Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

As far as angel books go, this is one of the best.

Lately there has been a big influx of angel series into the YA market. Probably starting with Fallen, on to The Fallen and Leviathan to the more recent Unearthly. All have unique takes on the angels sent to earth, and their purposes there. Embrace really hooked me with the characters though. 

What I appreciated most I think was the blurring of good and evil. There weren't angels who only did good things, and angels who only did bad things. There were insane exiled angels who did bad things, but it wasn't like they physically couldn't do good. 

The characters were vibrant and realistic. Pheonix was, in a word, hot. It's a thin line to walk with young adult books as far as sexual content goes. You don't want it to turn into one of those strange, over-descriptive, sex novels. But you also don't want to be too prude about it. I think Pheonix did a great job of being realistically boyish, this was particularly well demonstrated in the way he took advantage of her, felt bad about it, but didn't necessarily stop. He did feel remorse later, and I think he has real feelings for her, but that didn't stop him from doing exactly what most guys would when they have that kind of power. Yet he still had emotional depth, and I think that's what really sold him. 

Lincoln on the other hand, pissed me off. While I did actually like him, I hated how hot and cold he was. He spends almost the entire book trying to win Violet back from Pheonix. He even tells her they belong together when he's dying. Yet when she is finally free of Pheonix's hold, he disappears! I understand that he feels hella guilty that he was passed out unconscious while she was bleeding to death on the floor, but still! She needed him, and the one time he could actually be there for her, he wasn't!

Obviously I liked Violet, and I loved her best friend! Just when the story was starting to feel kind of heavy, she would jump in and add some comic relief that left me smiling. There was a startling amount of action and storyline in the book, which is a big relief from the last novel I read-Legend of Ociena Dragon-which felt like I was reading the beginning of a story stretched out through an entire book! This was filled with action and I really really enjoyed it. 

Just to make my feelings clear, I think I am officially team Lincoln. Don't let me down Vi!

On the other hand, I adored the ending of this book. It left my soul in tact, and I don't feel like I need to go eat a gallon of ice cream while watching the Breakfast Club until my whirlwind emotions calm down. I have the second book already downloaded from my library's online library, but do I dare open it? This novel left off on such a pleasant note, I'm deadly afraid of my heart being ripped out in the second!

Even if you haven't loved the angel craze, I do highly recommend this book.

Yours Truly,

Rosalie

Embrace on Goodreads