Embracing Life

Embrace #1

by Nicky Jayne

Moving to San Diego was supposed to be a fresh start for Melanie. 3 years of sun and sand and she would be heading to college.
No matter how far she went her nights were still tormented by his face. But her days were filled with another type of torment Josh!
The eager young lacrosse player who wanted nothing more than to claim her heart as his.
Their friendship bloomed but as quickly as it started a traumatic event ended it.
Friends have kept them apart.
Thinking it would be the best for both of them.
Sadly there are just some things in life that you can not run away from. They always find you in the end.
Will they find each other? Will Josh be able to save Melanie from her past as well as herself?

Genres: Contemporary Romance

118 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2013

About the author

Nicky Jayne was born and raised in England but now resides in Las Vegas with her Husband and two boys. When she is not writing, she has her nose firmly placed in a book.
She released her first series in September 2013. The Embrace Series, Embracing Life and Embracing Love.
You can visit her at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicky-...

Reviews

[Elaine Breson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor, poor Melanie. Thank goodness for someone who cares! Josh and Melanie need to put their stuff aside and just give in to what they both want.

Gimme more, Nicky!

[Briana · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a good book considering it was for free when I got it. I really liked the characters especially Melanie I felt so bad for her and what she experienced in her past but I'm not going to give that away you won't read it until towards the end of the book to understand why her personality is different from other people and why she's so withdrawn.Sucks that she couldn't be with Josh in the beginning of the book since Katie and Mike kept them from each other I just love Josh that he actually likes Melanie and tries so hard for her to like him for 3 years even though he doesn't know anything about her past and why she pushes him away that's all I'm saying for now hate that the book ended quick but looking forward to the 2nd book for more Melanie and Josh.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an emotional ride. I don't want to give any spoilers so I'm not going to do a "review" of it. The characters are well written and you are able to get to know them. I found myself being connected with Melanie in many ways. My heart ached with her.
I'm looking forward to the next book. I hate cliff hangers, but I want to know the rest of Melanie & Josh's story.
This will be recommended to my reading friends :-)

[Isabella Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excuse me, Nicky Jayne, I need the rest of this story yesterday! Wow I need to know what happens next. Please I am dying for Embracing Love.

[Sleepless in Chicago · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a glutton for punishment. Nothing is worse than reading a book that you're totally enthralled with, only to have the ending smack you in the face with a cliffhanger!

***Shakes fist at Nicky Jayne.***

Anyhoo, I actually love cliffhangers. I know, I'm a sick person. As long as the cliffhanger isn't forced or contrived, then I'm all about them. A good storyteller will always keep the readers wanting more. And I definitely want more!

This is a shorter novel, but it packs a big punch. The good thing about it being a shorter novel is that the story moves quickly and isn't filled with useless fluff just to add to the word count.

Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Girl has a scary past and it affects how their relationship progresses.

I felt for both of them. I felt for Josh because he was drawn to Melanie and just wanted to get to know her. Their mutual friends want to protect Melanie, so they decide to get in the way of Josh and Melanie getting to know each other. Nothing is worse than having your own friends get in the way of something you want.

This story is told multiple POVs. Mostly in Melanie's, but you get inside Josh and Katie's head as well. And you all should know, how much I love multiple POVs!

Warning to my friends who hate the darker stories I like to read. This one is not as dark as what I normally like to read, but it isn't all sunshine and rainbows either. Melanie's past is no walk in the park and I was a little freaked out at the end.

I couldn't put this book down. The story moved quickly and you root for everyone involved...well almost everyone. This is a shorter book, so you aren't committing to a long term relationship. This can easily be read in one sitting, but be warned...you will find yourself cursing the author and demanding that she release the next book! (Actually the next book Embracing Love has been released! I need to get my hands on it!)

[Laura Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Melanie has just moved to San Diego from Kentucky. She has been given the chance to start over. After a terrible up bringing with her mom and the men that were paraded through their home. Melanie is broken, so much so, that she rarely lets anyone into her life, for fear that she will be crushed again. Given the chance to start over, in a new state, a new school, she moves in with her father.

