Review: Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Kiss Kill Vanish

Author: Jessica Martinez

Series: --

Pages: 432

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release date: 7^th October 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

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.

Review: 3 out of 5 stars

Kiss Kill Vanish is a difficult book to review without revealing a number of pretty big spoilers; the main storyline is told in the synopsis so I won’t delve into why Valentina has fled her privileged life or her boyfriend but I will say there were so many twists and turns that my head was spinning.

It took me a little while to warm to our MC Valentina, she came across as naïve, at times immature, extremely feisty but what I did like about her was her fierce independence and strong will, she didn’t wallow away in self-pity, she moved forward.

We also meet brothers Lucien and Marcel, both intriguing and wonderfully developed; I enjoyed the growing friendship between Valentina and Marcel, she put him through some grief but he stayed by her side, his personality was snarky and his wit was quick, I enjoyed the dialogue between them. Emilio was a character I didn't trust at all but I held on to hope he was sincere and I was actually surprised by a few revelations when it did come to him.

The world we are introduced to is filled with surprises, suspense and betrayal, I enjoyed the overall mystery aspect but I did feel the story dragged in parts. It was quite a long read at 432 pages and I feel a lot of unnecessary pieces of information could have been left out.

Jessica Martinez’s writing is crisp, detailed and engaging; her words flowed beautifully and the vivid descriptions and Montreal setting was done extremely well. Kiss, Kill Vanish is an edgy, thrilling read but it also forced me to suspend believability; it was a little far-fetched but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books for the opportunity to read and review Kiss, Kill, Vanish.

About the author: (From Jessica Martinez’s website) I was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. As a child I played the violin, read books, and climbed trees incessantly. I went on to study English and music at Brigham Young University, and since then I’ve been an English teacher, a symphony violinist, and a mother. I currently live in Orlando, Florida with my husband and three children.

My young adult novels are Virtuosity, The Space Between Us, The Vow, and Kiss Kill Vanish. I’m represented by Mandy Hubbard of D4EO Literary Agency.