Homefront

I loved this story. Didn't put it down. Love in all the right places.

This was such a good second-chance romance. Gale and his wife Melanie have been divorced for 15 years. Gale has been in the military and away for most of those years but has never gotten over his ex-wife. They share a 16 year old daughter together who is going through some challenges. When Gale gets stationed close to his family, it's the perfect opportunity for him to get back what he lost all those years ago. I really enjoyed this story. There was so much going on and some really difficult situations such as mental illness and child abuse. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a second chance romance.

Jessica Scott has done it again and wrote an amazing book. This book will not disappoint at all. This book is for some one over the age of 18 in my option. 2nd chance and a chance at love are not what you always think of when you think of coming home from war and having to deal with some really tough things, at least thats what Gale Sorren believed. Melanie built a wall and she did not need anyone in her life but her daughter and even then she wonders if her daughter would be better off with out her and then she comes face to face with the past that she just was not ready to take on.
This book was AMAZING I had a hard time putting the book down. The book did have some really strong language and deals with some really tough issues. However the book was not so intense that you feel over whelmed by the thought of reading of these issues. I love how this author did an amazing job with the storyline and the chemistry through out. The will power in the book was amazing.

Sergeant First Class Gale Sorren knows the army. It’s what he’s done best since leaving high school and what he places first in his life. Even ahead of the two females that own his heart: his ex-wife, Melanie, and their daughter, Jamie. And while Gale has never stopped loving Mel, he hasn’t done much to try and show her he still cares. Why? Because they’re gone because of him. Instead of fighting to keep them, he let Mel take their daughter and walk away, telling himself it was for the best. Even after their daughter has an emergency, Gale is unable to return from overseas to be there for them.

Now Gale is back from the Middle East, on assignment at Fort Hood, and close to where his ex-wife and daughter live. Afraid and unsure of how to reach out to Mel and Jamie, Gale hides away with work. Until their paths inevitably cross.

But despite herself, she noticed everything about him. His dark brown eyes were hard and filled with shadows now. Colder than she remembered. A smarter woman might have been intimidated by him. A younger woman might have already been wringing out her panties. But she remembered him for the boy he’d been. The boy she’d loved.

The boy she’d left.

He was not that boy anymore. And she was no longer that scared uncertain girl trying to find her way.

After Gale sees Mel again, he realizes that he can’t let the past and fear continue to rule his actions.

He felt out of place, but what did he expect? This was Melanie’s space, Melanie’s life.

He wasn’t a part of it.

Fortunately, Gale finds his courage and doesn’t run from his family. As Gale and Melanie work together on parenting their daughter and helping her through some difficult times, they learn to trust again. More importantly, Gale and Mel recognize the strength they have when they work together. And as their relationship grows a new branch, we fall back in love along with them.

Melanie smiled softly and for the first time, a hint of the shadows in his eyes faded a little. “I’m probably not the person you need to ask. I’m not doing very good at this whole parenting thing.”

He slid his hand up to cup her cheek. “You’re doing the best you can.”

The tenderness of the gesture overwhelmed her. His hand was big and strong and gentle, so gentle. Like he was afraid she was going to shatter beneath his touch.

In truth, she might. Because in that single touch, her heart swelled, breaking free of the stone she’d deliberately built to protect herself from her feelings for this man that had never gone away, no matter how much time and distance she’d put between them.

And once they cross that barrier, the chemistry is shiver-worthy.

His breath caught in his throat as he skimmed his hands up her arms. Desire, raw and powerful, sliced through him when she shivered in response to his touch…

He ached to kiss her. Ached to turn her in his arms and press his lips to hers. To see how different she would taste now with a lifetime apart between them.

I never thought I would actively seek out romances with a military backdrop, but Jessica Scott has made me a follower.

Wow, this wasn't what I was expecting, it was better. Although I knew this was a second chance romance somehow I didn't expect such mature characters. This wasn't just a romance, but a look at military life and the family dynamics of members of the military. I loved that this book was about the impact of deployment not just on Gale or even Melanie, but also, their daughter. I also liked the writing style. It was kind of understated, which felt more powerful somehow. I will definitely read other books by this author.

