3.5 Stars

I would say that this was one of the more angstier of McKenna's works. She continues to write what I assume to be a realistic portrayal of all things military, and she always does this well. Despite the story not being smack dab in the middle of a combat zone, she does touch on the ramifications of war on its soldiers and how they cope (or don't) with PTSD. Overall fans won't be disappointed with the palpable UST between the 2 MC's, and the frequent smex is of course, good. This was another win in my book. ( )

If I could give this book 6 stars, I most certainly would!

August 2013 edit: Even though it hasn't even been a month yet, I re-read this again this weekend. Loved it even more! The ending is what stuck out to me this time. It was so incredibly perfect. While I would gobble up a sequel if one were written, I don't think I'd be disappointed if one weren't. I'll sing it from the rooftops. This book is perfection.

The third book in [a:Kendall McKenna|5771850|Kendall McKenna|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66-2a9d702c2a0f483c9f7dd119cc28a9a7.jpg]'s The Recon Diaries series tells MC Corey Yarwood's story. (The first two books in the series concentrated on Jonah and Kellan, so this could be read as a stand alone. Jonah and Kellan make appearances, but their roles are explained well enough where I believe you can easily follow the story. This book is, in my opinion, far superior to the other two.) Corey is suffering greatly with a nasty case of PTSD and self medicating with alcohol when he meets up-and-coming actor/musician MC Sean Chandler. Sean Chandler is the kind of guy straight woman and gay men everywhere fall asleep at night dreaming about. Kind, considerate, sexy, motivated, and he is all about getting to know Corey, PTSD baggage and all.

As the story progresses, we get into a whole lot of what has caused Corey's PTSD and while that was riveting and highly enjoyable, I kept turning the page hoping they would get back to his relationship with Sean. We really didn't learn a lot about Sean so I'm going to take that as a sign that Ms. McKenna is planning on giving us a sequel at some point. *please*

As far as the love story between our two heroes goes, this one could not have been more perfect. The emotion between these two men literally took my breath away. I actually stopped and re-read their first kiss three times because it was so powerful and emotional. The conversation they had before they made love for the first time? Made. Me. Cry. I kid you not. And I'm not one of those mushy, sappy book readers! Yeah, I like my M/M romance with emotion, but I also like my military men to get down and dirty and to fuck like animals! And these two did, While making me cry. I guess only [a:Kendall McKenna|5771850|Kendall McKenna|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66-2a9d702c2a0f483c9f7dd119cc28a9a7.jpg] can make me do that, because she made me do that in [b:Strength of the Pack|17258293|Strength of the Pack (The Tameness of the Wolf, #1)|Kendall McKenna|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358531696s/17258293.jpg|23858530] too.

[b:The Final Line|17927956|The Final Line (Recon Diaries #3)|Kendall McKenna|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1368677485s/17927956.jpg|25128039] is on my fuck yeah, 5 stars list and on my favorites list. I can recommend it to everyone. I absolutely LOVED this book. Read it and enjoy. It is perfection.

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McKenna tackles so many issues that other M/M romance authors avoid that this book almost seems like a playbook for sensitive issues handled well. The effects of PTSD and the atrocities in war are woven into a framework of gays in the military, presenting a compelling and sympathetic story of a career sergeant and his affair with an actor/singer.

Marine Staff Sergeant Corey Yarwood is good at his job and has no plans to quit as an instructor at the Basic Reconnaissance Course, despite knowing the manifestations of his PTSD are hampering him. At first he self-medicates with alcohol, going to a local bar where he meets Sean Chandler, the musician there.

As they get to know one another and Sean helps Corey overcome some of his anxiety attacks and sleep issues, Corey is pulled into the middle of the case of a Marine with whom he served, who has beaten his girlfriend to death. The Marine says that he suffers from PTSD and that Corey knows the real truth behind what happened in their last deployment. But Corey doesn't know what the Marine is talking about since his memories of the time are partially gone.

When Sean and Corey's military friends urge him to get medical help with a psychologist, he grudgingly agrees. Now with medicines to help his anxiety, sleeplessness, and erectile dysfunction, Corey sees his life, especially his relationship with Sean, turning the corner for the better.

McKenna's down-to-earth approach to military life and the difference in how two traumatized soldiers deal with the aftermath of war make this a compelling story. At first telling himself he's a Marine and he should be able to get over his anxiety like a man, Corey is incredibly sympathetic. But he becomes really likeable when he realizes that his buck-up and take-it attitude isn't solving his problems and seeks help.

He still relies on the super-macho attitude of a career Marine, but he switches it to getting help and not placing the blame on PTSD. He wants to have a good relationship with Sean so much that he's willing to take a few hits to his pride and let others tell him what would be best for him to do.

Read the rest of my review at AAR: http://www.likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookReview.pl?BookReviewId=9669 ( )