Please help me welcome author Jessica Shirvington to a Buckeye Girl Reads. Jessica is the author of Embrace, book one of the Violet Eden Chapters, a YA Urban Fantasy Series. Please see the end of the post for the rules of the giveaway!
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…
What is the allure of forbidden romance?
I don’t know if it is the forbidden romance that people find alluring as much as the story threads and character developments it can lead to. In Embrace, Violet discovers she is destined to become a Grigori warrior. For her, at the age of 17, this is a massive revelation to try and process. On top of that she learns that the one person she thought she could trust, Lincoln, has been lying to her since they first met, causing her to question whether he actually ever cared for her at all, or if it was all just leading to her Grigori future. One of the things she learns is that as destined partners and as a result of some kind of angelic fail-safe, if Violet and Lincoln were together, it would have a disastrous impact.
Although she still has questions, this realization devastates her. It opens the door for Violet to explore exactly how deep her feelings for Lincoln go and it leaves her feeling desperate and alone. As a writer, it’s fascinating to explore not only where this combination of emotions can lead a young character like Violet, who is constantly stuck in her own internal battle for control of her life – but also to see the possible lengths a character might go to in order to be with the one they love. For me, this is the allure of forbidden romance.
In Embrace, Violet goes on to make a series of mistakes where her love life is concerned and in some ways this is in direct response to being denied what feels natural to her, but it is also part of the journey she must take. In book 2, Entice, Violet is forced to face the consequences of her actions and learn from her mistakes – it is all part of her developing into the person and warrior she can be.
Where to find Jessica:
Sourcebooks Fire is kind enough to giveaway one copy of Embrace to a lucky commenter. (Open to US/ Canada residents only)To enter the giveaway: Leave a comment or question for Jessica, a way for me to contact you if you are the winner (email or twitter handle) and you must be a blog follower. Giveaway is open until 11:00pm @ 3/23/12. T