When Josh gets one look at Melanie, he knows he is done for. He feels this pull, this need to protect her. But his two best friends, Katie and Mike, step in and push him away from her. He has a habit of lovin and leavin girls and the last thing that Mike and Katie want for Melanie is for Josh to hurt her. They become her protectors, more so than normal friends in my opinion. Slowly Melanie tells her new friends about the abuse that she has suffered and they now make it even harder for Josh to come near her. This sort of pissed me off. How can two people who are supposed to be your best friends, treat you like such a piece of shit?

When Melanie's past is thrown right back into her face, she doesn't know where to turn. Scared and alone she decides that leaving is her best option. She has now realized that being so closed off by Mike and Katie created even more of a problem than expected, even though they wanted to protect her and keep her safe. Josh must now decide, if he has what it takes to step up and claim her heart and protect her from the real demons in her life. Are they both strong enough to overcome all the hurt, anger, sadness and above all the innocence. Can they make a life with one another, can they move forward?

Pick up a copy today. You will not be disappointed. Very quick read.

[Donna ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 STARS
This was a quick read and an engaging one at that. I could tell by the distance of the character that she had a troubled past but the journey with Melanie was one worth taking.

Melanie is the “new girl” at school and is taken under the wing of Katie and Mike. They can see that she is “unsettled and scared” but they don’t push. Baby steps. Josh sees through Melanie. He “affects” her in a way she didn’t think possible but keeps him at a distance to protect herself.

There were sometimes in the story that I thought Mike and Katie were a little too controlling of Melanie and her interactions with others. I felt like she was finally finding a little bit of strength within herself and should have been able to interact with others aside from Mike and Katie. Josh had tried to be nothing but nice to Melanie and was kept at bay by their controlling ways.

As the story progresses, we learn that the “bubble” that Katie and Mike have kept Mel in may have done more bad than good. Josh has admired Melanie from a distance only finally giving in to his feelings. With only a short time to go before she leaves to start her life elsewhere, Melanie’s past comes slamming into her present leaving her scared and alone.

Will the one person she has kept at bay be her salvation? Or will it be too late?

I will definitely be picking up Embracing Love to see where Melanie’s story leads. This may have been my first read by Nicky Jayne but it will definitely not be my last.

[Rumpled Sheets Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie Clark is starting a new life in San Diego. She is trying to leave her hard, terrible past behind her.

New friends. New school. New life. Sounds easy but it is not always like this.

For 3 years she had nightmares. She still has them. Now they are just not as terrible as they were. They are just a sweet torment because they are filled with him. Josh.

Josh Danes is lacrosse player who since the moment he saw her, he couldn´t tear his eyes from her. He was captivated by her. She intrigued him.

Their friends kept them apart because they feared for her. They saw the effect he had on her.

When her past hits her in the face, will Josh be able to save her?

I need the next book as soon as possible.

A quick read. Not an easy one because some scenes will just won´t allow you to swallow or breath because they are hard.



≧◔◡◔≦ 4.5 ✰ read ≧◉◡◉≦

>>>ARC received in exchange for an honest review<<<

[Sami love's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie is forced to move in with her father when her mother fails to protect her. She tries to look at it as an escape, but tragedy has already shaped her.
When she starts her new school- she is scared, shy, and withdrawn. She finally lets new friends Katie and Mike get close to her, and she shares some of her past with them. They resolve to protect her at all costs, swearing all boys away from her and sheltering her from anything that may upset her.

Another classmate, Josh, has been watching her from the sidelines since she first arrived. He'd do anything to be close to her - but it seems impossible with the warnings from Mike and the cold shoulder he receives from Melanie herself.

Then Melanie's past comes rushing back and knocks everyone off kilter. Josh must decide if he's strong enough to deal with her past demons or follow his original plan and join the military instead.

[United Indie Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're introduced to Melanie in chapter 1 she seems like an average teen but this poor girl is haunted by nightmares caused by an extremely violent and traumatic experience. Melanie' s mother is not worthy of the title, and she goes and lives with her dad, a naval commander, until her graduation.

Then comes Josh, your typical car loving guy who's on the lacrosse team!

