Embrace

The Violet Eden Chapters #1

by Jessica Shirvington

It starts with a whisper.

"It's time for you to know who you are..."

Strange dreams leave her with very real injuries and there's a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms. The guy she thought she could fall in love with just told her he's only half-human - oh, and same goes for her. And she keeps hearing a distant fluttering of wings.

Violet Eden is having a very bad 17th birthday.

But if angels seek vengeance and humans are warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden...

Genres: Young Adult, Angels, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Supernatural

449 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES and has an exciting new duology called DISRUPTION on the way in 2014.

An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 & 2012 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for Foxtel and Fox Sports. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels.

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I'm gonna go full on out with this book. Don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings but...this book was a waste of my time.
I was doing this:
the whole time.
Violet Eden, the main character, was a whiney, selfish, lust driven, and not to mention stupid girl. I face palmed myself so many times while reading. She does the stupidest things in this book, and she is so selfish it drives me mad. Okay, you don't have a life anymore. Your new life is killing exiled angels and keeping humanity safe with their free will, with a major hot partner. But when she heard this news all she did was scream and cry like a baby. "OMG I DON'T HAVE A NORMAL LIFE ANYMORE. YOU LIED TO ME YOU SELFISH f****ER, I HATE YOU, BLAH BLAH BLAH. FML," and zap! into Bella Swan depression mode. "Waaaa, the boy i loved lied to me about everything. I F****ING HATE HIM NOW. ohh hot new exile f*** yes." Hey now, I feel bad for Lincoln because he knew this day was gonna come and he had to lie to you for your safety, And now she goes all bat shit crazy and treats her friend like crap. Hey, Violet, You're not the only one hurting and guess what, you're not the only one who went through this

This, to me, was another Twilight. I mean it, Violet is Bella, Lincoln is Edward, and Phoenix is Jacob.
Violet did not develop in AT ALL. i mean in the end when she found out some pretty obvious things she still didn't hold accountable for her choices. Did i mention she was VERY selfish?
Like: " You...you could have healed Lincoln. You let him lie there while he was dying. You let me become Grigori even when I didn't want it."
See. Did you notice the "Even when I didn't want it." WOOOOOOOOOOW. You're friend is dying and yet you're still going to be selfish and let your own desires cloud your decision making.

And she whined the ENTIRE FREAKING BOOK that this life wasn't what she wanted for herself and she had plans and blah blah blah.
Dear God, help me. *face palm*
Now, don't get me wrong, the plot is very interesting and the romantic scenes are very well written. But the way it was carried out and the characters, it screwed up everything.
This book has potential but all the stupid people in it mar the potential. I'm certain of my decision after reading this book. I will not continue reading the series.
Sorry ya'll. I was hoping this book to be as awesome as it looked. But then, "You can't judge a book by it's cover" (With the exception of Angelfall. I looks good and is AMAZING)
But this is just my opinion. Happy reading and if you pick this book up, hope it goes better for you than it did for me :/

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just as perfect as I remember.

Me whenever Lincoln's name is mentioned:



Me @ Violet



Me @ Phoenix




Pre review

"Reading for the second time"

Hahaha yeah nah.

I picked this series up in 2011. I was 14 years old. I am now almost 20 years old. Basically, I spent a solid 4 or so years of my life of just reading these books. Yes you've read that right. I could read all 5 books in this series within 1-2 weeks and I repeatedly read the entire series over and over and over again for about 4 years. The best I've ever done is reading all 5 books in 3 days. Prior to Goodreads I pretty much set my own reading challenges to see how fast I could read these books. I also got to the stage that I could receit entire chapters of the books. I'd say I've read these books probably 100 times in my life and I still love them. I haven't read them in over a year now and I have a lot on my schedule for the next 2-3 weeks so here I am reading these books again.

[Ava · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never been more infuriated with a book.

Vlog coming soon, dedicated to Kelly-Jane since she wanted me to rant. :D



Insta-love, insta-lust, insta-sex, terrible, selfish, creepy characters, dull plot that made no sense. I'm not going to bother wring a review for this.

[Joy (joyous reads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Embrace by Jessica Shirvington, there are two things that I've more or less decided to stay the hell away from:

First, ANGEL novels - with the exception of Angelfall series by Susan Ee and Daughter of Smoke and Bone series Laini Taylor.

Second, LOVE TRIANGLES. Jesus Murphy Jones, woman. You've read the synopsis. You know there were two guys mentioned that the MC is caught in the middle of and yet, you've went ahead and spent a hefty sum of money bringing these books from Australia! What the hell is wrong with you?! Love triangles should die a thousand deaths...preferrably in the pits of hell.

I couldn't stomach every character in Embrace. The MC was whiny. The love interests' characters were supposedly hot but...not and the absence of the parental units were ramphant. This book just didn't work for me at all.

I normally root for the brooding bad boy in a love triangle but not in this case. I wasn't rooting for anyone at all. I was apathetic through the entire reading experience.

I've come to the conclusion that not all Australian authors are created equal. I also need to be proven wrong that Aussies can only write brilliant reality fictions. So far, paranormal remained a bust; case and point, Saltwater Vampires by Kristi Eagar and Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart. I had a hard time getting into these books.

I've read reviews prior to reading Embrace and they're mostly positive. I'm sorry to be the Debbie Downer in this community but this book was really nothing special. Unfortunately, I now owned the entire trilogy which would probably remain unread in my shelves.

[ambsreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 9%

Embrace was a book I desperately wanted to like. Not for me. For the sake of one of my new Goodreads friends Caitlin. I know if I had read this book six years ago it would have been my favourite, much like how I loved Halo but would despise it now.

Caitlin told me that I was nitpicking, but in all honestly I couldn't help it. My body kept folding in on itself to cringe at the writing style and the protagonist thoughts. So, I didn't even get to the actual storyline of the book. We also aren't given much information on one of the love interests that the protagonist is oh so in love with. Though, at 9% I didn't exactly meet the other guy either.

Keep in mind, that I hadn't exactly read a lot of this book so the quotes I am providing are not spoilers in anyway - they are simply ones I had to get down so I could use in this review.

cracks knuckles Now, to begin the roasting game.

“Violet Eden!’ Steph said sternly, sucking me out of my trance. ‘We have your dad’s Amex, a green light and no specified limit.’ Her mock rebuke morphed into a devious grin. ‘What more could a girl want as a birthday present?”

At this quote, I knew I would hate this book. I love a good best friend in books, and I have been told that Steph is actually a good friend. However, in the single scene, I saw her in I have never wanted to punch a character more - an exaggeration because I have wanted to punch so many.

“It’s like he’s training you for battle or something.’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Hey, maybe he has some underground fight club and he’s grooming you!’
‘That’s it, Steph. Definitely.”

I am one of the weirdest people you could talk to (old and weird for life) and I say some stupid crap. I talk about random things and will usually message my friends a bunch of stuff that doesn't make a lot of sense. However, how the author wrote this moment it seemed that she was making it seem like Steph actually believed that her best friend was being trained for an underground fight club. Like, Jesus Christ girl.

“The fact that she was from a seriously monied-up family and was usually wearing something that cost more than my entire wardrobe didn’t adversely affect our friendship. I didn’t overly care for material possessions and she didn’t overly care that I didn’t.”

NOT. RELEVANT. I swear to God this book could have been half the size if the author got rid of half of the inimportant sentences that editors left in.

“I’d never been given a gift by my mother. She’d never made me warm milk, never wiped away my tears or put a plaster on me. She hadn’t saved me from the embarrassing outing with my nanny to buy my first bra and she hadn’t left me with a nifty stash of tampons in the bathroom cupboard that would never run out and that I’d never have to talk about.”

I get it, she feels like she missed out on a bunch of stuff. However, it felt like in this paragraph and what lead to it she was blaming her mum for dying. Which is dumb. I don't know my dad, he skedaddled when I was a baby and I have never felt like I missed out on anything. I get that having a parent die while giving to you is different, I wouldn't know. It does, however, seem like her dad has done everything to provide for her. The mind of Violet translated to that of a 12 year old to me, not of a 17 year old character. Didn't work for me.

“Our fingers brushed briefly and it was enough to make my heart jump.”

I can't.

“He smelled of baked suncream and his body radiated warmth.”

Not only did the author spell sunscreen wrong, but what the fuck? If anyone knows what the smell of "baked sunscream" actually smells like let me know. I know for a fact sunscreen smells terrible, so I'm not sure if she was actually insulting or complimenting the love interest. Caitlin told me it's because he is meant to represent summer, but Jesus Christ no.

