While working on his farm with his brother Hunter falls and injures his shoulder. When he goes for PT imagine the shock when the girl who left him years ago is standing right in front of him.
Emerson gave ups big shot job to come back to her hometown not by choice but because she has a problem and is going to need help.
Hunter and Emerson start off slow as friends but slowly things heat up, however when her secret comes out how will he handle things and will her parents try to control the situation.
Emerson is such a tough woman and getting back with Hunter can be healing for her. You will laugh ,cry and whatever other emotions you have will come out.

** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

This being my fifth book by this author, I was crossing my fingers and toes hoping I would enjoy Crossing Hearts as much as the last two I reviewed (Fearless and Skin Deep). Why was I nervous? Well, because the previous first two books I came across (Just One Taste and Reckless) just did not appeal to me. In my own words from my Reckless review: “At 40%, I realized something else had kicked in…boredom. The author was taking too long/using too many words which kept the writing from being engaging.” And that, my fellow romance book loving friends, pretty much sums up my feelings for a large portion of Crossing Hearts. Throw in the fact this insecure, illogical, grown woman still has mommy and daddy issues to the point she’ll cut off her nose to spite her face, as the saying goes, to prove a needless point. Call it what you want, but I felt she was running from reality. Yeah, her parents may have set the bar too high, but relationship wise she apparently had previously set hers too low. Though he doesn’t make an appearance, I’m referring to her previous famous boyfriend who she knew would eventually leave her. Am I the only one wondering why she was with the guy to begin with?

Sure, I liked the hero and was glad he got the girl that got away. Honestly, though, if she hadn’t come back he would have been just fine. The farm was his life and he was kept too busy to really lament lack of a significant other. He would have eventually got around to marriage, because from the sounds of it, he was quite the catch. She had become a distant memory, folks.

Once the secret Emerson had foolishly thought she could hide was inevitably revealed, it all ended in a very predictable, all tied up in a bow conclusion, folks.

I’ve seen this writer weave a great romantic tale with engaging writing that flows, but this one came across as too predictable and not particularly memorable. Here’s to hoping others really enjoy it. It just wasn’t nearly as good as Skin Deep or Fearless, in my opinion. Not just from the writing standpoint, but likely because of the repetitiveness of the heroine’s parent drama and her illogical mindset. I would recommend it mostly for fans of steamy, second chance/small town romance themes who don't mind predictability and frustrating at times character conduct.

Title: Crossing Hearts, Series: Cross Creek (Book 1), Author: Kimberly Kincaid, Pages: 342, stand-alone, farmer hero, physical therapist heroine with mommy & daddy issues, needs to deal with reality heroine, very steamy scenes begin after 50%, HEA, no cheating, no OW/OM drama, no love triangle, predictable, hiding a secret, sweet hero.

(This review is based on advanced reader copy provided via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased, fair review. No compensation was provided to this reviewer, nor is there any affiliation between the reviewer and author/publisher/NetGalley. It will be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, NetGalley, and Barnes & Noble.)

This is the first book in this series. This is a fantastic second chance love story. You are always guaranteed a fantastic story with this author. This book has amazing characters you just fall in love with them from the first page. I definitely cant wait to read more in this series and by this author in the future.

Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

4 stars

Crossing Hearts drew me in from the first page and held my interest until the last.
The storyline was entertaining, the characters Emerson and Hunter were likable, and I loved watching them get their second chance at love.

Overall, Crossing Hearts was a great read and a wonderful start to the Cross Creek series.
I highly recommend it.

*Thank you to Montlake Romance via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

Crossing Hearts begins Kimberly Kincaid’s newest series Cross Creek with an amazing romance that will capture both your heart and your imagination. Most of us have at some point in our lives played the “what if…” game. Yet for Hunter and Emerson that question has the chance to be part of their future reality – depending on how things go.

Life has thrown Emerson for a tailspin of a loop. She had the job she loved, in a location she adored – she pretty much had it all, if not the right guy at her side. One diagnoses changed all of that. Realizing that she would no longer be able to keep the pace she’d been living and working at for much longer, Emerson did the last thing she ever intended to do. Go home. Home to parents who mapped out her life for her instead of letting her do what she wanted in life, and the boy who’d offered everything she’d ever need as long as it was a life lived in their small town. She’d loved the boy, but that wasn’t the life she intended to have so she left and made herself never look back. Right up until that choice was taken away from her by her own body’s actions.

