*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
Can a battle-scarred warrior . . .
Stay sober. Get deployed. Lead his platoon. Those are the only things that matter to Sergeant First Class Reza Iaconelli. What he wants is for everyone to stay out of his way; what he gets is Captain Emily Lindberg telling him how to deal with his men. Fort Hood's newest shrink is smart as a whip and sexy as hell. She's also full of questions—about the army, its soldiers, and the agony etched on Reza's body and soul.
. . . open his heart to love?
Emily has devoted her life to giving soldiers the care they need—and deserve. Little does she know that means facing down the fierce wall of muscle that is Sergeant Iaconelli like it's just another day at the office. When Reza agrees to help her understand what makes a soldier tick, she's thrilled. Too bad it doesn't help her unravel the sexy warrior in front of her who stokes her desire and touches a part of her she thought long dead. He's the man who thinks combat is the only escape from the demons that haunt him. The man who needs her most of all . . .
Emily Lindberg got tired of listening to the whining of the rich and dramatic. She decided she needed a change in her life, use her degree to make a difference in the world, so she joined the army. Though that didn't turn out exactly as she expected. After working at Fort Hood for a few months, she is still trying to adjust to the life and working in the army. When another sergeant throws a tantrum in Emily's office she decides she has had enough of this.
All she wants to do is help the soldiers, while she believes all the superiors just want the broken ones thrown out. Since Emily has never been in combat, she asks sergeant Reza Iaconelli for help to teach her. That way she would have a better understanding of what they go through.
Now Reza isn't to keen on helping her out, he's got better things to do, like teach his soldiers to combat and get them ready for war. But it is hard to say no to Emily and it is what he is best at. War is pretty much all he knows. After growing up in an abusive home and losing so many friends, Reza's scars don't just show on his body. It has led to a very short temper and an alcohol problem. Being on Fort Hood is his last chance. He needs to stop drinking and get his act together. Easier said than done when you've never learned to open up and always prided yourself on being strong and never showing any weakness.
All For You is another great book in the Coming Home series. The different themes here make it a very intense read. I really loved the focus on the broken soldiers. Each and everyone of them who has returned from war is no longer the same. Many of them come back damaged, not just physically, but mostly mentally. Here we get to see how severe this just is, what impact it has, what happens to those soldiers and how they are treated by their peers, superiors and psychologists. It isn't a very pretty picture. The way Jessica Scott once again approaches such a difficult subject is superb.
In this one the romance took more of a back seat, I thought. The connection between Reza and Emily grows very naturally. First there is more that physical attraction, which they act on. When the story progresses there were situations which pushed them together and forced them to look beyond that, creating a deeper feeling. Still Reza will have to learn that it is possible for him to lean on other people when needed, he does not always need to be strong. It will definitely not be an easy road for both of them, but if this is what they want than they will make it happen.
This was definitely not a fluffy read. There is romance, but the overall tone felt heavier than that. It really gave me insight in to a side of the army that you almost never get to see as an outsider. Jessica Scott wrote a wonderful story about love, acceptance, opening up, strength, weakness and what it all really means.
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