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

by Melissa Foster

[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.