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The Vanishing Girl #1
The Vanishing Girl
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.
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.
338 pages, Paperback
First published February 26, 2014
600 people are currently reading
10713 people want to read
About the author
Laura Thalassa
44 books25k followersFound in the forest when she was young, Laura Thalassa was raised by fairies, kidnapped by werewolves, and given over to vampires as repayment for a hundred year debt. She’s been brought back to life twice, and, with a single kiss, she woke her true love from eternal sleep. She now lives happily ever after with her undead prince in a castle in the woods.
… or something like that anyway.
When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.
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… or something like that anyway.
When not writing, Laura can be found scarfing down guacamole, hoarding chocolate for the apocalypse, or curled up on the couch with a good book.
Never want to miss a release? Sign up for my newsletter HERE
Like to discuss my books? Join my Facebook fan page HERE
Official Site: http://www.laurathalassa.com/
Newsletter:
https://laurathalassa.myflodesk.com/newsletter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraThalassa/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraThalassa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurathalassa/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/laurathalassa/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+LauraThalassa/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Thalassa/e/B00DN9YA3S/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 539 reviews
March 3, 2015
Okay, screw this book. I refuse to read a book where the message is that it is appropriate to lust after a guy that; gropes you when you are cuffed, picks through your underwear, makes lewd comments and rips the bed sheets off of you when he knows that you sleep naked.
I don't feel like continuing with this disgusting relationship, I can only imagine what other “adorable pranks”, this asshole will commit in the future.
Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Bin
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2015
Take note of the beautiful cover, the intriguing title, and the fairly interesting blurb. That’s right, ten minute teleporting. Mysterious government conspiracies. And new adult sci-fi. Sounds cool, no?
Yeah…no.
I’m in a good mood, since the greater part of my supreme irritation at this book has had some time to fade. I can control the urge to be scathing, the voice of my conscience is louder, etc., etc. Rant mode is mostly off. So I’ll make a list of all the problems I had with this book.
1. Ember’s characterisation. Because Ember understands the dangerous potential her power has—and the crazy situations it can get her into—she’s supposed to be all about survival. But there are several inconsistencies with that.
First, she’s so easily swayed from her escape plan by Caden. I’m not going to take you seriously if a boy is all takes to shift your focus from escaping from a top-secret, dangerous government facility where you don’t want to live the rest of your life doing dangerous things the government makes you do. Come on!
Second, if you can’t find an escape route, shouldn’t you keep your head down and bide your time, snoop around quietly? Not Ember! She practically goes out of her way to get noticed. She doesn’t attempt to wake up early for lessons, she makes a scene in etiquette class, she doesn’t even read the emails they send her—what was up with that, anyway? Why couldn’t they just hand them files? Giving her a laptop and claiming she needs to use it for ‘communication with the higher-ups’ is really just a convenient way for the author to allow her to do research and get involved in conspiracies. You don’t have to be an expert at if-I-were-a-conniving-government-operative to figure that one out.
Third, she gets into the official missions way too soonisn’t she a special cookie. Okay, fair enough—but she doesn’t even make an effort! She doesn’t read the emails, she does things her own way…If she’s really such an expert at reading people, why couldn’t she have the head to understand discretion?
2. The teleportation and genetic manipulation. First off, I thought it was fishy that genes could be tinkered around with so much. I won’t go into detail on that, because spoilers, but I found myself wondering how do you even science? Goodbye, suspension of disbelief. And if you can do that much to the genetic makeup of these kids, why just ten freakin’ minutes? Wouldn’t that be a priority of yours, figuring out how to lengthen travel time?
Also, the way the teleportation works is so ambiguous. If I counted right, there are four basic ways Ember teleports through the book:
a) randomly, which is how it has happened since puberty, apparently;
b) under ‘government control’, which is explained exactly 0 times. Somehow the government has figured out how to send her to places without doing anything to her, leaving her messages, and dolling her up for the occasion. And she can’t do any of this. She can’t even return with her clothes on. (And what’s with that? What does that add to the story anyway? Wait—what happened to the clothes she was wearing when she fell asleep?);
c) to the last place/person she was thinking of before sleeping. I do not understand this at all. Though Ember doesn’t appear to know how the teleportation works, she randomly expects to go to a place she was thinking of? She wonders why she hasn’t been back home, and at one point appears in Caden’s room because he was the last thing she thought of. ???
d) under government control, but this timewithout the inverted commas having been injected with some dubious stuff. So if the government could make them travel anywhere already, why bother with injections? I am not comprehend.
