Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

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 by Jessica Shirvington

Embrace is the story of Violet Eden, a young woman who learns on her 17^th 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.