“He’s always loved her… she’s never stopped loving him…”

HOMEFRONT is a beautifully written novel about love lost, and love found again. It has two of my favorite elements for a love story – second chance romance and a military hero.

First Sergeant Gale Sorren has waited half a lifetime for a chance to be near the ex-wife who left him years ago. When he finally musters the courage to see her, the life he imagined she was living was nothing close to reality. Melanie has never stopped loving Gale, but has had fifteen years to steel her heart against him. When he moves to Fort Hood, he sees it as a chance to right the wrongs with Melanie and their daughter, Jamie that she raised without him.

Joining the military was the only way that a young Gale Sorren saw to provide for his wife and daughter. Finally his constant absences resulted in his receiving divorce papers. Melanie felt that his military career was more important to him than his family. Now, fifteen years later, he wants to try to make it right with Mel, and with his daughter, who is now a troubled teenager with major issues. Mel quickly realizes that having support to deal with her daughter is not a bad thing.

This book is an exploration of so many things – family dynamics, second chance romance, secrets, betrayal…a gripping read - and sometimes heart-wrenching. Ms. Scott created well-developed characters and an emotion-packed story. The dialogue is easy to read and flows well. I love that the characters were human. They talked, felt and reacted like real people that you know.

Set aside some reading time before you pick up this book because it really is hard to put down. You will find yourself thinking about it even when you are not reading it. It kept me riveted to the pages. Sometimes, things are not what they seem – there are emotions present that surprise the reader – sometimes with a gut-punch! Jessica Scott ably draws us along to search for the answers right along with the characters. I loved this book, and definitely recommend it. I look forward to future books in this series.

*An advance reading copy was generously provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m convinced Jessica Scott can do no wrong. This book was A-MAZING. I’ve read a few of Scott’s books so I should know by now what to expect but she always has a new trick up her sleeve. She always breaks my heart even though by now I should see it coming. I can’t help but feel for these characters. I constantly have to put her stories down and just breathe! Just like the previous books, once I started reading I could not stop and I quickly grew to love this characters.

Let’s start with the hero. First Sergeant Gale Sorren was such a juxtaposition of emotions for me. I really disliked his past because he basically left his then wife, Melanie, all by herself to raise their daughter. I admired that he was dedicated to his career but I disliked how he rationalized everything in his head because of his upbringing and because he and Melanie were married too young and got pregnant to fast. His big redeeming quality was his raw honesty. I could not help but ache for him. He was very upfront with Melanie about his faults and he took full responsibility. He also was very humble and didn’t just barrage into Melanie and their daughter ,Jaime’s, life. Just like the heroes in her other books Scott does not sugarcoat the effects of war and like her other characters, Gale is dealing with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Melanie, Gale’s ex-wife, was also fantastic. She was a mom trying very hard to help her daughter Jaime not only grow as a teenager but also battle her own personal demons. Melanie has held it together for the twelve years since she had Jaime. She has the basic mother and teenage daughter struggles. I thought that their relationship was very real and authentic. When Gale is back Melanie is obviously hesitant to believe in him and let him back into their lives. Although Melanie has had her hearth broken by Gale before she has never stopped loving him and he never stopped loving her. Scott had a lot of work to do with this story, not only did she have to bring a couple back together but also make them a family.

I really loved Gale and Melanie together and Scott didn’t make it one big fairytale. They both had to do a lot of believing and soul searching. I loved how she brought them together and I thought that they both had intense chemistry. I was happy to see characters from previous books show up here because it made it feel like a huge family. I have to admit I was super happy that both Gale and Melanie finally got their HEA but I was disappointed to see the story end. I am looking forward to the upcoming books in the series and can’t wait to see what she has in store for Captain Sarah and Captain Sea!

Wow, just wow. Homefront is one of the best books I have read in 2015. Jessica Scott knows her stuff. I was hooked from the time Gale, big military man admitted to himself he was afraid to call his daughter and ex-wife. I couldn’t imagine someone like him, who had stood in the face of battle being scared of those two females. I just had to keep reading to find out, so be prepare this is not an easily put down read.

