March 8, 2012

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington -Giveaway

Embrace (Embrace, #1)

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
Published March 6th 2012 by SourceBooks Fire

Summary:

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!

As part of the blog tour, below is a post from Jessica about falling in love at 17. I know that love is possible at any age. I met my husband at 17 as well. People are often shocked to hear that we've been together that long. We're in our 14th year of marriage and though we've had challenges, I know we are just meant to be. I knew it then too.

Here's Jessica's post:

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 ;)

To read more about Jessica and her books http://www.jessicashirvington.com/

I have one copy of Embrace to give away. 
Open to Canada and US, Age 13+
Winner will be chosen at random on March 12th 2012. Winner will be contacted by email and has 48hrs to respond before an alternate winner will be chosen.
Let's keep it simple. Answer the following questions in the comments to enter. 

Do you believe in love at first sight? Why or why not?

14 comments:

  1. Of course I believe in love at first sight =) I've always been a helpless romantic so it's rightfully so that I believe in true love at first sight.

    Excellent post, Jen!
    venturinhawendy(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. There is definitely "attraction at first sight" which, if you are lucky, turns into love. But no, I don't believe in love at first sight....I guess I'm not that romantic!

    This was a fun post!

    annettesspot (at) gmail DOT com

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  3. I believe in love at first sight- that is what makes love so great!
    great giveaway
    follow via gfc
    drakebdog@gmail.com

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  4. No because love isn't just about attraction its the whole package your accepting not just the wrapping paper!

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  5. forgot my email here!

    ashtreygonesmokeya@yahoo.com

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  6. I'm not sure about love at first sight. But I do think that you can know you will have a connection with someone right after meeting them

    Chelle2006@aol.com

    Gfc Michelle adams

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  7. I do. I am a hopeless romantic and I need to believe these things exist :)

    jaidahsmommy(at)comcast(dot)net

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  8. Aw, I love to hear about your story with Matt! The same thing happened to me at 17 too with my boyfriend, and it's definitely made us a bit less... typical teen-y. But at the same time, I don't really minds since we have each other. Not that we're married for years yet, though... Everyone around me always say I won't be with him for the rest of my life; some even encourage me to go out and see if I might find someone else, which I don't understand at all. Even if I found him at 17, why couldn't he be the one I'd spend the rest of my life with? To some, it's a ridiculous thought.

    I think that true love can come at any time, no doubt, and most often when we don't expect it! We probably don't expect it when we're younger, but I definitely think it can happen. :)

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  9. Nope, I don't believe in love at first sight. Love takes time to develop! (extemter at hotmail dot com)

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  10. I believe in love, absolutely and whole-heartedly. And I believe that age doesn't dictate whether or not you are capable of feeling a true, deep love. But I don't believe in love at first sight. You don't love a person because they are pretty or because their teeth are straight or their hair is shiny. You can't know a person simply by looking at them, and to love a person you have to know them. At least, that's my definition of love. Now, infatuation at first sight, I definitely believe in that! :)

    Thanks so much for the giveaway!

    lillyisabear (at) gmail (dot) com

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  11. I don't believe in love at first sight. Love is much more powerful than that and based on more than just looks.

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  12. Oh and my email is:
    lexie.bookbug at gmail dot com

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  13. I don't believe in love at first sight but I do believe in infatuation at first sight.

    email: lxlnguyen21@yahoo.ca

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  14. Yes! Though it's never happened to me, I'd like to think it will someday :) Thanks for the awesome giveaway!!

    teddybrgrrl@sbcglobal.net

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