Review: It's Always Been You (Coming Home #5) by Jessica Scott

She plays by the rules . . .

Captain Ben Teague is many things: a tough soldier, a loyal friend, and a bona fide smart-ass. He doesn't have much tolerance for BS, which is why he's mad as hell when a trusted colleague and mentor is brought up on charges that can't possibly be true. He's even more frustrated with by-the-book lawyer Major Olivia Hale. But there's something simmering beneath her icy reserve--and Ben just can't resist turning up the heat . . .

. . . and he's determined to break them

The only thing riskier than mixing business with pleasure is enjoying it . . . and Olivia can't resist locking horns--and lips--with Ben. He's got more compassion in his little finger than any commander she's ever met, a fact that makes him a better leader than he realizes. But when the case that brought them together awakens demons from Olivia's past, she will have to choose between following orders--or her heart . . .

Review

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

For this book I do recommend reading the previous one All For You, since the story pretty much starts right after that. The base is cleaning house and fired every commander, which has never been done before. Now new people are put in command and it is up to them to clean up house and get rid of all the bad soldiers. One of those new commanders is Ben Teague, though he actually absolutely does not want the job. His experience with those in charge have always been very rocky and he is afraid to end up like one of those idiots. Ben does not want that kind of responsibility and feels this torn loyalty between his men and the army.

Luckily he does not have to do this on his own. Major Olivia Hale is here to help him and all the other commanders. But when Olivia goes after one of Ben's best friends, tension kind of rises between them. She sees that he does not want this job and is afraid he's just another commander wanting to protect his men, instead of the real victims. Escoberra hit his daughter with the girl needing to go to the hospital, so Olivia is on a mission to get him away from his family. While Ben is convinced his friend would never hurt his daughter.

There are of course other cases, but this one is very near to her heart. In the past she wasn't able to protect someone, but know she will do whatever it takes. Even if this means going over Ben's head. Though seeing the pain in his eyes and the kind heart he has for his men, she might give him the benefit of the doubt.

Slowly Ben gets used to the role of commander. He might not like it, but he will do what must be done. Knowing he can not fix everything, he does what he can to make things better. This mostly means calling on Olivia for advice, since that is her job and well he might like her a bit. When tentatively they give in to each other, their days definitely end better. Ben knows Olivia is holding back some secrets, which he can understand. When she puts up these high walls and pushes him away, that is the straw for Ben. He has been in that same kind of situation and he won't repeat it.

The focus this time was way less on the romance and more on the legal side. Which I found unfortunate. Those legal issues sometimes got a bit too technical to follow really well as a novice and I had trouble understanding them. I could follow it largely, but then it got a bit too boring.

I did like the personal growth Ben and Olivia had to go through before they would be able to work it out. Ben is growing in his role of commander and letting go off his resentment towards the position. While Olivia had to learn that the world isn't black and white, letting go of her past will help her future.

It was once again very well written. A lot of attention to details, though in this case maybe a bit too technical. Ben and Olivia were very interesting characters. I love how real and everyday people they are, making it so much easier to connect with. The romance was a bit lacking for me, but that just made the moments between Ben and Olivia even more sweeter.

3.5 stars

Coming Home - Reading order and purchase links

      

Because Of You: Kindle

Anything For You: Kindle (FREE)

Until There Was You: Kindle

I'll Be Home For Christmas: Kindle ($0.99)

    

Back To You: My review - Kindle

All For You: My review - Kindle

It's Always Been You: Kindle

The Author

USA TODAY Bestselling author Jessica Scott is a career army officer, mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs, wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she's a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.

She's written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View Regarding War, and IAVA. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of OIF/New Dawn and is currently a company commander stationed at Fort Hood.

Most recently, she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.

Connect with Jessica Scott:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

Review: All For You (Coming Home #4) by Jessica Scott

*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 . . .

Review:
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.

Connect with Jessica Scott:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

       

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Review: Back to You (Coming Home #3) by Jessica Scott

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

He's in for the fight of his life . . .