“It was like we were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. We locked together perfectly.”

There was no chemistry and I'm meant to believe that you fit together like two pieces of a puzzle? I'm thinking you have the wrong pieces for this puzzle, honey.

“I swear to you, he’ll never hurt you again. You’re… I’ll never let him near you,’ he whispered.”

The quote that made me quit. Made me want to peg my phone across the room and risk the smash as I gagged on my own spit. I just couldn't. I can do instalove sometimes and I don't mind a good cheesy romance. This quote failed too much for me that I couldn't continue on.

I'm sorry to anyone who likes this book or if it is your favourite book or if it got you into reading - it just isn't for me. The two stars are for the fact I would have liked it if I was 13 and Caitlin so she doesn't brawl me.

Now, to end this review with some Ron Swanson gifs that represent how I accurately feel about this book.

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that as soon as I read the synopsis, I was instantly attracted to it. Mysterious tattoos, dream injuries, good vs evil battles - it definitely caught my attention. Sadly, I didn't fall love with it, but it's still a fun book full of plot twists that kept my attention throughout.

Violet is our main character, she's just learning that there's a whole world out there she didn't know existed, and she's right in the middle of it all. She is one of those characters that is easy to like, with confidence and independence. I liked how she handled herself in tough situations, but not in her relationships. Both guys are undoubtedly hot, and I liked how they didn't beat around the bush with their attraction to each other, but the love triangle is particularly cliché. We've got Lincoln, the good guy, who she loves with all of her heart but, of course, it's impossible for them to be together. Then we've got Pheonix, the bad boy, who loves her more than she loves him. Even though there was great chemistry between them and Violet, I found both guys bland- personality-wise. There were also a few things I questioned. She seemed to put all of her trust in Pheonix who is unquestionably manipulative, and obviously filled with dark secrets. She seemed blind to things that were simply sensical to anyone else. As for Lincoln, I loved his character at the start, but his appearance in the book becomes scarce after the first quarter so we don't get to know him very much. Regardless, I won't deny the romantic scenes are filled with passion and lust.

The intriguing plot is what I enjoyed the most about this book. Angel stories have rarely impressed me, thus I'm happy that the original lore in Embrace had me constantly curious to find out more about these angels and their conspiracies. In addition to being beautifully written, the novel introduces twists that are well thought out, as well as clever. We're left with a sense that nothing and no one is to be trusted in this world; it's intense and a bit unnerving. There are a few details I disbelieved in the story, though. How her best friend easily believes her when she explains she is part angel -in a food court no less, or how her dad acts oblivious, even neglectful towards his 17 year old daughter. I also never caught on to why it was forbidden for angel "teams" to be together. While I love forbidden romance, I like to know why it is so.

Fresh and enticing, Embrace is a delightful angel novel that, even though I didn't absolutely love it, I'd still recommend to fans of paranormal books who enjoy a fast paced, intriguing story, with an abundance of romance, betrayal and secrets.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

[TheBookSmugglers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

Violet Eden (yep, that’s her name, because it’s a story about ANGELS, get it?! EDEN!) hates her birthday, because it’s also the grim reminder of the day that her mother died in childbirth. It’s no surprise, then, that Violet is not looking forward to her seventeenth birthday party, even though she’ll be with the people she cares most about in the world – her workaholic and emotionally distant father, perky best friend Stephanie, and her crush/mentor Lincoln. The day Violet turns seventeen, though, strange things start to happen. First, there are the crazy veins darkening on her forearms. Then, there’s the strange way Lincoln is behaving, kissing Violet then pushing her away. Finally, there’s a hot new dude (with sparkly purple and silver hair – more on that in a bit) that shows up, following Violet’s every move.

Violet learns that these events are all related, and that she is, in fact, an angel-human hybrid and destined to become a Grigori – a protector of mankind against fallen exiled angels that want to enslave humanity and live out their twisted hedonistic dreams on Earth. See, Grigori come of age when the human-angel turns seventeen, and then have to make the choice to “embrace” their responsibilities and powers thus becoming a full Grigori, or turn their back on duty and live forever alone and in fear that exiled angels will hunt them down. Complicating matters is the fact that Violet and her crush Lincoln are actually meant to be Grigori partners (which means for some reason that is never adequately explained in the book that they can NEVER be together), and the presence of the mysterious hot exile angel Phoenix, who has his gloriously styled purple-silver locks of love catching Violet’s eye.

Added to the mix is some half-baked conflict in which exiled angels of dark and angels of light are teaming together to kill all Grigori so that they can exact their unimpeded control on Earth.

If Violet is going to survive, she has to choose her destiny. She has to embrace her fate (see what I did there?!?!).

Ahh, Embrace. I went against my doubts and decided to read you, all the way to the bitter end. Where do I start? How do I begin to articulate my thoughts about this novel? I suppose I’ll start with the positive – the fact that I was able to finish the book speaks volumes. The writing itself and voice for Violet are consistent and competent, and I had no problems with the actual prose and readability of the novel. I also like the basic premise and idea of Grigori and exiled angels duking it out on Earth…but that’s were things all start to fall apart. The characters are lackluster; the plot is mind-numbingly familiar and predictable (down to the insipid love triangle between Good Grigori Lincoln and Bad Exile Phoneix). The entire story is a lukewarm rehash of any number of paranormal YA books on the market, from Twilight (but not nearly as fun) to Hush Hush.

Since there are so many possible talking points for this review, I’ll just stick to my main problems with Embrace, which are threefold: 1. Violet and the Plausibility Gap; 2. The Hilarity/Ridiculousness Factor; 3. The Worldbuilding That Makes Me Feel RAGE.

Let’s start with Violet.

1. Violet and the Plausibility Gap

Violet Eden is our heroine, who is damaged, shyly withdrawn, but of course is both rich and effortlessly beautiful, drawing the eye of many a supernaturally powered suitor:

' “If you want him , you have to, you know…make a move. You need to let him know what he’s missing out on. Use your…assets.”

She meant my boobs. Steph was always telling me that I had it, so I should flaunt it. But I preferred to focus on other things, like my high cheekbones, full lips, and creamy complexion. And, of course, my long hair, which I could hide behind when I needed refuge.'

Ahh, effortlessly gorgeous, yet shyly withdrawn heroine. Bella Swan, what hast thou wrought? This is a minor complaint, however, in much larger picture. My main gripes with Violet (and the cast of characters at large, really) concern how easily she accepts the news that she is a half-angel without real argument or question. In this pivotal scene, Violet learns how Grigori are born (which touches on my issues with worldbuilding, but more on that below):

' “How do you know I’m one of these ‘Grig’ whatever, anyway?”

“Grigori. It happened when you were born and your mother died. If a parent dies within twelve days of their child’s birth, the combination of new life coinciding with new death creates a gateway for an angel to impart a piece of its essence.”'

Of course, not even a full page after our heroine learns she is an ANGEL HYBRID she completely eats it up because:

' I stoppped in front of him, staring daggers. “Am I what he says?”

Griffin looked straight at me, holding my gaze easily. “We are ALL what he says.”

I don’t know how or why, but looking into his eyes, I suddenly knew it was true. It was as if he had penetrated the deepest layers of my guards and unearthed a truth buried deep within me.'

And that is IT. No questions asked. No denial. Just because OMG HE LOOKED INTO HER EYES AND IT WAS TRUE, she accepts this explanation – without seeing any demonstration of angel powers, or exiles, or whatever.

But that’s not all! Because it turns out that Violet is not only effortlessly beautiful and a future Grigori angel-in-training, but she’s also Powerful Beyond Compare! Most fledgling Grigori can perceive of only two angelic senses (smelling apples or flowers being the main sense) – but powerful Violet can feel all five sense. She’s also so powerful that her aura looks like a rainbow (get it?!? VIOLET EDEN, Rainbow Angel!), and attracts exiles of both light and dark. Of course. How incredibly boring, predictable, and lazy.

Moving on.

2. The Hilarity/Ridiculousness Factor

There are several things about Embrace that are hilariously silly (which is probably one of the reasons I kept reading the book). There’s a bizarre preoccupation with hair in this book – particularly, with bad boy exiled angel Phoenix’s sparkly hair. One could make a drinking out of mentions of Phoenix’s hair. Observe:

' I was struck by his hair, of all things – at first look it appeared black, but then I saw other colors rippling through it, shades of purple and silver. It reminded me of a rough opal. I wondered how a hairdresser could have managed such a complex blend of streaks. It was beautiful and…vain.'