The very last person Hunter would have expected to run into at the doctor’s office at physical therapy was Emerson. The one that got away, the girl who’d broken his young heart, the life he might have had if she’d stuck around. They may have been apart for about twelve years, but he knew this woman and she was hiding her reasons for returning home. Now he had to decide if he wanted to travel that road again, if a second chance would be worth the risk if she bolted again. Could he be foolish enough to give her the chance to break his heart again – he wasn’t sure he’d survive it again.

I enjoyed Crossing Hearts very much. As the first book in the series I expected some world building, introductions to the main and secondary characters – to me, that’s a given, but it felt natural, flowed with the story and wasn’t an information dump, which I’m always grateful for. This is a believable romance with real life consequences attached. Life isn’t always smooth, sometimes life has a powerful punch headed straight for us and there’s not a thing we can to change that. Since I live with someone who has their own life altering diagnoses, I know how easy it is to try to do something to help and it only turns out so much worse. So, perhaps I understood Hunter’s thinking a bit faster than Emerson could – but I got both of their reasons. I know it sucks, life is often so stupidly hard – but if you’re lucky enough to have the right person willing to stand with you through all the harsh stuff grab them tight and don’t let go.

I would definitely recommend this story and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

3.5 Stars. Crossing Hearts is a sweet and charming small town romance with engaging characters and a second chance romance.

Hunter Cross is a wonderful hero who can't help but capture your heart immediately. He loves working on his families farm with his two brothers and his dad and he loves his small town and everything about it. He's never wanted anything more except his high school girlfriend who he thought would be with him forever until she left breaking his heart. Emerson left the small town and Hunter behind and never came back. She went on to be a physical therapist to an NFL football team but when she was diagnosed with MS she had to leave her dream behind and return to her small town.

Cross Creek was a charming small town with wonderful characters that I couldn't help loving and if I was ever going to live in a small town I'd want it to be like Cross Creek. The farming aspects were well integrated and interesting without being too much as was the information on MS. The pacing was done well and I liked that although Hunter and Emerson were attracted to each other from the beginning it took time for them to rebuild their trust in each other. What I did have a harder time with was Emerson's reason for leaving. Although I could somewhat understand it the fact that she kept it from Hunter didn't really ring true. I've never liked the "I did what was best for you" and made a decision affecting you without letting you know trope and I didn't like it in this book. I also wasn't crazy about Emerson's reaction to Hunter's "help" and her pushing him away again. Although I thought that the emotions and fear she was dealing with as she learned to accept her disease were incredibly well written. I just wish Hunter didn't have to do the groveling at the end since he was ultimately the one who was left not once but twice.

I loved the secondary characters and the conflict between Hunter's brothers grabbed me and held on. I can't wait to find out what that is all about and I look forward to reading the books about them.

I love an emotional, second chance at love story book. And the magnificent Kimberly Kincaid knows how to write a book like this in spades.
Hunter grew up in a wonderful family, full of love and encouragement. His father always Hunter and his brothers know that he was proud of them. Hunter was happy to stay on the family farm and run it with his family.
Hunter and Emerson’s fell in love in high school, and the summer after graduation, Hunter asked Emerson to marry him.
Emerson was not so lucky with her family. Her parents were always telling her she could do better. They were never satisfied with her choices in life or her career. They even picked her college. So, when she left for college she decided she was NEVER coming back. She broke Hunter’s heart when she told him she was leaving.
But fate has a way of working in LOVES favor. Emerson is back, and fate has plans for these two.
I loved this book so much. I could not put it down. Ms. Kincaid had a way with her writing that draws the reader in so far that the next thing they know they have read the last word.
Thank you, Ms. Kincaid for the hours and hours of reading enjoyment you give to your readers.
I was gifted a copy of this wonderful book for my honest opinion, and for this I am eternally grateful.
Eli, Hunter’s brother, has a story and I cannot wait to see what it is.
Thank you for reading my review.

