Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Embrace - Jessica Shirvington - Review AND Giveaway

Resident teen blogger Ella is back with her review of Embrace, the first book in a trilogy by Jessica Shirvington.

"I’m not actually sure how to summarize without giving anything away. Let’s see: Violet Eden is about to turn 17, but she’s not excited, because it’s also the 17th anniversary of her mother’s death (grim stuff, I know).  Luckily, she has her (hot,older) friend Lincoln, to distract her. Not long after though, weird changes start occurring within her, and things get a little more interesting…

I liked it, and not just because it has the coolest cover since The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. A nice addition to the angel mythology, and, I was happy to see, the Lilith lore. It was action-packed without going too fast, and the characters were nicely fleshed out. I personally think it stands out among the many angel books that are currently floating around. Violet, the main character, is pretty cool, despite a series of terrible errors in judgement, and has huge potential to become a bad-ass, enchantingly lacking in the whining and Mary-Sue-ishness than can be found in way too many fantasy heroines. Case in point: she’s been unwittingly being trained by her friend Lincoln to be a warrior for several months, which means we get to skip the annoying ‘OMG, I wish the boys would stop protecting me, even though I have absolutely no self-defense skills of my own’ stage of the game, without an upsetting deus-ex-machina burst of magical power from the middle of nowhere.  On top of that, Lincoln is a total babe, and Phoenix is the original bad-boy (literally?). I love that Jessica managed to make this book fairly self-contained, but still leave enough loose-ends that I won’t forget to look for the sequel. So glad Australia decided to share!"

As always Ella, thanks for a great review! And if Ella has whetted your appetite, we have a copy of Embrace to giveaway! Simply leave a comment to be entered. Open to US and Canada. A winner will be randomly chosen March 31st. Or get a head start - read an excerpt of Embrace. You can find Embrace on Facebook as well.

13 comments:

bermudaonion said...

Great review, Ella! It is nice to see a book that is self contained and doesn't leave you hanging.

ashley said...

This makes me so eager too read this book!

ashtreygonesmokeya@yahoo.com

holdenj said...

Well, I love the cover and Ella's great comments certainly piqued my curiosity about the book. It looks like a good one! Thanks!
JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

Beth said...

What a lovely cover! I'd love to win!

bethsbookreviewblog2 AT gmail DOT com

ZaraAlexis said...

Oh, I've been waiting to get my hands on this one---but it keeps "flying" away from me!

I'm really intrigued with the idea of the hierarchy of angels so I'm hoping I get lucky this time and snag this win.

I'll "embrace" you if I do! Hard! And many times!!!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Glad you enjoyed the book.

Zara D. Garcia-Alvarez
zgarcia(dot)alvarez(at)gmail(dot)com
On Twitter: @ZaraAlexis
Blog: The Bibliotaphe's Closet - http://zaraalexis.wordpress.com

Martha Lawson said...

I'd love to be entered to win this book! It sounds really good and I think the cover is awesome..

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

In Julie's Opinion said...

Count me in!! I can't wait to read this book! Thanks for the awesome review and the chance to win a copy:)

jwitt33 at live dot com

Sonia said...

Great review! I definitely agree -- the cover is gorgeous. Thanks for the giveaway! :)

Sonia
thestoryqueen(at)hotmail(dot)com

Mrs Mommy Booknerd said...

Looks like a good read

ChristyJan said...

After reading your review I'm eager to read this book.

hawkes(at)citlink.net

Maureen said...

It looks like an interesting story.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

Kelly g said...

This sounds like an amazing read.

Capt Joe Fishing Charter Skagway AK said...

This sounds like an awesome series. Thanks for the great review. You've convinced me.