' Phoenix stood up and started pacing the room. He kept playing with the buttons on the cuffs, undoing them and doing them up again. He was wearing a navy shirt that highlighted his hair, and every time he walked under the downlights it shimmered.'

' Phoenix looked hot dressed entirely in black. No tie or jacket, but he still managed a cool elegance. The outfit acentuated his hair and made it look incredible – the deepest plum, almost black, with splices of dazzling silver.'

And my personal favorite:

' I turned to look at him. Glimmers of purple floated through the black base of his hair and as the sun caught different angles, a few strands sparkled silver.

“Your hair is…amazing.”'

I cannot wait to use this line in real life. here’s also the generous heaping of cheese regarding the romantic entanglements of the plot. Observe one character’s heartened plea to Violet:

' 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 planned everything – the candles, the lilies – replayed the words I wanted to say a million times when you and I finally made love.'

And so on and so forth.

While these are more nitpicky, amusing things – the next problem is the real dealbreaker.

3. The Worldbuilding That Makes Me Feel RAGE

The entire premise of Embrace is that there are exiled angels living amongst humans, who have chosen to fall because they want to experience human sensation (original, right?). The Grigori are apparently created when a parent dies within twelve days of their child’s birth, because this opens a gateway that allows angels to give a bit of its essence to the newborn child. Ooookaaaaaay. This is all the explanation we receive, and like Violet, we are meant to eat it up without question. Why twelve days? Why only a parent’s death? Who knows! That’s just how angels roll.

Accepting this premise, and that the Grigori are created to keep exiles in check feels lazy, but doable. When we finally learn about the origins of angels in the context of a familiar creation myth, however, this is where things start to get ugly.

' “Many, many years ago this earrth and man were created. There are many opinions as to who created them, but that is not today’s story. Man – we can call him Adam, if you like – was given a garden in which to frolic. For a time it was perfect [...] I’m sure you understand that if man were to have free will, then he must have the presence of choice and opposition. Angels, being entrusted with this responsibility, used their powers to create one of their own – a rare angel, for it was a woman. In all ways the opposite to Adam, except that they were both immortal [...] Well, Lilith was created to bring balance to this unbalanced world. You see, she represented everything opposite to the untainted man, and brought with her all of my favorite things: temptation, lust, seduction, deceit, anger, fear, persuasion, you get the drift. Anyway, Adam was enraged with Lilith when, after a while, she refused to lie beneath him.”'

Violet doesn’t question any of this and accepts it at face value. Charming, right? Nothing like reinforcement of good old fashioned religious misogyny to perk up a story!

Even more charming is the revelation that Eve is apparently Adam’s second wife, who was created as angelic PR/cleanup following Lilith’s leaving Adam (that evil temptress hussy!).

I don’t think I have the energy to express the range of emotions this type of premise evokes. There’s shock, followed by disbelief, topped off with a nice generous dose of RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

On a related subject, there’s also a scene thrown in early in the book, in which Violet relates a traumatic, life-altering experience when a teacher attempted to rape her in the classroom. When she opens up and tells Lincoln this very personal story, it’s a big deal…but then it’s all mysteriously forgotten shortly afterwards. This experience never again surfaces, nor does it factor into Violet’s mind or decisions (even when she decides to open up and have sex with someone else). This bothers me. It bothers me a LOT because a serious matter like a sexual attack felt thrown and pushed aside as an early character arc point, easily forgotten once completed.

There are many other things I could say about Embrace, but ultimately, why bother? I gave it a shot and simply put: this book did not work for me. Your mileage my vary, but for me? I’m steering clear of Violet Eden and any future adventures.

Review Note: All quotes have been taken from an ARC and have not been checked against the final book.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kicks Halo's arse...loved it!
I've been rather disappointed in most of the Angel books that have come my way recently - too slow, too insipid (seriously, I couldn't even read Halo without snorts of derision and finally gave up for the sake of my colleagues sanity) and too whiny.
EMBRACE was none of these - it's smart, intriguing, fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable. Violet is a character that is easy to root for - she is believable and strong and is essentially (besides the obvious) a teenager coming to terms with all that life is throwing at her - she makes mistakes and she has her flaws. Because of this, you don't have to be a fan of the supernatural genre to get caught up in Embrace. I can't wait to read Enticed when it comes out in 2011.

[Nic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating 2.5 stars

Okay, somebody stop me if I go to read an angel book again in the near future. They all seem to be letting me down lately. And I really wanted to love this one since she is a debut Australian author, but I didn’t.
So here is my special goodreads spoiler review :-

THE GOOD

* The beautiful prose. “I slowly opened my eyes. The sun speared its first bright rays of golden orange into the sky and I leapt from the cliff with the sorrowful knowledge that no matter what the outcome, at very least, part of me would die that day”. For a debut author she really has a remarkable writing style.

* The romantic scenes (this is also on the cons list). There were both beautiful and smoking hot! “Then he touched my lips with his, trembling and I knew control was on tenuous string. But it still wasn’t enough. If I couldn’t have the control I wanted, then maybe I’d be better off with none at all.”

* Interesting angel concept especially the hierarchy, even if it did get a little bit confusing at times.

*Beautiful cover - we all know pretty covers are worth at least half a star because when it gets boring you can stopping reading and just look at it.

THE BAD

* They characters all seemed too perfect and I found it hard to relate to them. Good looking, wealthy, smart, leaves in apartment with a doorman, just perfect. You want to see that you could be like the character or know somebody like that but they were completely unrealistic.

* Violet‘s Dad doesn‘t seem to care what Violet does even though she is only 17. In one scene Violet’s Dad takes her to this restaurant/club/bar. Violet and her best friend Steph secretly (and very obviously) pour alcohol into their drinks. Violet’s Dad leaves her there tipsy with a 22 year old guy and is like have fun. What parent does that? And it funny because one minute he is doing this and then the next minute he is lecturing Lincoln about supposedly being with Violet. I wish the author would make up her mind.

* Also there is a scene in the front of book were she briefly talks about how once her teacher attempted to sexual assault her. At the beginning she is a little bit jumpy even around Lincoln her major crush. But then all the sudden it is forgotten, she is confidently hanging around strange guys and it kind of felt like it was just thrown in. For such a serious matter it really bugged me.

* Violet tells Steph about the whole secret Angel thing while eating in a busy food court. Of all the places. Seriously the tables at food courts are so close together you can hear everything so obviously it is not the best place in the world to tell her! And Steph believes it pretty much straight away and is all excited.

* The love triangle (apart from the kissing scenes). I don’t mind them sometimes but this one just lacked something special about it. It was boring. It was the typical Good Hottie vs. Evil Hottie. Yawn!

* I think it would have worked better if the author had written the characters as adults. Then we wouldn’t have unrealistic scenes.

I think this book will have a lot fans but for me it didn’t work. I can see potential in this book and who knows I might even read the second instalment.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I was absolutely blown away at how much I enjoyed this debut novel! I was getting tired of reading Angel stories, but this one was so blissfully different. I highly recommend it!

First of all I have to say - I can't believe this is Jessica Shirvington's first story! It was simply amazing and so well-written. The story was perfectly mapped out and planned, it unfolded at a great pace and almost everything was explained in a timely fashion. Instead of a huge slew of questions with no answers, everything works and dances together in perfect rhythm, and for the most part, we figure out the answers alongside our heroine, Violet.

I LOVED Violet! I tend to have a dislike towards the lead characters these days, feeling I'm unable to relate at all, but I really adored her. Most of the choices she made were my own, she was strong and brave and wasn't afraid to stand her ground. I really believed her emotions and what she felt for both Lincoln and Phoenix.

Ah, boys. I was head over heels for Lincoln in the beginning - can you say amazing kiss? But then he was totally blown out of the water by Phoenix. I didn't like Phoenix on his first meetings with Violet, but then he pretty much turned into Mr. Perfection for me. Oh, gosh, was he sexy or what? The pages will basically burn in your hands when you read of his, er, talents?

Embrace was so amazingly tingly without being downright graphic, so it fits in well with the YA genre. For those craving steam and heat, you will get it. For those not wanting to know too much detail, you will get it. How does Jessica Shirvington balance the two so well? Maybe I should have asked her that question in my upcoming Q&A with her! (Look out for that, by the way!)

