Embracing Her Heart (Bradens & Montgomerys (Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls), #1)

by Melissa Foster

Discover the magic of New York Times bestseller Melissa Foster's writing, and see why millions of readers have fallen in love with the fiercely loyal and sassily sexy characters in the Love in Bloom big-family romance families.

Welcome to Oak Falls, Virginia, home to horse farms, midnight rodeos, bookstores, coffee shops, and quaint restaurants where you’re greeted like family and treated like treasured guests. Buckle up for a wild ride. Like any Southern girls worth their salt, the sweet-talking, sharp-tongued Montgomery sisters can take men to their knees with one seductive glance or a single sugarcoated sentence.

A second chance at their first love…
Leaving New York City and returning to her hometown to teach a screenplay writing class seems like just the break Grace Montgomery needs. Until her sisters wake her at four thirty in the morning to watch the hottest guys in town train wild horses and she realizes that escaping her sisters’ drama-filled lives was a lot easier from hundreds of miles away. To make matters worse, she spots the one man she never wanted to see again—ruggedly handsome Reed Cross.

Reed was one of Michigan’s leading historical preservation experts, but on the heels of catching his girlfriend in bed with his business partner, his uncle suffers a heart attack. Reed cuts all ties and returns home to Oak Falls to run his uncle’s business. A chance encounter with Grace, his first love, brings back memories he’s spent years trying to escape.

Grace is bound and determined not to fall under Reed’s spell again—and Reed wants more than another taste of the woman he’s never forgotten. When a midnight party brings them together, passion ignites and old wounds are opened. Grace sets down the ground rules for the next three weeks. No touching, no kissing, and if she has it her way, no breathing, because every breath he takes steals her ability to think. But Reed has other ideas…

~
The Bradens & Montgomerys are part of Melissa's Love in Bloom big-family romance collection featuring alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They're flawed, funny, passionate, and relatable to readers who enjoy contemporary romance and women's fiction.. All Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone and may also be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive right into this fun, sexy romance.

• ISBN10: 1941480373
• ISBN13: 9781941480373
• Publish Date: 17 April 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: World Literary Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 322
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Embracing Her Heart is the first book in a brand new series by Melissa Foster. Although this is a new series, the heroine appeared in Brett (Bad Boys After Dark) Mention was also made of characters from the author’s other series. As a big fan of the second chance trope, I was glad for the opportunity to read and review this new release.

The hero and heroine have a romantic history. They were high school sweethearts, and the biggest drawback to their relationship at the time was it had to be kept a secret. This was due to them attending rivalling high schools. Circumstances led to them separating. Grace left for New York to pursue her dream of becoming a top-notch producer. Reed moved to Michigan where he became the leading historical preservationists. When his uncle had a heart attack, he left everything behind and returned home to assist in the family business. He never expected to come face to face with the only woman he ever loved.

Grace Montgomery returned to Oak Falls, but only for three weeks, to teach a screenwriting class. She never expected to bump into her first love; after all, he is supposed to be in Michigan. She is determined not to fall back in to the small town life and Reed Cross is a strong reminder of that life. Therefore, she did not intend to fall under his spell.

I enjoyed watching Reed and Grace rekindle the flames of their love. It was as if the years never separated them. During this time, they came to the realisation that although they were both successful, their lives were incomplete. The rekindling of their love affair would help to make was once incomplete, complete. The love scenes were intense and passionate but not too graphic. The flashbacks into their past helped me to see how much they loved.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book is the bond Grace shared with her family. The camaraderie between her and her siblings was delightful. They helped to remind her of the beauty of her hometown. This was reinforced when the community rallied together to help get a project off the ground. The bond of family and friendship featured strongly, which came as no surprise.

Reed is such an awesome person. The way he treated Grace both in the past and currently, showed that he was quite the gentleman. Despite this, he had issue from his past, which seem as if it would swallow him whole. I admired how he did not allow these issues to dominate his life. I believe he was a better person because of it.

