Come Back to Me

by Melissa Foster

Tess Johnson has it all: her handsome photographer husband Beau, a thriving business, and a newly discovered pregnancy. When Beau accepts an overseas photography assignment, Tess decides to wait to reveal her secret—only she’s never given the chance. Beau’s helicopter crashes in the desert.

Tess struggles with the news of Beau’s death and tries to put her life back together. Alone and dealing with a pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations. When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.

Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash. Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent. Beau bonds with the women and children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.

What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Book Club, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Drama

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 11, 2011

About the author

NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, and USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Never miss a release! Follow Melissa here on Amazon and sign up for her newsletter: https://MelissaFoster.com/Newsletter

Start FIVE of Melissa's series FREE in ebook format here: https://MelissaFoster.com/LIBFREE

FREE Love in Bloom Family Trees: https://MelissaFoster.com/RG

FREE Series Reading Order Checklist: https://MelissaFoster.com/SeriesCheck...

FREE Series Order Checklist by Publication Date (recommended): https://melissafoster.com/SeriesCheck...

Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 novels. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and women’s fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic, always family oriented, and feature fiercely loyal heroes, smart, sassy heroines, and complex relatable issues.

Melissa also writes sweet romance under the pen name, Addison Cole here: https://addisoncole.com

Melissa loves to hear from readers! Feel free to send her an email or chat with her on social media.

Melissa welcomes the opportunity to chat with book clubs and other reading groups.

"What sets Melissa Foster apart are her compelling characters who you care about... desperately...I dare you to read the first chapter and not be hooked." International bestseller, M.J. Rose

"Melissa Foster is a wonderful connector of readers and books, a friend of authors, and a tireless advocate for women. She is the real deal"--Author Jennie Shortridge

Reviews

[Jessica Biggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really disappointed to give this book 3 stars, and its really only for the last half if the book. The first 50% is an engrossing story of a young wife grieving when her husband goes missing in Iraq. Everyone in her life is telling her to move on, that he passed away, but she doesn't believe it because his body was never found. At the same time we read about her husband trying to survive a helicopter crash, while being cared for by 2 Iraqi women secretly leaving the country.
I really loved the first part of the story, there was heartache and suspense, and it was beautifully written. Too bad that it had to fall into a melodramatic soap opera after that. I have read in many reviews that the story is realistic....I felt like the author was trying too hard to make the story devastating.
All in all, it was an okay read, but unnecessarily depressing.

[Stacy Eaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no greater fear than the thought of losing a loved one, but what about the fear of starting over again when you believe that loved one might not really be dead?

In another amazing tale written by author Melissa Foster, she sucks us in and grabs us by the heartstrings as this tale of love, grief, pain, betrayal and life move from page to page. Her ability to twist all of these emotions around and compel you to feel the intensity of the what her characters are living through is an amazing feat. Not many authors can pull you in so deep and make you feel as if you are living amongst the people written in the words.

I read this book with great expectations and I was not disappointed. Unlike some authors who wish to keep the story in a constant "happily ever after" feel, Melissa Foster brings life and death to the forefront and makes you face it head on. She does not cloud the pain, but makes you embrace the sadness and the willingness to fight for life, to fight for what you want right to the front of your brain.

This novel is an intense love story that will stand the test of time. It will cause you to weep, cause you to anger, bring laughter to your heart and a smile to your eyes, and it will make you think. Think about your own life and those you love.

An incredible journey that I am glad I took. Make sure you start reading this when you have the time to devote to it, because once you start you will not want to stop.

Bring on the next one Ms. Foster... You keep it intense, real and inspiring!

[Avril de Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally don't write a detailed review, but this time I feel I need to. This book was very promising and started with a very compelling story that immediately drew me in. However, I think the author lost direction midway through and felt the need to keep creating more conflict/tragedy than was needed. The story was good from the beginning and didn't need the extra tragedies to make it an exceptional book. So much more could have been done with the story. By the end, I just wanted to stop reading. To the author's credit, I appreciate that there was not a typical happy ending with some unexpected miracle. If that had happened, the book would have been a complete disappointment. Overall, a decent and interesting read, though lacking in the end.

[Melodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not what I expected. I thought I had it all figured out.Photo journalist goes missing, resumed dead in war torn Iraq. Wife maintains he is not dead, but coming back. After all, he promised.There are the inevitable complications and new relationships. And he does come back.And that my friend is where it stops being predictable.
This was a powerful read.There were out loud gasps from me at times as I read, and tears fell freely. This hit home because I was one of the ones sitting at home waiting and praying for a loved one in that war some years ago. Even without the personal connection, this story was very easy to appreciate.I highly recommend it.

[Elise · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book should be called "Guess What? Everything you think is going to happen, is going to happen. Surprise!" Fail. I'd describe is as a soap opera written at a grade school level. It was a book to read in between books I really wanted to read, but my time would have been better spent watching reruns of Days of Our Lives. Most disappointing...I can't ever get this time back. Come Back to Me time!

[Laura Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book intrigued me. Without giving much away (all of this was in the first 20 or so pages) a woman's husband is on a photography assignment in Iraq when his helicopter goes down. The story switches from her point of view in Maryland, without communication or real information on what's become of him, to the husband, injured and in danger in Iraq without any way to contact home. This provides great tension and lots of wonderful discussion questions regarding how long should you wait to mourn? can we rely on our gut instincts? how do we interact with others mourning the same person we are (in this case, the husband's best friend and parents)? Foster peppers in some interesting characters with the protagonist's best friend and the husband's best friend.

Then the book takes a nose dive. Sorry I couldn't resist. It goes from interesting concept to Lifetime movie. Three different characters have a life changing tragedy, because they failed to answer a phone call - three. Twists and turns are great, but too many, too drastic are just unrealistic in what started out as a potentially real scenario. Everyone seems to have something major happen to them and the character development is cut off due to overdone drama. The characters who started out with distinct flaws and strengths fall into one big muddle of bad choices, lack of trust and poor judgement. No one seems to trust or rely on anyone or anything. Even a potentially interesting mechanism of coasters, somehow tied to the character's past, is then glossed over in one paragraph after hinting about their significance throughout the entire, too long, drawn out book. Not to mention the over use of the "f" word that seems thrown in random places just to say it out loud.

Unfortunately, a good premise gone bad.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Come Back to Me" was a fantastic story of love and loss, dealing with grief, and accepting the challenges life throws at you. It takes you down the path of two people very much in love dealing with opposite ends of a life-altering situation: one struggling to survive and return home, and one struggling to accept and move on after believing a great loss has occurred. There were many surprises, plenty of life lessons, and some very unexpected events. Grab your tissues, and enjoy this fabulous read.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Come Back to Me” by Melissa Foster