Violet has friends and her father, but they don't appear too much in the story that it distracts you from all the action going on. There are no 'boring bits' or boring dialogue where you want to slap the best friend up the side of the face (something I've found rather common in YA these days) Jessica doesn't hesitate in weaving a great tale, doesn't get sidetracked in trying too hard to make Violet look like she has a 'normal' life. We believe it from the word 'go' and it needs no explanation through dull school scenes. You jump right into everything!

I also must do a jump for joy that there is no 'brooding, mysterious new guy at school' present! Seriously, I wanted to scream this from the rooftops when he didn't appear. Of course, you get Phoenix who is kind of strange and mysterious, but, Violet stumbles upon him in a nightclub. He hasn't been brooding over her for an eternity or anything like that.

The next installment, Entice, comes out in 2011. I absolutely cannot wait! This was such a joy to read, seriously. I cannot sing it's praises enough. The lore is consistent, the characters are believable, the story is balanced, there are no 'annoying' characters that are supposed to be lovable. It's perfect, hence my five star rating. I began this book last night and read into the early hours, only pausing for sleep. As soon as I woke up, I had it in my hands again and I was turning the pages hungrily!

Go out and get this, right now. I cannot thank the lovely staff at Hachette AU for sending me a copy of this brilliant book. My first publisher-sent book - what a fluke that it was an unbelivable read!

[PAIGE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear my passion for this story runs so deep that I’ll never completely feel my words do it justice. Discovering this series was an earth shattering, life altering experience—just to put it lightly.

Embrace transforms the histories and tales of angels into a sweeping and unbelievably compelling saga. One in which desperately deserves more attention.

There’s a wonderfully mystical layer within the supernatural qualities that this book explores—unlike any other I’ve seen. It’s truly consuming and stuck with me immediately. The pages end up turning themselves as you discover the power and deceit lying beneath the surface. The story takes shape in such a uniquely charming, intimate manner that I don’t quite know how to adequately describe it. The aforementioned details pair seamlessly, setting this book apart from others in its wheelhouse.

As a whole, this series embarks on a beautifully emotional journey that I can’t help but be absolutely obnoxious about. It relishes in all–consuming love, unbounded friendship, human nature, and eye opening conversations of good and evil. It all will undeniably embed itself within you, as it did me. This first installment is just the very tip to a cataclysmic iceberg.

I cannot articulate with enough urgency the necessity it is for more people to discover these books. I am not above begging...or bribery.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Giveaway, guest post, and interview with Jessica Shirvington on my blog today! Contest ends on April 27th, 2012. Good luck, everyone! :)**

I honestly had to stop re-reading Embrace just to start this review! It's the kind of book that catches your attention from page one and keeps it long even after the last page is turned. Make sure that you have lots of time when you start this because you won't be able to put it down!

Embrace is about angels, but it's in no way just another angel book! There are Grigori, and angel exiles, and sacrifices needed to embrace their power. It was so easy to get sucked into the twisting plot with the awesome angel lore — it was enthralling and original to say the least!

Violet was the perfect main character for this novel! She was was so strong and resilient even when things were completely messed up, and my heart broke for her several times. And Lincoln (♥) and Phoenix deserve every swoon-worthy sigh they get! The romance — sweet and sensual and a little bit dangerous — just tore me apart.

Totally enticing and 100% entertaining, Embrace is a book you don't want to miss! It doesn't end on a cliffhanger but I still wish I had the next book with me right now. I can already tell that this series is going to be amazing! :)

BUY or BORROW?: You definitely want to own this book so you can re-read it like I already have! And I'm going to get a finished copy just so I can have that gorgeous purple cover on my shelf! ;)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5!

(Original review at Mimi Valentine's YA Review Blog)

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really? I can't believe this got so many good reviews, because I couldn't find a single redeeming quality in it. Ugh. Terrible protagonist, flat characters, and boring storyline (wait, a storyline? where?!). I guess a pretty cover isn't everything.

--
Full Review:

There have been some great entries into the YA fantasy world lately with angel lore, and after reading many positive reviews for this one, I thought I'd give it a shot. (It also didn't hurt that the cover is so gorgeous.)

Within the first 50 pages, I was pretty certain I wasn't a fan of this story. By the end, I actively despised it. Why? Let's start with the narrator, Violet. We've all heard this story before--teenage girl discovers she has some great, world-altering destiny, and life as she knows it is over. I agree that there needs to be some sort of adjustment period, because for anyone, that would be hard to swallow. But Violet Eden (yes, that's really her name) wins the prize for the whiniest, brattiest protagonist in the genre, in my opinion. The whole book is a constant stream of her angsting over everything, and being annoyed at everyone.

There's also her relationships with other characters. Her best friend acts ditzy at best (although she's apparently smart when no one else is around...?), and her main function in the story seems to be showing just how absolutely gorgeous Violet is and cooing over the guys in her life. At one point early on, the friend is saying how jealous she is of Violet's body, and Violet thinks about how she'd rather emphasize her beautiful face instead. Basically the only interactions between these two outside of the 'omg-you're-so-hot-Violet' scenarios are bizarre phone conversations to, I guess, keep the friend from fading into the background of the story. When Violet finally tells her the big secret no one else is supposed to know, it's in a *mall foodcourt*. Because nothing can be overheard there, obviously. A lot of these q&a scenes between Violet and some other characters occur around food, which makes me wonder if the author was hungry while writing them.

And then there are the guys, Lincoln and Phoenix. Honestly, I disliked them both, but Phoenix hands down is one of the creepiest, most obsessive love interests I've ever had the displeasure to read about. He manipulates, stalks, and is borderline controlling throughout the book. And yet, somehow, Violet thinks he's the safe option. I won't get into spoilers, but there is one scene between the two of them that made her characterization completely unbelievable and made me dislike her even more--she violates the one thing she said in the beginning of the story she was all about. Not okay. Lincoln has some serious anger and possession issues too, but at least he maintains some semi-normal qualities. And hey, at least he's less annoying than Violet.

Now, I know this is the first of a series, and that there needs to be a lot of setup and worldbuilding, but another main problem I had with this book is that nothing really happens. If I had to sum up the main events, it would be: Violet uncovers destiny, Violet asks questions, Violet is pissed, Violet asks more questions--and maybe does one or two things towards the end. But the "action", if you want to call it that, is paced very oddly, which could be because of the simplistic writing style. None of the tension holds--for example, there's a scene in which one of the main characters is in seeming mortal peril, and the bad guys are standing over him; Violet arrives, and said bad guys agree to leave if she'll listen to a story. No fight to the death, no mental battle of wills, just...a story.

My advice: there are a lot of good entries into the YA fantasy genre lately. Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

[Nasty Lady MJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

To see full review click here.

I think I need to lower my standards. I really do. This wasn't a horrible book. Was it meh, definitely. So meh in fact I didn't finish it. But it's not like it's the worst thing I ever read which actually has me feeling sort of, well, weird. And what's weirder is the press that this piece of...okay, I'll calm down now and review the book.

Ugh.

Whenever I read books like this I can only think hamster wheel. Because I've read this story thousand of times before. I'm just going to give you a brief guide on how to write a YA PNR via Embrace:

Step One: Introduce your whiney protagonist. Protagonist should look like a Disney princess but not know it (like that Dove study says, women are their own worst critic especially in YA girl world). She should also have a dead parent and should be approaching that age where something more is about to happen. Also, it's great to bring in some dark secret (in this book the heroine gets sexually assaulted by a teacher), but don't spend much time on it since, you know, these books really don't care much for character development and the aftermath of an assault.

Step Two; Introduce Drippy Love Interest One--this is usually the endgame (though it can occasionally differ). Love interest one should be our Edward. Classically handsome, has a secret, is eons old, and probably be partners in some class with our little Wannabe Disney Princess. Oh, and they share a special connection (usually soul mates).

Step Three: Whiney protagonist finds out she's special. Usually this is either through the following a) she's a princess or lineage, b) the last member of her paranormal race, c) a powerful cute paranormal creature that she later finds out she's special. These can vary. Loose research should be done on said mythology. In the case of Embrace Shrivington shows us that she's different by making her grigori (half human/half angel). Never mind that a girgori is actually a watcher and a half angel/half human is referred to as a nephilm.

Step Four: Introduce another love interest. He needs to be a little bit more edgy than the other love interest. Or if the other one is edgy make him the quote quote, see Jacob Black who's not really a good boy but passes as one when compared to Eddie Boy. It also helps if there's a past or some unknown connection that throws Disney Princess Wannabe and Second Interest together. A quest can also help here too.

Step Five: Have some random person trying to kill your MC. Because, you know she's special.


