Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters #1)

What can I say about this book? Well, for starters, it’s an amazing read from start to finish. It also has some great characters that keep this amazing story going.

If you haven’t read this yet, that’s ok, I’m going to give you a little run-down of how this amazing story goes without going into too much detail about it so you can run out and get your own copy to see what happens. *wink wink*

Violet is like most teenagers (and to whom this story revolves around), young and secretly in love with her friend. But unlike most teenagers, she has a secret about herself that only a few know about, and she is NOT one of them. She is Grigori, and she must make the ultimate decision about her future just after her 17th birthday.

Lincoln is strong and athletic, and is also secretly in love with Violet, but soon, he too, has to make the ultimate decision. And that choice could cost him everything with Violet.

And then we have Phoenix, strong, dark, mysterious, everything Lincoln is not. He too likes Violet, but unlike Lincoln, he makes his feelings known from the start.

Who will Violet choose? And what decision will she make about her future? You’ll just have to pick up the book to find out.

Originally I was drawn into this story by the cover. I love the purple and the smoke that looks like wings and the falling feathers. But as I began to read, it became clear that I was continuing the story for way more than that.
Violet doesn't look forward to her birthday because it marks the day her mother died. Her death brought all types of questions that she never knew she had. That is until the man she loves tells her.... On accident.
She then finds herself in the middle of a battle as old as time and learns about a whole different world that she never knew existed. As she learns more about this new world, she learns more about herself that she never knew existed.
This book definitely caught me by surprise. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. It was like non stop action and a whole lot of suspense. Along with a little paranormal. It was a nice refreshing angel story that I found myself reading nonstop- at work, at the nail shop, and while I was in the library trying to finish homework. Yes I was able to catch the plot twist early on in the story, but even still, I was still hooked on the story.
There were two things in the story that I could complain about, but part of it had to do with the plot twist so there's really not much I can say there. But the second thing, was the fact that a lot of the stuff in the book was very cliche. Such as the night club they went to "Hades." Really?! You couldn't think of anything else? lol And then there is her last name... Eden. Like "The Garden of Eden." I guess. I just think it may have been cooler had it been a little more original. But for the most part I overlooked it.

Okay…so I’m not really into angel-loves-human books. They’re not my thing. That being said, I wanted to give an angel book a try anyways, since I recommend books to the teens in my library and some of them are really into angel books. Really, they’re into any kind of forbidden romance, it’s a big thing nowadays. And Embrace definitely has the forbidden romance in it. Actually, it has two.

Embrace is the story of Violet Eden, a young woman who learns on her 17th birthday that she is a Grigori, basically a half-angel charged to protect humankind from exiled angels who would do anything to see humans subjected to their will. Violet has a hard time handling the news, especially since it seems like her mother who died when she was a baby, seems to have had insider information into the world of angels and Grigori. Also, Violent feels betrayed by her friend Lincoln, who has been lying to her about his intentions, his age and his own life as a Grigori; he has been training her since he met her for her life as a Grigori because he is her Grigori partner. During this time of denial, she turns to a new man in her life, sexy, seductive opal-haired Phoenix, who may be much more dangerous than he seems. While Violet wants control of her own life, it seems like everything is conspiring against her, pulling her away from normalcy and into her destiny as a powerful Grigori.

Unfortunately, while the book did hold my attention, I didn’t totally love ‘Embrace,’ and it wasn’t even because of the angel thing. No, I didn’t really like ‘Embrace’ because I could never bring myself to truly like the main character, Violet. I WANTED to like this girl since I do enjoy rooting for the protagonist of a book, but…she just came off as overly whiny and almost, well, bratty. I can definitely understand her feeling overwhelmed, unhappy and upset about her new circumstances, but the way she handled the situation with Lincoln was grating and I didn’t like her just using Phoenix the way she did. I guess I wanted her to grow up a little faster and mature while she was happy to basically stagnate in her own angst. So she was grumpy, I was grumpy and her actions toward the end of the book with Phoenix just made me grumpier. I suppose I’m on Lincoln’s side with this one. I also have a few issues with the underage drinking, the sex and Steph’s litany of religious blasphemies that were only included for shock value/laughs, but it is supposed to be slightly gritty angel book so I guess it’s understandable.

There were things I did like about this book! I liked the evolving, twisting relationship between Lincoln and Violet and how they couldn’t be together yet felt like they belonged together. Oh, and I definitely liked Lincoln; I felt like he was a good, well-rounded character who wasn’t the perfect guy but was just perfect for Violet. He could balance her out, and they would work well together in an actual romantic relationship that wasn’t built on lust. Also, Steph, Violet’s best friend, is a nice, real-girl addition to the otherwise rather supernatural cast. The mythology surrounding the Grigori was nifty, and I wish there was more of it in there; maybe in a sequel? ‘Embrace’ also had good pacing, and the story moved along at a nice-but-not-rushed clip. Although I still don’t like angel books, I think Embrace is a decent read and that lovers/enjoyers of the genres will probably like it a lot.

{Review first published on my blog, Scribbled Flyleaf}

So this book: I really liked it, didn’t LOVE it, but liked it enough to give it 4 stars.

I really liked the plot of the story more than I thought I would; it was more dynamic than most other plots. Ploblems would happen, then, they would get solved and a new problem would surface. The story did revolve around one particular problem, but it didn’t suffocate the story; meaning, there was still room for other little complications to pop up here and there. Towards the end, you discover some slightly shocking secrets. Of course, if you’re perceptive enough, you can probably have it figured out before Violet does, because I’m sorry, but at times that girl was just a tad on the slow side…

LOVE TRIANGLE! For the love of all things holy, WHY? I mean, I knew there would be one; I tend not to be surprised anymore by them because it seems there can’t be a single YA book in which the protagonist is happy with the guy right in front of her :/ Seriously, I loved Lincoln from the first time he was introduced. I can understand why Violet was mad at him for not telling her his big secret, but it’s not like he really had a choice. He wanted to tell her, but wasn’t allowed. I just felt like she was a little too hard on him about that. I mean, she has to right to be mad for a while, but she was just plain mean and hateful at times and he was nothing but sweet. I wanted to slap her across the face sometimes. Phoenix was okay, sort of cocky, but not a bad guy. Well, that’s not true…I sort of want to say something here but it would be giving away too much so I’m going to move on before I say something that might ruin the book for you guys.

Overall, the writing was done very well. For the most part, I was caught up in the book, except at some points where I lost a bit of interest; luckily, my attention was never lost for long. I was iffy at first with reading an angel novel. I’ve read some which I really liked, and others that I just hated. I refuse to buy into that whole, “Angels-Are-The-New-Vampires” ideal because for one, it’s just plain stupid! Two, even if angels are the so-called “next-big-thing”, I’m entitled to my own opinion and don’t feel as though pop culture can tell me what I should or should not be reading. So now that that rant is done lol, I would recommend this book to angel lovers, but mainly just to those looking for a good paranormal read. It has the romance, suspense, mystery, and action, so basically something for everyone. I look forward to the next book

Shirvington + awesomeness = 4.0 star novel. A must read!

"There is an old illusion. It is called good and evil."
this quotation not only ties into the story plot but stands for my feelings towards the novel.