WOW! That is what comes to mind when I think of this amazing story. It is a beautiful second chance love story. But more than that, the writing, the characters.....amazing! I have loved Kimberly Kincaid since I was first introduced to her Pine Mountain series, and I can tell you that if the first book in the Cross Creek series is any indication, she has another hit on her hands. This is the story of Hunter and Emerson.

Hunter Cross wants nothing more than to work the family farm, see it prosper and live his dream. But when an old shoulder injury comes back to haunt him, so does a ghost from his past, in the form of the one girl that he loved as a boy, the one that broke his heart, and the one that he can't seem to forget, Emerson Montgomery.

Emerson is back in town, a physical therapist with a secret. If it gets out, her parents will look at her as a failure, so she tries to hide it from everyone, especially Hunter Cross, who can still read her like a book. When Emerson is called in to work with Hunter to get his shoulder back in shape, the sparks start flying.

As Emerson and Hunter spend more time together, and they start to open up to each other, Emerson will need to make a decision on how much trust she can put in Hunter. Because she doesn't want his pity, she wants the man, but secrets can keep these two apart if they don't learn to trust.

I loved the dynamic between Emerson and Hunter. I love that Hunter stayed with Emerson, was fighting for them, would not give up. It is a refreshing thing when you have a hero who is willing to step up and fight for love. Amazing, touching, sexy and spectacular, that is what this book is.

This is the first book in a new series by Kimberly Kincaid and I look forward to more about this wonderful Virginia town. The Cross family has a lot of story telling potential. Hunter is such a sweet hero! Emerson has had a turn of direction, due to unforeseen circumstance. I love her tough exterior and her determination. Hunter is just the guy she needs. They weren't ready when they were younger, but with age comes wisdom.

I love a second chance romance - and this is definitely is up my alley!! Looking so forward to more!

Loved this story and the touchy story of MS and how you need to deal with it the rest of your life. Perfectly paced with strong characters and great family values. Struggles to overcome in life and family and friends there to have your back.

✦Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Crossing Hearts (The Cross Creek Series Book 1) by Kimberly Kincaid http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-7NT
Publication Date: February 7, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 5 Stars

I loved this story. Emerson was someone I could relate to, and care about right away. Hunter? How can you not swoon over a bighearted, romantic and handsome man? He was the perfect person to help Emerson on her emotional journey. His family was so real, that I can only hope we hear more about them in later books. The writing was smooth and the story flowed nicely. I honestly couldn’t put it down, so I could see how things worked out. It wasn’t just a sexy little romance, it was a love story that warmed my heart.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of Kimberly Kincaid's new series. I enjoy a good second chance story and this one is not one to miss. One of my favorite things is the characters. They are well developed and relatable. Sometimes one moment can change our lives forever, but it could also be leading us on the path we are meant to be on. Emerson is dealing with a life changing event that has her going in a new direction she didn't plan on going, but she may just get what she needs. My heart goes out to her because even though she is strong she's pushed to her limits. I really liked Hunter. He's great hero material and he deserves a HEA. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

I love second chance romances as long as they have a happy ending and not a cliffhanger. Crossing Hearts provides both the second chance and the happy ending; but not without some work put in by both Hunter and Emerson.

So to be honest, it took me a minute to get accustomed to the name Emerson for a girl, but as the character developed, her name fit her well. She's strong, smart, stubborn, but kindhearted and wants to belong to a loving family, unlike her controlling parents. Add in Hunter, who works on his family farm and his injury which puts them back in contact.

The development of the story-line is excellent, the characters don't just meet again and fall back in love or straight into bed. They develop a working relationship, even though the chemistry is very obvious between them. Over a well developed plot, their relationship develops again as Emerson gets embroiled in Hunters physical therapy, life and his family.

Yet, here comes the plot twist, Emerson is unsure that Hunter can handle her real reason for returning home, her debilitating disease. And while she attempts to push Hunter away, he fights for her and they eventually get their love story and happy ending. I love a hero who will fight and pursue his heroine.

I truly loved this book and can't wait to see who is next in the Series, Eli (youngest) or Owen (oldest). And will it involve Daisy, Emerson's friend or another person from the town?

