Review: Vanish by Sophie Jordan

Vanish 
~Sophie Jordan 


Reading level: Ages 13 and up 
Hardcover: 304 pages 
Publisher: HarperCollins  
Publish Date: September 6, 2011 
ISBN-10: 0061935107 
ISBN-13: 978-0061935107 
ASIN: B004S333OK

From the author's website:
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. 

*SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1*
When Firelight, the first book in the series, leaves off, Jacinda and her family are fleeing home to the Draki pride they ran away from, narrowly escaping hunters.  Jacinda's betrothed, Cassian, came back for them and is bringing them home.  She's leaving behind her boyfriend, Will.  Her twin sister, Tamra, had previously been believed to be "dormant", but in the last few pages of Firelight, she surprised everyone. (I'll admit, I totally did not see it coming, lol)

As Vanish begins, Cassian, Jacinda, her mother, and Tamra are rushing back to the pride.  As soon as they arrive, they take Tamra to someone who can heal and train her in her new talents.  Jacinda and her mother, however, are placed under house arrest.  They're traitors for leaving the pride, and are treated with suspicion and derision.  Jacinda is having a hard time going from the pride's "golden girl" to a pariah.  Her mother's response to the situation is to lose herself in a bottle, ultimately forcing Jacinda deal with her situation on her own.

Cassian is still pursuing her, but now she's aware that her sister is also a suitable candidate to mate Cassian.  She's pining for Will, and being pursued by Cassian's uber-creepy cousin and watched by the pride.  When a series of events leads her back outside the pride, she's going to be in more danger than before, but this time she's not alone...

My thoughts:
Vanish is an excellent follow-up to Ms. Jordan's YA debut, Firelight.  The stories are so different:  In firelight, Jacinda flees the pride only to find acceptance in the forbidden love Wil provides.  In Vanish, she's back in the pride that needs her, but now she's an outcast.

I was thrilled to see more of the inner workings of the Pride, the individual roles and day-to-day activities that take place. As archiac as some of the social mores were, it was interesting to read and made me smile each and every time Jacinda rebelled.

The love triangle in Vanish is skillfully written:  Where Cassian seemed to be a roadblock to Jacinda's happiness with Will in Firelight, in Vanish he becomes a viable hero and this particular reader is firmly on the "Team Cassian" side, lol.  His patience and tenderness towards Jacinda when the rest of the pride is cruel stole my heart.

As with Firelight, Vanish leaves us with a cliffhanger ending - big things are about to go down and everyone involved may not survive the experience.  I cannot wait to find out what happens next in this fabulous series!

My Rating:

 

Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.