8. srp 2014.

ARC Review: Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Buy the book at 
Author's 
Publication Date: October 7th 2014

Book summary:
Valentina Cruz no longer exists.
One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.
She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.
She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.
         You've all seen this pretty cover around. You have, haven't you? Well, we did and it was hard not to press that request button at Edelweiss. It might have been better if we did not. But not everything is that bad, at least we were part of an amazing read-a-long, with even more amazing Emma and Rashika. The have already posted their reviews and you can find them here:
Rashika's review at The Social Potato and
Emma's review at Never Judge a Book by Its Cover.
          And now, it's time for us to answer those questions!
     
How did you feel about Valentina as a character? 
Tanja: I was devoid of any feelings for her. Basically annoyance was there at the start but as soon as I got to be in her head for some time, I lost interest. I couldn't care less for that spoiled brat. Even though you could find justifications for her behavior as she is raised as that, it was hard to understand that during her so-called exile. Basically she was lacking logic and often compassion for others. Not to mention her blind love for certain someone.
I never felt any character growth either. That and her lack of feelings for any sort of justice, bothered me the most.

Glass: I honestly do not remember last time when one of the young adult characters made me want to scream out of complete frustration like Valentina. She wants to be a child and the gown up at the same time. She thinks that the whole world owes her something (but pretends that she is selfless and different from other little snobs). Daddy's little girl. Spoiled brat. Miss Know It All. I didn't like her at all.

Was the plot well developed and believable? 
Tanja: No and NO! About the development, basically the first half of the book was at times even too slow and then everything started going places and in the meantime creating plenty of loop-holes. About this story being believable - it's a bit complex. Yes the whole idea was there and something existing in this world. It's something I can see happening, but the problem is that non of the characters fit the role they play. They are too young and with all that too naive for everything that's going on. So they don't tell the story in believable way.

Glass: Kiss Kill Vanish was based on great idea, but unfortunately it failed to deliver equally great story. As Tanja said, it is probably because characters are too young, but maybe that wouldn't be such a big problem if the whole thing wasn't told from perspective of one character. I wanted to know much more about her father and sisters, I felt like they didn't get enough attention and a lot of plot holes would have been explained if we got to hear their side of the story too.

Was the romance more than a plot device?
Glass: In my opinion, no. There were few scenes that were kind of romantic, but they failed to make me feel anything other than one short swoon-moment and that is that. Things are going too slow in one minute and in the other way too fast. I had a feeling like I missed something because of the way characters were portrayed at the beginning and the middle of the book.

Tanja: Depends which one, as yes this book also has some sort of love triangle. One is definitely just a plot device. It was without feelings and utterly emotionless, at least from my side. The one I refer to is with how I like to call him - Valentina's puppy. The other one was a plot device but it's the point of it. But still in any case, the answer is no.

Describe Emilo in one word. 
Glass: Frustrating.

Tanja: Mysterious. (I wanted to say Rashika totally has a crush on him, but that's more than one word. Did I just say that? OOPS!)

To sum up?
Tanja: If right now you're asking yourself Where the heck did she find that one star? here's the answer - writing. That and page-turning. Let me put it this way - the writing was nothing extraordinary or something you'll remember the rest of your life, but it was to the point and neatly done. I see that Ms. Martinez has the talent but with characters as this it's not enough.

Glass: I believe that a lot of YA fans will enjoy this book, especially younger readers. Jessica Martinez has captivating writing style and I loved her previous novels, but unfortunately, this one didn't work out for me. On the plus side, Kiss Kill Vanish is fun and quick read despite all of the things I didn't like.

Rating: We need to say that after the reading we book gave this book 3 starts, but after our discussion we counted pros and cons and it turned out to be not so good. So our rating at the end is:
2 stars. 


Until the next time,
*NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, Harper Collins, via Edelweiss. Thank you! 

