Blog Tour: After the War by Jessica Scott

Author: Jessica Scott

Publisher: Self

Date of publication: May 5, 2015

The second book in the emotional new Homefront series from USA Today Bestselling author Jessica Scott

A terrible loss…

Captain Sarah Anders lost her husband to the Iraq war and has nearly lost the career she loves. Sent to Fort Hood, she only wants to do her job and take care of the daughter she’s raising on her own. She never counted on running straight into a memory she’d tried to forget. 

A love he never forgot...

Captain Sean Nichols never got over Sarah. He simply tried to forget her amidst the war and the chaos of combat. But when she’s assigned to investigate his unit, he comes face to face with the woman no war or any amount of time could make him forget. 

A dark secret…

As Sarah gets closer to the truth, Sean must accept that actions he took during the war may end the tentative love building between them. And even if Sarah can forgive him, Sean may never be able to forgive himself.

After the War is the second book in the Homefront series about the lives  of soldiers in war time.  I always say this when I review one of Ms. Scott's books, so I'll say it again here.  Her military experience and background really helps infuse a lot of reality into her books.  She doesn't sugar coat anything.  The reality of war, the price our soldiers and families play?  They all suck!  But, sometimes in amid all of that you can find a sense of home and love to help you through the bad times.

In this book, Sarah has been assigned to Fort Hood.  She lost her husband in the war 6 years earlier.  Now she is a single mom and soldier trying to make her way doing what she loves.  Sean is her ex-fiance who is eager to try for a second chance with the woman he never forgot. I was totally rooting for this couple the whole time.  I'm a sucker for second chance romance.  Theirs was a hard story to read.  Both have suffered immense loss because of the war.  I really felt for Sarah as she tries to find the courage to open her self up to love again, knowing that she is risking heart ache.

Apart from the romance, the book also takes a look at the role of single mother's in the military.  Sarah's boss is a female who believes that single mothers have no place in the military at all.  Sadly, I'm sure there is a lot of this attitude today.  

If you haven't tried out this book or any of the others that Ms. Scott has written, what are you waiting for?  I definitely recommend you do so.  I hope you all fall in love with them as I have!

Enjoy this excerpt from After the Warr:

They were in public; they couldn’t be seen embracing or kissing. Instead, she threaded her fingers with his and stood silently, resting her head against his shoulder.

He couldn’t say who was holding who upright at that point. And he wasn’t sure he cared.

He finally spoke, long after he was sure his voice wouldn’t break. “I guess…I thought you’d be angry. Thought you’d hate me all over again.”

She stroked her thumb over his. “I had Jack in my life for a while. And it was good. I have to be glad for the time we had. I have his daughter. And I will always have good memories of him.” She blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. Her fingers tightened in his. “And up until now, as much as I’ve never thought about having anyone else in my life—but I can’t say that anymore now. I don’t know what the right answer is. I don’t know if I’m supposed to hate you for being there, or if I’m supposed to say I’m glad you made it home. I don’t know, Sean.”

She rested her cheek against his shoulder, letting the silence hang between them, unable to fill it with anything else. Things were too twisted, too mixed up.

“There are no right answers, Sar. We can only try to do the best we can by each other.” He cupped her face, to hell with being in public. “I failed you before. I didn’t listen to what you wanted, what you needed.” He paused. “I’d like to try and be there for you now. If you can let me.”

She met his gaze. Her fingers tightened in his.

And she did not pull away.  

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24737833-after-the-war?ac=1

Buy links:

Amazon Kindle: http://amzn.to/1GV4Ino

B&N Nook: http://bit.ly/1OUui3h

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1Ib6uE2

iTunes/iBooks: http://apple.co/1EakEhw

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jessica_Scott_After_the_War?id=blnHBwAAQBAJ

About 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 also 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 has had the honor of serving as a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas twice.

She's pursuing a graduate degree in Sociology in her spare time and most recently, she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.


Website: http://www.jessicascott.net/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jessicascottauthor
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jessicascott09
Tsu: https://tsu.com/jessicascott
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5131118.Jessica_Scott