Blog Tour/ Book Review: Embrace by Jessica Shirivington

By: Jessica Shirvington

Published by: SourceBooks

To Be Released on: March 6th, 2012

Source: ARC from publisher to review

4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It

Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Series: Book #1

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…

Look for the sequels ENTICED in September 2012 and EMBLAZE in March 2013! -quoted from Goodreads

Embrace is an exciting new debut and the first book in what promises to be one enticing series. It's filled with romance, danger, a captivating angel-lore, and plenty of twists that will keep readers hooked to till the last page. This is one of those books that literally drew me in the moment I sat down to read it, and I found it nearly impossible to put down.

Violet Eden is a character I connected with on many levels, and she's also one I at times got frustrated with. I liked that she's a character who's flawed, struggles with seeing the truth vs seeing what she sometimes wants to see, makes mistakes, is strong and she's someone who's not afraid of taking chances. I love that she's someone who ultimately isn't afraid to make sacrifices, especially when it comes to saving those she loves. She definitely has some tough choices when it comes to love and following her heart.

The romance in this book is HOT! Let just say wow! I adored Lincoln from the moment he's introduced into the story. He's not the perfect guy, which is a huge reason why I love him, but boy does he love and respect Violet and that was enough to hook me. He's one of those extremely patient guys, even when you don't want him to be. If you've read the book you'll know what I mean. He's extremely understanding, loyal, but he's also secretive. He does reveal some of his secrets in Embrace which of course does have some horrible consequences, but I having a feeling there's a lot more he's hiding. I love the friendship and chemistry he and Violet have. That scene between the two of them on her birthday is AWESOME!!

Then there's Phoenix. Seriously, this guy is bad and mysterious, and yet there's something about him that is alluring. He does some things (a lot of things) that just peeve me off. I started out wondering what Violet even saw in him, but then there were parts of the story I was giving him the benefit out of the doubt and I wanted him to be better than he was. Ultimately he shows his true colors though I'm sure we've only gotten to know a tiny bit of the real Phoenix in this book. Kudos to Jessica for writing both of these love interests the way she did. There's so much about them that's revealed and yet there's so much more that I'm hoping I'll found out about them in the sequel.

Jessica does such a great job at creating scenes in this book that grabbed me emotionally. She allowed me to understand and sympathize with her characters, sigh with them, get mad at them and be happy for them. I love it when an author allows me to connect with their story on that level. There's a lot of twists that are unraveled by the end of this story and a lot of things that are also kept secret. I liked the way Jessica wrapped everything up at the end of the book and still left plenty for me to wonder about. I'm extremely curious about what will happen with the guys and Violet in ENTICE. So many choices that were made in this book I fear will have some serious consequences in the next book and the rest of the series to come.

This is a great read and one I really enjoyed. I like that it's part paranormal, part urban fantasy. If you're looking for a new YA series to pick up, I'd recommend picking up EMBRACE when it's out next month. There is some minor language and a couple tastefully written sensual scenes in this book.

You can read my guest post with Jessica here.