Endless Blog Tour: Review + Guest Post

 

Welcome to my stop on the Endless blog tour being presented by Sourcebooks! Today I have a guest post from Jessica to share with you along with my review of the book!

Endless (The Violet Eden Chapters #4)
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Description:

LOVE WILL KILL US ALL
Violet Eden thought she was getting things under control. Then all hell breaks loose-literally. In the war between angels and exiles, she's about to face the biggest baddie of all time. Except she's not nearly ready.

The dark exile Phoenix is still messing with her head-not to mention her heart. And her undeniable attraction to Lincoln has gotten downright dangerous. When Hell unleashes its worst, Violet must embrace every facet of her angel self to save the people she cares about and the world as she knows it. But death is not the worst thing she will face...

Mythology of the Series

 

Discussing the mythology that has gone into the entire series is no small task.

I love every stage of research and have found throughout the books that it has become a bit of an obsession of mine to include hints or small snippets of mythology even at times when, unless the reader was really looking for it, they would not know it was there. From color choices, powers, geographical locations to different references, conversations, and wardrobe choices. I realize I may have a little problem! ;-) Every now and then a reader will write to me and say ... er, I happened to notice such and such and I was wondering if you had done that on purpose? Those messages are always a big highlight for me! 

More importantly to all of that is the direct mythology that I have chosen to use in order to anchor and drive the story and plot. When looking at what the big drivers have been – there is definitely the story from The Book of Enoch and his version of the Great Flood – that it was God’s response to discovering that angels on earth had been taking humans as husbands and wives and having children with them. According to his version, the flood was in fact brought by a legion of warrior angels and worked to rid the world of the children, and humans and to cast the offending angels into the pits of hell. That story more than any other was the foundation of Violet’s world of angels, exiled angels, and angel-human warriors on earth.

Beyond that, in each book I have selected a few pieces of mythology to manipulate into the story. In Entice I played with the tales of the Stigmata, the Tabernacles and the story of Judas. In Emblaze I used the historical references to the destruction of Thera, the mythology of the great City of Atlantis and the All Seeing Eye. In Endless, I had the opportunity to delve into biblical folklore, the angel hierarchy as well as some ancient Egyptian beliefs.

For me, having the opportunity to work with these references in this series has been an absolute highlight. It is not always possible to have such a huge range of research to work with when writing stories and I know I have been spoiled for choice with these books!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today and chatting with us about the mythology behind the series Jessica!

Endless is the fourth book in a young adult fantasy/paranormal series that follows our heroine, Violet Eden, as she continues to navigate the world of the Grigori and attempts to stop a full on war between exiles and angels. Things are about to get ugly - Lilith has been unleashed, Phoenix is still messing with her head, and war is not far off. Violet doesn't even know the full extent of her abilities - so how can she be ready to help save the world? Everyone believes that she's the key to winning the war, but she's having serious doubts. Not to mention her previously dead mother is back and her relationship with Lincoln is so complicated it hurts - literally. Will Violet and the rest of the Grigori be able to stop the exiles before they destroy the world or will Violet have to pay the ultimate price?

This is by far one of my favorite series I've ever read and Endless did not disappoint in the least. Most series start to burn out by the fourth book or so, but this one only seems to get more exciting and intense. I absolutely love the overarching plot of the series - the mythology of angels, exiles, and Grigori. We learn a little more about them and their history in each book and I'm utterly fascinated by every tidbit the author gives me. The story in this book was really intense as things are getting heated between the exiles and the Grigori. There's so much going on throughout the book, but I didn't feel overwhelmed or confused in the least. The characters are all incredible. There's quite an array of characters by now in the series, and they each have their own distinct personalities with flaws and strengths. Violet is a kickass heroine - she's smart, strong, brave, and doesn't back down from what needs to be done. There's definitely some romantic elements to the story, but I think it makes the series even better. There are so many obstacles and impossibilities in front of Violet and Lincoln, but they refuse to give up on each other. The writing was phenomenal, as usual. The book picked up where the last one left off and it was like I never missed a beat in the story. I was instantly back in Violet's world alongside her and the rest of the gang by the end of the first paragraph. There's a fast pace to the book due to the action and the impending war, so it had me reading as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next. Although it's catagorized as a fantasy or paranormal series, there's a ton of other genres mixed in - action, adventure, romance, thrills, suspense, and awesome mythology. I don't experience extreme reactions to books very often, but with this book (the entire series actually), I found myself going through a whole slew of emotions that I couldn't keep in check. There were points where I was rooting for Violet and the gang, parts where I was literally like "OMG! WHAT?!?!, and parts where I cried - a lot. It's always a sign of the author's exceptional talent when a book can affect me like that. I'm already anxiously awaiting the next book in the series to see what will happen next. The only problem is how long I'm going to have to wait. I honestly can't recommend this book or this series highly enough to everyone. I don't care what genres you usually prefer - this series will appeal to fans of all types of fiction. If you haven't read this series - DO IT NOW. You will not be disappointed - that I promise you.

An Ultimate All Time Favorite!!

Jessica Shirvington is the author of THE VIOLET EDEN CHAPTERS also known as THE EMBRACE SERIES, and stand alone novel, BETWEEN THE LIVES. An entrepreneur, author, and mother living in Sydney, Australia, Jessica is also a 2011 finalist for Cosmopolitan’s annual Fun, Fearless Female Award. She’s also one of the lucky few who met the love of her life at age seventeen: Matt Shirvington, a former Olympian and current sports broadcaster for FOXTEL and Sky News. Married for twleve years with two beautiful daughters, Sienna and Winter, Jessica knows her early age romance and its longevity has definitely contributed to how she tackles relationships in her YA novels. (Taken from Goodreads)

http://www.jessicashirvington.com/

*Note - I did not make the banner at the top of this post. It was originally found on the book blog, Chapter by Chapter.*