Embrace

Gr 9 Up—Violet Eden has always disliked her birthday, a sad reminder that her mother died in childbirth. Her 17th birthday is more than sad however; it causes her previously unknown destiny to demand her undivided attention. A gift from her deceased mother and an exposed secret reveal that Violet is Grigori, a hunter of exiled angels who desire to conquer humanity. She must choose whether or not she will embrace her supernatural lot or deny it and try and live a normal human life. Complicating matters is her love for Lincoln, her fated Grigori partner, and her sexual attraction to Phoenix, a mysterious exiled angel. First published in Australia, this initial volume in the series has an abundance of crowd-pleasing elements: an appealing main character/narrator, hunky angels and angel hunters, steamy (but not explicit) lust, and unrequited love. Opening quotations for each chapter from a variety of sources act as effective teasers for the action that follows. There is a little too much telling in terms of world-building, but even that is managed succinctly and without affectation. This title has more than a few Buffy parallels, but that's not a negative; the pace is quick and the writing style clean, with the ultimate battle between dark and light complicated by shades of gray. Violet may be bruised from past trauma, but her mantra, "I don't run and I don't quit," makes her one tough cookie. Young adult readers will be happy to follow her lead into the remaining volumes of this series.—Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL