Vanish by Sophie Jordan {Review}

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publish Date: September 2011

Source: Library

An impossible romance.Bitter rivalries.Deadly choices.To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: she betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again--and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will's memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.
Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family's. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride's heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on--that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

When Vanish came out a few months back, all I heard was how awesome it was and how this was a love triangle done right and all that good stuff. Sadly, I’m going to have to say it just didn’t do it for me.

I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all like I did reading Firelight. Neither Cassian nor Will were the tender, loving guys I remember. Instead, they were like angry hyenas defending their territory throughout the story and the territory just so happens to be Jacinda. They acted in this annoying cycle throughout the story that went a little something like this: “Oh, Jacinda, I love you so much and we’re meant to be together.” “How could you do that, Jacinda? I’m so angry I could punch a tree!”

Jacinda really wasn’t much better either. I can understand being torn between two guys to a degree, but to go around making lovey googly eyes at both of them is just wrong. Plus, I got pretty tired of hearing about her inner turmoil in trying to decide between the two. I’m not generally a hater of love triangles, but this one certainly didn’t do it for me.

One thing I did really enjoy about Vanish was the development of Jacinda and Tamra’s relationship. I liked seeing the dynamic change since there’s just something special about sisterly love. It was also really fun to learn a little more about Tamra and watch her grow.

I was hoping to learn a little more about the drake powers, but sadly, that was barely touched on. Maybe there’ll be some more about them in the next book.

Final Thoughts: I’m still looking forward to the next book, but I ended up not enjoying Vanish as much as I’d hoped. I was never hanging off the edge of my seat in the action scenes, but they did hold my interest enough to keep flipping the pages. The characters annoyed the crap out of me, but there were certainly some redeeming qualities in the story.

Pages: 294

Series: Firelight #2

Rating: 3 stars