3. The insta-love. Because this book wouldn’t be complete without it. Of course Ember goes for her super-hot ‘pair’ (and by the way, shouldn’t pairs be able to work as a team? Why are they randomly assigned like this? How are they even assigned? Shouldn’t there be some sort of test-thing?) Caden. Like Ember, Caden is pretty much a cardboard cut-out except he comes with free unwanted douchebaggery. Remember how Ember returns to her bed naked after teleportation? Remember how Ember can’t be arsed to wake up on time? Yes, Caden wakes her up. And how does he do it? Ripping her sheets off and getting an eyeful. That’s right. And he knows very well that she’s going to be in her birthday suit. And he doesn’t bother looking away. And he does this more than once. What a charmer, right?
And the D-bag of the year is…
Leaving all that out, there’s hardly any real chemistry between them aside from the basic attraction. He’s ‘hot’ and she’s ‘beautiful’. Goshdarned teenagers and their hormones! I couldn’t care less, thanks. Maybe I’d be less annoyed if they were only hooking up—this is NA, so that’s not totally out of the question or anything—but they aren’t. It’s luuuuurve™. Why? Who knows. In fact, it felt to me like the I-love-yous came just in time for the nasty. They literally know nothing about each other. And suddenly Ember’s skinny-dipping with him instead of planning her escape, beating up his friend instead of planning her escape, and whispering the three little words along with other sweet nothings instead of…what was she supposed to be doing again? Oh, right! Planning…what now?
4. The girl-on-girl hate. No, I’m never letting this particular form of misogyny go. Why is it that in novels, it’s the girls who always mindlessly hate each other (most often over a boy), cause unnecessary drama, and can’t resolve their catty emotions like good ol’ restrained men? Let’s put ourselves in Meanie™ Desiree’s place. You have a really good friend, one who’s stuck with you time and again, even through your awful issues. Perhaps you think of this really good friend as more than a friend. And this friend now pretty much dumps you for another friend. Even non-romantically, wouldn’t you be well within your rights to be upset at your friend? But of course fiendish Desiree lashes out jealously and unfairly at our darling Ember. And of course Caden does 1. nothing to reconcile a good friend and the supposed love of his life, 2. not much to defend Desiree whom he’s known for so much longer, and 3. doesn’t even make an effort to spend time with her. Bye-bye, handsy, jealous Desiree! Ember is my fave now! And of course Ember, Miss Amazing Reader of People, has no marginally intelligent thoughts about Desiree like the kind I had without even thinking that much or using innate genetic abilities. Really, this makes Ember look insensitive and still more inconsistent, Caden look even more like the cad he is, and Desiree just a Regina George clone. The author goes out of her way to make Desiree the bad guy here, and she does some ridiculously stupid stuff all because Ember beat her up this one time. Speaking of, how did Ember manage to beat up both Desiree and Caden, who have been trained in combat for years?
5. The wasted potential. In all honesty, I could’ve enjoyed this book. Perhaps it was always a little too far-fetched for it to make four or five stars, but it could’ve done three. It annoyed me that Ember was the distractor of the team, and Caden the extractor. Come on. Sure, make the girl the seductress, the eye candy, and the guy the one that handles the mission objective. Why couldn’t this have been switched up? At least it would offer originality. The dramatic reveal was so predictable I honestly thought we were supposed to have known already.
Also, there was a bit involving a crime lord who spoke Spanish and had a Hispanic name. And he apparently lived in Columbia.
It literally takes one Google search to figure out that the South American country is spelled Colombia. Unless the author meant the capital of South Carolina—my humblest apologies in that case.
In short, this book frustrated me to no end. My literal motivation to finish was the prospect of sharing said frustration in a review like this. Hugs to everyone who gets through all 1600 words of this. And to everyone who got through this book. Would not recommend.
I received a free galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from an advance copy and are subject to change.
Yeah…no.
I’m in a good mood, since the greater part of my supreme irritation at this book has had some time to fade. I can control the urge to be scathing, the voice of my conscience is louder, etc., etc. Rant mode is mostly off. So I’ll make a list of all the problems I had with this book.
1. Ember’s characterisation. Because Ember understands the dangerous potential her power has—and the crazy situations it can get her into—she’s supposed to be all about survival. But there are several inconsistencies with that.
