that one did. And thanks, Lynn, for the recommendation of the John Inman book, that was great. If any one out there has a book they think I have missed out on, please send me the titles, authors and publishing house. I make no promises but I am always looking for something new to read.
So, that’s it. There are gardens calling and color samples waiting to be pondered over. The terriers are gazing longingly out the windows, telling me its time to head outside. I totally agree with them. See you all later.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Marine Staff Sergeant Jonah Carver is a legend among the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and for good reason. Jonah Carver is the Marine ideals personified, his past missions now part of Corp mystique. So Jonah is the natural choice when a high security mission arrives in Diyala Firm base, Diyala Province, Iraq. A high level personage needs Bravo company for transportation and protection against the insurgents. When that person is targeted and killed, a new mission is planned to hunt down the assassins and uncover the agents behind the plot against the American military.
And that brings Jonah’s past back with the arrival of Kellan Reynolds in the task force created to investigate the assassination. Kellan Reynolds is Jonah’s former Captain in Afghanistan. They had one night of hot, unbelievable sex before Kellan left the Marines to become an advisor to the President and Jonah returned to his troop. Now the same attraction and sexual tension is back as though it never left. But the joint mission requires their full attention and the resumption of their relationship takes a back seat to the investigation.
When Kellan is kidnapped by the insurgents, their mission is thrown into disarray. Jonah and his company must risk everything to get Kellan back, not only for the mission but for their future together as well.
After reading Strength of the Pack, I had to go out and see what else Kendall McKenna had written. The book I found, Brothers In Arms, did not disappoint the high expectations left by Strength of the Pack. Shorter in length, this book contains the same memorable characters and vivid descriptions of the locales that I marveled at in the previous book. Really, this author has so many strengths I don’t know where to start.
Characterizations. Absolute perfection. McKenna creates these wonderful Marines, gritty, human, vulnerable and brave. She gives them dialog to speak so believable that I swear I could hear them in my dreams and puts them through events so authentic, so real that I expected to see them appear on the nightly news. How’s that for great writing. These men reek of sweat, and dust, and the smell of gun oil. They are tired, the heat is sweltering, and the enemy is everywhere. I truly felt as though I was in the middle of the platoon in Diyala Province.
The romance is equally suited to the men involved. Don’t expect any flowers, that ain’t happening. But the emotions, however internalized, are as real as the men involved. I really appreciated that. I loved that non verbal communication thing that happened between them. They knew each other so well that at some point, speech became unnecessary until they had the luxury of time to spend with each other, and then the sex is incendiary.
Narrative and exposition are as amazing and detailed as her characterizations. I felt as though I was embedded in the company and knew these men as intimately as their Sergeant did. It was both a pleasure and pain to meet and understand these men and women because McKenna made their situations as authentic as their real life counterparts. I will say no more.
Why not 5 stars? Primarily due to the story length. I wish it and the resolution had been longer, I certainly wanted more. If you are looking for just romance or erotica, this might not be the book for you. But if you are looking for meticulous writing, beautifully articulated characters and as real a setting as any I have read recently, then please get this book and be prepared to meet a couple you won’t soon forget. Lucky for us a sequel is on its way. I can’ t wait, Neither should you.
Cover Art by Jared Rackler. Just as superb as the story contained within. Loved it.
Kendall McKenna. Brothers in Arms. MLR Press LLC.