As Melanie, Gale and their daughter, Jamie, navigate through the landmines of the past, the happy ending was not a given. However, how could anyone not want these two to have a second chance? I was rooting for them all the way. At the same time I could easily identify with the feelings and hurts, especially Melanie’s that could sabotage the fragile rebuilding that was slowly happening. Then when you throw in the military dramatics going on in Gale’s unit; I felt that the odds are against them.

It is the glimpses of life on the base that makes this such a riveting read, even more so since I saw it through a male’s eyes. I think I have been as clueless as most civilians as to what exactly soldiers are going through in everyday life and then deployment. When I read Jessica Scott’s books I think of the expression, Keeping it real. Real life military personnel working through real life struggles.

This is going on my reread shelf. For now, I can hardly wait for the next two books in the series. I liked that the author told what the books in the series would be and who they would be about. I loved that the women were introduced briefly in this story.

5++ Stars

A great read. First time reader of Jessica's work the book drew me in from the beginning. Gale has a ex wife and a daughter that he hasn't seen for ages. He is back stateside but he is so scared to see them that he has just let it slide. He happens to see Melanie his ex wife out one day that doesn't go well. He decides that he needs to make it right as he was a awful husband that put the army before his family. He wants to spend time with his daughter Jamie but he doesn't know how to relate to a teenager. Melanie has never gotten over Gale but he hurt her so bad can she trust him to be there for them or will he leave again. I loved how we got to see Gale as a soldier but as a family man as well. The characters were complex but they really brought more to the story. It had a happy ending well not the way it was meant to go but he got his second chance

Great book! Gale has been absent from his daughters life because of his deployments to war. He returns to base and wants in on his daughter's life and maybe convince his ex-wife to give him a second chance. There is a lot of love, of regret, of pain, and understanding. Mel doubts if she was not strong enough to hold onto Gale, he believes he didn't fight enough for their love. It was a great read!

It's books like this that make me so happy that I sign up for blog tours and review such fantastic books. When I finished this I went to Amazon and was super happy to see this author has other books out. I'll certainly be reading some more of hers.

This was a brilliant read. I thoroughly enjoyed every word of it. I do love a good second chance story and this was a really good one. The author did a great job of portraying the characters as real and the storyline was believable.

I'm not gonna repeat the synopsis or give anything else away. I will say this is a beautifully written story that I inhaled. When I wasn't reading I was thinking about it. Yes it's that kinda read. Loved it.

I always love a good Jessica Scott book! This one doesn't disappoint. The war stories always rip my heart out. I laughed, I cried and I even wanted to choke Gale! Haha! Looking forward to the next book in the Homefront series!

**This book was provided by NetGalley for my review and enjoyment.

**Though not part of the same series, they contain many of the same characters. Check out my previously reviewed book It's Always Been you, found here :https://honeybearbooks.wordpress.com/...

You'll like this story if: You enjoy emotional reads with amazing character development, and also don't mind lots of Army jargon.

THE STORY: Sergeant First Class Gale Sorren has seen more than his fair share of combat. He's stuck half a world away when a Red Cross message notifies him that his daughter is in the hospital. Unrestrained grief rips Gale in two when he's not granted permission to travel home.
"There was something broken inside him when he couldn't even cry over his fallen soldiers anymore. Something broken that he was unable to name, that he couldn't be there when his little girl needed him."

18 months later, Gale is stationed at Fort Hood, Texas as First Sergeant. Melanie Francesco is Gale's ex wife, and the mother to their troubled teen daughter Jaime. After Gale builds up the courage to see Mel and they reunite for the first time, Mel is sent for a tailspin that leaves her wrestling with conflicted feelings for this man. Gale however, is overtaken with complete sorrow.
"He'd finally gotten his wish of being stationed near his ex wife and their daughter and he was paralyzed by fear. Fear of what it meant to live in the same town as Mel and Jaime. Fear that if he tried to be a dad after all these years that he would fail miserably. Or worse, that Jaime no longer needed him because he'd been gone too long."
The girl Gale once loved so fiercely was now hardened; the smiles and love had faded to fatigue and detachment. It was all his fault. He had lost his place in their world. Yet, he still sees a ray of hope and attempts to repair the damage and disappointment. It's a long road, as Mel and Gale begin working together over the shared interest of Jaime... and each other. Soon, the sadness and fear make way to desire and longing, and Gale finds his way home.