First, she’s so easily swayed from her escape plan by Caden. I’m not going to take you seriously if a boy is all takes to shift your focus from escaping from a top-secret, dangerous government facility where you don’t want to live the rest of your life doing dangerous things the government makes you do. Come on!
Second, if you can’t find an escape route, shouldn’t you keep your head down and bide your time, snoop around quietly? Not Ember! She practically goes out of her way to get noticed. She doesn’t attempt to wake up early for lessons, she makes a scene in etiquette class, she doesn’t even read the emails they send her—what was up with that, anyway? Why couldn’t they just hand them files? Giving her a laptop and claiming she needs to use it for ‘communication with the higher-ups’ is really just a convenient way for the author to allow her to do research and get involved in conspiracies. You don’t have to be an expert at if-I-were-a-conniving-government-operative to figure that one out.
Third, she gets into the official missions way too soon
2. The teleportation and genetic manipulation. First off, I thought it was fishy that genes could be tinkered around with so much. I won’t go into detail on that, because spoilers, but I found myself wondering how do you even science? Goodbye, suspension of disbelief. And if you can do that much to the genetic makeup of these kids, why just ten freakin’ minutes? Wouldn’t that be a priority of yours, figuring out how to lengthen travel time?
Also, the way the teleportation works is so ambiguous. If I counted right, there are four basic ways Ember teleports through the book:
a) randomly, which is how it has happened since puberty, apparently;
b) under ‘government control’, which is explained exactly 0 times. Somehow the government has figured out how to send her to places without doing anything to her, leaving her messages, and dolling her up for the occasion. And she can’t do any of this. She can’t even return with her clothes on. (And what’s with that? What does that add to the story anyway? Wait—what happened to the clothes she was wearing when she fell asleep?);
c) to the last place/person she was thinking of before sleeping. I do not understand this at all. Though Ember doesn’t appear to know how the teleportation works, she randomly expects to go to a place she was thinking of? She wonders why she hasn’t been back home, and at one point appears in Caden’s room because he was the last thing she thought of. ???
d) under government control, but this time
3. The insta-love. Because this book wouldn’t be complete without it. Of course Ember goes for her super-hot ‘pair’ (and by the way, shouldn’t pairs be able to work as a team? Why are they randomly assigned like this? How are they even assigned? Shouldn’t there be some sort of test-thing?) Caden. Like Ember, Caden is pretty much a cardboard cut-out except he comes with free unwanted douchebaggery. Remember how Ember returns to her bed naked after teleportation? Remember how Ember can’t be arsed to wake up on time? Yes, Caden wakes her up. And how does he do it? Ripping her sheets off and getting an eyeful. That’s right. And he knows very well that she’s going to be in her birthday suit. And he doesn’t bother looking away. And he does this more than once. What a charmer, right?
And the D-bag of the year is…
Leaving all that out, there’s hardly any real chemistry between them aside from the basic attraction. He’s ‘hot’ and she’s ‘beautiful’. Goshdarned teenagers and their hormones! I couldn’t care less, thanks. Maybe I’d be less annoyed if they were only hooking up—this is NA, so that’s not totally out of the question or anything—but they aren’t. It’s luuuuurve™. Why? Who knows. In fact, it felt to me like the I-love-yous came just in time for the nasty. They literally know nothing about each other. And suddenly Ember’s skinny-dipping with him instead of planning her escape, beating up his friend instead of planning her escape, and whispering the three little words along with other sweet nothings instead of…what was she supposed to be doing again? Oh, right! Planning…what now?
4. The girl-on-girl hate. No, I’m never letting this particular form of misogyny go. Why is it that in novels, it’s the girls who always mindlessly hate each other (most often over a boy), cause unnecessary drama, and can’t resolve their catty emotions like good ol’ restrained men? Let’s put ourselves in Meanie™ Desiree’s place. You have a really good friend, one who’s stuck with you time and again, even through your awful issues. Perhaps you think of this really good friend as more than a friend. And this friend now pretty much dumps you for another friend. Even non-romantically, wouldn’t you be well within your rights to be upset at your friend? But of course fiendish Desiree lashes out jealously and unfairly at our darling Ember. And of course Caden does 1. nothing to reconcile a good friend and the supposed love of his life, 2. not much to defend Desiree whom he’s known for so much longer, and 3. doesn’t even make an effort to spend time with her. Bye-bye, handsy, jealous Desiree! Ember is my fave now! And of course Ember, Miss Amazing Reader of People, has no marginally intelligent thoughts about Desiree like the kind I had without even thinking that much or using innate genetic abilities. Really, this makes Ember look insensitive and still more inconsistent, Caden look even more like the cad he is, and Desiree just a Regina George clone. The author goes out of her way to make Desiree the bad guy here, and she does some ridiculously stupid stuff all because Ember beat her up this one time. Speaking of, how did Ember manage to beat up both Desiree and Caden, who have been trained in combat for years?
