Mundie Moms

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Blog Tour/ Book Review: Embrace by Jessica Shirivington


Published by: SourceBooks
To Be Released on: March 6th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

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…

Look for the sequels ENTICED in September 2012 and EMBLAZE in March 2013! -quoted from Goodreads

Embrace is an exciting new debut and the first book in what promises to be one enticing series. It's filled with romance, danger, a captivating angel-lore, and plenty of twists that will keep readers hooked to till the last page. This is one of those books that literally drew me in the moment I sat down to read it, and I found it nearly impossible to put down.

Violet Eden is a character I connected with on many levels, and she's also one I at times got frustrated with. I liked that she's a character who's flawed, struggles with seeing the truth vs seeing what she sometimes wants to see, makes mistakes, is strong and she's someone who's not afraid of taking chances. I love that she's someone who ultimately isn't afraid to make sacrifices, especially when it comes to saving those she loves. She definitely has some tough choices when it comes to love and following her heart.

The romance in this book is HOT! Let just say wow! I adored Lincoln from the moment he's introduced into the story. He's not the perfect guy, which is a huge reason why I love him, but boy does he love and respect Violet and that was enough to hook me. He's one of those extremely patient guys, even when you don't want him to be. If you've read the book you'll know what I mean. He's extremely understanding, loyal, but he's also secretive. He does reveal some of his secrets in Embrace which of course does have some horrible consequences, but I having a feeling there's a lot more he's hiding. I love the friendship and chemistry he and Violet have. That scene between the two of them on her birthday is AWESOME!!

Then there's Phoenix. Seriously, this guy is bad and mysterious, and yet there's something about him that is alluring. He does some things (a lot of things) that just peeve me off. I started out wondering what Violet even saw in him, but then there were parts of the story I was giving him the benefit out of the doubt and I wanted him to be better than he was. Ultimately he shows his true colors though I'm sure we've only gotten to know a tiny bit of the real Phoenix in this book. Kudos to Jessica for writing both of these love interests the way she did. There's so much about them that's revealed and yet there's so much more that I'm hoping I'll found out about them in the sequel.

Jessica does such a great job at creating scenes in this book that grabbed me emotionally. She allowed me to understand and sympathize with her characters, sigh with them, get mad at them and be happy for them. I love it when an author allows me to connect with their story on that level. There's a lot of twists that are unraveled by the end of this story and a lot of things that are also kept secret. I liked the way Jessica wrapped everything up at the end of the book and still left plenty for me to wonder about. I'm extremely curious about what will happen with the guys and Violet in ENTICE. So many choices that were made in this book I fear will have some serious consequences in the next book and the rest of the series to come.

This is a great read and one I really enjoyed. I like that it's part paranormal, part urban fantasy. If you're looking for a new YA series to pick up, I'd recommend picking up EMBRACE when it's out next month. There is some minor language and a couple tastefully written sensual scenes in this book.

You can read my guest post with Jessica here.

Embrace Blog Tour: Guest Post by Author Jessica Shirvington

I'm excited to be the next stop in Source Books Fire Embrace Blog Tour and today we've got author Jessica Shirvington on the blog!


Published by: SourceBooks Fire
To Be Released on: March 6th, 2012
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

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…

Look for the sequels ENTICED in September 2012 and EMBLAZE in March 2013! - quoted from Goodreads


I'm excited to have Jessica on the blog today! She's stopped by to talk to us about Falling In Love At 17:

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love … more complicated.

At 17, life is about new experiences. It is about self-discovery, friends, adventure, mistakes, career and university choices. And let’s be honest, there are not many 17 year olds out there that aren’t interested in falling in love.

But how many are truly interested in falling in love with THE ONE at 17?

I’m not sure I was. In fact, I probably wasn’t. I was planning to take the world by storm – solo. So when I met Matt, well, actually … it was pretty darn amazing. But it was a little frightening too.

When we first got together, it was sweet and young and … perfect. I was head over heels. But things became complicated quickly. He was an up and coming athletic star and I was working in hospitality. So basically he worked hard in the day, and I worked hard at night. His lifestyle demanded routine and healthy living, mine … not so much. But we were determined to make it work.

Falling in love so deeply at a young age made it difficult to be as reckless as our friends. We watched them coast in and out of short, fun, but meaningless relationships and it just seemed so different to what we had.

Writing the Embrace series has been an opportunity for me to pour some of the incredibly intense emotions of young love into Violet’s story. It has been important for me as a writer, and a person, to recognize that it’s completely realistic for someone at her young age to experience the full effect and heartbreak of love. Violet is one hundred percent invested with her heart. She makes bad choices, but we have to. She regrets many of her decisions, because we all do. And she fights for what she loves, because she is compelled to. Violet’s story is unique to her, I don’t pull on parallel scenarios from my own life, but I do pull on the emotion of intense love. Love that I think adults sometimes forget that 17 and 18 years-olds are very capable of feeling.

I often find one question helps a lot of adults, who maybe disagree with this view, to be more open minded: Do you remember you first true love? Do you ever wonder what your life would’ve been like if you had stayed together? For some, the answer is a resounding NOT INTERESTED, but for others … the pause says it all.

Matt and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary in March - I believe jewelry is in order ;)


Thank you Jessica for stopping by Mundie Moms today! You can follow Jessica on her Blog | Embrace Facebook page | Goodreads

Be sure to check back later today to read my review for Embrace!

Check out the book trailer here:

Waiting on Wednesday: Underworld by Meg Cabot

By: Meg Cabot
Published by: Point
To Be Released on: May 28th, 2012
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

Seventeen-year-old Pierce Oliviera isn’t dead.

Not this time.

But she is being held against her will in the dim, twilit world between heaven and hell, where the spirits of the deceased wait before embarking upon their final journey.

Her captor, John Hayden, claims it’s for her own safety. Because not all the departed are dear. Some are so unhappy with where they ended up after leaving the Underworld, they’ve come back as Furies, intent on vengeance…on the one who sent them there and on the one whom he loves.

But while Pierce might be safe from the Furies in the Underworld, far worse dangers could be lurking for her there…and they might have more to do with its ruler than with his enemies.

And unless Pierce is careful, this time there’ll be no escape -
quoted from Goodreads


I love this cover, and I'm really looking forward to reading this sequel to Abandon. I really enjoyed Abandon and I can't wait to find out what's in store for Pierce this time around. What book are you waiting to be released?

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