Embrace
Gr 9 Up-The first book (Sourcebooks Fire, 2012) in a paranormal romance series by Jessica Shirvington is sure to be popular among Twilight fans. This volume focuses more on love interests than the battles between good and evil that will follow in subsequent books. The big question for Violet is who to trust. She has a huge crush on Lincoln, her self-defense instructor, who holds her at arm's length. There are lots of conversations between Violet and her best friend, Steph, about how to get a guy to reveal his feelings. Narrator Rebecca Macauley conveys Violet's uncertainty and innocence as well as Steph's confidence. Her Australian accent adds to the charm of Violet's first person narration, often a confessional of confusion about emotions and intentions (her own and others). Life gets more complicated with the arrival of Phoenix. Violet is drawn to him and he seems to be able to read and control her feelings. When they witness a brutal murder, their bond becomes stronger, but that doesn't alleviate Violet's uncertainty. Then she discovers that she is a Gregori, half angel and half human, and meant only to be Lincoln's mission partner. Phoenix is an exile, part of a group of angels that have the potential to be lethal predators, and sworn enemies of Gregori. There's lots of passion here, especially between Violet and her love interests, Listeners will be torn between whom to root for.-Edie Ching, University of Maryland, College Parkα(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.