Katie a real little firecracker and his best friend, Mike's girlfriend. Melanie is introduced as a new student and Katie takes her under her wing and soon enough these 2 girls are joined at the hip.Mike takes on the big brother and protector role, he is also 1 of the 3 only people that know what really happened that tragic day.Josh, the possible love interest is warned off her
but the heart wants what the heart wants!

There are a few tender moments between Josh and Melanie but due to her past and whats happened her fear is that she's not good enough and that nobody will have her.

Reviewed by Heidi

[Lisa Survillas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melanie was such a mystery. As the story develops we get a bigger glimpse into why she is the way she is. Katie and Mike are the kinds of friends everyone needs. They protect her even when she doesn't realize it's happening. Mike's best friend Josh is taken with Melanie the first moment he sees her. With high school drawing to an end and their futures ahead, we learn why Melanie is who she is today. Looking forward to more in book 2

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of this book to give an honest review that I will post to Amazon as well as Goodreads. Then I will have listed on my blog.

Melanie has just moved to San Diego CA from Kentucky to live with her father that is in the Navy. On her first day of school she is brought in to class by the principle so everyone in class is trying to figure out why he was there then she walked in. She is introduced to the class and the principle ask Katie to show her around the school. Katie being who is always is walks up to her say hi and gives her a big hug and brings her back to sit by her. From the second she has walked into the class room on guy can’t seem to keep his eyes off her. His name is Josh and for some reason and he has no idea why she just has this thing about her that he wants to meet her. While she is sitting next to Katie in class she in introduced to Katie’s boyfriend Mike. They all talk but Josh is not about to get anywhere near Mel. After some time Mel become able to open up a little more to Mike and Katie and she tells time some about her life of living with her mother and why she moved to live with her father. When this happens Mike becomes the big brother Mel never had before. Always protecting Mel and making she that all the guys at the school stay away from her. Josh has tried many times to talk to her but she is just too scared from everything that has happen in her past. Josh tries one more time to talk to Mel and doesn’t go so well so Mike makes it known that ALL guys are to stay away from Mel period to include his best friend Josh.

A few weeks go by and Josh still can’t keep her off his mind. He is always watching her from afar so as to not piss off Mike. Then one day while at lunch Katie comes over to Josh to talk to him. Josh is not sure what she is up to so he keeps is cool. She asks him a few questions and he gives her the answer she is looking for. He asks where she is so he can go talk to her. Katie says the Mel is not in the lunch room but in the library. That was is Josh was up and out the door in search to find Mel so he could talk to and find out what is about her that keep pulling him to her. He walks into the library and she is not in there. So he decides to see if she has left to head off to get back with Katie and Mike. As he walks out of the library he see something that gets his blood boiling and he runs up to see who has their hands on his girl. As he gets closer he can see that she is scared but doesn’t get to close because the guy that is holding Mel really tight my her arm and he didn’t want to see her hurt. He ask them were they are going. The lady says she take her if she want and he can’t stop her. He tried to move closer to see if he can help. Then someone from about him tells the people with Mel that they can’t be on campus because they needed to go to the office first. They let of Mel and her mother and her boyfriend this time walk off. Mel drops to the ground crying and can’t stop. Mike and Katie happen to be walking out and see her crying. Katie runs to her to find out what has just happen. Josh finally gets close enough and say he want to make sure she is okay. They will not allow him to talk to her. They just keep telling to wait and he’ll be about to talk to her. They don’t allow him to talk to her ever. Josh cares so much for her that he just wants to make sure she is ok.



I am going to stop here. There is so much more to the story line that I don’t want to give away in my review. Pick up a copy of Embracing Love to find out what happens with Katie, Mike, Josh, and Melanie. Embracing Love coming in Early 2014 and I can’t wait to read it.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Josh was obsessed with the new girl Melanie. Melanie had lived through trauma she was trying to put behind her. Her friends Mike and Katie tried to keep everyone else in the school away from Melanie to protect her.

From the beginning of the book the wording and sentence structure were awkward. I never connected with any of the characters. Up until the end the action mostly happened outside the story. We were told Melanie had talked to Mike and Katie about her problems, but the reader didn't see the conversation. We were told three years had passed and Melanie had become more secure as a person, but we were not told how she managed to get there. This was the tone for the entire book.

