Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

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Violet Eden is dreading her seventeenth birthday dinner. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. The one bright spot is that Lincoln will be there. Sexy, mature and aloof, he is Violet’s idea of perfection. But why does he seem so reluctant to be anything more than a friend?



After he gives her the world’s most incredible kiss – and then abandons her on her front doorstep – Violet is determined to get some answers. But nothing could have prepared her for Lincoln’s explanation: he is Grigori – part angel and part human – and Violet is his eternal partner.


Without warning, Violet’s world is turned upside down. She never believed in God, let alone angels. But there’s no denying the strange changes in her body … and her feelings for Lincoln. Suddenly, she can’t stand to be around him. Luckily, Phoenix, an exiled angel, has come into her life. He’s intense and enigmatic, but at least he never lied to her.


As Violet gets caught up in an ancient battle between dark and light, she must choose her path. The wrong choice could cost not only her life, but her eternity…

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington has individual, unique facets that attracted me; however, although I was entertained, I could not entirely embrace this world.

Shirvington has drawn from rich Biblical and Jewish mythological sources to create a complex, otherworldly heirarchy of angels at war with one another, with humans in the center of it all. On her 17th birthday, Violet Eden finds out she is half-angel and half-human and that she must "embrace" the powers, as well as responsibilities, that come with who she is.

I struggled a bit to understand the rules and laws that governed each class of angels and their interactions with one another; I had to re-read some passages and even then I couldn't comprehend the overarching logic, especially as it related to the significance of senses being possessed by angels. I can see how the smell of apples relates to the knowledge of good and evil and the fall, and that's why angels give off that scent, but it still seemed rather random to me. The sections dealing with the nature of good and evil were the most fascinating to me and I wish that there was more discussion of that.

As a heroine, Violet is promising: motherless, with a dark past, artistic, good student, and training in defensive arts. For most of the book, however, she is hapless and somewhat of a victim of events and others' shady motives. She doesn't even begin to fulfill her promise until well into the second half of the book.

Violet's awareness of who she is begins with her dead mother's letter to her, which as far as letters go is beautifully written but not very helpful, as it is composed of poetic hints and vague, confusing warnings. As a mother, penning my last words to my daughter to be read on the eve of her life-changing moment, I think I would be crystal clear, especially on how she was in mortal danger, or even just say in plain words: my daughter, you're half-angel and other angels will be going after you once you turn 17.

There is the ubiquitous love triangle which developed in a way that surprised me - racy, complicated and...hot! Shirvington establishes a dichotomy of carnality versus spirituality/evil versus good that somehow makes the "good" guy seem frankly impotent and not as fascinating as his rival.

I relished the plot once it finally arrives where Violet is the center and driving force of the action and conflict; if a significant portion of the next book contains the same then it will be worth picking up.


Brand New Embrace Book Trailer from Sourcebooks Inc on Vimeo.



Embrace Cover Shoot from Sourcebooks Inc on Vimeo.


Thank you to the Amazon Vine program for providing a copy for me to review!