This truly was a beautifully written story, so full of emotion and raw, intimate feelings. It was lovely to watch a torn apart family regain trust by facing their fears head on- letting go of past regrets to form something new and genuine. It was a real and honest story, without a lot of fluff. Well done, Jessica Scott.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1256721338
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A man gives his all for his career in the Army, but if he sacrificed so much along the way and his regrets lead him to hope that with this new assignment to Ft. Hood, he may see his hope fulfilled. A woman couldn’t handle the rigors of Army life with a young child and a husband gone for long periods of time. Regrets for not sticking it out? Sure. But now he there and he’s a whole new man wanting time with his daughter and maybe a chance with his ex-wife. Dare she take the opportunity or should she protect what’s left of her heart from when the Army calls him away again?

Gale Sorren’s career ended up on rocky ground when he got word that his daughter was hospitalized and he attacked the man who wouldn’t give him leave. He has a new assignment and a fresh start right where he begged to be assigned for years. Now that he’s in the same town as his ex-wife and daughter, he can’t seem to get up the courage to knock on their door. How they must hate him for being AWOL for years? There is the valid excuse that things are a mess in the battalion and they are all tasked to get it back where it needs to be. Captain Ben Teague seems a good sort and Gale doesn’t mind being his First Sergeant though there is a storm of issues always. But, he is here for a reason and that’s not to throw away this second chance with his daughter and maybe gets some closer with Melanie. He never stopped loving her after she left him.

Melanie can’t seem to find her balance after Gale walked back into her life. She’s so tired from the daily battles with their daughter and the fears that Jamie will resort to her dangerous habits again. Gale becomes a quiet, steady influence on Jamie and riles up Mel’s bitterness and anger even while she appreciates what he is doing. Her guilt over leaving him and her continued love have her raw and scared of this man who is no longer the young soldier, but someone strong and steady. Gale makes her want again even if she just knows that he’ll be off again within the year. Meanwhile, Jamie has some secrets that have repercussions for them all, but especially Gale as it forces him to confront a longtime friend who came back broken inside.

This is a poignant and passionate story of a broken family finding there way again and finding what its like to be together at last. A romance, sure, but it’s the romance of a man toward his family. I was engaged from the beginning and I read it straight through with one break. I feel the connection from the soul of the story right to my heart.

He’d given her up for the army. He’d let her go so that he could maybe grow into the kind of man who deserved her. Instead, all he’d done was grow into a warrior. A leader of men. Not a lover. Not a husband. Not a father. A ringing sense of failure hung around his shoulders, a lead weight dragging his soul down.

“What’s wrong?” she asked again.

He turned, looked down into her dark, sad eyes.

“You make me want tings I can’t have, Mel. Things I don’t deserve…because I thought…I hoped.” The words he needed wouldn’t come…

She paused. “And Gale?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t deserve happiness ever again.”

She kissed him then.

Loc 1652-1662 Gale and Mel from Homefront

This story kicks off a new series, but it is a spin-off of the Coming Home series. While a reader can easily begin with this story, my personal recommendation is to start with the Coming Home series as old familiar faces dot the perimeter of the scenes in this story. I’m just geeked that the author chose Gale Sorren from It Had to Be You for the hero in this one. I said in my review of that book that I wanted Sorren’s story and voila, the book fairies heard me and I got it.

While this book could technically be termed a military romance, the theme and setting of this series of books is that of the homefront away from the war action and it tells the stories of the homelife for these Army folk. It’s not prettified nor does it get political. Character-driven plots and the natural tension as a result of situation are what propel these along. The stories are all-encompassing with the romance as part of a whole and not an isolated piece. There is humor, passion, anger and everything in between. The humor is just the right touch whether its simple daily life humor like poor Gale having to have The Talk with his daughter or whether it is the snark that comes with people stressed to the max at work and needing an outlet.

