Embrace(The Violet Eden Chapters)Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire, 2012Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”
Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.
Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.
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…
Violet Eden leads a pretty lonely life. Her Mom died giving birth to her, and her Dad threw himself into his work so he's rarely home. The only one who is always there for her is Lincoln. Too bad that she seems to be stuck in the friend zone. But now that her seventeenth birthday is coming up, Violet hopes that will change. However more than a few changes come her way as she discovers her true heritage. Fallen angels, guardian angels, a battle that has been going on for centuries, and Violet is thrown in the middle of it. All she has to do is decide, to face it or run away.
I've been hearing nothing but great things about this book since it came out, which is why I'm confused while writing this review. The angel mythology was interesting, and I liked the whole basis of 'without evil there can be no good.' Then there's the option of choosing to 'embrace' or not and all that. I just thought the method was…silly. Literally taking a leap of faith? Come on. At least the whole trial thing was pretty cool.
Then there was Violet. I didn't get her at all. She starts out a strong character, with her motto of "I don't run." But while she's always saying that she's not going to run away, that she's going to face whatever comes, she constantly avoids. 1) She avoids Lincoln who was only trying to protect her. Okay, he lied to her, but damn can the boy kneel down and deliver a swoon worthy apology. But Violet doesn't care, she's too pissed. 2) She avoids her 'destiny' and making a choice by hanging out with Phoenix. I just think she was being very childish at this point, going out with a complete stranger with shady tendencies. 3) She avoids heartache by kissing Phoenix so that she's too overwhelmed by his power to think! Phoenix who aside from being hot is a completely shady character! Then poor Lincoln is mortally wounded and Violet is his only salvation. What does she do? Goes camping with Phoenix and they…oh yes. Exactly what you are thinking. I was very, very tempted to fling the book out the window right then and there, but I was almost finished so I continued reading. Big mistake. The next day she calls to see how Lincoln is doing and comments on how "grave the situation was." HELLO. He's freaking dying. Then Phoenix acts weird about something, and she says "I had a nagging feeling I needed to know more about Phoenix." *facepalm* It get's better. Stuff happens, blah blah. She confesses the whole thing to her BFF, and then her friend asks her if Phoenix was an angel of light or dark, and Violet says "Of course he was light. He's been amazing." This brought on a fit of laughter that lasted a full minute and a half, because seriously you have GOT to be kidding me. Then I laughed some more a couple of chapters later when Onyx (one of the bad guys) drops the following lines:
"Yes, dark! You stupid girl."
and
"You know, for one so powerful, you're not very smart. I really thought I'd given you enough to connect the dots…"
I honestly don't like to write bad reviews, but when I do I can't help it if the snark leaks in. There's really nothing else to say. I did finish it. No, the reasons for Violets behavior still didn't excuse her childishness before that, and Linc seriously deserves better. But apparently he doesn't care and they're going back together…as friend…or something. Won't be reading the next installment to find out.
Favorite Quotes:
"I'd never let you make a choice on a kiss and then let that lead to more than what had been agreed. It would be…"
"Bad?" I offered, as he struggled for a word. He didn't get it, didn't realize how important it was to me to have control. Only one person ever truly got it.
He smiled. "Violet, I hate to tell you this but bad?" He raised his eyebrows. "Bad can be a lot of fun. No, the word I was looking for was…cheating."
~
I hoisted myself onto my elbows. "Yeah, well, if I ever come back as a Grigori, then I'll kick your ass."
"You'll come back, and you'll be a Grigori." He spoke with such certainty it made me smile. "I doubt very greatly, however, that you'll kick my ass. But me and my ass will enjoy your efforts."
