Book Review - Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Vanish is the second book on Sophie Jordan's Firelight series and it released in September.

I was left on the fence with Firelight, the first book of the series (read my review here), and wasn't sure if I enjoyed it or not, so did Vanish change my mind?

SYNOPSIS

"I remember Will’s promise: ‘It’s not over. I’ll find you . . .' Then it dawns on me. He won’t know what happened. He’ll just think I left. Vanished.

Jacinda did the unthinkable for love: she betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Exposed for what she really is, she must return to her fellow draki knowing she might never see Will again. But Jacinda can’t forget what she’s left behind. So when the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything?

The hunter and the hunted have fallen in love but how can Will and Jacinda ever be together?  Find out in this sizzling sequel to the sensational Firelight" 

REVIEW:

I've been sitting on my review of Vanish for a couple of weeks now. And it's taking all the control I can muster, even as I write this, not to unleash my frustration with this book.

I think the way I can summarize it, without getting too passionate and taking a chainsaw to it, would be to say none of the characters or relationships has elicited my sympathy. And I think that is because you are told one thing - for example she's a devoted mother who would do anything for her daughters, or they are very close sisters, or their love goes beyond this world, or this and that characters are very strong minded - but the actual dynamic and the way the story goes contradicts such descriptions.

None of the relationships, apart from Cassian's love interest for Jacinda, seemed convincing or substantial enough to me. Each character so unbelievably selfish, yet pretending not to be so, that any connection in between them seemed passed fake.

The most frustrating of all moments for me was when Jacinda goes back for the second time and has to face the music. What happened isn't entirely her fault, as a matter of fact, it would all have worked out if it wasn't for someone else. Yet when she's being punished for it, as strong minded and rebellious as you're told she is, she has nothing to say. She's cornered, about to suffer physical and painful punishment; she knows the truth; she knows it's a game plan to reassert authority, therefore not really about her transgression all that much, and she doesn't come out swinging??? You don't even try to explain what happened???

All done and dusted, and even though the ending sounds promising, by the time it came, I had passed the point of caring. And in all honesty, if I wasn't so stubborn, I don't think I would have finished reading this book. I'm not sure I'll be tripping over myself to read the third book either.

BOOK REVIEW:

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