Embrace: Book 1 (Embrace, #1)

by Jessica Shirvington

I felt myself slipping away, losing myself to the senses. 'Kiss me,' I whispered.

Violet Eden has only ever wanted to be with Lincoln. But when he reveals a secret so powerful it could tear them apart, her world spins out of control. Then she meets Phoenix. Intense and beautiful, Violet is helplessly drawn to him...

Caught up in a battle between light and dark - where angels seek vengeance and humans are warriors - Violet must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice. And who she can love...

• ISBN10: 1408314819
• ISBN13: 9781408314814
• Publish Date: 6 October 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Hachette Children's Group
• Imprint: Orchard Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Cocktails and Books]

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this series, especially since the blurb did't really say a lot. What I got to the last page, I found I had been gut punched by a seventeen year old girl who had the rug pulled out from beneath her by betrayal and half truths.

Violet Eden thought she had finally put all the bad things behind her. She had a wonderful best friend and the guy she had an enormous crush on was the best man she knew. But the night of her seventeenth birthday changes everything and Violet starts to question just who has her best interest at heart....Lincoln, the guy she loves but can no longer trust or Phoenix, the guy who likes who for who she and has been there for her.

I'll admit for a YA book, this was pretty edgy. The emotional drama and turmoil that Violet suffers feels real as we follow her through the story. You want to cry with her as she wallows in the tears for the betrayal she feels with Lincoln. When she's with Phoenix, you want her to smile and feel good about something, no matter how badly she's hurt. And you want her to understand just what is happening to her and make the right choice.

The author does a fantastic job of creating a believably complex characters in Violet, Lincoln and Phoenix. While the story is told from Violet's perspective, she manages to ensure readers can get a feeling for exactly what it is Lincoln and Phoenix are thinking and feeling through their interactions with Violet. Both of them want her happy and safe, even if they think they are the best ones to provide that to her. For Violet, that means being incredibly torn between the two, which gives us a fantastic love triangle.

This is definitely a book worth picking up. I'm not a big reader of Angel stories, but this is so much more than just and angel (or half angel) and their battle for good and evil. It's action packed with emotional drama that will have you running to grab the next book in the series.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Source: ARC

Review: Embrace is an exciting, solid paranormal romance. It has a ton of the expected elements: a girl who finds out she’s not quite human, her disbelieving reaction, the people who want to help her believe, and the dangerous events that prove it’s all true. Luckily, Shirvington has packaged them all in good writing and made her main characters quite attractive (in both personalities and looks).

All things considered, Embrace should be read for the romance more than anything else. More than once, the explanations of how the magic works in this book had me laughing out loud; it was slightly ridiculous. The angel/religious themes could also have been better. So far, I think Cynthia Hand’s Unearthly has tackled this best. In Embrace, readers learn that some religious stuff is sort of true and some isn’t and there is some stuff no one really knows about—including angels. So there could be a God and there could not be. Only the highest angels actually know. The effect is confusing and almost wishy-washy.

The action is pretty intense, but this is a case where the protagonist actually invents most of it by being overly dramatic (i.e. If Violet were a reasonable person who didn’t overreact every time someone did something, there would be a lot less plot.) Hopefully the drama is out of Violet’s system now, however, so that the second book can feature her acting on good instincts, and some outside forces acting more strongly.

BUT the romance is good. Violet has a choice of two guys, and Embrace is a novel in which there truly seems to be a choice; she is not obviously drawn to one far more than to the other. Both also have a ton of good qualities, so readers can be torn, thinking Violet could really be happy with either one. (The down side is, of course, that one girl spending equal amounts of time flirting with and kissing two different guys means it can feel as if she is cheating rn leading someone on. Hazards of a love triangle.)

Again, this is a solid paranormal romance, and certainly one that is better written than many. It is not unique, but it will be satisfying for those who like the genre.

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

[Stephanie]

I was excited to read Embrace. But it was a bit of a let down. Not because the story wasn't interesting (it was), but because of some of the characters.

