Review: Embrace leaves your satisfied.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 4, 2013
Embrace, the second book in the Emerge series, is a engaging coming of age story. These characters are learning who they are and what it's like to become a full-fledged adults. And they're doing a pretty good job it! I'm a little jealous of S.E. Hall's characters. They're only in their early twenties and have their act together better than I do. And I'm in my late 30s with two kids!Embrace is Evan Allen's story. He is Laney Walker's long time best friend and first love. But as we all know, first loves don't always lead to forever. After sacrificing a lot to be with Laney, Evan discovers she's moved on. Devastated, Evan is forced to move on with his life and the drastic decisions he's made to be with her. Friendless and loveless, Evan finds solace in Laney's crew. Of course guy logic dictates that you take the heartbroken man to the club and find him a random hook up. *shakes my head* That never works, guys! Evan ends up connecting with a very unlikely person, someone he is warned away from. But being the polite and good-hearted person he is, Evan gives her a chance. Let the angst begin!S.E. Hall begins this book right where we leave off in Emerge. S.E. Hall narrates the story with three characters-Evan, Laney, and Dane. S.E. weaves these tales together seamlessly. She also includes secondary plot-lines with the crew Sawyer, Bennett, Tate, and Zach (and his nutty relationships). I like that this is a story about a strong relationship between a good group of friends and hopefully future books!S.E. took her time creating complex characters in this book. They're not rife with immaturity. They're pasts have created who they are and it makes them better people. Even though they have the typical angst you'd expect with this age group, they aren't making monumental mistakes that leave you shaking your head. They're good people learning the ropes of adulthood. Evan's character impresses me the most. He has many opportunities to be a complete man whore, yet acts like a gentleman to many of his potential hook-ups. Laney and Whitley shock the heck out of me by they way they behave. It's refreshing and in my opinion, the sign of excellent NA writing. I would like to have seen a little more lead-up into Dane's situation at the end of the book. I think if there was a bit more secretive behavior before hand, it would have created much more delicious drama between Laney and Dane.S.E. Hall doesn't play when it comes to the sex scenes! She gives you both the emotion and the sexual tension between her characters. And I felt so happy for Evan when he finally does the deed. He gets his happy ending, if you know what I mean. *waggles eye brows*S.E. Hall's Embrace is another wonderful NA read. She's crafted these wonderful characters you find yourself thinking about long after you've finished the book. I look forward to the next installment in this series, which I hope is Sawyer's story. I give Embrace 4.5 out of 5 stars!Written by Dee McGee - Booze, Bookz, and Bad Boyz