Embrace, by Jessica Shirvington

This is yet another book where everything changes for our heroine on a magical birthday. In this case it's her seventeenth, and on this incredible day she finds out that she's some sort of half-angel and that her crush is also a half-angel who has been lying to her about it this whole time. Violet is also important in the battle of good vs. evil and although I didn't get that far, she probably ends up saving the day because she's extra special. I would continue with a summary except for the fact that I gave up right after the battle between good and evil was explained and I don't really remember all those details.

I've said before that all the fairy books blend into one another in my head, and though that isn't quite the case with angel books, it is true that there are very few that I have really truly loved (I think the Unearthly series is the only one and I even had problems with that one). I was more excited for this book because it seemed a bit different from the others and that can make an ordinary book extraordinary. Unfortunately for this one, the fact that it was different but still ordinary made it seem even worse.

You may now be wondering what was so horrible about this book, and it was a whole myriad of things. First and foremost, I thought it was written badly. I feel bad saying that because it isn't like I think I'm the most amazing writer, and if I wrote a book it would probably be worse than this one, but what I mean is that if you're publishing a book and putting your name on it, it should at least be written well. And this one wasn't. Another problem I had was that all the mysterious details were revealed within the first couple of pages, and they weren't even revealed well. There was an actual conversation between Violet and two other half-angel dudes who told her almost everything from start to finish, and frankly, it was exhausting and annoying to read. The best books of this type are the ones that reveal the information slowly and give you time to guess what will happen, but this book told you everything before you even realized there were strange things going on. The final big thing that bothered me was Violet's pretentiousness. All of these factors together, plus a few more that I did not mention, left me bored and disappointed and persuaded me to shut this book once and for all while I still had pages and pages remaining.

2.4 stars.
 
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…