Embrace by Jessica Shirvington Review!

It starts with a whisper: "It's time for you to know who you are..."

On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. She will have to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, EMBRACE is a compelling novel of good and evil, seductive desires and impossible choices. A centuries old war between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity chooses a new fighter. It's a battle Violet doesn't want, but she lives her life by two rules: don't run and don't quit. If angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden.

LINCOLN: He's been Violet's one anchor, her running partner and kickboxing trainer. Only he never told her he's Grigori--part human, part angel--and that he was training her for an ancient battle between Angels and Exiles.

PHOENIX: No one knows where his loyalties lie, yet he's the only one there to pick up the pieces and protect her after Lincoln's lies. In a world of dark and light, he is all shades of gray.

Two sides: Angel or Exile.

Two guys: Lincoln or Phoenix.

The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity...

I didn't not expect to love this series as much as I did. I picked it up at the bookstore because I was intrigued by the cover and the synopsis sparked an interest as well. Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. I love books that have anything to do with angels in some way and this book was right up my alley.

First of all, the plot of this story and the characters were AMAZING. Violet was a character that you immediately connect with. She is in love with Lincoln and she doesn't think he feels the same, but all of the sudden she finds out that he has been hiding HUGE secrets from her. She can't help but be angry and hurt, and those feelings really made me connect with her on a deeper level. Anyway, as the story goes on she learns more about herself and what she is meant to do, and she reacts like any normal person would, with a sense of being overwhelmed. In the story, Violet has to deal with a broken heart, more than once, which has me hungry for revenge, but also with the fact that her life has been turned upside down. The plot of this book really captures your heart first and then shortly after, the action just seals in the deal. First, your heart is captivated by Violet and her situation and then your attention is captivated by the sheer complexity of the world that Shirvington created. I have read a lot of books about Angels, their decedents, and things like that, but I've never seen a take on that world quite like the one in Embrace. Its uniqueness is one aspect that made me love it. Most angel and demon books read the same way and feature similar story lines, but this one is different from anything I've read before.

I really love the fact that when Violet is wronged, she responds to it. I've read way too many books about heroines who have been wronged and within one chapter they have completely forgotten that a guy or whoever screwed them over. That is not the case with Violet. She makes sure that the offending party knows they screwed up, and most of you know I love books that feature aspects of revenge. I also loved how different Lincoln and Phoenix were. Lincoln was like the hot best friends who secretly loves Violet, and Phoenix was the sexy bad boy who is up to something mysterious. It was so interesting watching them both interact with Violet and watch how she reacted to them. Either way, I was head over heals in love with both of them.....until the end that is, but I can't talk about that because of spoilers. Just know that I CANNOT wait to see what happened in the second book!

I wish I could say more and talk about the book more in depth, but the synopsis is so vague that I don't want to ruin the surprise Embrace has in store for its future readers. Just know that this book is full of action and romance, and I loved it. If you loved the Fallen series, the Hush Hush series, or the Sweet Evil trilogy then I think this book would be perfect for you. Embrace is definitely a favorite book of the year for me. I give it five out of five stars.