Review: Emblaze

EMBLAZE

The Violet Eden Chapters #3
Jessica Shirvington
Paranormal Young Adult
464 pages
Sourcebooks Fire
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice ... and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too.

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to...

MY THOUGHTS
Emblaze wastes little time in making us brutally aware of how emotionally intense it's going to be, bringing us up to speed on the notable events of Entice quickly and riddling the emotional dam built in the time since the last book with holes, allowing the painful waters of Violet and Lincoln's relationship to pour through and envelop us once more. Where Lincoln and Violet were hopeful of their future together in book two despite the lingering issues caused by Phoenix's role in their lives, this book deals in the aftermath of having that hope violently ripped from them, hearts and souls now raw and fully exposed with the roughness of their pain like sandpaper to our skin, rubbing constantly until we find ourselves hurting as much as they are.

The highlight amidst the darkness of this tale is Violet herself, a young woman we struggled to connect with upon our initial meeting–thanks in large part to Phoenix's manipulations–who has grown into a heroine of extraordinary strength emotionally and physically. She exists in a state of suspended torture in this book, pieces of her soul tied with rope and handed off to a handful of people who each pull their end in an opposite direction. She's stretched to the limit many times over in this story, but she never breaks or cries out, the only evidence of her pain being the tears that track their way down our cheeks as she holds herself together for the sake of those around her, and we can't help but be impressed by the transformation she's undergone from the girl we first met.

The romance between Violet and Lincoln is at its most dramatic in this third installment, and while our hearts ache with their pain, we find ourselves thankful their hurt stems not from playing games with one another now that they know they cannot be together, but rather from the bone-deep chill that results from forcefully denying love. While Phoenix and Lincoln are both uniquely entangled in Violet's life, there's no triangle in sight, Violet's feelings for Lincoln radiating from her body and soul so there's simply no question as to where her heart lies. Phoenix is not so easily disregarded however, his dark complexity and his search to find a place he truly belongs making it incredibly difficult to hate him the way we'd like to, and he remains at the forefront of our thoughts even though he's no threat to Lincoln and Violet's relationship.

Overall, this is a series that continues to get better with each an every installment, delving deeper into the thoughts and feelings of all the characters as the battle between Grigori and Exile reaches its turning point in the final pages. Ms. Shirvington expertly balances emotional drama with physical action, ensuring we devour hundreds of pages despite our intent to read only a chapter or two before bed, but she makes the weight of sleep lost the next day a burden we're more than happy to bear. As mentioned previously, we conclude our time with Violet in this book at a turning point in her fight, riveted to every word spoken and praying our eyes are deceiving us when they reach the last sentence, loving how addictive these books have become and already craving the next fix.

Rating: 4.5/5

Interview + Giveaway: Jessica Shirvington and Emblaze

Today I'm thrilled to welcome young adult author Jessica Shirvington to the blog to talk a little bit about the third book in her Violet Eden series, Emblaze (releases March 5th from Sourcebooks). This is a series that, for me, has gotten better and better with each installment, and Emblaze is definitely the best one yet. I was a gloriously emotional mess by the time I reached the last page (my review will be posted soon), and I'm strongly considering moving to Australia just so I can get my hands on book four already. Who's with me?

If Lincoln was to sit down with Violet as part of the promotional tour for Emblaze, what’s the first question he would ask her?

Do you love Phoenix?

*Jenny dies a little inside at this answer*

What one piece of art might Violet say adequately summarizes her emotional journey since the events of Embrace?

I don't know that any one art piece sums up Violet. But I have often found myself looking at this depiction of The Last Judgement and thinking of my characters and the roles they play.

There’s something undeniably appealing about a bad boy, and Phoenix wears that label rather deliciously. Would Phoenix attach a different label to himself if asked?

At times I think he would be very comfortable with the bad boy image. But really, I think Phoenix is often looking for something with more substance. He just struggles to make the appropriate changes to get there.

What is one quirk Lincoln has that he’d be embarrassed by if Violet found out about it?

He can dance. Like really dance - ballroom dance! And she will find out...one day. ;-)

All the books in the series have single word titles that begin with the letter “e”. Were there any other title frontrunners for this third book that you can share?

I think EMBLAZE found its title fairly easily. I remember we almost called ENTICE, EXILE instead but there were a few books around with that title. I think for EMBLAZE we considered ENTRAP and maybe ENDURE but EMBLAZE was an easy pick in the end (once you've read it you'll know why).