“Apparently, her mother wants me to reinforce the fact that all boys are horny perverts and that she should wait until she meets a guy she really cares about.”

Teague stared down at the cookies in his lap. “Well, boys are typically horny perverts, so I can see how that would be some sage advice,” he said cautiously. He glanced up at Gale. “You look like you’re going to have a heart attack.”

“I might need to get my blood pressure checked,” Gale said, trying and failing to be flippant. “I’m not ready for my little girl to start exploring penises.”

Teague choked on his cookie and spewed crumbs across Gale’s desk. “Sorry, that caught me off guard,” Teague said, wiping his mouth. “I’ll clean that up.”

“Really sir?” Sorren swiped the crumbs onto the floor. “Just aim for the damn floor next time.”

“Next time warn a guy before you say something so funny,” Teague said, still laughing.

“My daughter and penises is not funny. Some boy is going to want to do to her what I did with her mother…I’m not ready for this,” he said again.

Loc 2473 Gale and Ben of Homefront

I loved the romance and it was great that the couple are middle age folk and parents of a teenager. The mature handling of their feelings, their desires, and actions was a nice extra and I liked that the author gave the parenting good page time since she included Jamie’s character. All that being said, these two have some combustible moments. Gale is sexy, smoldering and hot for Mel who can’t help admire the hard body under that uniform. They’ve been apart for so long, but the attraction and need are right there and neither stopped loving the other over the years apart. Loved the slow, but sure steps this romance took to its happy ever after.

So, the new book is a fantastic start to a new series. I appreciated the warm, real and flawed characters, the pacing of the story, the heartwarming tone and the depth of the engaging plot. Contemporary Romance fans who like slower developing yet sensual character-driven romance should give this a look.

My thanks to Rockstar PR and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up Homefront because I absolutely adore Jessica Scott’s work. Her Coming Home series is the best military romance I have ever read, because it doesn’t glorify war. Her soldiers all see what they do as necessary and important, but none of them are glory seekers. Or even glory finders. In her stories, the glory seekers are usually so busy aiming for a spotlight that they sacrifice either their honor or the soldiers under their command to get it.

The soldiers in Jessica Scott’s series get the job done, no matter what the cost to themselves, and quite often, their families.

In Homefront her hero is First Sergeant Gale Sorren, and he has finally managed to get himself stationed at Fort Hood, because his ex-wife and their daughter live in nearby Killeen, Texas. It’s not that Melanie wants Gale nearby, it’s that after ten years, Gale hasn’t gotten over Melanie, and he wants one last chance to be a father to their teenaged daughter Jamie before she is grown and gone.

He doesn’t expect Melanie to give him a second chance, or even the time of day, but he hopes he can make a real relationship with his daughter before it’s too late.

What we have in this story is two adults who have a ton of regrets. Gale and Melanie were teenage sweethearts, but when she got pregnant, they were both much too young for the responsibilities of parenthood, especially since Gale had already enlisted in the Army. They expected to help each other, but they just weren’t ready for the reality of Gale always being deployed and Melanie left alone to care for a fractious baby and angry toddler.

She decided she would be better off without Gale officially, since he was never around in the first place. Her pain, her decision, her divorce. Gale loved her too much to try to convince her to stay, because she was right. He was never there. The Army came first. And being a soldier was a job he was good at. Being a husband and father, not so much.

Fast forward ten years, and Gale is back for one last chance that at first Melanie is too heart-sore to give him. But she really does need his help with their daughter. Not because she is weak or terrible, but because Jamie is a teenager with some serious issues, and she and Melanie have reached a point where they push each other’s buttons just by breathing. They both need Gale as a buffer, a go-between, a new perspective. And Melanie needs someone to stand beside her when Jamie tears through every boundary that she sets.

