Review: Because of You by Jessica Scott

Because of You
Book 1 in the Coming Home series
Author: Jessica Scott
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release date: November 14, 2011
Author's website:  Jessica Scott

Sergeant First Class Shane Garrison lives to lead his men in battle. Waking up at Fort Hood, physically and spiritually broken, he refuses to accept that for once, he is the one who needs help.

Jen St James knows exactly how to deal with Shane’s anger and his rage; she’s been there. She pushes and prods until he’s willing to fight. For the men he left behind, for a chance to stay in the army and most importantly, for her.

He refuses to see her, or to let her see herself, as a broken woman and shows her just how beautiful she is. But for Shane, the toughest battle he will face is being able to accept Jen’s love in return.

Because of You may just be the most realistic book that I have ever read. I don't have any family in the military so I've never had to experience what some of the characters have in the book. But the author Jessica Scott did a great job of making me feel as if some of the experiences could have happened to me personally. Having a love one go off to war is not an easy thing and neither is dealing with someone getting injured or passing away.  This book had me feeling so many different emotions and I knew that when I chose to read it.  I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and read something that had a harder edge to it.  Because of You had that edge to it while dealing with a realistic situation that many people are dealing with every day.

I really enjoyed the character of Shane Garrison because this is a man who would do anything for his men.  He is honorable and thinks of everyone else before himself.  Even after he is injured all he could think about was getting back and doing his job.  Recovery is hard on a person and it took a while for Shane to realize that there was nothing he could do to make it go any faster.  Jen St James came into his life at the right time and was able to help him in a way that no one else could.  Her ability to be patient and understanding added to Shane's recovery.  I thought their relationship was very realistic and I'm happy than Shane knew he had someone that cared for him when he was overseas.  It almost gave him a reason to believe and want to carry on. 

I'm giving Because Of You a rating of:

Life can be very complex and Because of You does a great job at showing that.  After reading this book I felt as if I had an insider look into military life and I am even more at awe with not only the men and women of the military, but with their families as well.  They all go through so much to protect our great country and Jessica Scott did a wonderful job at reminding us that life is precious and that these great people need our support and love.  I'm looking forward to reading more of her work because it really is eye opening and different from other books out there right now.