Down Range

September 16, 2013
McKenna’s military experience shines through in this moving tale. Jake Ramsey and Morgan Boland had a brief but intense relationship at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Morgan got pregnant and miscarried; Jake did nothing to support her. Seven years later, they met up in Afghanistan and enjoyed a steamy encounter that left Morgan pregnant again. This time she didn’t tell Jake, and, as a result, he has a one-year-old daughter he knows nothing about. When Jake, now a Navy SEAL lieutenant, and Morgan, a Marine captain, are assigned to a black op to take out a Taliban warlord, collaboration rekindles their passion, and Morgan begins to wonder whether Jake is finally mature enough to learn her secret. McKenna (High Country Rebel) skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two people’s hearts. The only drawback is a tendency to explain military terms in clumsy dialogue (“You’re on PRODEV, professional development, with your platoon now?”).

August 1, 2016

With the publication of Danger Close (originally released as Valkyrie) in 2000, McKenna is often considered the founding mother of contemporary military romance. Not that such stories didn't exist before, but her signature combination of alpha males, tough females, special forces operatives, and pulse-pounding action in current hot spots became the template for the genre. McKenna likes to put her women in extreme danger, trusting that her heroes will be strong enough to save the day and bring the most devastated victim back from the brink. The series has eight print and ebooks and two e-only titles. For those who can't get enough of this author, her "Jackson Hole" series (Night Hawk, LJ 2/15/16) focuses on a Wyoming ranch, owned and operated by an ex-SEAL and his K-9 partner, that provides jobs, homes, and happy ever afters for an increasing number of vets.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2013
In the second book in McKenna's Shadow Warriors series, following Dangerous Prey (2008), SEAL Lieutenant Jack Ramsey and Captain Morgan Boland are picked for a black ops sniper assignment that requires them to take out a drug-running murderer in Afghanistan. And they simply cannot let their tormented personal history get in the way. Ramsey doesn't think women should be in combat, and Morgan, who most emphatically believes they should be, is hiding the fact that she bore him a child and never told him. The gripping story recounts how Jack and Morgan manage to carry out their missions while reconciling their painful pasts. McKenna's great romance has everything fans of military love tales relish: tormentedprotagonists; strong women; terrific, nail-biting action; and killer sex scenes. And she adds a secret child just to keep things exciting. Readers will look forward to more from the skilled and imaginative McKenna.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)