Gale is not having the easiest time of it. He is First Sergeant in a command that was completely gutted and reassembled. Ben Teague, the hero of It’s Always Been You (reviewed at Reading Reality) is his reluctant commander. One of the other First Sergeants is Reza Iaconelli, the hero of All for You (also reviewed at Reading Reality). The gutting and reassembly is the result of the investigation conducted in Back to You (yes, also reviewed at Reading Reality).

While it isn’t necessary to read the Coming Home series to enjoy Homefront, knowing the back stories of some of the continuing characters adds some depth. And they are just plain awesome. So start with Because of You. And yes, I reviewed that one too.

But the story in Homefront focuses on Gale, Melanie and Jamie. Both Gale and Melanie have terrible tempers, which they seem to have passed on to Jamie in full measure. There is a lot of accumulated pain and heartbreak between them. At the same time, Melanie feels a ton of regret at having bailed on their marriage before they had a chance to grow up and work on it. She really likes (and wants) the man that Gale has turned into in the intervening years. She’s sorry she didn’t stick around to see it happen. It still takes her a while to trust that Gale is really around to help her, and that she can trust him to stick with her. At first, as she sees him with Jamie and Jamie’s willingness to listen to him, she is jealous that after all the time and effort she has put in, because she has HAD to be the disciplinary parent Gale gets to swoop in and be the fun parent.

It takes her a bit of time and soul-searching to get past that initial, human reaction. The more that Gale is around for Jamie, the more that Melanie sees that he is also there for her.

Gale wants to be there to watch his daughter grow up. The situation he walks into is both worse and better than he imagined. While he was deployed, Jamie was hospitalized when her repeated incidents of self-harm nearly resulted in her death. He couldn’t be there then, but he’s there to help now. And he feels horribly guilty for not having been able to come home without going AWOL.

He is also dealing with issues of his own. He’s lucky the anger-management classes have helped, because when his commander refused to let him come home, he beat up his superior officer and then suffered a blackout. Those blackouts make him feel like he might be a danger to himself and others. He’s not sure he deserves to be happy, or especially to have a second chance with his wife and daughter.

And in the middle of this mess Gale and Melanie discover a boy hiding in Jamie’s closet and condoms in her her purse. Gale is just barely getting the fatherhood thing back together and now he and Melanie have to start worrying that Jamie will make the same mistakes they did.

It’s almost enough to give a man a heart attack. Actually, it IS enough to give a man a heart attack.

The story in Homefront is a marvelous second-chance at love story. And it isn’t just about Gale and Melanie’s second chance at a marriage, but also their chance to repair their relationship with their daughter. It is also about Gale’s willingness to give a second chance to a young man who needs Gale to make the system work, instead of letting the Army protect a soldier who is beating his son. Gale’s unit, which used to be rife with corruption, has another chance to do the right thing.

All the characters in this story feel “real” and human. You can’t help but root for the good ones, and pray for the damaged ones. The happy ending in this one feels earned, and it’s marvelous.

I give Homefront an A.

Second chance romances are my absolute favorite type of read because there's always an immense amount of tension due to bad blood or circumstance that ripped them apart. And there is a lot of that in Homefront. A couple ripped apart by one man's choice, one woman's action, and the subsequent years that have built up between them. It all made for a tension-filled romance that I ate up.

Melanie hasn't had an easy go of it. Married and a new mom at a young age, the reality of her new situation dawned on her in stark clarity...she was alone. The man who she loves, who she cherishes, is an Army man. He's away a heck of a lot more than he is home. Mel feels abandoned, alone, scared. She decides, after a few months, to leave. Cue fifteen years later where Mel is at her breaking point with her hormonal daughter, and she's struggling to remain positive. She's worn down, too many years being a single parent. Too many years still carrying a torch for that man.

Gale...Gale is a hard one to put a finger on. He's a smart, mature man who has literally dedicated his whole life to the Army. He works hard, too hard, and has been on more deployments than both hands put together. But that's just it. He can count on more than two hands on how many times he's been away, but he can't fill both hands on how many times he's been there. He's run away from parenting, from being a husband, and put all of that effort into his career. And what for? And even though Gale is a hard man to like due to the fact that he's a pretty absent parent/spouse (he is an ex for a reason), you still like him. You still root for him. Why is that? Somehow he's both strong, but weak, and cold, yet warm. He's a blend of both hated and liked qualities. You truly feel for him, and can somehow understand how maybe his being away was a good thing after all.