Army captain Trent Davila loved his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children. But when he almost lost his life in combat, something inside him died. He couldn't explain the emptiness he felt or bridge the growing distance between him and his family—so he deployed again. And again. And again . . . until his marriage reached its breaking point. Now, with everything on the line, Trent has one last chance to prove to his wife that he can be the man she needs . . . if she'll have him

. . . to win back his only love.

Laura is blindsided when Trent returns home. Time and again, he chose his men over his family, and she's just beginning to put the pieces of her shattered heart back together. But when Trent faces a court martial on false charges, only Laura can save him. What begins as an act of kindness to protect his career inflames a desire she thought long buried—and a love that won't be denied. But can she trust that this time he's back to stay?

Review:
Captain Trent Davila has a beautiful family and a good career in the army. When he got wounded on a mission and died, luckily brought back to life after two minutes, something went missing inside of him. He lost a piece of himself and was convinced he didn't deserve to live when so many of his men were lost in combat. After getting fired and dragged in front of court martial for crimes he did not commit, his wife also filed for divorce. Trent has volunteered year after year for deployment, giving the military his all and now back home he doesn't know what to do. Because of this constant need to be in battle, he has taken distance from his wife and kids. Still he finally realizes how much he loves them and needs them, though making it up to them might be hardest task he ever had to face.

Laura Davilla has always been the good military wife, supporting Trent's career for years while she stayed home and raised the kids. Until the moment Trent nearly died and that distance between them started to grow. All those times he went of to war she stayed behind heart broken and hoping each time that he would come back to them. When Laura finds out that Trent volunteered for his missions and wasn't ordered to go, that became too much for her. Knowing he choose to leave his family on purpose each time is what finally does her in and so she files for divorce. Hoping she and the kids can move on with their life and no longer holding on to Trent. Still when she finds out about the court martial, Laura agrees to help Trent by pretending they are still happily married, as long as he signs the divorce papers afterwards.

I want to point out here that Trent never asked Laura for helping him, his lawyer did and Trent was absolutely against it. He did not want to ask anymore of Laura after all she has done for him so far and because of all the things he put her through. All Trent wants is his family back.

When Laura and Trent start spending time together, things of course start to heat up again between them. Slowly Laura realizes her attraction for her husband never went away, he just wasn't there in the past to act on it. They still love each other so much after all these years, that kind of love is beautiful to read about. Before Laura can really give them a chance again, Trent must learn how to deal with his anxiety and burn-out and try to let her in once in a while. So far Trent has always dealt with the war and its consequences alone, he did not want it to taint his family therein pushing them away. Now it is time to accept that if he wants his wife back, he will have to work for it.

Also I loved the parts where Trent tried to reconnect with his children. He missed so much of their lives already and he doesn't want to miss another moment. Every situation felt very real when for example his kids got him so crazy that he started to yell, which they are not familiar with. Then he is afraid he might hurt them in the future and that the kids might not forgive his behaviour. This are real fears and hang close together with his anxiety issues, but I applaud the way he gets through it.

Back To You is told from both their POV and the insight you get will meld your heart as you get to know them. Trent, a broken man, who needs to find his normal again and refuses to give up on his family. He is not perfect, but real with flaws and vulnerable emotions. Laura is the mother hen, patient with everyone and the rock that kept her family going. She was heartbroken in her love for her husband, but now she might be ready to give it one last shot.

Throughout the book you feel the love Laura and Trent have for each other pour from the pages. The years of growing distance between needed to be fixed, they needed to find a way to communicate and become a family again. I loved the journey they both went through, individual and as a couple.

The things Laura and Trent go through are realistic marital problems and you could feel that Jessica Scott gave it her all with this story. I haven't read the previous books in the Coming Home series, but after reading Back To You I definitely will. After meeting the other couples, I want to know their story. All the books can be read as a stand-alone.

Connect with Jessica Scott:

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