In Case You Missed It - The Violet Eden Chapters by Jessica Shirvington

 One of the things I find most frustrating about reading trilogies and series is that you have to wait sooooo long from one book to another.  When I first saw Embrace a few years ago it didn't appeal to me, for whatever reason, and I decided to give it a miss.

Just a couple of months or so ago it happened to pass my desk at work and I thought 'why not!' let's try it and see what it's all about.  Now I am just enormously grateful that I waited so long and I was able to read the entire series in one fell swoop.  It was brilliant and I just loved it.

I'm not sure if I would have fallen so completely under the spell of Violet and Lincoln if I'd had to wait months and months between readings.  This way I only had to wait about a week for the library courier to deposit my next fix.

There is a huge cast of characters in this series, but they all feel like family.   There are fights and disagreements.  They joke and tease, and they are always, always there for each other, no matter what.  The character development is stellar, for principal and secondary characters, and I particularly loved that many of these characters were willing to admit mistakes, however reluctantly that might be.

The following is from the blurb for 'Embrace'

"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…"

Really, this just about sums up the whole plot.  What is doesn't mention is the world hopping, erupting volcanoes, invisible sky walks, magic and mayhem and romance - oh my, the romance.  It's enough to make your toes curl.

The reader is never really certain if Violet is going to be betrayed, or by whom and this adds an amazing level of tension that is maintained throughout all five books.  People make mistakes, Violet makes many in fact, but I always admired the way the 'family' stuck together.  I would sleep better at night in this world knowing that these Grigori (humans given part of an angel's soul) were out there dispatching the bad guys (fallen or 'exiled' angels).

I realise that I haven't really told you anything about the actual story, and that was deliberate on my part.  I don't want to give anything away.  Let's just say that if you are a fan of soul deep romance, angels and the prevention of the end of the world as we know it, well I'm certain you'll love this series.  Give it a try and find out for yourselves.

On a totally different note, don't you just love these book covers?  I believe they are the US covers, which I much prefer over the original Australian covers, example on the right.  I think the US covers are much edgier and urban fantasy feeling, giving more of a hint of the violence and upheaval to be found in the books. The Australian covers seem much younger.

In Case You Missed It - Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

Published: January 1st, 2010

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Fire

Pages: 369

Copy: Library

Summary: Goodreads

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... 

Embrace first came out several years ago and I seem to remember passing it by because it was about Angels.  I was on an angel overdose at the time and it didn't appeal.  However, when I saw a few weeks ago that #5 in the series, 'Empower', was due out, I reread the blurbs and decided it was time to give it a try - and boy, am I glad I did.

My first misconception was that Embrace was just about angels, but it's more about angel offspring, or Grigoi than angels themselves.  Ms. Shirvington has developed a very interesting mythology about the Grigori - an angel gives a piece of its soul to a child who loses a parent within the first 20 days of his/her life.  Enter Violet Eden, whose mother died giving birth.  The twist here is that it turns out Violet's mother was also Grigori and that makes Violet special.  Enter Lincoln and Phoenix.  One Grigori, one a fallen angel - both keeping secrets from her and adding major complications to violets life.  As a reader, we are rather more aware of what is going on than Violet and that makes some of her actions somewhat frustrating, but understandable.

There is a nice thread of tension that runs through the story and some mysterious goings on that will delight and enthrall.  I really enjoyed Embrace and I'm impatiently waiting for Entice to arrive for me at the library so that I can find out more about these fascinating characters.

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