I could not stand Violet. She annoyed me for about 95% of the book. When she finds out she's part angel, she flips. She's angry at Lincoln for not telling her and she's angry that her life can't be "normal" anymore regardless if she embraces her powers or not. She's just always angry, and most of that anger is towards Lincoln, and I really liked Lincoln, so that made me really dislike Violet.

Also, Phoenix. I didn't like him from the beginning. He was a creeper and weird. I never understood why Violet hung around him or even wanted to be with him. Though, it is explained in the end, and I do understand why she made the choices she did, it still bugged me, to the point that it was like pulling teeth trying to read the book.

I was also hoping for more growth in Lincoln and Violet's relationship. But that all get's thrown out when Violet feels 'betrayed' by Lincoln so I was stuck with creepy Phoenix the whole time while Violet was mad at Lincoln.

Somethings I did like about the book:
1. Lincoln and Griffon. It's beyond me how these two characters could deal with Violet. They were always so calm and willing to explain everything and help whenever needed. And Violet was like the tornado spinning around them.
2. The mythology. This is a unique twist on angels, and I found it really interesting.
3. The story overall. I did enjoy the story, I just would have enjoyed it better if there was a different main character.

So, overall I did enjoy the story. I just couldn't stand Violet and Phoenix, which made up most of the book.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Embrace is a gripping emotionally intense blend of fantasy and paranormal. Shirvington's twist on angel mythology is cleverly unique and full of originality, that sets it apart from most young adult angel-based books adorning the shelves today. It is a world full of wonderful drama and beautiful heart stopping romance, filled with hidden secrets and painful deception, and ties bound by blood. It is a world where angels seek out vengeance and humans find themselves warriors. The battle between the two is centuries old and brilliantly developed.

The mythology that Shirvington creates is not only intriguing, but beautifully written and entrancing. Readers will find themselves drawn into a world that will keep them captivated while stretching their imaginations to its limits. Her characters are bold, daring, and wonderfully developed full of interesting personality facets, amazing back stories that have purpose and meaning to the plot and are interwoven amazingly well.

Violet is such an amazing kickass strong and resilient female heroine. She doesn't give up no matter the cost and she's incredibly determined to uncover the answers to the questions she seeks, even though she may not be prepared for what she finds. While control may be very important to her, she seems to be battling with keeping control of it and dealing with some tough issues of her own. The disturbing dreams are beginning to leave her with actual injuries that she has to deal with; meanwhile a strange tattoo is crawling up her arm that wasn't there previously. She finds herself being tested over and over again, but somehow always manages to follow her heart. She isn't perfect, which makes her even more realistic and likable.

Lincoln is an intriguing character and a bit of a mystery all his own. While he's Eden's best friend and voice of reason, he's also got a secret of his own. He's Grigori, half angel and half human. The surprise is that he's not the only one. Eden is, as well, even though she doesn't find that out until later. Lincoln is the kind of guy that any girl would normally find themselves wanting, so it's no surprise that he's the guy that Eden has strong feelings for, she just wishes that he felt the same for her. He's also the guy who broke her heart. Phoenix is a whirlwind of fire breaking all the rules and slowly weaving his way into Eden's heart. He's full of mysterious intrigue and bad boy attitude, but he's such a fun character. The love triangle is set-up in such a way that it's hard to pick just one of the boys for her, because they both work so well for various different reasons. It's written and implemented into the story quite well.

Embrace touches on issues such as love conquering all things, good or evil, and the darkness within tempered against the light. It pushes the limits of what one would do in an effort to protect the one's they care for - the lengths they will go to and shows that for every choice made there is a consequence. It is an action packed, intense, richly compelling new and unique take on angels with interesting twists and turns that will leave readers breathless and craving more. I personally found it to be emotionally engaging and captivating. It will hook readers and keep them on the edge of their seats, for what's to come next.