Review: The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa

Title: The Vanishing Girl (#1)
Author: Laura Thalassa
Published: March 15, 2014
Pages: 338
Series: The Vanishing Girl
Source: purchased

Goodreads Summary: Every night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world—London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom—wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It's a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.

A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne captures her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons.
Dragged off to a remote facility where others like her live, Ember’s forced to pair up with her former captor, Caden, to learn how to survive inside until she can escape. Only Caden’s making escape seem less and less appealing.
But even as Ember falls for the boy who got her into this mess, she knows that she is running out of time. Because the government has plans for those like her, and those plans might just cost Ember her life.


**REVIEW**

A pleasant surprise.

I was hooked from the very first chapters and could not stop turning the pages.

I loved Thalassa's smooth and confident writing style and even pacing; everything carried out effortlessly throughout the story. She balanced action, mystery, and romance gracefully. There was just a flawless amount of small moments and big moments.

Ember as a protagonist immediately captured me - she was solid, level-headed, and humorous. I quickly gained confidence in her and trusted her actions. She held her own. I loved the narrating voice.

When you make a character as sexy, straightforward, and banter-driven as Caden, you'll drive the reader to either roll their eyes or chuckle at the things he says and does. Either it works or it's just annoying. I definitely chuckled. He could easily have been overdone and cliche, and I'm ridiculously relieved that he wasn't. This guy was on fire, but in a strangely endearing and enigmatic way.

Ember and Caden were good together and even though they were with each other, more or less, from start to finish, it worked. I adored their banter. However, I truly hope the gushing and craving of one another doesn't get out of hand and distract from the actual plot.

The characters in 'The Vanishing Girl' were all believable and interesting. I really liked that whichever character meant for a certain role weren't outright as expected; there was always a little more to them.

Everything regarding the teleporting, the training, and the missions were enjoyable and I can't wait to learn more about Adrian and the stones.

I finished 'The Vanishing Girl' in one go. Despite the abrupt ending I had a fair sense of satisfaction, and will definitely pick up the sequel this fall.

(4.5)