Sunburst

April 11, 2022
A former Navy SEAL must rescue his brother and an aid worker from terrorist kidnappers in the uneven second installment to Warren’s Sky King Ranch series (after Sunrise). Ranger Kingston heads to Nigeria with a team of fellow former Navy SEALs to save a group of hostages, among whom are his brother Colt and Noemi Sutton, an aid worker he had met years earlier. The team rescues Colt, but Noemi refuses to leave after Blessing, a 15-year-old girl from their group, is recaptured. Determined to save everyone, Ranger stays with Noemi, dodging bullets and navigating rough terrain as they rescue Blessing and make their escape. They take refuge at a church, but the pastor there, fearing the terrorists will punish him, refuses to help the wounded Ranger until Noemi invokes the pastor’s sympathy by lying and saying Ranger is her husband. An herbalist treats Ranger and the three hide at Noemi’s uncle’s compound while Ranger recuperates, but the terrorists soon learn of their whereabouts and attack. The trio must place their trust in God if they are to survive. While Ranger makes for a charismatic hero, Warren sometimes neglects to develop the motivations of her characters, rendering their choices difficult to understand. Readers who enjoyed the first volume in the series will find this a serviceable diversion.

Starred review from May 15, 2022
For sharpshooter Ranger Kingston, duty always comes before dreams, especially when it comes to the biggest liability around, love. When a rescue mission finds him in northeast Nigeria evacuating the only person who ever made him question his philosophy, Ranger is determined to complete the job sans old regrets. Refugee worker Noemi Sutton also knows how to guard her heart, but Ranger's unexpected appearance lands them in a marriage feigned for their survival, leaving Noemi unsure of when and how the ploy will end. Could it be that their chance days of romance years ago was truly the start of something more real than either ever bargained for? In book two of her Sky King Ranch series, following Sunrise (2022), Warren again demonstrates her limitless creativity in an exhilarating story of global rescue and romance. The novel is artfully infused with Nigerian culture, to which Warren has a moving and personal connection, and reprises the whole Kingston family while teasing out more of the riveting series arc. From plunging over cliffs into crocodile-infested waters and dodging gunfire in the jungle to the palace of an oil tycoon and back again to the Alaskan homestead to which the series is anchored, Sunburst is an absolute thrill.

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