Book Review: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington

Pages: 464

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pub. Date: March 5, 2013

Series:  Embrace (Book 1),  Entice (Book 2)

Source: Publisher for review

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "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 realize 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.."

Violet Eden, half-human and half-angel, finds herself in the center of a lot of action in Emblaze. She is still in love with her partner, Lincoln, but she knows that she can't be with him.  Violet spends a lot of the novel trying to avoid her feelings towards Lincoln, which at times can be pretty painful for her.  Phoenix is back in the picture and wants to open to gates of hell and it seems the only one who can stop him is Violet.  Both sides are racing to decipher the prophecy to figure out exactly what is needed to open up hell and thanks to Violet's friend, Steph, they are hoping to be one step ahead of Phoenix. Violet and the gang travels to Greece, the location the prophecy alludes to, and there's no doubt that Phoenix is right on their tail.  Although Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington, the third book in the Violet Eden Chapters series, isn't as good as the first two books, it is still an edge of your seat read that will leave fans scrambling for the next book in the series.

Violet is still trying to learn about herself and her powers in Emblaze.  She knows that she is a very powerful angel, but isn't quite sure the extent of her powers.  She spends a lot of her energy in Emblaze dealing with her attraction to Lincoln.  They both try to avoid the elephant in the room, which is the fact that they love each other and want to be with each other.  If fans were hoping for some steamy romance from these two in Emblaze, think again.  I was very frustrated as it has been two books of this and I just-want-them-together-finally.

The secondary characters that readers have grown to love are still in Emblaze and are as fun as ever.  I am a huge fan of Spence and was happy that he is still up to his old antics.  Steph, Violet's best friend, is of course in Emblaze and plays an even bigger role in the story now that she is helping Violet understand the prophecy. Phoenix isn't in Emblaze as much as one would hope, but I am team Lincoln so it didn't bother me too much.  Lastly, Violet's dad starts to all of a sudden care about where she is, how late she is out, etc, meaning all of a sudden he is parenting.  In Embrace and Entice, it always confused me as to why he was so absent and nonchalant about parenting, so I was happy to see he finally woke up in Emblaze; however, this poses a problem for Violet as she has become very used to her independence.  

Emblaze is all about the action.  There's a ton of fighting and adventure in Greece, especially when Violet meets some new characters and faces off with Phoenix. Also, there are some jaw dropping moments, especially towards the end of the novel and especially the cliffhanger.  Although I felt Emblaze lacked some of the spark that the first two books had, I am still hooked on this series. I just hope that Lincoln and Violet can FINALLY have their moment in the next book.