Melissa Foster has done it again! This is her best book yet!
This love story grabs you from the very beginning and never lets you go, even after reading the last word.
This book is a story about love, loss, and then overcoming it all in the toughest of circumstances. This is more than ‘just’ a love story, it is a story of love between two people who are truly, deeply connected by it.
This is the BEST love story I have read in years. In order to read this book, this story really tugs at your heartstrings, so you need a full box of Kleenex with the lotion in it (the soft stuff so you don’t rub your eyes and nose raw!) before even attempting to read this book! I cried so many times and at times straight through, the words were blurry and I had a hard time seeing to read! I never saw what happened coming in this story at all. No one will. Love has no boundaries. Literally.
Tess and Beau are a thirty-something married couple who are very much in love. Beau is a professional photographer who is offered a follow-up job to go back to Iraq to take photos of the Iraqi families as they are dealing with the effects of the war. This is supposed to be a short, simple assignment with no danger involved. Tess disagrees stating it is still a country at war and there is nothing safe about it. Beau tells Tess this photo shoot will make his photography career, which he has dreamt for himself. He hopes she can understand where he is coming from. He wants her support. So Tess supports him as long as he comes back to her.
Tess learns news about herself that just shocks her. She finds out she is pregnant. This was not planned. Tess decides she’ll tell Beau about their pregnancy on their next Skype conversation so she can see his reaction.
Trouble happens. Tess learns about the danger Beau became involved in. His helicopter he was on has crashed. There are no survivors. She does not believe it. He’ll come back to her. She just knows he will. Come back to me, she says. Come back to me. As for the rest of this story, you NEED to read this book!
The reason why I love to read is because of this type of talented excellence in writing that shines through such as in this book, which the author, Melissa Foster, possesses.
To be honest, I was so into this book, I was talking to and yelling at these characters! I was a mad at Beau for wanting to go to such a dangerous place just for his career, making Tess stress so much about his safety. Couldn’t he have found another story to make his career? Off he goes to his photo shoot in Iraq despite my reserve about it. I also found myself getting mad at Tess, later, for other things, as well! Then, I was mad at the author for making the story go the way it did, but it had to go that way. Sorry, Melissa! I thought for sure it would change, but it didn’t. It couldn’t. Oh! What a great story, Melissa! Even though I didn’t want to see it go the way it did, it had to play out the way you wrote it. The story would not be this masterpiece it is had it not been for the way it was written.
This is the BEST love story I have read in years! It pulls and tugs at your heart like no other book I have read. As I said in the beginning of this review, this story grabs you from the very beginning and never lets you go, even after reading the last word. I don’t think I have cried as much reading a book as I did reading this love story. NO book has made me feel this way in a very long time, not even a book by any author on the New York Times Best Seller List. I would put this book up against any book on that list, and this book would exceed it by far. This book will be the next greatest book on that list!
I did have to take several days before I could write this review because I was so involved in the characters and their story I needed time to be able to write a good, honest, non-biased review. After you read this book, you’ll understand what I mean. It affected me very much, and as I think back to it, I am still affected just as much as when I was reading it.
As you can tell by how involved I got into this book, Melissa Fosters’ style of writing brings you right into her characters lives immediately. As soon as you start reading her books, you are a part of these characters lives. As in this book, Come Back to Me, we are instantly a part of Tess’ life. We can feel what she feels, worry as she worries. We feel how she feels about her pregnancy. We relate to her career as she relates to it. We can feel all her emotions as if it were ourselves living her and Beau’s life. We can also feel how Beau feels, the little bit that we are introduced to him, in the very beginning. It takes an extremely talented author to be able to pull the reader into a characters life like this story does and makes you feel as if it were part of your own life. Melissa Foster is an author who excels at this.
Melissa Foster is the author of two other books, Award Winning Megan’s Way, which also won the Reader’s Favorite Award among many others, and it is currently being adapted into a film. She has also written Chasing Amanda. All three of her books are available for purchase at Amazon as ebooks, or as paperbacks. This book, Come Back to Me, is a book I want to get as a paperback and keep in my library to go back and read again. I’d LOVE to have it signed, hint, hint!
I received this book for “FREE” from the author, Melissa Foster, through her Book Reviewer’s Program in exchange to read and write a review about this book. It is NOT required for my review I write to be either positive or negative, but, “of my own opinion.” I was NOT provided with “ANY” monies to accept this book, “NOR” to read it, NOR were “ANY” monies given to me to write the review for this book. All that was ‘expected’ of me was to enjoy the pure pleasure of reading it. Again, the opinions expressed for and about this book are ‘of my own opinion’. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/wa... Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an ARC giveaway.
"Come Back To Me" is the third novel for award winning author Melissa Foster. The first word I thought of as I finished the novel was "haunting". Not in the paranormal way, but the way a song sticks in your head long after it's finished. This novel grabbed me and the twists and turns that follow would not leave my head!
Tess and Beau are a young married couple very much in love. Beau is a professional photographer, waiting for his big break. Tess has started a "head hunting" business hoping to find valued employees for upwardly mobile companies. Beau has come up with a "Five year plan". They will each work to promote their careers, and after five years think about having children.
Beau is offered the photo shoot of his career when asked to go to Iraq, and photograph women and children dealing with wartime conditions. They will be published in a national magazine. Tess and Beau agree this is a chance he can't give up. Tess meanwhile finds out she is pregnant just days after he goes overseas. With a lot of soul searching, she decides to hold back the news. She feels he would cancel his trip, and the spectrum of the five year plan is still there. What follows is a beautiful story of loyalty, friendship, family and undying love. I couldn't put it down!
I am not a professional blogger, nor reviewer. I have a passion for books, and reading. I loved this book! Will surely read it again. I firmly believe there are more awards coming Ms. Foster's way.

[Emerald Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want a good read that will keep you up at night? Look no further.