Step Six: Have the MC go over her choices of guys over and over again where you feel like you're on a merry go round and are going to vomit-note to readers, don't eat Skittles when you read it the Technicolor vomit is guaranteed to make you vomit again.

Step Seven: End with a cliff hanger because we always got to have a sequel.

Note, I only read about half of Embrace so I didn't get to see how step seven played out, but given that there are like four sequels I'm betting it ends in some sort of cliff hanger. The problem with this book is that it follows this format to a T it doesn't divert at all. And it really is more focused on Violet's love life than finding out she's an angel or whatever it is. It also capitalizes on the cliches. We have a character, Love Interest 2, described as a Calvin Klein underwear model. Yeah, she uses those actual words. I'll be honest, I have a character in a WIP I'm writing described that way. But he's not a love interest, he's the main character's egotistical best friend and it's said in jest. But here, it's said seriously. And then there's the main character, we're told how perfect she is complete with a creamy complexion, perfect hair, and big boobs. Which is fine and all, but really who describes themselves that way and then does the whole I'm not particularly beautiful act.

Do you see my problem with this?

I'd like to say that the characters actions and dialogue made up for these cringe worthy descriptions, but nope. They were just cliche as the descriptions. The main character really was a bore. The one thing I know about her, besides the fact she likes to dress like a hooker at five star restaurants with her dad (and no not a sugar daddy, but her actual dad), is that she never goes to school. And as far as I know this book didn't take place in the summer.

Really, there is nothing likable about her. Her reactions to finding out her secret heritage and reaction to those who are telling her is childish at best. Her connection to Love Interest 2 is eye roll worthy. Not to mention he has hair the color of an opal. How can one have opal colored hair?

Best Feature: I don't know. I really don't know. It was readable and easy enough to get through, but not interesting enough to finish it. The cover arts pretty too. Sometimes it's really hard being nice.

Worst Feature: Meh Plot. There were lots of things about this book that bothered me, but I think what made me throw it back in the library bin was that there was nothing interesting about it. I've seen this story over and over again. Most of the angel mythology was adapted from other works-Blue Bloods, Fallen, Hush Hush, A Beautiful Dark, and even Halo. Yeah, if you're using Halo as a source of your research then we have issues. And maybe I could've even gotten over the poor mythology if the characters were interesting. But we had essentially a Disney Princess in the driver's seat with two Edward Cullen wannabes-well, maybe a quasi Jacob there too. Do you see how this could get annoying? Honestly, I don't expect a lot when it comes to YA PNR (a genre if done right I really love), but this was just sheer laziness.

Appropriateness: Um, no. The character briefly mentions being sexually assaulted but nothing comes of it. I think sensitive issues like this should be treated delicately. This is not treated with kid gloves at all. Then there's also the fact that the MC makes some pretty stupid life choices. Language is alright, I guess. There's some teen drinking in it as well.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG OMG OMG! This book blew me away and all other angel books out of my mind, well maybe not my Hush, Hush but close. This author wrote an amazing book, it was mind blowing.

This book pulls you in from the beginning, makes you addicted and wanting more. It was kind of like a drug but in a good way. I tried to go to bed but all I could think about was this book and it only happened with two other series!!!!

The characters in this book are real and kickass. Violet is just plain amazing, she is someone to look up to. She makes you feel like your in the book going along with her on all her journeys, fights, and most intimate moments. The only thing that kills me is how blind she is to Lincolns feelings and how fast she turns from him when he was trying to protect her. It broke my heart I was sobbing right in the beginning of the book which is a good thing, you want it to get better, you want to know what she is going to do next, and most of all will she forgive him and herself along the way with some of the choices she makes?!

Add in Phoenix god just writing this part about him has me all tingly! What a freaking character he is by far THE best character I have read. He has so many different parts to him and you never know what is real, what hes going to do and how is he really feeling?! I feel sometimes he truly does love Violet but he does so much manipulation then in the end the BIG revelation pushes him away from her kind of like Lincoln.

Now Lincoln again another amazing character (this book is full of them). He makes my heart beat wildly. He is by the books, no nonsense head over heels in LOVE with Violet and she is blind in a way. He makes that one mistake which I wouldnt call it a mistake and she turns and doesnt go back, sometimes he feels her resolve but she pushes Phoenix in his face which doesnt really help and all he wants is her and all he has eyes for is her. God i felt for him in this book like no other character. he broke my heart with everything he tries and does for Violet.

This book has it all for us the fallen angels, the good the bad, the light and the dark the good and the evil, nail biting, edge of your seat suspense which almost killed me, the love traingle, the fights, the makeups and breakups , friendship and betrayals all wrapped into one pretty little book. This book I dont think could get any better and I am hoping the Sequel will be just as good if not better than this one!!!

COMING to US March 2012

[Jessica (Goldenfurpro) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I liked the idea of the book
The whole concept is completely original and interesting
The problem is...
It didn't focus on the angels
It focused on Violet's love life

Here's the thing....
I did not like Violet
She was annoying
selfish
whiny
made bad choices
and all she thinks about is boys

And then there's the love triangle
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS!
How is it possible for a girl like Violet to get ONE guy to like her?!
But TWO guys like her?!
Wait... no, let me rephrase that
TWO guys LOVE her!
I just do not understand why anyone can possibly fall in love with her!

Also...
This book had a lot of "I definitely saw that coming" in it
Violet & Licoln can't be together? Yep, I saw that coming once Violet introduced her crush on him. Love triangle? I definitely saw that coming. Phoenix's betrayal? That was so obvious!!!

On another note....
I was surprised that Violet took in the fact that she's part angel so quickly! Of course, when she was first told she denied it. Saying that they are mental or that this is all a dream but it only took a few sentences to convince her.

Here's what Violet did when she was told that she's part angel:

First came the shock...


Then the denial...
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Then once she was convinced she asked questions over a cup of tea (okay, maybe it was coffee)



Here's what I would do:

First I would look at the person to see if what I heard them right...


Then I would burst out into uncontrollable laughter for about 5 minutes....


Then I would promptly leave


If they try to tell me toooo many times I will give them a psychologist business card and tell them to call them (don't ask why I would have that card)


The point of all this blabbing is....
i'm not a fan of this book

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally posted on Heise Reads & Recommends

You know that kind of book...the one when you start reading that book, you're immediately swept into the fantasy world created? The one where you're connecting with the characters - laughing and cringing and reacting with them? The one where you stay up too late reading, no matter what you have going on the next day, because you can't wait to find out where the story is going? The one where you find yourself frantically turning the pages, but then realizing you want to reread sections and slow yourself down so you make sure you actually process the story because you're going to need to understand it later? The one where you finish it, but just want to read it all over again because it was so, so good and you were so engrossed in it? Yeah...all of that was EMBRACE for me. I should have known, when the Sourcebooks rep told Sarah and I at NCTE that this was her favorite book they had there and we would love it, that I really would, but I was still surprised by how much I liked it. I was completely immersed in this all-consuming read.

I've read quite a few angels/fallen angels stories over the last several years, and I've liked some of them more than others, but this one blows all the rest of them away for me. The writing of this debut book is in first person, past tense in a straight-forward style and is engaging as it propels the story forward. It's one of those that's almost hard to explain what it was the grabbed me because I enjoyed it so much. Let's start with the characters though. Violet is a teenager with determination and spunk and sass and heart, I mean, this girl can kick some serious butt! She's a really likeable, believeable character, but she's also a little lost because she's been kind of alone her whole life since her mother died at her birth. Her dad has never really recovered, so she relies on her only best friend (who is a trip), and her "trainer" Lincoln to keep her going. She has strength within herself that she has yet to fully realize, and once she turns seventeen and learns about the world she's destined to be a part of without ever knowing it, everything changes for her. She is a Grigori, but she's different than all the others. Her inner strength and will is what makes her so powerful in the end, but she has to work to get there. She's written in a way that I just really connected with, especially her strength and determination to do things her own way on her own terms.

Then there are the boys. Girls are going to be swooning over these two. We have Lincoln, who Violet's in love with but doesn't show the same interest back at her, and when she find out why, it changes everything between them. Then there's Phoenix, who shows up in her life, and has secrets that he's not willing to reveal, but she is drawn to him and the way that he is there for her and takes care of her. Violet doesn't know it at first, but she's going to need both of these guys on her side to help get her through what's coming next and the decision she has to make of whether to embrace her Grigori side or not. The choice is hers, but she needs the guidance and support from both of these important guys in her life in order to help her make the life-changing decision. And, yes, there are some steamy, heated scenes with both of the guys (but not too graphic), and yes, it's triangle-ish, but not in the overdone, forced way that I sometimes don't like in young adult books - it seems realistic for the situation Violet is in and for the way her feelings are swirling. I have a feeling this will definitely spark a "Team" debate among the masses once they get their hands on this book. However, each of the guys seems more layered than they originally appear, and I can only guess we'll be discovering more and more depth about each of them throughout the rest of the series.

