publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
date of publication: March 6, 2012
format: ARC
pages: 369
source: won in a giveaway
From Goodreads:
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…
Having heard all the hype surrounding
Embrace, I went in expecting a great story with lots of romance and
butt-kicking. I was intrigued by the premise as it was described and
had been eagerly awaiting the time that I could pick it up and give
it a read. Unfortunately, that's where my enthusiasm left off.
Though the premise is, indeed, an interesting one, there were several
aspects of the book that left me with feelings of disappointment.
The first issue I had with the book was
the main character. I'm going to be completely frank here: Violet
drove me absolutely bonkers. I don't expect flawless, goody-goody
characters, but Violet is something else entirely. Even before there
is any excuses for her behavior, she was so irrational and bratty
that I soon found myself wishing that Embrace had an alternating
point-of-view plot line. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't have that,
so I was stuck with Violet for the duration. Not only is her
reaction toward Lincoln when her secret is revealed above and beyond
what is reasonable, but she constantly flouts warnings of the danger
she will be in if she wanders around and does it anyway. It was
absolutely maddening and I have the feeling it will be a while before
I ever attempt the second book.
Usually, I don't mind the usual love
triangle trope that you often see in YA books. However, I have
decided that the love triangle featured in Embrace is the mother of
all love triangles. It was so over the top and overwhelming that it
very nearly consumes all other aspects of the story. The pacing was
actually done well, but I almost missed out on that fact due to the
utterly distracting relationship quandaries Violet finds herself in.
I really wish that the Grigori aspect of the book had had more
prominence than it did. Not much else about the storyline really
stood out thanks to the near-constant angst that arose from the love
triangle.
I wasn't sure about writing this
review, but I realized that not writing one wouldn't be honest. I
know several people have enjoyed this book, and I really wish I had
been one of them. Unfortunately, I wasn't, so now the onus is on me
to explain why. Disappointment does not sit well with me, so I hope
that my review allows me to get it all out and let it go. I might
someday give the series another chance and read the second book, but
I think I'll be waiting for quite a while.
Buy Embrace at the Following Locations:
/ 
No comments:
Post a Comment