Engaging Emma is a debut book from Author @ellemadams. A second chance romance with all the feels.

Synopsis: Tucker Madsen just recently finished medical school with a promising job in California. Add in a beautiful fiancee and life seems picture perfect.
But it seems his mom has other plans. She needs him to go back to Normal, Missouri to help sell the family farm. He left that small town life years ago along with his youth-filled first love…

Emma and Tucker fell in love when they were only teenagers. But after a misunderstanding they end up parting ways with broken hearts. Now life has seems to be giving them a second chance.
With both of them back at the Madsen family farm, feelings come rushing forward.
Do they take this second chance or do they keep going their separate ways?

This is the perfect book to read on a cold autumn weekend, or a warm summer weekend, or even a freezing winter weekend. You get the point. The author did a great job. It’s very well written and flows beautifully! I definitely recommend that this is a must read! I’m not normally a fan of second-chance romance trope but this one is top notch!

I really enjoyed reading this charming story. The characters had wonderful chemistry and wit. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This is a beautiful contemporary second chance story. Tucker moved away leaving Emma. When Tucker returns to Normal, Missouri to take care of his grandma, he is a successful doctor with a fiance who hasn't seen Emma in years. What he finds is an Emma who is taking over his family farm for the purposes of tourism. She is supported by his grandma.

Tucker and Emma have a past which is clear in their interactions as they struggle to trust each other. Their chemistry is undeniable, but there are issues that have to be resolved, including the fiance. They struggle to see eye to eye on Emma's vision and the fact that his grandmother is working to sell his family land to her and wants him to oversee the deal.

As they are forced to be in each other's company old issues and old feelings rise to the surface.

This is a fun story of second chances, small towns, and compromise. The characters in this story are familiar if you have ever been in a small town. These are relatable people and grandma has to be the best character in the whole story. This was fun and refreshing.

I received an early copy through netgalley and this is my honest review.

Engaging Emma by Elle M. Adams, 232 pages. Covenant Communications, 2022. $16.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Having gone their separate ways twelve years ago, Emma (29yo) and Tucker (30yo) are frustrated to discover they haven’t moved on as well as they thought they had. Tucker may have returned for a few weeks, but he is engaged and has a promising life in California that will take him right back while Emma fights to adapt with the times in her small hometown.
The main conflict between Emma and Tucker stems from a misunderstanding over a decade previously – cue eye roll. Both of them struggle to overcome the wounds they have been nursing and a little bit of pride. While the story comes to a cute conclusion, I felt like Emma and Tucker had little depth as characters, giving the entire book a shallow feeling.
Emma is White, and Tucker is implied White. The mature content rating is for mentions of drug and alcohol use, including underage drinking.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Engaging Emma by Elle M. Adams review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Romance

🌻Synopsis: As a successful doctor in Los Angeles, Tucker Madsen left his small-town roots behind long ago, trading his flannel shirts for a glossy lifestyle and a beautiful fiancée. But when his mother requests his help to sell the family farm, Tucker reluctantly returns to a place that holds more memories than he cares to admit. Normal, Missouri, was the site of the golden days of childhood—and the blush of first love.

Tucker fell in love with Emma McAllister at seventeen, but when youthful promises of forever ended in heartbreak, he and Emma both moved on. Or so they thought. When they are unexpectedly reunited at the Madsen family farm, both are unprepared for the rush of feelings that brings into question everything they thought they knew. They could never have imagined that now, years after they were torn apart, fate would offer them a second chance in the place where it all began. But when faced with the realities of the separate lives they’ve built, history seems doomed to repeat itself.

🌻 Who doesn't want a second shot at love?! Especially if its your childhood love. This is a sweet relationship tale, (the vanilla kind 🥰) between Tucker and Emma, with a smidge of enemies to lovers that takes place in a small town. It's like a hallmark channel movie in a book. I completely fell in love with Emma and Tuckers chemistry and at times found myself smiling at their bickering. I recommend it 100% to any romance novel loving bookworm. I'm looking foward to reading other romance stories from this author.

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#engagingemma #netgalley

This was a great story to read. I loved the storyline and the characters, definitely recommend this book!

Engaging Emma by Elle Adams is a contemporary second chance romance set in the small town Normal, Missouri.

There were several elements of this story I really enjoyed, and the first few chapters made me feel like it had a lot of potential! But as the story went on, I had a hard time connecting with the characters, and there were a lot of plot elements I didn’t care for.

