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October 10, 2014

Review: Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez - Surprisingly addicting

Kiss Kill Vanish

Title: Kiss Kill Vanish
Author: Jessica Martinez
Publisher:
 HarperCollins Canada
Publication date: October 7, 2014
 
Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC
Pages: 432
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.
I must admit. I have had friends who read Kiss Kill Vanish and weren't impressed. I try not to let other people's opinions affect me in regards to judging a book I haven't read but I have to say I do become wary of the book. I wished I didn't request it for review but still, I tried emptying my pre-reading judgements and started it. I must say, I was surprised! The beginning is slow. That is a given. The author took a while trying to set up everything and get the ball rolling.. still, I wasn't bored or disliked the protagonist. It's funny how I actually really liked Valentina. I loved the plot and thought it was addicting. I especially loved all the well crafted twists. Even I, someone who loved mysteries and usually solves them rather quickly, wasn't able to see the twists coming my way. 
To spare you the details, Valentina witnessed her boyfriend kill someone in cold blood when her dad ordered him to do so. She couldn't take it and fled. She found out her father is pretty much a drug lord, trafficking drugs and making millions and millions of dollars. Valentina decides to runaway and goes to Montreal (she lived in Florida). I felt, for such a pampered sheltered rich girl, she did fairly well. She barely complained and wasn't naive. She didn't have a misconception that everything should come to her easily because that's how it has always been. She lived in a closet sized room with other people and worked as a model for a rich guy. Yea it seems fishy, but let's be real, someone like her can't do manual labor! I do understand that about her. Heck, I've never had a job which has more to do with our culture where the parents take care of the kids and kids shouldn't be worrying about money than my family or all arabs/muslims being rich. So I get why some people think she's too sheltered and should look at reality and get an actual job.. this is easier said than done.
The romance in this book.. guys it is so unpredictable and I LOVED IT TO PIECES. THANK YOU THANK YOU Jessica Martinez for finally letting an underdog win the girl. THANK YOU for finally making my guy bias win the girl. I don't want to mention which guy I'm talking about (because there are several, though NO love triangle (square?) at all). All I can say is that I was very very happy with the romance. 
The last is the plot and plot progression. As I mentioned earlier, the beginning was slow, that's the reason why I took half a star off. It took 100 pages to really get into the novel and get hooked. However after the 100 page mark, things got crazy with a capital C. I'm not even kidding. Deaths, conspiracy, murder plotting, ambushing, everything you can think of. It was so addicting. however there are also the sweet moments with Valentina and another person that I can't help but gush about. All in all, this book took me by complete surprise and I loved it. I couldn't stop reading it and ended up marathoning the last 250 pages on a friday night. Kiss Kill Vanish is definitely worth the buy and read! 

5 comments:

  1. This is really surprising, but sadly I read this book ages ago, and I just didn't get the feels that you did sadly. I found that the plot was all over the place and Valentina was such an annoying character. I'm really happy that you found something positive about it, I really do hate giving a book a negative thought. Lovely review, Juhina!

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  2. I think this is one of the first positive reviews I've seen for this book! Definitely a lot of other bloggers hating on it...
    I actually love it when a book surprises you in a good way. Makes it seem worth it that you actually went out of your way to try a book despite the negativity :)

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  3. I've heard tons of people saying they really liked this book. At least I think I have. But it doesn't sound like my kind of book. Your review makes me think about giving it a chance though!

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  4. I didn't dislike the book. But ... I think I had certain expectations based on the cover and synopsis and then it was a COMPLETELY different book. I did love the writing. I did get a little frustrated with Valentina -- she just seemed so passive all the time. And .... I think her taste in guys is a lot questionable. I didn't hate the romance and I appreciated the unexpectedness of it.
    I do remain a fan of this author -- I think her books are always interesting, even if not always perfect for me :)
    Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics

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  5. 4.5! WOW! I will surely rank this higher in my priority list.

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