Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever.
The race to find the one thing that could tilt the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed. (From Goodreads)
I completely devoured the second book in the Embrace series. Violet really is one of my favorite heroines and her life is just so deliciously dramatic, I get so caught up in caring about what becomes of her. I've noticed a lot that some paranormal books get tripped up in the same plot lines, or they border on unrealistic (I know that's dumb to say when talking about paranormal, but it has to be believable), or else either the characters or the plot feels just slightly disconnected. Well, this book avoids all of these things, seemingly effortlessly. These books flow so well, and even the parts of the story that seem like they occur in every paranormal book turn out to have some kind of twist that makes it something different. I really feel like I opened this book to find myself plunked down in Violet's world and watching her live her life.
I love the mythology that Jessica Shirvington uses to define the parameters of the angel world. It's very Biblical, but the last thing this book does is preach. While this book is a bit of a bridge between book one and three (find the book that will unlock all the secrets), it actually didn't feel like a filler until I just sat and thought about it. Really, here the relationships deepen, the understanding of the world deepens, and we just get more of a sense of who Violet is after the events of book one.
And can I just talk about those relationships for a minute? Stephanie is one of my favorite book BFFs ever. She takes everything in stride, has a great sense of humor, is always there to support Violet no matter what, and never runs the other way even when Violet makes it pretty clear she could. She's not a supernatural being, but she's immensely strong and definitely one of the best characters in the book. Then there's the Lincoln-Violet situation. These two make me all rage-y and all melt-y at the same time. They're incredibly frustrating and they don't seem to understand that they are so much stronger when they are working together. They spend the book trying to stay apart, which creates a whole lot of angst. But the pages where they actually make it into close proximity - whew. Those pages make all the angst worth it.
I'm so excited about the fact that the CW has picked up this series. If these books become a real TV show, I'm going to be a very happy person. I just love Violet and her world so much. I'm now anxiously awaiting book three!
