Embrace by Jessica ShirvingtonAdd it: Goodreads
Source: Raincoast Books for review
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: Hardcover, 369 pages
Release Date: March 6, 2012
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”I was hooked on to this book before the cover had even been released (and for the shallow person that I am when it comes to covers, this should say a lot!) but now find myself kind of torn as to how much I really enjoyed reading it.
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…
Violet started off as a character that I could definitely relate to. Her motives for feeling things made sense to me and I appreciated the strong way she carried herself. Moving further along in the story though, I felt like she travelled farther and farther away from who she started off as. The whole situation with accepting her destiny and picking a guy (the love triangle is a dominating force of the book, I'd say) just felt drawn-out and rather dramatic to me by the end of it.
And ahh, the love triangle. Lincoln and Phoenix. For me, there's a clear winner, but I always seem to go for the good guy -- can you guess which one I prefer? The romance in the story was very compelling and although it got a little bit intense for me at times, I liked it overall. I'm looking forward to seeing how Violet's relationships with Lincoln and Phoenix progress!
That being said, I did really, really enjoy the mythology of the book, something that seems to be time and time again a saving force for me :) The angel lore was fascinating to read about and it's unlike any other paranormal novel I've read in that regard. There was enough revealed to keep me reading but I can tell that there's still more to share.
Jessica Shirvington's writing is solid and the pacing of the book was tight without feeling like an overload of action.
Recommended to fans of paranormal romance!
Cover Comments: It's so pretty and even more so in person! I love that they chose to make the background purple -- my favourite colour, so I'm a little biased -- and those wings are just stunning.
The angel lore was one of my favourite things about this book too! The idea of angels having the free will to choose whether they wanted to be good or bad was so intriguing -- I'm thinking that I'd probably choose good, but you never really know, right? x) And Violet DID make some shake-worthy decisions in the book, so I loved your line about traveling farther away as the story progressed -- that was the PERFECT way to put it.
ReplyDeleteAMAZING honest review, Sonia! <3 Even though this wasn't a blow-you-away book, your three pointy crowns still say "Read this book or be poked!" in that awesome queenish way! ;)
P.S. Yaaaaay! Team Lincoln all the way! :D <3 I actually usually tend to go for the bad guy in situations like these LOL but for me, best friend romances trump ALL! (Well, most of the time since guys like Jace beat out Simon hands down haha.)
Great review! Sounds like the book suffered a bit of plot-driven characters rather than the much better to read character-driven plot. Oh and the cover is gorgeous! :D
ReplyDeleteI FINALLY got a copy of this (after have the second and third books for freaking ever, but not the first. Stupidly. I know. I'm an idiot), so I'm really looking forward to diving it. Although a shame that the love triangle and 'destiny decision' felt too drawn out =\ I am super intrigued by the mythology though, I love angel books and it's so exciting to see what new twist an author adds to our favourite, sexy winged beings.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Sonia! AND DID I MENTION I LIKEY YOUR NEW CROWNS? I know I did, but I'm allowed to say it again :D
When I saw this in the bookstores, I've never been interested to get a copy. I love angel books but somehow this one didn't quite intrigued me although it's an AUSSIE YA! So when the book is published in the US, it becomes so popular and some people did enjoy it and I feel interested to give the book a try.
ReplyDeleteYour review completely convinced me to read it! I think I got the first book somewhere but with a different cover, of course! ;)
Awesome review, Sonia! ♥ So glad you enjoyed it!
I'm still torn up whether to pick Lincoln or Pheonix! On one side, I love Lincoln with his kindness and protectiveness, but on the other side, I can't let go of Phoenix and his hotness! Plus, Phoenix is such a beautiful name LOL! x)
ReplyDeleteI'm not the biggest fan of this book either, Violet is not exactly my favorite character. She keeps making bad decision, but I think it's one thing that makes her seems more REAL! I'm very curious how the romance and the angel war turns out anyway, so I'll absolutely read the next book! :)
Fantastic review, Sonia! <3
Awwwww, Sonia! Boo! I'm sorry you didn't love it quite as much as you expected... I HATE that. When the cover's, like, PERFECTION, and then... boo. But I mean, even pre-cover? Wow. THat's commitment :D
ReplyDeleteThe situation you described... the kind of... drawing it out, and over dramatising it? Not a fan. It drives me nuts when that happens in books.
ANYWAY! So glad you did still enjoy it :D
Aw, it's a shame this one was a bit disappointing. I can see why though, especially with Violet's change in personality as the book went on. Glad you enjoyed some aspects though - thanks for the review :).
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, although I think I might have been a bit harsher in my review :-s Loved the mythology - felt like Shirvington has clearly done her research there, but overall I felt like there was just so much potential that was never quite reached. I actually really didn't like Violet as a character. But despite all my complaints, I keep reading this series.
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