What happens when your past comes back into your life with no warning? Hunter Cross is injured on his family's farm. Ordered to do PT, he comes face to face with the woman who broke his heart 12 years ago. Emerson Montgomery would rather be anywhere else than back in her hometown of Millhaven. She is the new physical therapist and her first client is none other than Hunter. You can tell from their first meeting that there is still something between them. Can they let go of past hurts? Can Emerson trust Hunter with the secret she is hiding? This is a great book to start off Kimberly Kincaid's new series! She writes such amazing characters and you can't help but want to read more about the secondary characters! I can't wait to read more about this town. Hunter, Emerson, Owen, Eli and Daisy have captured my heart! I would definitely recommend this book!

A second-chance romance with secrets at its center, Crossing Hearts is a strong start to a promising series set in the Shenandoah Valley. After years of abusing it, Hunter’s shoulder has finally given out and he’s in dire need of physical therapy. Imagine his surprise when the woman who administers it is his childhood sweetheart, Emerson, who left town years ago and vowed never to return. As they get to know each other as adults, they have decisions to make about futures and plans and trust.

While Hunter played football in high school and may have even been good enough to go pro, he had no interest in leaving the family farm, Cross Creek. He lives and breathes that land, and while working with family drives him nuts, it is clear he doesn’t desire any other life. His heart was shattered when Emerson left him right after graduation to head off to a glittering medical career, and while I wouldn’t say he’s stayed bitter at her, he certainly hasn’t gotten over her.

Emerson did go off to a glittering career, but not one in surgery as her overbearing and perfectionist parents wanted. Instead, she chose physical therapy and ended up working for a NFL franchise and making quite a name for herself. She was determined to never set foot back in their small town again. (This determination is something I always find adorable in romance heroes and heroines, by the way. It’s almost its own trope at this point, it happens so frequently as a precursor to other events.)

She’s successful in that endeavor, until she’s diagnosed with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis and finds that her body can no longer carry her dreams. Stubbornly, she decides to keep this from everyone and just move back home. She spends the first part of the book avoiding her parents, who are extremely disappointed in her decision to leave such a great career behind, and she makes a valiant effort to dodge Hunter.

Hunter, you’ll be glad to know, cannot be dodged. As they rekindle their romance, he lovingly forces her to tell him what the deal is and she allows him to slowly start helping her. I could tell this was a herculean task for a woman such as Emerson, and its one I empathize with. I myself suffer from a chronic disorder and I used to be absolute rubbish at accepting help. I also hid a lot of my symptoms and my pains from my family and friends, although for different reasons to Emerson’s. I also discovered that what Emerson eventually did - suffering alone for stubbornness’ sake - is a silly martyrdom when you have folks around you who love you and want to be helpful and supportive. So while others may roll their eyes at some of her decisions, I was in there with her and I get it.

What didn’t work as well for me is her dynamic with her parents. I don’t want to explore too much here for the sake of spoilers, but the resolution of their conflict felt a touch too convenient and took me out of the story a bit.

The new love Emerson and Hunter find, however, is warm, comforting and real. Not only have they grown up a bit, but they now have Emerson’s MS to contend with. Those factors force their relationship to take a new shape and a new pace and Ms. Kincaid’s treatment of that growth is lovely. I could feel the couple learning the new versions of the other person and falling in love all over again.

Overall, Crossing Hearts is a charming book with a side of steamy romance and I think any fans of the tropes it plays with will greatly enjoy it.

Who ever knew my next book boyfriend would be a farmer! Loved, loved Hunter, sexy, caring and so compassionate. Emerson was amazing so strong, while keeping a secret from the rest of the world. A second chance romance between Hunter and Emerson, oh the sparks do fly.

Small town romance that will take your heart in and not let go. Packed full of emotions, that will bring happy and sad tears to your eyes. I'm loving the Cross family, three strong sexy boys raised by their father. Emerson has a big secret that she kept from everyone, and once she learns to trust Hunter, she is soon able to reveal her secret to her family and friends. Of course, you must have the foodies to be a Kimberly Kincaid book.

I highly recommend this book and can't wait for more of the Cross boys, including their Dad!!

Sometimes you really can go home again! Such a heartwarming story! It's a reunion with your one true love type of story, and also filled with emotion pulling moments as she relearns the importance of living her life when a life changing medical diagnosis shifts her future. Great characters, great connections, and I can't wait for more from Cross Creek!