The first half of the book was told from Josh's point of view. I am pretty sure the author was aiming for teenage romantic angst, but in the end Josh just came off as a stalker. He would follow the girl around, obsess about her eyes and his feelings towards her. After a few paragraphs the litany of her virtues became long winded and they lasted for pages.

Mike and Katie confused me. There was more than one reference that Melanie's best interests were all they were worried about. I didn't understand why they didn't tell her Josh had a crush on her. Even more important, why didn't they try to get her help. With what she had been through she really needed psychological help, but instead of encouraging her to seek help they isolated her from the rest of the world. For her own good of course.

The end frustrated me. It was vague and a cliffhanger. The book stopped mid paragraph. Honestly I looked up the page numbers to make sure I got all the pages on my e-reader. I just want to declare I was not vested enough in the characters or the story to actually seek out the next book to find out what happened.

[Heidi Sturgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're introduced to Melanie in chapter 1 , she seems like an average teen but this poor girl is haunted by nightmares caused by an extremely violent and traumatic experience. Melanie's mother is really not worth the title! Melanie goes to live with her dad, a naval commander, until the graduates.

Then comes Josh, your typical guy.....loves cars and sport.

Katie, a real cutie pie and Josh's best friend Mike's girlfriend.Melanie is introduced as a new student and Katie takes her under her wing and soon they're as thick as thieves! Mike takes on the role of the role of big brother and protector.Josh is the possible love interest but due to her past she's weary and Mike is also so protective but the heart wants what the heart wants!

Melanie and Josh eventually get together and naturally there's some caveman action between Mike and Josh but it's more Mike's protective instinct than anything else .

Then the bombshell is dropped and I can't tell you what that is at it'll be a major spoiler but I was a shattered bag of nerves! I screamed, I cried, I begged, you name the emotion I experienced it!

Looking forward to Embracing Love!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The new girl. Shy, keeps to herself, Katie and Mike take her under their wing, befriending and protecting her.

Josh is Mike and Katie's friend. Attracted to the new, shy Melanie.

She's way too shy and broken to notice Josh's attempts to befriend her, instead staying to herself, Mike and Katie.

Josh knows nothing of her past and neither does the reader as three years of school go by. Finally Melanie decides it's time to live her life only to have the past come back and smack her in the face.

In the final chapters we find out what she's suffered through and Josh saves her from her past.

Embracing Love is next, I've got to read it ASAP to find out where things go for Mel & Josh, as well as Steven.

Intriguing quick read, as with other Nicky Jayne books, there's a very emotional story being told, it endears her characters to the reader. I look forward to reading much more from the author

[Joannapillin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes nicky is my cousin so some may say im biast. But im here to give an honest review. This is her first ever book and in some parts u can tell but I for one think for a first its fab! I absolutely enjoyed it and could not put it down. I even brought a wire that I could plug into my car stereo so it would read it to me as i was driving. You have to give this girl credit, I mean how may of us could just write a book for the first time and have it published? I admit the first chapter i found a little slow but i also found that with fifty shades to! i would and have recommended this book, And i KNOW the next one is going to be even better. If u buy this book and struggle with the first chapter all i can say is keep reading it will grip u before the end of the second chapter! If you have read bared to you and You loved it then you will love this!

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story but I got really frustrated with all the secrets being kept because they weren't just withheld from the characters but also the reader so I often found myself confused with their actions. Near the end you do get a understanding of what's going on so I have a feeling that the next book will be much better.

[Antie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just got this book yesterday and I am already done! It was so good. I am starting book two (Embracing Love) today. I could not put this book down. I completely fell in love with Josh immediatly. In the beginning I did not like Melanie because she was not giving Josh the time of day. However, towards the end of the book you find out what has happened to her and then you realize how amazing she really is. This is such a great book I recommend it to everyone!

[Jenni Copeland Belanger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captivating

a story of a girl who is tormented by an act of which she had no control. and the boy who falls in love at first sight. this is book one and you will not be able to put it down. I can't wait for the rest of the books. Everything Nicky Jayne writes is amazing.

[Jenna]

DNF at 64% Since this was a DNF for me I cannot rate it.
***copy was provided via netgalley in exchange for a honest review* **

[Brianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review Coming