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Navy SEAL Cal Swenson's going home has been a long time coming. Too bad his homecoming was based on a lie. And why did Granny feign dying to get him back to New York? That's the big question. The one he has to figure out before his leave is up, if he's not too distracted by fighting with his father, trying to keep his hands and his mind off a certain personal assistant, and solving the mystery of who's attempting to destroy the family business.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2022

290 people are currently reading
162 people want to read

About the author

Cat Johnson

364 books1,766 followers
📚Find Series Reading Order and Book Lists at Cat's site CatJohnson.net

🎥 For Film/TV Inquiries Email Cat@Catjohnson.net

It all started in first grade when Cat Johnson won the essay contest at Hawthorne Elementary School and got to ride in the Chief of Police's car in the Memorial Day Parade...and the rest, as they say, is history. As an adult, Cat generally tries to stay out of police cars and is thrilled to be writing for a living. She has been published under a different name in the Young Adult genre, but released her first romance in 2006.

Today, she is a NY Times & USA Today best-selling, award-winning author of contemporary romance. A promo ho, she's sponsored real live bull riding cowboys and promoted romance using bologna.

--from the author's website

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5 stars
579 (66%)
4 stars
188 (21%)
3 stars
86 (9%)
2 stars
19 (2%)
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2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
Profile Image for Dana zamora.
863 reviews7 followers
September 17, 2022
Home

Home for Cal and Pru kinda mean the same thing, it's where you sleep, you should feel safe, loved, cared for, secure, but growing up in the Swenson house isn't that way for them, he belongs there by birth, and she by marriage, after a tragedy for Pru she really feels unwanted, the ugly duckling so to speak, Cal leaves for the navy and doesn't look back, conniving granny is going to get him home, can a teenage crush become more, will she come out of her cocoon and blossom, can Cal save his family and his love, absolutely beautiful, another great addition to this series, thank you, Dana Zamora
Profile Image for Mireille.
748 reviews6 followers
September 13, 2022
loved it

This is a wonderful addition to the the Long Road Home series. Cal is home on emergency leave because his grandmother is unwell. Pru has loved Cal for many many years and now he’s home and she’s all grown up. This book is wonderful. There’s mystery and intrigue, there’s also some family drama and romance. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Marie.
5,125 reviews52 followers
September 13, 2022
Cal is returning home...

...but is home a place or a person?
Pru hasn't had a proper home since her mum died, she has a place she lives and a family that she is on the periphery of, but nowhere that feels welcoming, comfortable, warm, safe or hers until she is in Cal's arms.
There are many reasons they shouldn't....but Cal no longer has any idea what they are. All he knows is he will tear the city apart and burn it to the ground to keep Pru safe.
Profile Image for Shelley C.
2,940 reviews62 followers
May 5, 2024
Home Fires🔥

Cal has received news that his grandmother isn’t doing well, so he takes emergency leave from Coronado to go home to see her, since he hasn’t been back in five years. He stumbles onto a few other surprises when he gets home, one of which is Pru, who is looking after his grandmother as well as a few others😳

I’m playing catch up on a lot of books lately hoping to finish before the next books in the Long Road Home series come out…but I enjoyed this story and the other characters that we meet alongside Cal and Pru❣️I’m especially intrigued to find out about Cal’s grandmother and Vincent☺️
Profile Image for Judith Smith.
113 reviews
September 13, 2022
Great Story

Loved the crazy ladies and the Mob guys. Best love story for Cal and Pru. This is a great series by these 5 ladies. Get yourself copies The Long Road Home books.
2,835 reviews20 followers
September 17, 2022
Review of Home Fire

I absolutely loved this book and I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves military romance novels.. She is an amazing writer.
497 reviews2 followers
September 20, 2022
Keeping the Home Fires Burning