I liked the small town setting and the premise of two high school sweethearts reconciling after several years. I loved Tucker’s grandma Miss Lily! She was hilarious and was probably my favorite part of the book! There were many scenes I really enjoyed such as the townspeople accosting Tucker in the street and asking for medical advice, or the crumbling mercantile falling apart and leaving Emma stranded on the loft.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the main characters and majority of the supporting characters. I struggled with the constant back and forth of Emma and Tucker liking each other and avoiding each other. It felt like they wanted the same things but were never on the same page at the same time.

I struggled with all the little challenges and smaller plot lines. I personally prefer one or two major strong plot lines rather than tons of smaller plot lines. And this books had a lot of small plot lines: Tucker and his fiancé and their life in California, Emma’s events center and the Landry wedding and all the different holiday parties, the mini love triangle with Emma Tucker and Hopper, Miss Lily’s health, Emma trying to buy the property from Miss Lily to create and Inn and golf course, the Mayor trying to convince Tucker to take over the medical practice of their retiring doctor, Emma’s traumatic history with her mom, Emma’s best friend trying to prevent her from reuniting with Tucker, and Miss Lily trying to play matchmaker with Emma and Tucker. There was just a lot going on and although it did all come together in the end, I wish there were fewer plot lines that were more detailed and fleshed out.

Overall it was a sweet small town second chance romance. It has lots of great elements and I really enjoyed a handful of scenes, but I didn’t connect with the characters and I didn’t care for all the various plot lines.

If you enjoy contemporary small town stories with quirky characters, second chance romance for high school sweethearts, and strong willed grandmothers, you may enjoy Engaging Emma!

This is a good old fashion romance where the live story is built over time. The couple have friendship but also plenty of chemistry. This story is a second chance romance. I enjoyed the down home feel of Normal Missouri. I liked how the people worked together. I laughed at how much they were in each other’s business. I was a bit frustrated with Emma and Tucker’s communication issues. Overall it was a sweet story..

Ellie Adams is a new author to me so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but she did not disappoint. Engaging Emma is a sweet love story that leaves everyone with a bit of nostalgia, remembering their own first love.

"I didn't need help. I didn't ask for help. You just used this as an excuse to flex your macho."

If I'm being perfectly candid, I am a sucker for second-chance romances, and this book had that trope and so much more in spades. Emma and Tucker were well-developed and fun, with their pasts and experiences shaping who they are and the way they responded to each other.

Beyond Emma and Tucker, the cast of characters in Normal were <i>anything</i> but normal. There was so much charm and loveliness throughout the book that I would occasionally find myself smiling simply because I was delighted by what was happening.

Elle M. Adams is a fantastic author and her descriptions were often breathtaking and transported me straight into the heart of Normal, Missouri, and the story she was weaving. I could see the gorgeous bower of trees outside The Barn and the beautiful landscape around the Big House. I felt like I could vividly picture the wedding Emma held and the sweet dock scene at the end.

Overall, I will say <i>Engaging Emma</i> is sweet and is a fabulous and cozy contemporary romance. Brava to Ms. Adams for a phenomenal debut. I will be looking for more from her in the future.

One note: I struggled a little with Tucker being engaged for most of the book, but I was only really bothered when he and Emma kissed . . . then kissed again while he was engaged to another person. That may be personal preference, but it did bother me.

You never quite know what you’re going to get with a debut author. I was really impressed with this book by Elle M Adams. Her characters were great, her plot was engaging. This book is so great!

I love the way the reader is introduced to the backstory of Emma and Tucker. Little by little, through each of their eyes. It really kept me drawn in to the story. This is a second chance love story. And the author did such a great job with that part of the plot.

I really loved Emma. The way she and Tucker’s grandma, Miss Lily, were such great friends was sweet. I loved that there were things about her relationship with Tucker from before that Emma didn’t know and had to find out along the way. And she must have been a saint to deal with the mother-of-the-bride she had to deal with in this book!

Tucker is a California guy, come home to help sell the family farm. I loved his surprise for what was going to be done and concern for the family home. He thought he’d take care of things and head back, but that’s not quite how things went.

There are so many great side characters in this book. I’d love to know more about what happens to the people in the town, Nina, and Miss Lily in particular.

This is such a great debut novel, make sure to grab your own copy!

