The book plunges headfirst into a world of secret military projects, hidden powers, and tangled family ties. Lilly and Aurora, caught between loyalty and betrayal, navigate brutal battles, heartbreaking losses, and a storm of revelations about who they are and where they come from. The story moves with a wild energy, shifting from explosive action in New York to covert missions in Afghanistan, all the while threading in the complicated web of love, grief, and survival that binds its characters together. The book is about identity and the cost of power, wrapped inside high-octane scenes and sharp dialogue.

I found myself both entertained and unsettled. The writing has a raw pulse to it, like the author wanted every scene to bleed emotion or crackle with tension. Sometimes that worked beautifully. The fight sequences felt cinematic, and the dialogue between Lilly and Aurora was charged with anger, sorrow, and just enough dark humor to keep it human. But there were moments when the avalanche of detail threatened to bury the emotional core of the story. Even then, I couldn’t put it down, because there was always another twist, another confession, another blow waiting around the corner.

I also caught myself feeling torn about the ideas underneath the action. The story plays with big questions: what it means to be family, how much pain someone can carry, and how power both saves and destroys. The story also leans hard into chaos and violence, which keeps the energy high and the tension unrelenting, never giving the characters or the reader much chance to breathe. The author clearly loves his cast, though, and that affection comes through in the banter, the awkward humor, and the way even the most hardened fighters carry their scars like open wounds. It gave the book a surprising tenderness under all the blood and bullets.

Light Running in Afghanistan reminded me of the relentless drive you find in early James Patterson thrillers mixed with the emotional grit of something like Suzanne Collins or even Stephen King at his more chaotic. It isn’t neat or carefully buttoned up the way a Tom Clancy novel might be. Instead, it thrives on the jagged edges, the mess that makes its characters feel human. Readers who want a story that punches fast and doesn’t apologize will feel right at home here.

Pages: 364 | ASIN : B0F9TV3ZX2