Gritty realism in Afghanistan surrounds this story of a military blogger and a far-from-home journalist who realises she's got into deeper trouble than she'd expected.

Sgt Ryan Pettit has garnered a few fans for his online military diary, and he has just endured an Afghani winter only to have spring usher along incessant rain, lightning, mud, snakes, scorpions, and enemy action. The local almond and grain harvests have failed and the people are cultivating poppies for an opium harvest. Every drop potentially buys guns and mortars for the local warlords. Then the rain pervades the roof of Ryan's mud-walled quarters and the building collapses.

Vicki Vanover, one of the fans of the anonymous milblog, attends a press conference in London and asks about improvements in the status of women in Afghanistan. Given a bland answer, she resolves to go out and do her own coverage. Other news includes that Prince Harry, son of Charles and Diana, is being deployed to Afghanistan along with his regiment, but Vicki is no celebrity-spotter. Unable to meet women in the beleaguered country, she persuades American soldier Hawk to take her along to his mountain base. A helicopter ride later, Vicki is in more Spartan accommodation than she could have believed. With not enough space, the men are shoving bunks into tiny huts and the latrines come complete with giant spiders and disposal rules. The US and British soldiers can't get enough of looking at her, so Hawk and Ryan offer her space with them to let her feel safe. However when the enemy action hots up Vicki and Ryan admit the feelings they have for each other, and Ryan struggles to focus on his duties rather than lose his life while thinking about hot action in another field entirely.

A PRINCE AMONG MEN is a great read which jolts the reader out of ordinary life and into a war-torn situation, showing that people still behave decently and care for one another at the most stressful of times. I loved the descriptions of the base and environment. I did find it very unlikely that Prince Harry would go unidentified - he travels with bodyguards in war zones. The romance between Vicki and Ryan was a good match and we can understand the motto of living for the day. This is Cat Johnson's ninth book in the Red Hot and Blue series. Read this one - learn a lot. and enjoy.