Down Range

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?”). (Dec.)