Review: Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Title: Vanish (Firelight, #1)
Author: Sophie Jordan
Pages: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 6, 2011

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?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever.

My Thoughts (SPOILERS and not for Vanish fans): I'm just going to get to the point. The love-triangle RUINED this book for me. I don't even care who Jacinda ends up with at this point. I really don't. I liked Will in Firelight, but I didn't care for him in this book (honestly, didn't even give him a second thought, which might be because he was barely in it). I was neutral towards Cassian in Firelight, and I ended up disliking him in this book.

I don't understand why everyone is in love with Jacinda. It was worse because she kept going back and forth with this: 'I want Will. No, I can't be with him. I'm starting to feel something for Cassian too. He truly wants me for me. I can't betray Tamra though. But I can't let either of them go. I feel something for them both. Will! Cassian! Will! Cassian!'

I can't believe I'm saying this, but minus the bitchy attitude, she is like the Bella Swan of Firelight, I swear. And you know what else pissed me off? That Jacinda kept going on and on about Tamra being obsessed and infatuated with Cassian, and yet she NEVER EVER says that about Cassian and Will's obsession with her or her infatuation with Will and sometimes Cassian. What the hell is up with that?? Selfish! That's what Jacinda is. I was not convinced by this love-triangle. At all. And it's even more frustrating because it doesn't look like it's over.

What did I like about the book? Tamra.

She intrigued me in Firelight, and I was so looking forward to knowing more about her in Vanish. *looks at cover* Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, Vanish is all about Jacinda. It just makes me feel bad for Tamra. I WISH this book was in her POV instead because at least she knows what she wants. And we wouldn't have to deal with a pathetic love-triangle and all the moping Jacinda does in this book. What we did get of Tamra, though, was awesome. She said most of the things I was thinking. Her asking Cassian why Jacinda was so special was priceless because he didn't even know how to answer it! Wow. I'm so glad she lashed out at Cassian a couple of times. He deserved it too because apparently he led her on a bit in the book and also for the way he treated her after Jacinda became a draki and she didn't. I only supported Tamra/Cassian because she liked him, but he really doesn't deserve her. At this point, I can't say they will happen; HOWEVER, I won't be surprised if they do end up together though. And if it does happen, Cassian is going to have to work hard for it. Big time. Convince me like he couldn't do with Jacinda.

Other than the romance, I felt like nothing else happened in Vanish until the very end. That's when the action picked up. It's disappointing because I really liked the beginning of Firelight. I thought this story would be different, but...it ended up being the same old same old. I feel like it has gone downhill since the moment they went into the human world in Firelight. *sigh* Anyway, it may come as a surprise, but I still plan on reading the final book. *shrugs* I just have to know what happens with Tamra. I'm not getting my hopes up though.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Thanks to Crystal for letting me borrow her ARC!