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like there was a lot of angst and conflict in the beginning of the book, but it is so neat how Adams unravels the whole narrative and the characters involved. This is a book full of second chances and self discovery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Engaging Emma is a fun little romance that sucks you in from page one. A small town reuniting for a second chance at love between two former high school sweethearts. This was a quick read that I enjoyed very much. Short chapters and an engaging story line, you’ll be rooting for Tucker and Emma from the start! Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC of this fun romance. #netgalley #engagingemma

This was a sweet second chance at love romance. I loved the characters and the small town setting. I liked how we see how Tucker and Emma have grown up from when they first fell in love and how they have to come to term with what happened in the past. I liked how members of the town were helping to bring them together. I also liked how they each figured out what was important to them. I thought this was a good book and is one I recommend.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors. A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.

This debut novel is a cute childhood friends to more, second-chance romance with a touch of enemies to lovers that takes place in a small town. Tucker and Allison became friends as teens which turned into love but then he went away to college to become a doctor and their promise that they'd be together forever was forgotten. Or was it?

Emma McAllister is shocked to see Tucker Madsen back in Normal, Missouri. She hasn't seen him since he went away to college in California 12 years ago. The way she sees it, once Tucker left he forgot about the promise they made to each other of never forgetting each another, and now, not only does Emma have to see him around town, but she has to deal with him until the sale on his grandma's farm is finalized.

The last thing Tucker wants to do is sell his grandmother's farm. He has a lot of memories of time spent there until he left for college. He doesn't want his grandmother to sell it and can't believe Emma is the one buying it. He's also not happy with her plans for the it. He just wants to get the deal done and return to his life in California.

I love second chance romances and enemies to love stories and I got both with Emma and Tucker's story. There's a strong enemies to love vibe because of the way Emma and Tucker's relationship ended all those years ago, and they're also on opposing sides in the should-grandma-sell-the-farm situation. Tucker was being obstinate about it, but Emma wasn't about to give up her dream and let him have his way. These two had a lot to work out and their past was affecting their present. There were a few times I wanted to Gibbs slap both of them, then lock them in an empty room until they'd talked to each other. I knew there was more to their breakup than Tucker just going off to college, and I was right!

I really liked Emma's best friend Nina, and Tucker's grandma, even though I knew grandma was up to something. I didn't really care for Tucker's fiancé and found myself wondering how they got together in the first place and if they'd have gotten married if Tucker hadn't gone back to Normal to help his grandma. I liked getting to see Emma preparing for events and the descriptions of the decor. It helped me picture everything in my mind as I read. I loved the Thanksgiving scene and this exchange between Emma and Mini Jones made me laugh out loud. "What's a carb?" "I'm not sure, but I think they're illegal in California."

This is a wonderful debut novel and I'll definitely read more from this author. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher Covenant Communications via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

An utter delight! I loved the flashbacks and seeing how everything happened. Both of them have strong emotions about what happened, and we get to see why and how it played out. The chemistry is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire book! So well done!

This is the first novel by a new author but it doesn’t feel like it! The main characters have a lot of personality and are people I would like to know in real life. They have a fun way of interacting and bantering with each other. It is a clean, modern, second chance romance. I received a temporary digital copy from the publisher to use for my review, but I plan to buy my own copy to keep and read again in the future. I loved it.

Engaging Emma was a nice surprise. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I am always a little unsure when reading a novel from a new author.

This is a fun second chance at love story that takes place in the small town of Normal Missouri. I really liked the characters in this book. Emma and Tucker were both great and very relatable. I especially liked some of the background characters that lived in this small town. They were very typical of small town busybodies and made me laugh out loud.

This is a light enjoyable read. It is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.!

This was a easy and pleasing read. I love the story or high school sweethearts who get a second chance at love when they are brought back together. The characters where well written, and the plot was great. This book is great if you love to read light romance novels.

This was a sweet second chance romance. I enjoyed the author’s descriptions and style of writing. The characters were very likable and had great dimension.

It was heartwarming to see the way Emma and Tucker overcame the barriers to their relationship. Many manipulative things happened that caused their distant feelings and struggles. It was a slow moving evolution, but love wins out in the end.

I enjoyed seeing things from a dual perspective. The side characters were fun and made things interesting.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys small town romance, enemies to more, second chance romance and swoony love stories.

#EngagingEmma #NetGalley #ElleMAdams