The storyline is fast-paced and full of action and decisions to be made and life or death situations and excitement. The world of the angels and Grigori is well-rounded and fully explained throughout the book, and it's a fresh take on some of the same backstories that we've heard before. I fully enjoyed reading this book and discovering this world that Violet has been destined to be a part of. It's detailed and complicated and we get to know and understand it just as Violet does as we take this journey to realization with her. She's not perfect though, and there are things that happen that we, as readers, will probably think she should have realized, but we aren't living with her demons and secrets and youthful outlook and angst and hope. There is quite a lot going on in this book, but ultimately it's about Violet learning about this world and figuring out how she feels about being a part of it or not and what's most important to her in her life. She has to learn to make decisions based on what she needs and wants and what's right for her, but also how it impacts those around her. It's about Violet's journey to self-realization and it's full of emotion, but also deals with the struggle between light and dark and whether or not it's a clear line between the two. Light wouldn't be needed if there was no dark, but are light and dark so clearly identified? This is the stage for the entire story. Because of this, everything is complicated in this book - there are no clear distinctions on what is the right thing to do, and that makes it all the more intriguing.

I'm sure there are going to be people who don't connect with this book like I did, or who pick apart some things that I overlooked because I was so engaged in it, but that's how it is with every book. Different ones connect with different people, and I was definitely absorbed in this one. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I picked it up at just the right time when I needed to decompress from the last book I had read. I know I'm going to be desperately waiting to get my hands on book 2, ENTICED, and book 3, EMBLAZE, which, thankfully, Sourcebooks will be releasing in six month intervals so we won't have to wait so long to find out what will happen with Violet's journey next! Enjoy this read this spring!

[☆ ĄňŊǡƂėƮĦ ☆ ŞŧŎŋė · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

Embrace was a very good start to this series, one that I will definitely continue to read. There was so much romance, action, suspense, danger, myths, and plot twists that I couldn't stop reading. I am very glad that I read it after it was on my to-read list for a while.

Violet Eden is a strong female lead that, most of the time, I enjoyed reading and learning about. Other times, she was frustrating but everyone is so it was more relate-able. She did make mistakes and was stubborn but it made her character even better.

The first thing I said in the list of things in the book was romance and that is for a reason. There was a lot of very well written romance. Even though the book started at a point where Violet already had feelings for Lincoln (I'll talk about him later) but it wasn't anything like insta-love which was good. There was a hint of a love triangle but it wasn't overdone and it didn't completely take over the book.

Out of the two love interests that Violet had, Lincoln was my favorite. He was very kind, obviously cared deeply for Vi, and wasn't perfect making me love him even more. He would do anything for Vi and was very very patient and forgiving of Vi. Since their romantic relationship is just beginning in this book, I look forward to reading more.

Vi's other love interest was Phoenix. There were times where I did like him but there were others where I had a feeling that he wasn't who he said he was and was hiding things. I did wonder why Vi did like him when someone else (Lincoln) was right there but it was part of the plot and I can't deny that it made it more interesting. The little bits of information that were revealed about him at the end did seem like a teaser (and cliffhanger) which I hope will be resolved in the sequel.

Shirvington is a very good author and I'm glad that I picked this one up. She writes very well and I was totally sucked into this book, the characters, and their emotions. I felt everything they were feeling and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The settings and background information, like the Grigori and angels, were very interesting to read and learn about it made this book even more enjoyable. The plot twists was something that she also did well. Secrets were revealed but more things were hidden making me want to read Enticed even more.

Overall, this was a great read. I would recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal, romance, YA, fantasy, and who wants to start a new series.

[Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 || Hat sich sehr schnell lesen lassen. Violet ist sehr unreif und man bekommt nicht viel über Persönlichkeit. Teilweise ist es sehr viel Teeniedrams. Aber trotzdem unterhaltsam, auch wenn ich ab und an meine Augen verdrehen musste.
Mochte die beiden Jungs und war bei Phoenix nicht überrascht.
Wer Dark Elements von Jennifer L. Armentrout mag, sollte dem Buch eine Chance geben - hat mich teilweise daran erinnert.

[shre ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot was unique (gives a whole new meaning to evil vs good angels), the characters were kick-ass, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was deeply engrossed in it noticing how I spent only 4-5 hours finishing it! :D I RECOMMEND!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wie lange wollte ich diese Reihe schon anfangen? Man munkelt noch. Aber ich bin sehr froh, dass ich es endlich auf die Kette bekommen habe :D
'Erwacht' - der erste Teil der Violet Eden Chapters - war ein sehr guter Auftakt einer Fantasy-Reihe, bei der ich mich tatsächlich dazu aufraffen konnte eBooks zu lesen. Aber schwierige Zeiten verlangen nach schwierigen Maßnahmen.
Die Geschichte beginnt schon sehr solide und wird von Seite zu Seite immer besser und schneller als wir denken, befinden wir uns in einer ausgereiften Dreiecks-Liebesgeschichte (I Love It).
An die Charaktere dieses Dreiecks muss ich mich teilweise noch etwas gewöhnen, aber ich bin sehr zuversichtlich :D (Auch wenn ich nicht so zuversichtlich über den Ausgang dieses Dreiecks bin... ich ahne schlimmes)
Der Schreibstil dieser Geschichte ließ mich teilweise ziemlich stutzen, sodass ich einige Passagen 2x lesen musste, um sie gänzlich zu verstehen.

Im Großen und Ganzen hat mir das Buch also sehr gut gefallen und ich kann es jedem Fan von "Silberschwingen" oder "Dark Elements" empfehlen. :)

[shady boots · Rating 1 out of 5]

With YA angel fic, it's so easy to spot the gems among the piles and piles of crap. This book, however, blended right into the pile. It wasn't even the memorable kind of bad. The whole time I was reading I just kept sighing like, "Really? This shit again?" because once again, there's not a lot of originality there, and the vapid insta-love made it all the more insufferable. DNF. Chose not to waste any more of my time.

[Robert Sylwery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deities of all nations, help me not to break my Kindle and stomp on it! Save my nerves...



One of my absolutely least favorite characters I was so unlucky to meet. I officially hate Violet Eden; the whiny, SELFISH, stupid, lackluster, weak, love-struck brat of a main character of this book.

She loves her best friend, Lincoln. He is training her for the dangers that will come, loves and protects her whenever it is needed, is as hurt by keeping secrets (for her safety) as she is after finding out. Then, when the secrets are revealed she freaks out, blames him and starts hating him. Typical teenage drama queen.

After this, she spots a hot exiled angel, who is meant to be her enemy, and becomes a slave of lust (like, literally). Someone kill me. She insists that she still loves Lincoln, but is having SEX with the exiled angel, AND tires to imagine it's Lincoln. Is she a dog in heat or what?



She is ALWAYS whining about her life or the lack of it, angry at everyone and everything because she does not want to kill exile angels and be a bad-ass evil hunter. And I was like:



Also, there's another frustrating thing. Almost in every paranormal romance there is this stupid kind of protagonists, like Viola, that have extraordinary powers but not because they deserve it or came up with it with hard work and dedication, but because one or both of their parents where powerful creatures, or because something happened by accident and they all of a sudden got bad-ass powers. But in all these cases, in no way they deserve it.
Authors, please stop that. I don't have warm feelings or respect for characters like that. They mean nothing and in real life they will be just ignored. If the main character was someone other than Viola, people would think she is a selfish brat and never mention her in the book anymore. Just think about it, you see a person discover some great powers due to their heritage, but she is stubborn, stupid and selfish, makes the worst decisions possible, always causes trouble and endangers people surrounding her. What would you do?



Maybe I am harsh but it's already making me sick, these kinds of characters are not interesting. I can see that most authors are really talented, are capable of making wonderful characters like Tris from Divergent (I love her. She deserves respect because she gained what she did by herself, by hard work and courage). And another frustrating thing is that if the main character is a girl, in 100km radius everyone with a d*ck wants her. What the hell authors, stop that!



The last thing I hate in this book (and in general) are freaking love triangles! Guys, do you really think love triangles are hot, sweet, and fun in any way?
No! They are just frustrating and I'm like this every time I see them.



