Review: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

From Goodreads

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!

My Take

Okay, wow, I was so hooked by this one from the very beginning - and it's not because it's about angels...well, not completely! Embrace is about Violet, a girl who is approaching her seventeenth birthday and the only thing she is looking forward to is spending more time with her best friend (who she's been crushing on for two years) Lincoln. But when he starts to act strangely, she thinks that he might be feeling the same way about her, only she's not even close to guessing what's below the surface. Then when someone new pops into her life, things get a little frazzled and she discovers that she's only half-human. If she chooses to be, she could be the next protector against fallen angels. Crazy right? Violet thinks so too, which is why she finds herself in a precarious situation when choice no longer becomes an option. 

I know I say this every time but Violet is seriously my new favorite leading heroine! She has a combination of everything that a main character that narrates the story should have and it's all witty sarcastic bravery that sucks a reader along for the ride. At the beginning of Embrace, we find Violet as she struggles with a difficult past and uses self-defense training as an outlet to not ever be caught defenseless again. She's the kind of girl that keeps to herself since her dad works all the time and her mother passed away when she was born, but in a way she prefers this life. It helps that her friend Steph is always there to brighten her mood, but when things go pear shaped Violet discovers a side of herself she never knew she ever possessed - a warrior! However, like every great young adult adventure there has to be a handful of gorgeous boys to drool over right? 

Correct! 

Boy number one comes in the form of Lincoln who is Violet's best friend, self-defense trainer, the one person she's been secretly crushing on for two years, and the person that has been lying to her about something pretty heavy for a while now. Combined with glowing good looks, an attitude to match Violet's, and a hero complex to die for...Lincoln is practically a perfect boy specimen that needs to be snatched up right away! Or he would be if he was the only one around. Boy number two comes in the form of Phoenix who is a mysterious stranger that appears just when Violet needs someone to lean on and becomes her rock. He's basically everything mothers warn there daughters about since he's got these dark good looks, is an apparent danger magnet, and has the ability to make the bad things look like a great idea. But it helps that this boy also has a hero complex when it comes to Violet! 

Embrace is packed full of all new angel mythology that keeps readers guessing and sucks them in enough that it's easy to get consumed from the very first page. There is heart breaking and gut wrenching romance, incredible and dramatic reveals, amazing action that leaps from the pages, and the BEST kind of story that takes you on the kind of ride you wish would never end. All in all, I totally recommend Embrace for a read or several and then go back to enjoy it all over again because that is what I am going to do! There aren't enough ways to say how great this story is, so you'll have to read it for yourself to find out, but I will say that Jessica Shirvington is now on my list of favorite author!  

Quotes to Share 

 

"I hoisted myself onto my elbows. ‘Yeah, well, if I ever come back as a Grigori, then I’ll kick your ass.’ ‘You’ll come back, and you’ll be a Grigori.’ He spoke with such certainty it made me smile. ‘I doubt very greatly, however, that you’ll kick my ass. But me and my ass will enjoy your efforts.'" Pg. 245

***

"He shot Lincoln a hateful glare and then turned his attention back to me. ‘He loves you, Violet. But I hope he’s explained to you that Grigori partners are not compatible. There is no way he can ever have you, yet he still wants to stop anyone else from having you. He leaks his love for you everywhere. It’s clumsy, it’s…messy.’ He screwed up his face a little. I stayed very still, trying not to react – not even to Phoenix telling me that Lincoln loved me. ‘But I love you too,’" Pg. 289

***

"He gave a sarcastic, empty laugh. ‘A lot isn’t fair. It’s not fair that I had to be the one to train you to be a Grigori. It’s not fair that I couldn’t tell you the truth, even though I knew you’d hate me for it. It’s not fair that I was dying and became the reason you embraced, which only gives you more reason to push me away. It’s not fair that I know how great we would be together, except that we can’t. It’s not fair that, even though I know I’ll never have you, I had planned everything – the candles, the lilies – replayed the words I wanted to say a million times when you and I finally made love. I get that it’s not fair, but I’m still going to ask because we’re on a roll of all that is unfair, so what’s one more thing?’ He grabbed the wardrobe door and slammed it so hard it almost broke off its hinges." Pg. 291

Check out Embrace by Jessica Shirvington HERE on Goodreads to give a read and view the amazing trailer below! :)