Lovin' los libros

 

 

Having just recently read and reviewed Jessica Scott's It's Always Been You of her Coming Home series, I mentioned wanting Gale's book. And here it was! I'm so silly. I had requested Homefront a while back, but only received it recently, so it took a minute for the pieces to click. The Homefront series is a spin-off of her Coming Home series, as we meet the new First Sergeants that are filling the ranks at Fort Hood. I am such a huge sucker for second chance romances and I absolutely LOVED Jessica's Back to You, which was also a second chance romance story.

 

As I said, we briefly met Gale in It's Always Been You and he mentions returning to Fort Hood in order to be closer to his teenage daughter. We find out early on that Gale feels an immense amount of guilt for not having been there when his daughter and ex-wife needed him most and wants to make amends. He's never stopped loving Melanie, but there always seemed to be something military related getting in the way of him trying to make things right until finally he decided it might be better to let her go. Now that he's finally back, he realizes Mel needs him a lot more than he ever thought. Raising a teenage daughter is no easy task and she could use the extra help.

 

I loved Mel and Gale's relationship. It's sexy and sweet and so worth every minute of build up. She can't deny that his past actions have hurt her, but she wants to be able to trust in him not to let her down again. She wants a partner in every sense of the word and she could use someone to lean on and share the burden with. Melanie ends up being such an immovable force for Gale. He has his own demons that weigh heavily on him and the greatest of all is that he isn't worthy of her forgiveness and her trust. It broke my heart to see him like that, but he has had years of separation and miles between them to really cause him doubt. There are some very steamy, sexy scenes in this one and it was beautiful because of how much history these two have and how they are discovering who they are now, years later.

 

I really loved the side storyline with Jamie, their daughter. They have to employ a little tough love in order to keep her on the straight and narrow, and I respect them so much for doing what they felt they needed to for her. They are very loving parents who don't have all the answers and who will make mistakes, but their daughter still loves them both no matter how upset she feels with them.

 

What I love most about Scott's military romances is how real they are. She doesn't pretty them up and it isn't this whole 'man falls in love with woman and despite his demons he's cured from her touch'. These men have been to war and will carry the physical and emotional scars for all their lives. They have lost friends and suffered the pain of injury. She doesn't shy away from exposing the uglier side of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and I really applaud her for taking such a realistic approach, but still incorporating a romance.

 

"It was easy to look at him sitting across from her at her kitchen table and embrace the fantasy man in uniform that so many pined for. But the reality of loving a man in uniform was so much harder. It was long nights without phone calls; it was missed births and birthdays. It was acceptance of being alone and sharing this man with the army. And the army was a demanding mistress."

 

"I don't know. War changes people. Sometimes it's only temporary. But sometimes... sometimes..." Cox cleared his throat roughly then looked back at him. "Sometimes we become the monsters we're supposed to be fighting."

 

I am looking forward to reading the other two books in this series, as I really enjoy being in this world and seeing these brave men and women enduring all that they do in the service of their country.