Empower Blog Tour: Review

 

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for EMPOWER! Today I have my review of the book to share with you!

Empower (The Violet Eden Chapters #5)

Author: Jessica Shirvington

Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Release Date: May 6, 2014

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Description:

It has been two years since Violet Eden walked away from the city, her friends, her future and - most importantly - her soulmate, Lincoln. Part angel, part human, Violet is determined to stand by the promises she made to save the one she loves.

Living in the perpetual coldness of a broken soul she survives day to day as a Rogue Grigori in London.

But when an unexpected visitor shows up at her door, the news he bears about someone she swore to protect leaves Violet with no choice.

Even worse, she fears that this might all lead back to the night she tries hardest to forget. And what was taken without her permission.

Violet is going back to New York ... and she knows exactly who is going to be there.

With Phoenix in her dreams and Lincoln in her heart she knows it is only a matter of time before the final choice must be made.  

Empower is the fifth and final book in The Violet Eden Chapters series. It finishes telling the story of Violet Eden, the Keshet or Rainbow, who is the most powerful Grigori in history. After the events that cost her everything - including her life and her soul mate - Violet has been on her own, acting as a Rogue around the world. Word comes from the Academy that one of her best friends, Spence, has gone missing and things are getting increasingly bad around the world. Something huge is coming - and it's going to take Violet and the rest of the Grigori population to attempt to stop it from destroying the world as they know it. Will Violet be able to go back to New York and face the past she's been running from for the past two years? Will she, along with her friends and the rest of the Grigori, be strong enough to save the earth from this immense threat?

This is a really hard review for me to write. There are tons of emotions and thoughts still whirling in my mind after finishing the book almost a week ago. Ever since I read a galley of the first book in the series, I have absolutely LOVED this series. It is - by far - one of the best YA paranormal series I've ever read and will be an all-time favorite of mine. From the beginning of the series, I was sucked into Violet's world. I loved learning about the Grigori, the exiles, all of it. It completely fascinated me and each book in the series added more to the history of it all. Even in the final book, the author shows us interesting histories and myths pertaining to Judgement Day, along with lots of other information about the paranormal beings we've all come to know so well. 

As for the characters - I think that Violet was perfect as the heroine of the series. She starts out as an innocent teenage girl in the first book and finishes the series as the most powerful and unique Grigori ever known. She grows so much in the series - including the final book - both in her Grigori destiny as well as her personal life and self. I seriously feel like I know Violet on a personal level after reading the books and being inside her head for so long. It's the same with the rest of the characters in the main group - Steph, Griffin, Spence, Phoenix, Lincoln - everyone. I feel as though I've grown to know and love everything about each and every one of them - flaws, strengths, quirks, and all. The way that the author wrote the books made it so easy for me to immerse myself into Violet's world and I willingly dove in with each book to experience all of the suspense, action, heartbreak, excitement, and everything else they all went through. It's strange to feel like you know fictional characters from a book series as well as, or even better than, people in real life - but that's exactly how I feel with the people from this series. I loved each of them in their own way and I see how important they each were for the series. One thing that I obsessed about in the series was the relationship between Violet and Lincoln. SO much happens between them - good and bad - I wasn't sure how things were going to end up. I found myself running the emotional spectrum from laughing to crying, smiling happily to being really mad. I believe it takes immense talent to have readers connect with characters in this deep of a manner - especially the fact that it's more than just the main character and their love interest. That was achieved and then surpassed in this book - this series - and I'll never forget them. 

The plot of the book was full of action, suspense, romance, and thrills that kept me eagerly reading to see what was going to happen next. I couldn't stop reading until I finished the book and found out how it all ended - I read the entire book in one sitting. It was easy to jump back into Violet's world and get caught back up into all the problems in the Grigori world as well as her personal life. The author used incredible imagery and detailed descriptions to help draw me into this world, and to be honest, I didn't want it to end. That's why this review is bittersweet and so hard for me to write. I loved this book - this series - so much and I wanted to see how everything would finally end, but on the other hand, I didn't want the series to end at all. I wanted more books about Violet and the gang and I'm incredibly sad that the series is over. To stop myself from rambling on and fangirling all over the place - I'll just say this: This is honestly one of my favorite series of all time - of all genres, subjects, everything. I loved every single thing about them and they will hold a dear place in my heart (and bookshelf!) for a very long time to come. I cannot recommend this book - the series - highly enough to anyone. I can't begin to do it the justice it deserves, so just take my advice and give this one a shot. I promise you won't be disappointed. With something to offer fans of all genres, this is one series that you do not want to miss out on. Trust me when I say that you NEED to read this series. Now.

A DEFINITE ALL-TIME FAVORITE SERIES!!