A review by jscarpa14
Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
4.0
I've been meaning to reread this for way too long, probably since the fourth book came out, which was awhile ago. Needless to say I really enjoyed this story and this series. The first person narrative was interesting because Violet's point of view isn't just that of a teenager with way too much baggage, if anything her voice is more adult than teenager because of all her baggage. I find her voice interesting because she seems to have a lot more going on emotionally and mentally than the paranormal stuff. A healthy person doesn't ask themselves on every birthday if their life is worth it. A healthy person is obsessed with being normal, blending and afraid to stand out in any way shape or form. From the get go it's very obvious that Violet is a teen that has a lot more than growing up to do, she's got this massive amount of healing emotionally and mentally that needs to be tackled if she's ever going to be the person she's meant to be.
While I remember being enthralled with the love story the first time I read this, this time it really didn't draw me. The interaction between Linc and Violet before everything goes to hell is to brief to really understand the depths of their feelings toward each other and her relationship with Phoenix has an uneven and unhealthy balance of power right from its very beginnings. Because of the way Phoenix needs to remain above her it's hard to root for a relationship with him and on second reading I didn't really feel like I knew Linc well enough in this novel to root for him either.
Violet's life spirals completely out of control because of decisions made before she was even born about what she would become. The interesting part of the journey is watching how she handles all these new obstacles thrown at her and expectations of her. While the secondary characters were all interesting, Violet is such an internal character that it's really hard to pay attention to much outside of her very muddled and confused thoughts as her life spirals out of her control and she enters this world she doesn't fully understand, trying to rein her life back into control.
The imagery presented especially when she embraces is vivid and compelling, and the mythology behind the Grigori is both unique and enthralling. Overall it's a great book that I'd definitely recommend.
While I remember being enthralled with the love story the first time I read this, this time it really didn't draw me. The interaction between Linc and Violet before everything goes to hell is to brief to really understand the depths of their feelings toward each other and her relationship with Phoenix has an uneven and unhealthy balance of power right from its very beginnings. Because of the way Phoenix needs to remain above her it's hard to root for a relationship with him and on second reading I didn't really feel like I knew Linc well enough in this novel to root for him either.
Violet's life spirals completely out of control because of decisions made before she was even born about what she would become. The interesting part of the journey is watching how she handles all these new obstacles thrown at her and expectations of her. While the secondary characters were all interesting, Violet is such an internal character that it's really hard to pay attention to much outside of her very muddled and confused thoughts as her life spirals out of her control and she enters this world she doesn't fully understand, trying to rein her life back into control.
The imagery presented especially when she embraces is vivid and compelling, and the mythology behind the Grigori is both unique and enthralling. Overall it's a great book that I'd definitely recommend.