[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"work-reviews-detail-embracing-her-heart-wpbu":3,"work-reviews-list-embracing-her-heart-wpbu":110},{"id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"original_title":7,"description":8,"first_publish_year":9,"original_language":7,"primary_cover_url":10,"cover_3d_url":11,"cover_blurhash":12,"preferred_edition_id":7,"community_rating_avg":13,"community_rating_count":14,"page_count":15,"estimated_reading_minutes":16,"shelves_added_this_week":17,"enrichment_status":18,"volume_type":7,"part_label":7,"community_depth_avg":7,"community_momentum_avg":7,"community_atmosphere_avg":7,"community_craft_avg":7,"community_impact_avg":7,"community_spice_avg":7,"is_non_fiction":19,"is_romance":20,"is_indexable":20,"rating_distribution":21,"authors":22,"genres":29,"characters":42,"places":52,"subjects":53,"series":54,"editions":60,"enrichment":77,"community_distribution":7,"default_edition":92,"faqs":96,"reviews_count":14,"contributions_count":17,"quotes_count":17,"photos_count":17,"created_at":109},"01kxpzz12dn1sexkjra9zvx2as","embracing-her-heart-wpbu","Embracing Her Heart",null,"Screenwriter Grace Montgomery leaves New York City to spend a few weeks in her Virginia hometown of Oak Falls, teaching a short screenwriting class and hoping to sidestep her sharp-tongued sisters' endless drama. Her plan unravels before dawn on the very first morning, when the Montgomery sisters drag her out to watch the town's most rugged men train wild horses, and she comes face to face with the one person she hoped never to see again. Reed Cross, a ruggedly handsome builder and historical preservationist, was Grace's first love, and the years apart have done nothing to quiet what still lives between them. Thrown back together in a close-knit community where even strangers are treated like family, the two keep circling old wounds and the unfinished business neither has managed to put down. Grace built an entire life far from home to escape this exact ache, yet every day in Oak Falls pulls her closer to the man who once held her heart. As the town's easy warmth keeps steering them into the same rooms, she has to decide whether a guarded future elsewhere is worth more than a second chance with Reed.",2018,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Feditions\u002F01\u002F01kxpzz131m9j4dfjhdhwepenn.jpg?v=40d8db1db5","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fstorage\u002Fcovers\u002Fworks-3d\u002F01\u002F01kxpzz12dn1sexkjra9zvx2as.png?v=e7a63c0899","LIK-OR00o|nO~TDjt6e.s:-;niR*","4.00",1,322,366,0,"complete",false,true,[17,17,17,17,17,17,17,14,17,17],[23],{"id":24,"slug":25,"name":26,"role":27,"bio":28},"01kx262b7fyxe3z8beha1bc09z","melissa-foster-ffxg","Melissa Foster","author","A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author, Melissa Foster has written more than 100 novels and sold millions of copies worldwide. She is best known for Love in Bloom, a sprawling contemporary romance universe built from interconnected sub-series (the Snow Sisters, the Bradens, the Remingtons, the Ryders, the Seaside and Bayside Summers casts, and the biker-family Whiskeys and Wickeds among them) in which characters reappear across one another's stories. Her romances...",[30,34,38],{"id":31,"name":32,"slug":33,"is_fiction":20},33,"Contemporary Romance","contemporary-romance",{"id":35,"name":36,"slug":37,"is_fiction":20},4,"Romance","romance",{"id":39,"name":40,"slug":41,"is_fiction":20},205,"Small-Town Romance","small-town-romance",[43,48],{"id":44,"name":45,"description":46,"role":47,"is_spoiler":19},"01KXZZPD0Q9E41JYHE5EJAKCZV","Grace Montgomery","A screenwriter who returns to her hometown to teach a screenwriting class.","protagonist",{"id":49,"name":50,"description":51,"role":47,"is_spoiler":19},"01KXZZPDAB5Y0RQ94SW19HRVGW","Reed Cross","A builder and historical preservationist who was Grace's first love.",[],[],[55],{"id":56,"slug":57,"name":58,"position":59,"is_main_entry":20,"parent_id":7,"parent_slug":7,"parent_name":7},"01kxqcbes9e7hrxpp8dmzjz5qx","the-bradens-montgomerys-pleasant-hill-oak-falls-zs8p","The Bradens & Montgomerys: Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls","1.00",[61],{"id":62,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":63,"format_label":64,"page_count":15,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"narrator":7,"publish_date":65,"cover_url":10,"cover_blurhash":12,"isbn_13":66,"asin":7,"publisher":67,"language":7,"quality_score":68,"submission_status":69,"contributors":70,"readers_count":17,"is_owned":19,"buy_links":71},"01kxpzz131m9j4dfjhdhwepenn","paperback","Paperback","Apr 17, 2018","9781941480373","World Literary Press",9,"approved",[],[72],{"retailer":73,"label":74,"url":75,"format_group":76,"is_affiliate":20},"bookshop","Bookshop.org","https:\u002F\u002Fbookshop.org\u002Fa\u002F126080\u002F9781941480373","print",{"summary":7,"pace":78,"complexity":79,"complexity_score":80,"audience":81,"mood":82,"themes":86,"setting_period":7,"content_warnings":90},"moderate","light",2,"adult",[83,84,85],"romantic","emotional","spicy",[87,88,89],"second-chance","slow-burn","family-saga",[91],"sexual-content",{"id":62,"title":6,"edition_name":7,"format":63,"format_label":64,"page_count":15,"audio_duration_minutes":7,"publish_date":65,"cover_url":10,"cover_blurhash":12,"isbn_13":66,"asin":7,"publisher":67,"language":7,"narrator":7,"contributors":93,"buy_links":94,"readers_count":14,"is_owned":19},[],[95],{"retailer":73,"label":74,"url":75,"format_group":76,"is_affiliate":20},[97,101,105],{"id":98,"question":99,"answer":100,"is_spoiler":19},"01KY021H9F4HJ8D3JGVNVH6Q6K","Can I read Embracing Her Heart as a standalone, or do I need to read the series in order?","You can read Embracing Her Heart on its own. It is book 1 of The Bradens & Montgomerys: Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls, one of the interconnected sub-series in Melissa Foster's Love in Bloom collection, and every Love in Bloom book is written as a standalone with its own complete romance and a guaranteed happily ever after. Reading the series in order simply lets you follow the extended family as familiar characters reappear across the books.",{"id":102,"question":103,"answer":104,"is_spoiler":19},"01KY021HBEAP1493PC5MCXMT9V","Who are the main characters in Embracing Her Heart?","Embracing Her Heart follows Grace Montgomery and Reed Cross. Their romance is the heart of the book, set among the big, close-knit families Melissa Foster's readers return for.",{"id":106,"question":107,"answer":108,"is_spoiler":19},"01KY021HE03EHCKVG09YWHVNGS","How steamy is Embracing Her Heart?","Embracing Her Heart is an open-door contemporary romance, so it pairs its emotional story with on-page love scenes. Readers who prefer sweeter, closed-door versions can look for Melissa Foster's clean-language editions published under her pen name, Addison Cole.","2026-07-17T02:54:49.000000Z",{"data":111,"links":128,"meta":129},[112],{"id":113,"slug":114,"title":115,"user":116,"work_id":4,"is_draft":19,"verified_reader":20,"featured":19,"body":123,"overall_rating":35,"depth":7,"momentum":7,"atmosphere":7,"craft":7,"impact":7,"spice":7,"spoiler_level":124,"locale":7,"feed_item_key":125,"like_count":17,"comment_count":17,"top_likers":126,"viewer_can_reply":19,"created_at":127,"updated_at":127},"01kxpzz3fdrtz6fgnzj06a0nb3","review-of-embracing-her-heart-by-nadene","Review of \"Embracing Her Heart\" by nadene",{"id":117,"name":118,"username":119,"avatar_url":120,"is_system":19,"published_reviews_count":121,"books_read_count":122},692,"Nadene","nadene","https:\u002F\u002Flh3.googleusercontent.com\u002Fa\u002FACg8ocJagtEG0_WBr9w_-tRnbZi93QoXf9OelJQx_77YX1doLsOHefbv=s96-c",1825,1837,"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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nGrace 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.\n\nI 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.\n\nAnother 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.\n\nReed 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.\n\nI 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.\n\nConclusion\u002FRecommendation\nI 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.","none","rv-01kxpzz3fdrtz6fgnzj06a0nb3",[],"2026-07-17T02:54:52.000000Z",{"first":7,"last":7,"prev":7,"next":7},{"path":130,"per_page":131,"next_cursor":7,"prev_cursor":7,"has_more":19},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.seekquel.app\u002Fapi\u002Fworks\u002F01kxpzz12dn1sexkjra9zvx2as\u002Freviews",20]