Review - Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Title and Author: Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters 01) by Jessica Shirvington

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: March 6th, 2012

Paperback/Hardcover: 382

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Summary:

It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.
Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.
A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…

Review:

I’ll go ahead and confess I like a good story involving angels and Embrace is definitely a very good story. It’s intriguing, sexy and enthralling.

Embrace offers a different take on the whole angel story with a plot that includes moments of action, romance, betrayal and much more.   

Violet Eden lives with her workaholic father and never got to meet her mother who died at childbirth. Violet is very independent and, after a traumatic experience when she was younger; she has decided she never wants to find herself in a position of weakness again.

After she meets a boy named Lincoln in a self-defense class they begin to train together and become fast friends. Violet’s feelings for Lincoln go way beyond friendship but she is almost completely sure he doesn’t feel the same.

When Violet turns seventeen strange things begin to happen to her and she quickly finds out Lincoln is not exactly who she thought he was and neither is she. Lincoln has been keeping some very important secrets from her…

Violet’s life is turn upside down as she struggles to come to grip with who she really is, and that’s when another guy shows up in Violet’s life, making everything even more complicated.

I think Violet is a very good main character. She is strong, confident and she doesn’t run away from her problem. She might have exaggerated a little when it comes to her anger towards Lincoln but that’s understandable. His secret changed her whole life, after all.

I really liked Lincoln as well. Yes, he kept some things from Violet but not by choice. He simply couldn’t tell her about who they both really are not matter how much he wanted to. Lincoln is strong and sweet and I really do think he is a great guy who wants nothing but the best for Violet.

Phoenix is a very interesting character and so is his relationship with Violet. I was never quite sure what to expect from him. He can be very likeable and then make you wonder about his actions and intentions the next minute. He’s very complex indeed. 

Other secondary characters like Griffin are also great and brought a lot to the story.

When it comes to the plot of Embrace I really enjoyed it. There are several twists and unexpected events in this unique story that makes it stand out amongst the several other angel inspired books out there right now.  Romance plays a big part in this book and, even though I would prefer it if there wasn’t a love triangle here I didn’t feel too overwhelmed (in a bad way) by it.

All in all, this is a very well-written and fast paced book. The mythology present in the book is handsomely developed. The story is captivating, the plot twists are extremely interesting and the characters, and the sexual tension between some of them, are just great.

This book kept me very entertained and interested. If you enjoy a good story about angels, love, freewill, trust and betrayal I think you’ll definitely be able to enjoy this book. 

Rating: Somewhere Between Worth Your Time and Must Read (4 ½ Stars)

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