Come Back to Me is a tale of loyalties and love. When Tess finds out that Beau died in a helicopter accident, her world is thrown around. She doesn't want to give up on him no matter what everyone else tells her. He promised to come back, and she holds him to that promise. And, she's found out she's pregnant. She doesn't know how to deal with that. But, she didn't expect Louie to come into her life. What was she to do then?

Beau is barely alive when he's found in the desert by Suha and Samira who are trying to escape Iraq. They nurse him back to health, and although he bonds with the women and Samira's children, Tess is the only one on his mind. He would do anything to keep his promise.

What happens when they finally reunite? You'll have to see.

This book kept me up all hours of the night. I laughed. I cried. I lost sleep. It's a definite must-read.

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

داستان یک خانم آمریکایی که شوهرش رفته به عراق
بعد خانمه متوجه میشه حامله اس
بعد خبر میاد که هلیکوپتر شوهرش سقوط کرده و همه سوختن
بعد اونور توی عراق یه خانمی این شوهرش رو زخمی پیدا می کنه
خلاصه آره قابل حدسه تا قسمت قابل توجهی از داستان
ولی خب اون شکلی که فکر میکردم تموم نشد
2/5

[Tammy Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beau and Tess Johnson have a marriage filled with love and future plans. Both are at the top of their game in their respective fields and when Beau gets an opportunity to boost his career as a photographer in Iraq Tess agrees it is advantageous. It is part of their '5 Year Plan' but soon after Beau leaves for Iraq Tess discovers she is pregnant. Unsure of how she feels about the pregnancy and how Beau will react, she puts off telling him. Unfortunately Beaus helicopter crashes in a remote part of the desert and his body isn't found.
Tess is convinced Beau is alive and refuses to give up hope, even in the face of a breakdown. Beau's parents and best friend urge her to plan a memorial for closure but still she refuses and they go ahead without her.
Beau is gravely wounded but alive. Found by two women, Suha and Samira, on the run from the violence of honor killings, they keep him safe and alive.
What follows is an emotional telling of two people in love and how they are handling this traumatic event apart. I found this story to be enthralling. It was hard to see Tess falling apart while here friends and family were convinced she was going crazy from the stress of losing Beau. As the reader, I knew Beau was alive but although Tess is convinced for the first few months, she begins to doubt.

Beau becomes increasingly close to Suha and Samira and her two boys. He is empathetic to their plight and feels a fierce protection for them. Although injured badly he resolves to help them get to a safe place.

Here is the Book Summary:Tess Johnson has it all: her handsome photographer husband Beau, a thriving business, and a newly discovered pregnancy. When Beau accepts an overseas photography assignment, Tess decides to wait to reveal her secret—only she’s never given the chance. Beau’s helicopter crashes in the desert.

Tess struggles with the news of Beau’s death and tries to put her life back together. Alone and dealing with a pregnancy that only reminds her of what she has lost, Tess is adrift in a world of failed plans and fallen expectations. When a new client appears offering more than just a new project, Tess must confront the circumstances of her life head on.

Meanwhile, two Iraqi women who are fleeing honor killings find Beau barely alive in the middle of the desert, his body ravaged by the crash. Suha, a doctor, and Samira, a widow and mother of three young children, nurse him back to health in a makeshift tent. Beau bonds with the women and children, and together, with the help of an underground organization, they continue their dangerous escape.

What happens next is a test of loyalties, strength, and love.

I loved this story!

[Carrie Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Women's Literature (or what is sometimes dismissed as Chick Lit). Melissa Foster's latest novel is in the same league as books written by such authors as Nicholas Sparks, Jennifer Weiner and Kristin Hannah. Come Back To Me is about a young married couple, Tess and Beau Johnson, who are separated by a tragic accident. On a photography assignment in Iraq, Beau's helicopter crashes. Officials say that there were no survivors. Tess, back at their Maryland home, refuses to believe that Beau is dead, to the deep concern of her friends and family.

Beau was, in fact, thrown free before the helicopter hit the ground. Although injured and unconscious, he was rescued by two Iraqi women, Suha and Samira, who are hiding in a desert tent with three small children. They are on a journey to leave Iraq in order to escape the cultural practice of honor killings. Foster delicately handles this controversial topic, educating, without exploiting the plight of women in this dire situation.

