Friday, August 31, 2012

Review: Entice by Jessica Shirvington

From Goodreads: Violet Eden is Grigori - part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengeance of exiled angels. Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever. The race to find the one thing that could tilt the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed. 

My Rating: 4 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Generally, I find that sequels tend to not be as strong as their predecessors. So after finishing Jessica Shirvington’s Embrace with mixed feelings a few months ago, I was a little hesitant about continuing on with Entice. I’m happy I did decide to give it a try because Entice was much better than Embrace.

One of my main issues with Embrace was that I didn’t really like Violet. I’m still by no means in love with her as a character, but she’s a lot more tolerable – and even likeable on occasion. Violet may be prone to bouts of crying – I understand she’s under quite a bit of stress but I’d like less of this in future sequels – and sneaking around, but at least she comes clear about it later on and shares the information she learns. She’s definitely growing as a character, and I look forward to her maturing even more in Emblaze.

Another thing that Shirvington handled better in Entice was the romance. With the removal of Phoenix from Violet’s love life, – no worries Phoenix lovers, he’s still very much present otherwise – the romance became more subtle and didn’t feel like it was overwhelming the plot. As well, I liked that there was finally an explanation – and you get to see the consequences! – for why Grigori partners can’t shouldn’t get romantically involved.

For me, the best aspect about Entice, however, was the overall plot. The disappointing continuation of absent or dead parents aside, Entice delved deeper into the angel mythology (which seemed less muddled in this book) and had some very surprising twists. I also found the new cast of secondary characters a welcome addition, and liked the brief change in location to Jordan. I just wish the Jordanian culture and setting had been more fleshed out.

By raising the stakes, Entice managed to make me fully invested in The Violet Eden Chapters. Be warned though that you may need a copy of Embrace nearby for referral since Entice doesn’t recap what happened in Embrace.

Entice will be released by Sourcebooks on September 4, 2012. 

Comments About the Cover: It sure looks much darker than Embrace’s! I like that Sourcebooks is still sticking with the wispy smoke around the cover title, translucent angel wings and falling black feathers though so that Entice’s cover also bears some similarities with Embrace’s. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Sourcebooks) for free.   

8 comments:

  1. Brilliant review! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this more than the previous book. It sounds like Violet has improved as a character. I still need to read the first book but I'll keep in mind that it gets better. I'm glad you liked it! :)

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  2. Yay! I thought this one vastly improved upon Embrace as well:) We had similar problems with Embrace, namely Violet, but I loved the growth she showed in this book and I feel like she'll only get stronger in the next one. I adored the plot of this one too, everything just seemed to come together a bit more and I was completely invested in what was going on. Fantastic review Z!

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  3. I'm very surprised. I remember all the less that favorable reviews for Embrace, and I completely disregarded the series because of the muddled mythology and the LT.

    Sounds like the author found her footing, though! And I like it when much time isn't spent on a recap. It save me a lot of aggravation when I read series books back to back.

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  4. I haven't started this series but glad to hear this one is better than the first. I have a really bad memory so I usually need the recap or I have to read the first book again :) Great review!

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  5. Hrm..now I'm even more mixed up in terms of picking this series up. I know that the sequel has vastly improved since book 1 but some of the issues you had in this one makes me a bit hesitant to start it. I think I'll wait for book 3 to come out and see how you enjoyed the series overall. I tend to have very bad luck with angel books.

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  6. I've read so many good reviews about Embrace and I'm glad you loved this one more. But I'm partial about whatever the type of romance Phoenix and Violet has. Sometimes, subtle romance is sweeter than overwhelming romance, but eh, that means I have to read book 1 first before getting on to the subtle romance. :|

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  7. How exciting that the second book is even better than the first! I haven't read the first one- but this does sound like a great series. Thanks for sharing.
    ~Jess

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  8. wonderful review sweetheart!!
    But contrary to you, I enjoye Embrace more than this one (this is just because Phoenix barely showed up lol!) but actually, I agree that this time, the romance didnt overwhelm the plot and I really got to enjoy the rest of the characters and their main goal. SO regardless me being heartbroken, I enjoyed it a looot!!
    Great review my dear!!

    muah! ^.^

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