The tension, both physical and emotional, between Mel and Gale is palpable. You get little flurrying butterflies when glances are held too long, when hands are touched, when bodies are held closely together. You can feel that desperation they both carry for each other while hiding it so well. And you can definitely feel the struggle of a teenage girl carrying the heavy burden of having a single parent with an absent father. I would have greatly loved more to their story to further delve emotionally into their healing process as a couple, but as it was, it was a sweet, romantic read.

the cover caught my eye and the blurb on the story. Army First Sergeant Gale Sorren has served his country well. Multiple tours of duty, deployments into warzones has rendered him a somewhat broken man, suffering from panic attacks, and most importantly, has left him alone. Finding himself married and a father at a young age, the military was the only way for him to provide for his struggling wife and daughter. He knew it was a price he'd pay, leaving Melanie behind for months, years at a time, but he had little choice. Until his absence results in him receiving divorce papers. His Mel left him, packed up Jamie, and moved back home with her parents. Gale’s ex-wife Melanie has raised their daughter, Jamie on her own, and is struggling with the headstrong teenager. When Gale walks back into her life she is more than happy to see him – not only because she needs help with Jamie, but because she’s never been able to forget him, and he makes no secret of the fact that he wants the same He finds out that his daughter is in the hospital thing is his supervisors think he dosnt need to go back and be with is daughter. He dosnt question it. He stays in Iraq. He dosnt know how to be a dad since he is gone most of the time. he is also coming home right in time for him to step in with his troubled daughter who is starting to explore boys and sex, and I loved seeing him as the protective father.
get the story to find out why the daughter was in the hospital and do they get back together again

One of the best books ever

Gale Sorren is a First Sergeant now stationed at FT. Hood. His problem is that he is now close to his ex-wife and daughter who he really has not spent any time with. His ex-Melanie was and still does think about him and worries when he gets deployed but always felt that he was never there for her for an incident with their daughter and she needed him but did not request him to come home and since they were divorced he was not allowed to leave. He is lucky that he is still in the Army after that night and now it has come time to grow up and help his wife. It still takes him weeks to show up at her place to let her know that his their; stationed at Ft. Hood and she realizes when she sees him that he has aged from the time when they first got together at 17 but now he is a man. He asked her to help him to become a parent to their daughter and he apologies for the past for all of the mistakes he made and at the same time they repair their relationship after finding out that they still love each other. While this is going on he is still trying to get use to the Captain and some of the other Sgt. He does end up running into a problem with the one Sergeant who helped save his career years ago and now he is trying to save him. I also like how they slowly work back together as a couple and how his ex takes the bedroom door off the daughter’s room because she is not going to school. Gale also catches a boy in her room and that also bring him and his ex-closer along with a health scare that he has towards the end of the book. I was waiting for Gale’s character to open up a little more about his childhood about the violence but maybe Melanie knew about it. I thought it might have answered some of the questions they were always coming back to. Overall a good book.

After reading Ms. Scott’s Back to You, I was very excited about her new release, Homefront.

This story follows a formerly married couple, Gale and Melanie Sorren, and their teenage daughter, Jamie. Gale is a career soldier, who has always put his commitment to the Army before anything else, including his family. Being a soldier is the only thing Gale feels he’s ever excelled at. As a husband and father, well, to be honest…he kinda sucked.

Now, having been stationed at Fort Hood, Gale’s living close to his ex-wife and daughter. He wants another chance to make things right. Only Melanie has been burned by him before. She’s spent fifteen years raising their troubled daughter, all on her own. Why would she want to take Gale back?

That is the million dollar question in Homefront. Mel stills carries a flame for Gale, and Gale is obviously still in love with her. Neither one has found someone else to fill that void.