The novel follows two parallel storylines: Tess, heart-broken, at home; and Beau, recovering, in a war-torn foreign land. Through Tess, we learn about Tess and Beau's closest friends who strive to comfort and support her in her time of crisis. Through Beau, we discover the details of the hard life that these Iraqi women are leaving behind, along with their hopes for a better life for themselves and the children.

Foster's novel is filled with strong women characters that in the face of great adversity, keep waking up day after day, and moving forward. Suha and Samira experience their moments of weakness and doubt, but they refuse to give up. Tess deals with all the painful stages of grief, beginning with denial, earning the reader's deepest sympathy, until she is also able to find the courage to persevere.

A box of tissue may come in handy as you are reading Come Back to Me. There are unexpected twists and turns, which still remain true to these characters, leading to the dramatic, yet satisfying, ending. Certain scenes will be burnt into your memory; you'll find yourself reflecting upon them long after the novel is finished. This is Foster's best work yet!

[Tia Bach · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I sit down to write this review, I’m still overcome with emotion. I read this book in two evenings. The last evening I was clutching my IPad, tears streaming down my face, until past midnight. I couldn’t put it down. I needed to be with Tess until the end.

There’s so much I want to tell readers, but so little I want to give away. From the first page, we are thrown into Tess Johnson’s life, a vibrant woman who has just found out she’s pregnant and soon discovers her husband is presumed dead. She fights so hard to hold onto him, refusing to believe he’s gone.

The reader knows he’s alive and trying to get back to her, but it’s her desperation and heartache driving the story. Her husband, Beau, is in a foreign land, facing challenges he can only begin to understand. The family he encounters there deserves freedom, and I felt for them and their struggles. He survived a helicopter crash, but can he survive the escape to freedom?

My heart ached through every phase of Tess’s grieving process. Two friends stuck with her through everything: Kevin, Beau’s best friend, and Alice, her co-worker and best friend. Their mutual affection brings them together, ultimately in a way they weren’t expecting. A new friend, a potential client named Louie, enters the picture and helps Tess move forward.

The ending is exhilarating and heartbreaking. We journey through Beau’s trek home and Tess coming to grips with reality to then be thrust into them find their way back together. The results are not cookie cutter or expected. No simple running into his arms. I thought that’s what I wanted, but Melissa Foster crafts such a fine story woven around people we can relate to and care about, that you trust where she takes you.

Every reader defines a good book differently. But if you rate yours based on memorable characters who pull you into the pages with them, like I do… this is the book for you.

Please note: I read this book as an ARC and will be participating in the blog tour, but in no way was a positive review guaranteed or asked for. My opinion is just that, mine.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can barely see through my tears as I write this. Melissa Foster has crafted a story of true love in the midst of tragedy, a story of overcoming pain and loss, gaining your footing and coming back.
I really enjoyed this book.

Melissa Foster, author of Three International award winning best sellers has written a poignant story that shows the strength of love and faith in overcoming tragedy.

Normally I don’t read romance novels, but I was given the book with a review request from Melissa and thought I would give it a chance. I finished the book in one sitting, finding myself drawn into the story of a person’s will to live, and be reunited with the one they love. My heart ached; I cried (like a baby) and felt the power of love.

When Tess Johnson receives unexpected news while her husband Beau is on assignment in Iraq, she is wonders how she will tell him the news. With regular contact via Skype the couple converse every few days sharing details of what is happening in their lives while apart. Tess awaits the Skype prompt letting her know Beau is one the line, but it doesn’t come.

After a learning Beau is killed in a helicopter crash Tess’s world begins to unravel. She knows in her heart Beau is still alive because before he left he promised to come back to her. Friends and family rally around her and try to convince Tess she is in denial thinking Beau is coming back. But Tess never gives up hope.

Melissa Foster founder of World Literary Café, Fostering Success and The Women’s Nest, writes her third novel ‘Come Back to Me’ from the heart. She skillfully draws the reader into a haunting story of broken hearts and the determination of love. Her characters are diverse and likeable, leaving you feeling what if it was me? What would I do?
This book is a great read. Curl up next to the fire, with a cup of tea and a box of Kleenex. I challenge you not to be affected by the story.

Disclaimer: ‘Come Back to Me’ was gifted from the author in return for an honest review.