Cat Johnson has written a clever, well-developed, addition to the multi-author "Long Way Home" series. Cal Swenson is heading home to New York to be with his grandmother. He's had to take leave from his position as a SEAL in Coronado, CA, for his reluctant return home. After a curious encounter with the USO volunteer, Blessing, Cal heads home. Although he comes from a rich family (who knew vending machines are so lucrative), he's left that life behind to be a SEAL. But when he returns to NY he finds his sister's best friend, Pru, living with his family. And long buried feelings start to surface. Now vague warnings about threats to both the family and their business emerge. Cal must find new approaches to track down the bad guys and how to stop them. But without Navy back-up Cal must find more creative methods. So, when kidnappings occur, Cal has to draw on the private sector. Bringing various private sectors together is exciting, quirky and unexpected. Turns out home fires can burn brightly on either coast.Wonderful romance told by a creative and talented author.
Profile Image for Vicky.
2,144 reviews30 followers
September 15, 2022
Mmm, well... I guess this was a different addition to the series. Not as immersive as the others. I didn't really like or get the characters... any of them, to be honest. I didn't really get the whole vending machines thing. I guess, in America, you can get drugs from a machine... whether or not you need them... if you have money? Then there was the whole Mob thing. How did Myra get to know Vincent? Then there was Prudence... truly didn't get why she stayed there. She was treated as the help... and she was compliant in adhering to that characterisation. She was young and healthy... she should've just left and found a life of her own. Really didn't like Cadence. Spoilt brat anyone? Cal was a caricature at very best. I am going to wander off to find the origin stories of other characters mentioned in passing... they, for all their brevity in appearing, were more appealing.
1,260 reviews6 followers
September 16, 2022
OMG. What a great story. Loved Cal and Pru.

Cal has been summoned home under false pretense thinking his grandma is dying. What he finds instead is his dad doing some underhanded business deal and it gets Pru and his grandma kidnapped from the house the middle of the night and his dad while he was getting out of his car at work. Now Cal needs to figure out who took them and how to get them back but also keep his sister safe also. Pru has been in love with Cal for years but never had a chance until now to do anything about it. Now sill it be too late or will they get rescued? Who does Cal end up turning to for help? Will they rescue Pru and grandma and his dad before anything happens? Does Cal finally admit his feelings for Pru?
Profile Image for karen.
1,627 reviews
September 25, 2024
Rich people can treat their non blood relatives horribly. Pru experienced that when at age 18 her mom and stepdad/a Swenson were killed in a car accident.
Pru was put in the attic bedroom, was not let go away to school. She was not accepted as a real part of the family by the Patriarch.
Myra, Cadence and Cal all accepted her.
Pru has had a crush on Cal forever. But he had been away as a Navy Seal for years. Something strange was going on in the family. Myra let Cal believe she was dying to get him emergency leave.
Kidnappings, the mob, old love, new love, a change of heart all occur in the intriguing story. Read on
660 reviews5 followers
September 15, 2022
Dreams do come true.

Pru's mom married into the family when Pru was 8. She had a crush on him ten uuyugcc. Pru was the same age as his little sister. Much too young. He returned for her parents funeral. Finally he was back. After talking to his Grandmother Cal thought she wax dying.

A very good well told story. Great characters that you fall In love with. We learn a little more about Blessing. She has a very small spot in the stories. But my favorite spot.





























Profile Image for Cc.
2,087 reviews1 follower
August 29, 2024
Pru and Cal

She’s the poor relation taken in when her parents died. She now works for Myrna, Cal’s grandmother. Cal is a SEAL that has emergency leave because he was told a lie that his grandmother was dying.

He’s home after five years and discovers that Pru had grown up since he saw her last. They yield to their chemistry but the next morning Pru is missing as well as Myrna. They’ve been kidnapped.

Cal and friends manage to save them and all works out for an HEA. Plot is good but the actual saving seems slap stick.
428 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2024
Reviews

Navy Seal Calvin Swenson comes home for a visit because he gets a message from his Grandmother about her bad health. He gets home and sees she isn't so bad. His grandmother loved and help raise him after his mothers died. He also sees Pru that he hasn't seen since her mother and stepfather died. Pru is helping with his grandmother schedules appointment. Pry has loved Cal for years and he thought of her as a little sister till he sees her again. His grandmother and Pry get kidnapped and he has to rescue them with some other men
32 reviews3 followers
January 3, 2025
Disappointed

I'm totally confused by this storyline. How can a rich SEAL Team guy not have friends to rely on when his family is kidnapped? Why would he have the need to rely on the mob as backup? As a SEAL Team guy, how is it possible he exhibits hesitation and uncertainty? Another question I kept asking is, how can a millionaire widowed Heiress be associated with the mob boss? Ludicrous, really!

