Review: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington

From Goodreads: Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was. Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too. Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realize exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell. With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to ...

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington, the third book in The Violet Eden Chapters, picks up right where Entice leaves off. With only six months between releases, you’d think that I’d remember what happened in prior books better! But, for some reason, by the time a new book in this series is released, I can barely remember why Violet is so special, let alone the overarching plot. I really think having a list of major characters with their powers at the end of the book and a brief recap at the beginning would help solve my problem.

In terms of how The Violet Eden Chapters has evolved, a lot of things remain the same. For example, each book ends with a cliffhanger. As well, Violet continues to be pretty immature, having secret meetings with Phoenix and withholding information from her Grigori friends rather than letting them be a source of support. I’m also getting sort of tired of the whole wanting-to-be-with-Lincoln-but-not-being-able-to phenomenon. I love though that we still get some steamy scenes and that Shirvington remains able to smoothly incorporate her angel mythology with the historical background of the different places (e.g. Jordan, Santorini, etc.) the Grigoris travel to.

The one noticeable change in Emblaze is that Violet’s absent father suddenly starts to notice his daughter. He begins to question her whereabouts and even makes an attempt to ground her. Although it was weird to have Mr. Eden randomly acting like an actual parent, I like the development and am curious to see how this will change his relationship with his daughter. 

Emblaze will be released on March 5, 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire.

  

Comments About the Cover: It matches Entice’s a lot more than Embrace’s. The darker look also goes well with the darker tone of this novel. 

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

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.   

Review: Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

From Goodreads: Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before. Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human - oh, and same goes for her. A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden … 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts

Thoughts on the Novel: I love books that involve angels so I was really excited about finally being able to read Jessica Shirvington’s Embrace in North America. At the same time, I was a little wary as well because I’ve read quite a bit of angel novels and many of them haven’t been particularly great. Embrace though turned out to be one of the better books even if I did have several issues with it.

My main problem with Embrace was the characterization. I liked Violet in the beginning and could easily relate to her not wanting to celebrate her birthday or pining over Lincoln but not telling him how she feels for fear of jeopardizing their friendship. Given that she went through something traumatic and told Lincoln all about it, I could also see why Violet felt so betrayed by the fact that he never told her he was a Grigori. Over the course of the book however, Violet became increasingly emotionally unstable and it became hard to understand her actions. Shirvington does provide an explanation for this at the end so I currently feel very ambivalent towards Violet.

I also didn’t fall in love with either Lincoln or Phoenix. (Griffin, Lincoln and Violet’s mentor though was a different story, and I’d love to know more about him.) When compared to Phoenix, Lincoln is simply boring. That said, I’m rooting for him because it's obvious that he really cares about Violet whereas I found Phoenix to be controlling and a total stalker. I figured Phoenix had his own motives for wanting to know Violet and spending time with her, but I never guessed his backstory! It’ll be interesting to see how the two interact with each other in Enticed, the sequel to Embrace, now that Violet knows the truth about him and it appears that he may have developed some genuine feelings for her.

Another thing I found problematic in Embrace was the lack of parental presence. You’d think that Violet’s dad would be more protective of his daughter considering what she has been through; yet he remains a workaholic and rarely appears in the book. Similarly, Violet’s best friend Steph can do whatever she wants because not only is her family rich, but her dad is constantly away for work.

Despite its issues, I ended up enjoying Embrace since Shirvington created a tight story exploring free will vs. destiny with an interesting (though at times confusing) take on angels. It’s clear that Shirvington has talent and can write, especially romantic scenes; so I think Enticed definitely has the potential to be better!  

Embrace will be released by Sourcebooks Fire on March 6, 2012.

      

Comments About the Cover: The bottom half of the model’s pose is a little weird but I love the background and the wispy wings that hint at Violet’s angelic side. I also really like that there are falling black feathers because it suggests that just as exiles of light will vie for Violet’s powers, so too will exiles of the dark.

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