I admired Grace independent streak and driving ambition. I was upset with how she treated Reed on her return to Oak Falls. However, as the plot developed my initial reaction changed, and I loved her whole persona. They were perfect for each other. They were each other voices of reason when it came to making the difficult choices.

Conclusion/Recommendation
I enjoyed meeting the Montgomery Clan and I am curious to read the stories of the other characters. Embracing Her Heart is a sweet and passionate second chance romance. If you enjoy stories set in a small featuring family dynamics and a passionate second chance romance, then this book is for you.

[thebookdisciple]

Small town, second chance romance, and sibling bonds form the basis for Embracing her Heart by Melissa Foster. Grace couldn't wait to leave her small town and that meant leaving Reed, who planned to stay. Their secret high school love ended after graduation when Grace left town. Now, Reed is back, taking over a family business, and Grace is home to do a favor for her sister. Obviously, sparks are still there; but, so are the reasons the relationship didn't work the first time.

Grace reminded me so much of all the people I know who grew up in a small town! All through high school they plan their escape from their hometown and can't wait to get away! She goes off, gets her dream job, yet she is finding the life she thought she wanted a bit...meh. Reed had a great life in Michigan...or so he thought. Now he is back home taking over his uncle's business. He always loved his hometown though, and is enjoying being back. Most of the tension comes from Grace. She is so resistant to moving back to her small, country town. Reed is determined and its hot! I loved that he didn't let the past pain make him too angry to try to win Grace back.

Overall, if you enjoy the second chance romance trope, small town romance, or big, crazy families you can't help but love, Embracing her Heart is a perfect pick! It was sweet and realistic with a hero that will have you swooning hard!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: small town, second chance


• Triggers: spoiler


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

authors like Carly Phillips, Melanie Shawn, Kristen Proby, Katy Regnery...then you will probably like Embracing Her Heart!

 

Embracing Her Heart

See full review on The Book Disciple

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free for a Blog Tour in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Thank you to Lisa for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book. We met Grace in the last book of Melissa's Bad Boys series, Brett. If you haven't read Brett it doesnt matter as each book is a standalone. 

Melissa's characters always have more than what they seem on the surface and Grace and Reed are no exception. 

Grace has a fast paced life in the city as a playwright producer. Grace has very little down time and is feeling burned out. When her sister asks her to return to their hometown of Oak Falls for 3 weeks to run a screenwriting class she thinks it might be a good opportunity to re-group. I loved Grace Montgomery as soon as I met her. She is tough, passionate and hard working. Grace is also extremely loyal. She's not the rebellious type. Except maybe when it came to Reed Cross. 

Reed Cross has recently returned to Oak Falls too. Reed and Grace had a secret relationship in the last year of high school. Grace and Reed went to rival schools  so in order to save themselves some hassle they kept it a secret from their friends and family. When Grace left for college in NYC they broke up. 

Reed Cross was brought up by his Aunt and Uncle. In his eyes they are his parents. Reed's mother died during childbirth and his father left him with his Aunt and Uncle when he couldn't cope and never looked back. Reed Cross had everything a child could need from his Aunt and Uncle but he has been scarred by his father and still harbours a lot of anger towards him.

I really enjoyed Grace and Reed's story. It was really great to see love winning out in the end. Melissa manages to make me cry so often in her books and she did it again this time. These were tears because it was so sweet and I was so happy not tears because I was sad, by the way. 

As well as meeting Grace and Reed we also met Grace's siblings and a few other people from Oak Falls. It was a great set up for the rest of the Pleasant Hill/Oak Falls series. I really can't wait to read these books Grace's siblings sound like an absolute hoot! We also caught up with Janine and Boyd (Touched by Love) as well as Sophie's family (Brett) which I enjoyed. I love that Melissa's books are all connected it makes it feel like more real and like I'm catching up on old friends and meeting new ones with every story.