Let’s say your characters get to spend a half hour with you in which they can ask you any questions they want about their world or how you wrote them; whose questions would you fear answering most?

Probably Steph. She would come at me all guns blazing wanting to know what the hell I was thinking and how I could have made things so hard for Vi. Yep, definitely Steph (never mess with a gal's bestie!).

If Violet were to paint a mural based on Emblaze, what color would be predominant in her palette?

Red. Things get more than a little fiery in this book!

Thanks so much Jessica for stopping by!

• • • • • • • • • •

JESSICA SHIRVINGTON

One day, instead of picking up a new book, I started to write. The first name that came to mind was Violet. From there the rest naturally followed. I can honestly say, once Violet was discovered – she really did write the rest of the book!

Writing this book has drawn on my life experience – in my travels around the world and the different people I have met. It draws on love and loss and the overall confusion that comes with growing up. It also looks to many of my friends and their experiences.

I have always loved ancient history – tales and stories of the best kind.

More information on Jessica and her books can be found here:

Website • Blog • Embrace Website • Facebook • Goodreads • Amazon

• • • • • • • • • • 

EMBLAZE

Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice ... and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was.

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too.

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realise exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to...

Can't wait to read Emblaze? Then check out an excerpt HERE.

• • • • • • • • • •

 GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the fabulous people at Sourcebooks, I have one copy of Emblaze to give away on the blog today! To enter, please just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US and Canada only, good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Entice

ENTICE (The Violet Eden Chapters #2)

Jessica Shirvington
Paranormal Young Adult
464 pages
Sourcebooks Fire
Available September 4th
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)

Violet Eden is Grigori - part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengence of exiled angels.
 
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. 

MY THOUGHTS

Completely captivating, Entice begins right on the heels of where Embrace left off, thrusting us back into the tension-filled world of Violet and the recent discovery of her Grigori heritage. While hitting the ground running is usually something that ensures the story has our unwavering attention and focus, a few reminders here and there of important events that took place in the book prior would have been appreciated, our slight confusion over more minor character names and associations keeping us from fully engaging initially. Our confusion is quickly overshadowed however by both the beautiful intricacies of the battle between the Grigori and the Exiles as well as the painful complexities of a relationship perhaps damaged beyond repair by Violet’s actions in Embrace, a combination that causes our eyes to dart frantically back and forth across the pages as we attempt to absorb everything that happens at record speed.

Violet was a bit of a tricky character to decipher in the first book, her exaggerated reactions to Lincoln and her new life as a Grigori forcing our arms to remain stiffly at our sides while reading instead of opening wide to wrap around her. So much time was spent blinking in bafflement as her anger toward Lincoln steadily increased in intensity, and though the ending did provide an explanation for her behavior, it also came so late that this second book basically has to introduce us to Violet all over again. This Violet is a far more likable young woman, struggling with the repercussions of actions for which she can’t claim sole blame, and trying desperately to mend a relationship she and Phoenix riddled with more holes than we fear she'll be able to patch.

The lingering hurt on both sides is a palpable thing, a character almost unto itself as it hovers between Violet and Lincoln, forcing them to tread softly in the presence of the other so as to not disturb a sleeping beast that will easily shred their hearts with claws tipped in Phoenix-laced poison should it awaken. At times Violet wavers in her resolve to fix things, keeping information to herself we know will only make her situation worse for not sharing it, but before we can work up sufficient ire she takes the high road and adopts honesty as her new policy, allowing us to release an audible sigh of relief. Her flaws are still on prominent display in this second book, but where previously she was almost completely unbelievable in her fury, in this installment her imperfections only mark her as a human with a vulnerable heart despite her angelic link.

Entice is a solid middle book, giving us the opportunity to see Violet clearly for the first time while ratcheting up the conflict on both personal and physical levels. The only real complaint with this story is the aforementioned lack of recap of book one, characters popping up throughout with no brief introduction as to who they are and what role they played previously, leaving us flipping to the back in the hope we’ll find a glossary to help us place them. It’s recommended readers refresh their memories by at least skimming Embrace before tackling Entice, but slight befuddlement aside, readers will no doubt be glued to the pages as Violet’s world comes to life.

Rating: 4/5