I am not even talking about the fact that these relationships are not even love triangles. Two or more people loving and pining after the same person, and that one person loving one or more of them is not even a love triangle.

I gave this book 2 starts.

P.S. But I still hate Violet!!!

P.S.S And what's the joke with her name, Violet Eden? Really? It's like two first names. But you know, a book about angels, totally legit, yeah.

[Karen Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been generally disappointed with the spate of angels books out there (Fallen being an example - though well written, it was described by one reviewer as moving at glacial speed and I think that was accurate), this book was recommended to me by someone whose judgement I trust....I was not disappointed.

In Embrace, Shirvington has laid the foundation for a terrific series that commences with the 17th birthday of the heroine, Violet Eden and an unusual gift her mother has left for her. Her mother died giving birth to Violet, so birthdays are bitter-sweet for this young woman who, understandably, is conflicted over her origins.

With such an inauspicious entry to the world, the scene is set for Violet to discover she is no ordinary human - on the contrary, she is destined to play a major role in the eternal battle between light and dark, good and evil, the supernatural and natural.

Throw in a love triangle between Violet, her companion, Lincoln, and the ever- ready, Phoenix and the stage is set for sexual tension, drama and jealousy.

Only, what Shirvington has added in this colorful mix, where the girls are, of course, gorgeous and feisty and the boys impossibly handsome, is shades of grey: nothing is as simple as it seems, including the wonderful and rich history of sacred and supernatural forces that underpin Violet's background and human's generally. The major characters too are capable of showing their flaws and unexpected strengths as much as their honed and toned bodies, which is refreshing and keeps this aesthetically unchallenged cast interesting and real.

Beautifully written, especially the simmering sensuality and sex scenes, this book forms a terrific introduction to what promises to be a great series. It manages to be both sophisticated and exciting, rich in metaphor and allusion but without sacrificing narrative pleasure. I couldn't put it down and thoroughly loved the way Shirvington has built an alternate reality based on angelic lore. I also loved the epigraphs she chose for each chapter, all of which serve as appropriate and elegant teasers to the contents.

The second book in this series is out now and I know what's been added to my winter reading list! Suddenly, in my literary canon, angels are singing again.

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT: Can people just ignore this review. THIS IS ALLLLL EMPTY SPACE. Man, I was such a terrible reviewer back then. I have definitely seen my improvement.

WARNING: Spoilers

Look I had great expectations when I stared to read this book. And with about 75 pages left in the book, I was extremely willing to give this 2 stars. The characters were great, well described and definable, the plot was interesting, loved its complexity and twists. However here was a list of things that I totally detested with just 75 pages left:
1) Violet only just met Phoenix for like at most one month and yet she still does "IT" with him!!! Like WTF!?!?!?!? Not a single girl in their right mind would do such a ridiculous thing. But hey, when I continued to read I found out it was just Phoenix's emotion control things THAT I TOTALLY DETEST AND IS MAINLY WHY I HATE HIM.
2) Lincoln is a darling, why would Vi get possibly mad at him?! He didn't a single thing wrong and Vi just bloody hates him for no reason and still sometimes fancies to KISS him!!!!?!? And why, a few pages later I find out it was Phoenix's annoying ability AGAIN?!
Look I could list a whole lot more but I cannot get bothered because each time, when I finish reading the last 75 pages, all my dislikes of this book goes away because I find out it was ALL PHOENIX'S FREAKIN' FAULT! He betrayed Vi, let Lincoln die if he could.... HE DID EVERYTHING THAT MADE ME THINK THIS BOOK MADE NO BLOODY SENSE UNTIL THE LAST FEW PAGES! I'm not really sure how many stars this is worth, but I'm so freaking glad that Vi ditched that stupid..... Uuhhhhgggg I can't even find the appropriate word but yeah, I hate Phoenix's guts. Oh, see that? It's a FULL STOP!

With that ranting of me, I'm still proud to say that this book is amazing and should not just be passed as another book on angels like....*cough* Fallen *cough* Hush Hush*cough*

[Colleen Houck]

The angel lore in this book is extremely well thought out. It will be interesting to see who Violet's angel parent is. Love the cover too!

[Anka · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at page 63, but I read the last chapter and basically died laughing.

"If you really wanna know, I've got a bitch of an itch on my right ass cheek, and your complaining isn't making me feel any better."~~ Clair, my friend, 2k17.

SPECIAL SEGMENT: EMBLARGH (that was me throwing up), CREATING THE LOVE TRIANGLE OF THE DEVIL

Review feat. My Friends

"I walked to the table and gulped down the water. It didn't occur to me until I had finished every last drop that anything could have been in that glass. I would have thrown back a glass of bleach as long as it was wet."


This book would have been 1000x better if she just ODed on bleach right here honestly but nope, there's 4 more books of this bullshit.

Ahhh, Embrace. You have no idea how many times I was tempted to embrace the nauseous feeling I got every time I picked up this book. I think I retched a few times, to be honest.

We start out this shitfest of a book with our soul destroying stupid heroine, Violet fucking Eden, the angel person who's more powerful than any other angel in the world wow much power such wow. She's the goddamn rainbow or some shit.

SHE'S AN ANGEL AND HER NAME IS EDEN.

Also this whole book is more emo than a hot topic with a sale for mcr merch or some shit going on:
*reading in whiniest voice imaginable* "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 (in italics)."

Her heart is constantly fucking "crying out" and I don't know what the fuckity fucking hell fuck that even means. It's like "shattering" in acotar/tog or "branding" in nightshade (three other series I DESPISE). WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MEAN?!


This wouldn't be a true Shit Review™ without a special segment for a book that's so bad it's on par with Halo, so of course I've got a thing for this.

Today we're creating a fucking love triangle. Now, if you keep up with any of my shit, we already created a Speshul Snowflake in my acomaf review, so now instead of a fairy we'll just change our lovely darling from one master race to another.

Fairy---->Angel.

Boom. Done. Everything else can stay the same, because obviously angels are still just as possessive and emo as fairies, only they have different wings and no pointy ears.

They still stalk everywhere and growl during sex though.

That ain't all, folks. They also have fairy special effects sex, except it's with angels this time.


This is actually a hard decision for a special segment, because I also wanted to do one on naming characters (these guys all have retarded names. Phoenix? Lincoln Wood? Magdalena? I'm fucking done), but I also wanted to do one on "how many Bible references can we shove into one book?"

Eventually while I was shrieking at my friend Norrie about this the overwhelming suck of the love triangle hit me like Shirvington's attempts at subtly including Bible lore (so basically a punch to the face and then a kick to the lady parts), and I decided that I had to tell you all how to create a love triangle so glorious it'll make God himself weep tears of joy.

Actually... wait. Hold the phone. I told y'all that when I review I go all out.

Well, here's a time to go all out. Fuck it. Let's do all three!


I mean, you can't very well have a legendary love triangle without including tons of love interests with stupid names.

Sooooo let's get right on this. After studying this book to the ends of the earth to finally get a glimpse of the literary master that is Shirvington, I found the perfect recipe for a cringey as all fuck legendary love triangle!

Random cringe-ass quote break because why not:
"I also had the pleasure of realizing one half of me was lying on a bitch of a rock, which was digging into my butt."


This quote spawned so many terrible jokes that I almost have to give Shirvington, master that she is, credit. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at anything. Just put "bitch of" in front of anything and you've got ridiculous shit.

"He's got a bitch of a tone on that French horn there ;)"~Clair
"I've got a bitch of an ass that all boys wanna tap"~What we think Violet sounds like
"You've got a bitch of a personality, don't you?"~Norrie
"I've got a bitch of a cache of pictures of the rock for this one review I did"~Me
"I've been laughing a bitch over my own 'clever' jokes."~Me
"There's a bitch of a pile of Mary Sue characters in YA books lately."~Norrie
"I just dropped a bitch of a tuba on my foot please send help."~Clair

See? Ridiculous.

So how would our legendary love triangle work if there weren't two extremely hot dudes jizzing their knickers every time the heroine is mentioned?

I don't know!

But fear not children, for Anka's got the answers.

We need:
1. Dude who heroine is actually in love with but ~can't be with~ for convoluted bullshit reasons that are stupid. He must also be incredibly sexy and the heroine must get motivation to live her life from staring at his ass, which is obviously so perfect it gives the heroine an aneurysm every time she lays eyes upon it.