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will get under your skin and stick with you for a long time. Believe me, it left me reeling and it was several days before I could calm down enough to write this review.

On the surface, it started the way I expected. Tess and Beau are two people who are very much in love are separated by war and ambition. Along comes the potential replacement love interests. And just when you think the story will be resolved, small and minor mistakes made by the characters careen the story on a heartbreaking roller coaster to the final touching scene.

Life is not always about getting what you want. And Ms. Foster delivers a gritty but sentimental tale about people caught in circumstances that spin out of control despite their best intentions. Great personal heroism often ends in tragedy. The most perfect love may not conquer all. But sacrifices are made and people live on to love and hope again.

This story is realistic, heart-rending, and ultimately uplifting. If you love Nicholas Sparks, you'll love Melissa Foster more. Her characters are more energetic and genuine and Ms. Foster does not pull any punches, nor shade the characters to "make them likeable". She presents them as real people reacting in real bad situations and allows the reader to draw her own conclusions. I'd love to see a movie made. It has all the ingredients. War, women refugees, heroic men, personal sacrifice, true friendship, and lost-and-found love.

[Nancy Stopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially read this book in 2012, before I even knew who Melissa Foster was as an author. It's an emotional read with twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I read it again now because as a follower of Melissa Foster, an off-handed comment led me to believe she had changed the ending from the time I read it initially.

The first half of the story is set in Maryland and Iraq as Beau goes missing on a trip as a photo-journalist and Tess tries to put the pieces of her life back together. Tess and Beau have an emotional connection that she hasn't felt severed, so for the longest time, she refused to admit he's actually dead. As the readers know, he's not. The reader goes on a suspensful emotional journey with Beau as he struggles to get back to Tess. We also mourn and grieve with Tess as she struggles with Beau's absence and her inability to accept that he's actually dead.

During the second portion of the book, we deal with the aftermath of Beau's return and a near-fatal accident. The emotional story was well-spun and kept me on the edge of my seat. The twists-and-turns were unexpected and kept me guessing until the very last page. The characters are believable and the storyline is realistic and heartwarming.

[Barbara Sissel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come Back To Me is a compelling portrayal of what happens when the human heart is subjected to loss and uncertainty. It is a story that proves that the language of the heart is spoken and understood in the same way the world over regardless of the hostility that is generated through our differences when it comes to matters of race, religion or culture. It is also a story that illustrates that hope is always possible.

I love the title of this book: Come Back To Me. It is what we ask, universally, of those we love when they leave us whether they are going to fulfill an obligation to their country or to pursue a dream. It is the truest test of love when we can open our hands to set the one we love free. The story begins with this request, but, ultimately, it becomes a story about courage and coming to terms. It is about being brave in the face of danger and keeping faith right in the teeth of every logical argument from every friend we have who says we’re foolish. It’s about being true to yourself and what you believe in no matter how often those beliefs are tested. Be prepared, though, for an ending that may not be quite what you expected.

[Rebecca Berto · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Come Back To Me' is a novel about heartbreak, promises, love, conflict, and above all, an imitation of life -- no sappy or comparative horrible ending with this novel.

Author, Melissa Foster, wins over readers with this story. It's no high romance where the biggest problems are why boys are difficult to understand. This novel deals with love, death and conflict in all forms. And Melissa wins on all fronts for me.

Melissa creates an alluring world in 'Come Back To Me'. She takes us on separate journeys with the characters and makes them blend seamlessly at the end of the novel.

I'm still dreaming about this novel. The tension builds and builds. I'd like to think I had control, but Foster executed this book for me like dangling a cheeseburger at the end of a tunnel after I'd spent a week trapped in a cave with only water to drink.

Altogether, unique characters who I connected with, an intriquite plot and a fitting ending. This novel taught me to love what I have in my life. Loved this story.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this book by Melissa for a blog tour. What a great book, we meet Tess and Beau Johnson. Beau is off to Iraq to take pictures when his plane is shot down, Tess learns of his "death" and for reasons to herself can't seem to accept that he's died. Her friends and his family try to help her but find it hard when she is so adamant that he isn't dead. Add to the equation that Tess is pregnant which messes up Beau's 5 year plan.