Hunter Cross might have never left the comfort of his home town of Millhaven, Virginia, but he has no regrets. He lives for the connection he enjoys working every day on his family farm with his father and brothers by his side. He wouldn't have it any other way! When an accident takes him out of commission for awhile, he's mighty unhappy about that ... especially when he catches sight of who is going to be in charge of his physical therapy for the next few weeks!

Emerson Montgomery made a promise to herself a dozen years ago to never step foot back in this town again .. yet here she is ... and running into her high school sweetheart right off the bat! She left her high powered job with an NFL team in Las Vegas to come back home and settle into a small side-practice with the local Doc while refusing to tell anyone why she's suddenly downgrading her life.

As Hunter and Emerson spend time together for his therapy, they talk and begin to be friends again. When it slowly turns into wanting those same old things with each other, she finally trusts him enough to admit her medical issues. Will she find a way to let down her guard and move forward with a future with him, or will she keep putting up these walls and refusing to get the help that she needs from everyone around her?

What an amazing second-chance story! When two hearts truly are fated to be together, neither time nor trials can keep them apart…..

Hunter Cross is dedicated: to his family’s farm, to his hometown, to keeping peace between his older and younger brothers. And 12 years earlier, he was dedicated to his high school girlfriend, Emerson Montgomery. But when he asked her to marry him right out of high school, Emerson said no and left Millhaven, Virginia in her rearview mirror for college and her dreams. In those 12 years, Emerson became a noted physical therapist for a professional football team sited across the country, with a pro football player boyfriend as well. Hunter stayed in Millhaven, living a simple, comfortable, straightforward life as a farmer. They each were living in two very different worlds. But Hunter’s simple world gets very complicated when a shoulder injury requires rest from the farm and some physical therapy. And the new physical therapist in town, Emerson Montgomery, has openings in her schedule to take on a new patient! What is going on? Why is Emerson back in Millhaven? If she’s back, why did she leave?

Emerson Montgomery is indeed ready to schedule patients for her new Millhaven physical therapy practice. She is back home to work at being a great physical therapist for Millhaven and to work at hiding her secrets. As Emerson and Hunter reconnect, Emerson’s secrets from 12 years ago and the more recent ones begin to emerge, revealing the true reason she came back home.

With her deft touch, Ms. Kincaid tackles some very serious issues in this small-town romance in a sensitive but realistic manner. All those years earlier, Emerson needed to flee Millhaven as the miasma of disapproval that descended on her from her parents only made the walls close in faster on her dreams. And now, my jaw dropped when Emerson’s present “secret” is revealed to the reader! Her actions, her feelings, her physical issues - all of a sudden it made sense. Hunter, too, was dealing with fighting brothers that have some unknown issue looming between them, and an aging parent who is working too hard. As they spend time together, Hunter and Emerson realize the connection they had was not lost. And as they face the difficulties that pop up and continue to loom, they discover that together they are stronger and better.

I have read all of Ms. Kincaid’s books, and they just keep getting better and better. They are always well-written, always containing great characters, always must-reads! And Crossing Hearts is no exception - a fantastic start to a new series. I cannot wait for the remaining Cross brothers to get their turn in the pages!

The last person Hunter ever thought he would see again was his high school girlfriend, Emerson. He asked her to stay and marry him, but she up and left. Now after he has hurt his shoulder again, he is shocked when his physical therapist turns out to be her. Emerson has her reasons for leaving an amazing job and high profile boyfriend to return to her hometown. Reasons she has no desire to share with anyone, especially Hunter. Fate has other plans as these two start to grow closer again. Hunter vows to stand by her and help her when she tells him what is going on. But will her refusal to tell anyone else the truth cause their relationship to fail again?
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

This is a Wonderful heartwarming Second Chance Romance Story. Set in the kind of beautiful small town that will always remember you even after a decade of being gone.

Hunter Cross is the best kind of hometown boy with a heart of gold, strong deep roots keep him grounded. He is exactly what Emerson Montgomery needs to make her whole, however she is so determined to make her life on her own that she ignores what is right in front of her (has been all along). Sparks fly as the past and present collide in this highly entertaining healing power of love adventure.
Looking forward to my next visit to Cross Creek.