Mmmmmmmmmmm sexy

2. Other guy who might be evil, but heroine convinces herself is good. He's the one she goes around with before she realizes that he's not Abraham Lincoln and leaves him.


This would've been better if there was a red bird, but there wasn't. Pity. .-.

3. Both must be possessive and not willing to let the heroine out of their sight! She must doubt them both incessantly, all while pining after dude numero uno, but she leads dude numero dos on forever until he does a dick move and she decides to release him to the beasts.

4. The ability to have magical sex, just like fairies, apparently. I'm not going to go into this that much because it's pretty cringey and all, so you can just imagine. Enjoy!

5. They must be opposites of each other. Obviously dude numero uno is the light one, the speshulest, because only the best for our snowflake, and dude numero dos is the dark one. He manipulates the heroine or something but he's still ~vulnerable~ because she needs some excuse to like him.

6. Zero personality! Just draw a face on a cardboard box and I swear our snowflake will be all over that hot bod in 2 seconds flat. BUT THEY BOTH HAVE TO BE OLDER THAN THE HEROINE. IT'S AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT THAT ONE BE ABOVE 100 YEARS OLD.

Now now now. Our heroes need names!

Random cringe-ass quote break #2 because why not:
"'Stop being a pussy, Lincoln! We came here to test me out, so test!' I yelled."

Have fun imagining that without context lmao

"My jaw dropped at the awesomeness of his power."

BACK ON TRACK NOW.
Names. Of course, they need to be ridiculous. What are you writing about? Make sure to throw as many references to myths and whatever you're writing about, until your reader feels their brain oozing out of their ears from an overload of stupidity.

Name Examples
•President of some kind
•Wood (because he's a martyr and this is an angel book. We all know that's coming in the later books)
•Zephyr (because wind powers)
•Phoenix (because he comes back to life or something)
•Griffin (all the birds)
•Snarl (because that's what he does!)
•Some variation of light/dark
•Some type of Rock (a bitch of a rock, eh?)
•Color
•Rainbow
•Unicorn
•Shadow the Hedgehog
•Judas (we all know this shit is coming in a later book)
•idk I thought a lot of these were better but I guess not


I know what you're thinking, but only these names are approved. If it's not one of these you're not doing it right.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Embrace hat eine recht typische YA Fantasy – Handlung. Ein „normales“ Mädchen findet heraus, dass sie eben doch nicht so normal ist, wie sie ihr Leben lang dachte. In diesem Fall ist sie eigentlich ein Grigori und somit zum Teil Engel. Allerdings ist sie auch für eine Grigori etwas Besonderes und so werden auch Wesen, die den Grigori und Menschen schaden wollen, schnell auf sie aufmerksam.
Auch wenn es vielleicht nichts Neues ist, hat mir die Handlung doch gefallen und dank des Schreibstils fliegt man auch nur so durch das Buch.
Dann hatte ich aber leider doch so meine Probleme beim Lesen.

Während ich Violet anfangs noch sehr gerne mochte, da sie unbedingt auch weiterhin ein normales Leben führen wollte und das Grigori-Leben nicht mit offenen Armen empfangen hat, hat sie mich nach einiger Zeit doch etwas genervt. Anstatt nur darauf bedacht zu sein, eben neben dem Grigori-Leben ein einigermaßen normales Leben beizubehalten, ist sie direkt vor ihrem neuen Leben davongelaufen, obwohl ihr immer wieder gesagt wurde, dass sie lernen müsste sich zu schützen.
Da war sie einfach sehr naiv, was sich auch später immer wieder gezeigt hat.
So wird auch ewig auf die „Wendung“ am Ende hingewiesen und in der Mitte des Buches wird man schon fast vom Zaunpfahl der Autorin erschlagen. Für Violet kommt das allerdings total unerwartet, was ich einfach überhaupt nicht nachvollziehen kann.

Die Freundschaft von Violet und ihrer besten Freundin hat mir wirklich gefallen. Man liest leider immer so selten von guten Freundschaften in Büchern. Besonders toll fand ich ja auch, dass sie ihrer besten Freundin, wenn auch erst später im Buch, alles erzählt hat. Es nervt mich immer etwas, wenn so ein Geheimnis dann alte Freundschaften auseinanderbringt und die Protagonistin dann nur noch übernatürliche Freunde hat, während die „normalen“ einfach so aus dem Leben verschwinden. Violets Beziehung zu ihrem Vater hingegen fand ich unglaublich bedenklich… Ich merke ja oft, dass Eltern in YA teilweise anscheinend gar nicht existieren, hier liest man aber immer wieder, wie abwesend ihr Vater ist, was aber gar nicht als schlecht dargestellt wird. Und das obwohl sie ohne Mutter aufgewachsen ist, ihr Vater also besonders für sie da sein sollte. Ich hoffe ja, dass sie auch ihm bald davon erzählt und dann vielleicht eine bessere Beziehung zu ihm aufbauen kann.

Auch die Liebesgeschichte hat mich leider gestört. Bereits auf den ersten 100 Seiten ist ein Liebesdreieckt entstanden. Das wäre theoretisch gar nicht so schlecht gewesen, da ich beide Love Interests zunächst mochte und auch die Anziehung zu beiden verstehen konnte. Die Liebesgeschichte hat dann für meinen Geschmack aber viel zu viel Raum eingenommen und das Ganze wurde teilweise auch sehr besitzergreifend und wirklich bedenklich…

Ich hatte mir leider etwas mehr von diesem Buch erhofft. Tatsächlich dachte ich, dass es eine neue Lieblingsreihe werden könnte, aber jetzt bin ich mir gar nicht so sicher, ob ich überhaupt weiterlesen werde.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

*An ARC was provided by Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review*

I will always compare angel books to Hush, Hush. That's just a fact. And while this book isn't as kick-ass as Hush, Hush, it's still special in it's own way.

I really liked the different angel spin Shirvington put on this story. I think it was a good idea, a good story line, and amazing writing. There were just a few things that weren't very good: Shirvington mentioned towards the end of the book that Violet was terrified of her old teacher (you'll understand once you read the book) but I didn't really get that vibe throughout the book. And the embrace, which should have been amazing, breathtaking, and should have sucked me right in, didn't. It should have been a climax to the story and it wasn't. And at the moments that should have been groundbreaking and momentous, she made the moments boring. Those moments are when the reader should be totally sucked in and can't hear her brothers screaming bloody murder into her ear, but it wasn't. And, although this book had a love triangle, it was only a semi one, so I think it really helped the story.

In the love triangle there are three people: Violet, Lincoln, and Phoenix. But the thing is, there really isn't a love triangle. Violet chooses Phoenix, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. It is a small detail in the whole story.) Lincoln just seemed so nice and all, perfect boyfriend material. But on the other hand, Phoenix was smokin' hot and totally swoon worthy. Towards the end of the book, I liked Phoenix better. And, although he did something bad (I won't tell) in the end of the book, I still like him. Usually when a boy messes up and does something like framing the girl for a crime he committed, I despise that boy. But with Phoenix, I like him just as much. I think part of the reason why is that Shirvington didn't make what he did groundbreaking and world-ending to it didn't really sink in as bad.
Lincoln is the perfect perfect boy. He's nice, cute, and totally swoon-worthy. But he wasn't as kick-ass as Phoenix. Don't get me wrong though, I love both of them.
And, last but not least, there's Violet. I think she was a very strong female character and I'm so glad that there wasn't a huge love triangle because I would have hated that competing against the fact that she was kick-ass.

All in all, I really enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book, Enticed, to come out September 2012.

Thanks so much to Jessica Shirvington for reading my messages BEGGING for an ARC and for sending it to the right people so they could mail me one. You're awesome!! :P

~Emily @ Emily's Crammed Bookshelf

[📖 Yazzie 📚 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very very disappointing. Im surprised I even finished it in all honesty! Violet is a slutty bitch! There I said it! Ok she's meant to be madly in love with Lincoin for the first bit of the book, and than she find out he's been keeping a secret that he had no choice but to keep, because she and him are both half-angels destined to be eterneral partners in hunting and killing angels. And what does she do when she finds out the truth about her mothers past?? Understands Lincoin and joins him? No she finds one of the original angels, the baddess of the bad, Phoenix son of the evilest angel in existence. And what does she do when she meets him!?! She falls in love and sleeps with the asswhole, who you can totally tell is just using her to turn her back on her her destiny with Lincoin. I didn't like anything in this book besides Lincoin but he was represented as the bad guy! This book was badly written, slow, confusing and silly? There was no point what so ever of this book!