This book was so full of emotions anger, sadness, betrayal, confusion, I felt every emotion Melissa was trying to convey in it. I also had an appreciation for residents of Iraq mothers trying to protect their children. Was such a moving story, I was definitely surprised by it. Melissa's writing does something not everyone can do it stirs emotions in you while you are reading it. The sad parts are all the more sadder cause you feel them with her.

I can't wait to see what she writes next!

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried and I cried some more! The reader gets attached to Tess Johnson a newly pregnant, independent wife who is left to keep down the homefront while her husband, Beau, heads over to Iraq as a photographer. As the reader finds out quickly, his helicopter goes down and we know he has survived. I enjoyed that the reader was in the know because it made the journey for both more interesting; the reader was able to enjoy the story because they knew that he was alive the entire time.

As always, I can not reveal the ending because it is more than worth reading to get there, but I was completely affected by the ending - even after a few hours, I am still debating on whether I want to change it.

This is definitely a read that you are going to want to read with a few tissues at hand and may not want to be around others because sobbing may occur. I would suggest curling up with this book this winter and enjoy a tearjerker.

[Kathleen Shoop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a galley of Come Back to Me and thought it was fantastic. I loved the back and forth between Tess in Maryland and her beloved husband, Beau, struggling to survive in Iraq. Foster showcased two completely different experiences--Tess learning to live without the one she loved and Beau trying just to live. Foster's writing style allowed for that--that each person functioned with only partial information, only slightly understanding the truth. Like life so many times does, Come Back to Me takes us down paths we don't expect and often the end of a story or the conclusion of a chapter is thoroughly unexpected. For me, that's a good thing. Great writing, sparse (in a good way!), to the point--the book makes you consider what you would do if life turned itself inside out and you had no choice but to go on.

[Graham Kershaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This powerful drama captures the love between a young couple torn apart by war and tragedy.

Beau serves in Irak, whilst Jess plans for his homecoming, and she has a surprise; she’s pregnant. It all turns sour when Beau is pronounced dead in a helicopter crash enveloped in a sheet of flames. But Beau isn’t dead; Iraki women attempt to nurse and smuggle him to safety. Cut off from all communication time passes as he longs for Jess, and forms new bonds in a struggle to survive.

Meanwhile Jess clings to his memory, insisting he still lives as events unfold around her that lead to unexpected twists and turns, in both love and life.

The story mirrors the real emotions of a war torn marriage; a highly recommended read.

[Anne OK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh mercy! This one hit me hard and took its toll on my emotions. Wonderful characters, beautifully written emotional tear-jerker, with an unimaginable and most unexpected wrap-up. The entire time I was reading this book the lyrics from Andrew Lloyd Webbers's "Love Never Dies" kept playing in my mind.

"Love never dies
Love will continue
Love keeps on beating
When you're gone.

Love never dies
Once it is in you
Love may be fleeting
Love lives on
Love may be fleeting
But loves lives on."

[Sylvia Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Come back to me by Melissa Foster, is a great Book- wow, where do I begin- this book with the parallels in her great storytelling of Maryland and Iraq and the vivid life she gives to her characters- is just brilliance. From the beginning to end- you never want to put the book down, wow, I felt so many emotions. Thank you Melissa! I loved it!


Sylvia Stein

[Hilde Alter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foster has done it again. An extraordinary read, grabs the reader from the first page and keeps the reader engaged until the very end. Highly recommend this book. This author writes with passion no matter her topics, which are all different. There is no way to intuit the ending of any of Foster's books.

[Mary Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not put this book down! Just when you felt like you knew what twist or turn the book would take, something totally unexpected happened. The characters were interesting and believable. This kept me up way too late at night.

[Toni · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I got to chapter 22, the story started to get a little cheesy. The coincides are a little corny & contrived. They're rather cliché & obvious. I was a little disappointed. I thought the beginning was much better than the rest of the book. Its definitely a tear-jerker, so get the Kleenex.

[Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty lame. Sucked me in then disappointed me with stupid unbelievable twists. The author tried to use twists other authors r successful with. This author didn't no how to pull it off. Disappointing.

[Lara Cassity-Lovell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blown away again...

This is the most beautiful love story! You will laugh, and get angry, and you will cry! It teaches the lesson that love conquers all and reaches across time, space, and even barriers put in place by different cultures!! This is a definite MUST READ!!!