I just read through it to continue the series but I was really disappointed. Especially when the previous book was so good.
801 reviews4 followers
September 17, 2022
excellent

A wonderful addition to the Long Road Home series with the added benefit of having Blessing’s mother to sprinkle a little extra woo woo to the story. Cal and Pru may have known each other for years but where as Pru was more than aware of Cal he was less aware of Pru. When unexpectedly reunited their mutual attraction was able to flourish. I loved the unexpected involvement of the mob , the mind boggles as to what Myra could get up to next! Really enjoyed this .
229 reviews2 followers
September 21, 2022
so So😒

Ti am reading the Home Fires story and this one just didn’t seem to fit in. The Hero is a navy seal but seems to be just your everyday military person. The Heroine is a very shy person but man she comes on very strong to the hero. This story is just all over the place. The characters don’t match one another. You got the Navy Seal the mob people and the heroine and her friend who basically seems thrown into the story.
3,542 reviews14 followers
December 11, 2023
Home Fires is a spectacular romance by Cat Johnson. Navy SEAL Calvin is in a hurry to get home to his dying grandmother. Running into Pru was a bonus. Pru and Calvin's story is packed with drama, humor, sizzle, action and suspense. I loved this book. Home Fires is part of The Long Road Home Series but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliffhanger.

I read a print copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
1,063 reviews
April 15, 2024
Good book

This was an enjoyable short read. Cal and Pru make a good couple. She seemed a bit insecure at times and definitely sheltered. But they were cute together. The plot was kind of interesting and there was a small amount of exciting action. The mystery did keep me curious as to what was going on. It also gave Cal and Pru and opportunity to hang out together and grow their romance.
Profile Image for Carol.
836 reviews1 follower
December 9, 2024
Home Fires

When Cal comes home on emergency leave for his Grandmother, he soon learns it was a ploy to get him home due to a prediction of harm coming. He isn't surprised that his Dad is as cold and rude ad always, but he is surprised that Pry isn't A little girl any longer but a beautiful young woman.
Will Cal be able to figure out the impending doom and save his family in time?
1,852 reviews9 followers
November 25, 2025
Sister's Best Friend!

Home Fires: Cal was called home what he thought was an emergency! That wasn't the case. His grandmother suspected something was wrong with the family business. He wasn't happy that there was a fib but then he decided to do his own detective work. See Pru again after all these years was a surprise. She is still beautiful but a lot older but still younger then him. It was a great story!
282 reviews1 follower
September 16, 2022
Cal & Pru

Oh my what a cast of characters! I certainly wouldn't mind hanging with Cal's family or his West (and "East coast") teams. Don't get me started on Grandma Myra, she is the firecracker of the entire lot.
Reviews claimed this was a book you couldn't put down. They were so right.
Profile Image for Belinda .
1,291 reviews8 followers
September 18, 2022
Another wonderful addition to the Long Road Home Series. Cat has given us Calvin Jr, a man still serving his country but home on emergency family leave. He comes home to more than he bargained for however and finds himself with the most unlikely "team" assisting him. If you are a fan of Cat's work you will recognize some of these surprising cameos. It is a standalone, so you don't have to have read previous books to enjoy this friends to lovers tale.
Profile Image for Dawn Cruikshank.
1,123 reviews8 followers
October 31, 2022
Home Fires

Another FANTASTIC story by Cat. This one is about Calvin and Pru. The beginning is kind of sad but it gets better as Cat brings us to Cal heading home. The excitement is pretty interesting. Pru finally gets her man but not before she has to go through heartache. The ending was a little abrupt but this story is good. Great job Cat! I would recommend this book.
Profile Image for Cindy.
50 reviews2 followers
September 18, 2022
Home Fires

What a great story. With all the horrible things that happened to Pru, she deserves to get the good guy as in Cal. I would totally recommend this book to anyone who likes romance. Thank You Cindy
Profile Image for Suzanne Clemons.
400 reviews5 followers
September 18, 2022
This one left me smiling

I love the way Cat Johnson tells a story! Cal and Pry are so good together. Just the right balance of romance and suspense. The Biggest Read Babes have a real winner with this series.
352 reviews2 followers
September 25, 2022
Enjoy the series.

This was a fun one to read. I enjoy that each book is a different author. This book moved a little slower than the others, but the characters were enjoyable. I like how I think we met Blessings mom, that was cool!
Profile Image for Celeste.
122 reviews1 follower
September 28, 2022
Home best place to be

I loved this book. I liked the story of this one and was surprised to find out a bit more about Blessing from the airport in Atlanta. This whole group of books are great. They have been so hard to put down once I started reading them
Profile Image for Eileen.
1,086 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2022
Cal and Pru

I am really loving the long road home part 2! Cal and Pru although wishy washy at times were so cute and the rest of the gang even the mob made it a fun interesting story!
119 reviews
December 21, 2022
Home Fires

This was a very interesting Navy Seal story regarding the mob. I enjoyed the romance and suspense. The Loan Road home is an addictive set of stories. I would highly recommend reading this series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews

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