Fifteen years is a long time to be apart, and not just – hey, I’m living on the other side of town, but I’m living on the other side of the world. Their daughter has more than her fair share of teenage angst, and Mel has been having to deal with that all on her lonesome for way too long.

I’m a sucker for second chance romances, and there is plenty of conflict preventing Gale and Mel from getting back together. I liked both characters. Ms. Scott did a great job bring them to life, faults and all. Her writing style is gritty and real, and doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff.

My only complaint is that I felt Mel was way to easy on Gale. I would have made him grovel a bit more, but maybe that’s just me.

If you like military romance and second chance love, pick up Homefront.

* Reviewer was given a free copy from NetGalley for a fair review

Homefront – oh where to start…(and no that’s not a bad thing)! This is the first book in Jessica Scott’s new series (also aptly named Homefront) and is a spin-off of her popular Coming Home series. I wanted to point this out up front, because a) if you haven’t read her coming home series, you need to high tail yourself to your nearest book dealer and purchase them and b) because you may encounter spoilers for couples in those books (so you have been warned!).

In Homefront, we meet FSG Gale Sorren (First Sergeant for those of you who don’t speak military) – who is returning to Ft Hood (the basis of most of Jessica’s books) as part of a Battalion reorganization/replacement that occurred in a previous book (It’s Always Been You – Ben/Olivia). I’ll admit that I fell for Gale the minute he was introduced – he reminded me a lot of several of the senior enlisted personnel I’ve worked with over the years – the ones who care more about their men/woman, than playing the political game. But you could also tell that he had demons (for lack of a better word in his background) which were soon revealed. I think one of my favorite things about Jessica’s writing is the amount of realism she brings to the stories – based on her experiences as an Army officer.

One of my other favorite things about Jessica’s writing is that her females, be they military or not, are kick-ass – one of the biggest issues I have with many romances is that the females need to guy to step in and save them, but that is not present in Jessica’s books – in fact, her heroine’s prove in every book that saying, anything you can do, I can do better – it is always a pleasure to read her books because of this and Homefront was no different. The heroine in Homefront, Melanie, is Gale’s estranged wife and I’ll admit that I ended up bawling as they reconnected through his daughter (who he has really never gotten to know all that well). So Homefront hit my happy reader button on some many things – a well-written military romance, a second chance/rekindled love romance, and where the child (or should I say young-adult) in the book was key to the storyline moving forward and not just in the story for added drama.

Homefront had Jessica’s typically witty humor that I love, and yet manages to tackle one of the issues of military life. I gave Homefront 4 stars and hope that some of you will pick it up and read it soon.

Judging a Book by it's Cover: Sedate, serene. Soldier and his girl in a sepia-tone palette. Synopsis intrigued me. I do like the military romances. Looking Deeper: Ex spouses, Gale and Melanie, come together to provided a united front against and for their troubled teen daughter, Jamie. Heartaches need to be mended, trust rebuilt, anger and sorrows managed, and second chances given before any of them have a chance to heal and become happy and healthy again.
Gale and Melanie are both strong and smart characters that are well-written and well-developed. The secondary characters are a very good blend of personalities, creating a rich and full cast. This story is much more than a Romance... in fact, that was the lesser factor, I feel. If I had to break it down, I'd say it was forty percent Military, forty percent Family Relationships/Issues, and twenty percent Romance. There were many underlying issues involving troubled teens, particularly Jamie and Alex - both with dads in the Army. (self-harm, mental and physical domestic abuse subject matter mentioned, but no graphic or detailed scenes). Heavy on the military jargon, leaving an unfamiliar reader a little lost and confused with some of the terminology and acronyms. The plot at times felt weighted and dragging, but it was smooth and fluid. Dialogue and character interactions felt real and natural. There were many layers of conflict throughout the story, all of which are resolved extremely well with little to no predictability. The conclusion is solid and strong, tying up any loose ends in a quick epilogue. Overall, it's not quite what I imagined it would be, but it is a very strong read that most fans of Military Romance (light on the romance) would enjoy.
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Rating: 3.75 [R] ~ Score: 4.2 ~ Stars: 4
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