Broj komentara: 38:

  1. I haven't seen this one, glad I didn't get sucked in by a cover. It sounds like it had some promise but failed in execution, oh well better luck next read,

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  2. I remember Rashika saying you all disliked this one strongly. That is too bad but at least you all got to vent and rant about it together. ;)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  3. Oftentimes my rating of a book will change after writing my review, so I can only imagine the impact a discussion post would have. The YA genre in general frustrates me, so the fact that Glass used that as her one word description of Emilio is enough to turn me off of Kiss Kill Vanish.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. It really makes you think about the book and other give you different perspective too. Thanks, Carmel :)

      Izbriši
  4. Aww, I'm so sorry it didn't work well with you both. The book summary was kind of intriguing but when you don't like the central character, the entire story collapses. Thanks for the honest review, ladies. Hope you get some good ones soon.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  5. I definitely don't think this one is for me, especially as I try to read on the older spectrum of YA than the younger one. It's a shame since I loved this author's debut but her work afterwards has seemed so lackluster. :/ Thanks for such a honest review, ladies--loooved this joint review! :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  6. This book sounds like it has an utterly frustrating main character that I wouldn't want to get to know, plus the romance sounds like she turns stupid. Ugh, I don't think I can sit through this! Great interview format guys!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  7. I could feel your frustrations all the way to where I'm sitting. It's a waste for such a beautiful cover. I'd definitely steer away from this book. Thank you for the honest review, ladies. :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  8. IS IT SO BAD THAT I LIKED HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A JERK TO VALENTINA? I mean someone needed to be an a-hole to that pampered baby. She's just way too immature. Seriously. I am almost tempted to say she reminds me of 12 year old me. I once threw a tantrum and told my mom I was running away from home. Does that sound somewhat familiar?? :P

    Lovely review, ladies <3

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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    1. NO! The problem is that you won't admit it! :D LOL it does ring a bell! :D Thanks, dear :)

      Izbriši
  9. Oh wow, Valentina might not be a character for me.... frustrating or lack of feelings

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  10. Well shoot! This was one of my most anticipated fall reads, I'm so bummed that it didn't work for you guys! I don't like the sound of the romance and the possibly love triangle, I'm so very, very tired of that setup. And plot sounds interesting but a bit complex, and it clearly wasn't executed as you guys would have liked. Thanks for your thoughts on this one, it's the first review I've read and I'm going to hold off picking this book up for now!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. I still hope it will work out for you. Thanks, Jenny :)

      Izbriši
  11. I'm really glad I didn't download this one off of EW when it became available. I liked the cover, but I had a feeling this wouldn't be for me. The way you describe the characters is already making me feel frustrated towards Valentina. Ehh and the plot doesn't sound all that great either.
    I'm sorry you guys had such a bad experience with it. Hopefully, your next reads will be better!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  12. I heard your buddy read didn't really work out well. Annoying MC really can spoil the whole book but it sounds like it was much more than that. Hope your next read is better, ladies! Great honest review/discussion! :)

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  13. Oh I always love reviews like that, it's fun to compare the feelings but I'm sorry this one wasn't for you.

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  14. Ehhh, I saw you guys being very frustrated with her on twitter. Honestly, I'm not very fond of her based on your thoughts. I'm so sorry to hear that the plot wasn't for you either. I mean, it can be because they're so young, as you said.. It's just. Gahh. This just doesn't seem like one I'd like to read :( Oh, no! a LT? *headdesk* WHY. JUST. WHY?! I've noticed lately that some books are totally for younger readers than I am. I just don't enjoy the young YA that much anymore and that's totally okay. I'm glad that you didn't outright hate it, but I'm sorry you didn't love it either :(

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  15. Yup, again, this doesn't look great at all. And the main character being a spoil brat doesn't feel appealing to me. Great review and it was nice seeing your point of views, girls. :D

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  16. Hmm...well, the story does sound very cool. I hadn't heard of the book before, and I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. Thanks for the discussion!

    OdgovoriIzbriši
    Odgovori
    1. The idea is good really, but everything else failed. Thanks :)

      Izbriši
  17. So sorry this one just didn't work for you guys. You are making me glad I passed on this one. Great discussion!

    Teresa @ Readers Live A Thousand Lives

    OdgovoriIzbriši
  18. I'm sorry this was a disappointment for you ladies. Valentina certainly sounds unlikable, and an unlikable MC is enough to make me 86 a book by itself . . . throw in an unbelievable and undeveloped plot, and there's no saving it. Thanks for the heads-up though!

    Jessica @ Rabid Reads

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    1. That's one way of summing it up! :) Thanks, Jess :)

      Izbriši
  19. Aw, I'm sorry this turned out to be super disappointing. I remember seeing the book on Glass' Instagram. On a side and off topic note Tanja, when are you joining Instagram? We'd love you have you there! O_o o_O We're watching you. Anyway, I always love this style of review you ladies do and this was fabulous.

    Sarika @ The Readdicts

    OdgovoriIzbriši

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