5. The wasted potential. In all honesty, I could’ve enjoyed this book. Perhaps it was always a little too far-fetched for it to make four or five stars, but it could’ve done three. It annoyed me that Ember was the distractor of the team, and Caden the extractor. Come on. Sure, make the girl the seductress, the eye candy, and the guy the one that handles the mission objective. Why couldn’t this have been switched up? At least it would offer originality. The dramatic reveal was so predictable I honestly thought we were supposed to have known already.
Also, there was a bit involving a crime lord who spoke Spanish and had a Hispanic name. And he apparently lived in Columbia.
It literally takes one Google search to figure out that the South American country is spelled Colombia. Unless the author meant the capital of South Carolina—my humblest apologies in that case.
In short, this book frustrated me to no end. My literal motivation to finish was the prospect of sharing said frustration in a review like this. Hugs to everyone who gets through all 1600 words of this. And to everyone who got through this book. Would not recommend.
I received a free galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotes are taken from an advance copy and are subject to change.
April 11, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Amazon Children's Publishing and NetGalley.)
“Fine. Don’t believe me,” I said. “After all, why should you trust a girl who can disappear?”
This was a YA sci-fi story about a girl who teleported somewhere else for 10 minutes every night when she went to sleep.
Ember was an okay character, and it must have been difficult for her to cope with her little teleporting problem. I thought that her mother was quite harsh on her at times, and even though she might have been correct to suspect, the things she sometimes said to her daughter weren’t very nice, especially as Ember didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“Sometimes I wonder how much of me is actually in you,”
The storyline in this started out well, but it did go downhill a lot. By the 20% mark I was getting bored. I felt like we got quite a bit of info-dumping at points, I felt like Ember didn’t think of really obvious things with regards to what the government was up to, and was then shock when she finally had things spelled out to her.
“The ultimate goal of the Prometheus Project is to train you to use your talents to protect our country.”
There was some romance in this, and it was pretty predictable. I did have problems with Caden though, as he really wasn’t very nice to Ember at points, and I just didn’t love him. This book did have a few sex scenes in it too, which for me didn’t quite fit well with the rest of the story, as the rest of the story came across as very YA.
Finally his eyes met mine. “I think I might be falling in love with you.”
The ending to this had a bit of action, and then a bit of a cliff-hanger. I’m guessing Ember will just have even more problems in the next book.
6 out of 10
“Fine. Don’t believe me,” I said. “After all, why should you trust a girl who can disappear?”
This was a YA sci-fi story about a girl who teleported somewhere else for 10 minutes every night when she went to sleep.
Ember was an okay character, and it must have been difficult for her to cope with her little teleporting problem. I thought that her mother was quite harsh on her at times, and even though she might have been correct to suspect, the things she sometimes said to her daughter weren’t very nice, especially as Ember didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“Sometimes I wonder how much of me is actually in you,”
The storyline in this started out well, but it did go downhill a lot. By the 20% mark I was getting bored. I felt like we got quite a bit of info-dumping at points, I felt like Ember didn’t think of really obvious things with regards to what the government was up to, and was then shock when she finally had things spelled out to her.
“The ultimate goal of the Prometheus Project is to train you to use your talents to protect our country.”
There was some romance in this, and it was pretty predictable. I did have problems with Caden though, as he really wasn’t very nice to Ember at points, and I just didn’t love him. This book did have a few sex scenes in it too, which for me didn’t quite fit well with the rest of the story, as the rest of the story came across as very YA.
Finally his eyes met mine. “I think I might be falling in love with you.”
The ending to this had a bit of action, and then a bit of a cliff-hanger. I’m guessing Ember will just have even more problems in the next book.
6 out of 10
November 22, 2021
3 Stars for The Vanishing Girl (audiobook) by Laura Thalassa read by Rachel Vivette.
This was kind of an interesting premise but it just didn’t quite work for me. It seemed to me like there were some holes in the logic of this world.
This was kind of an interesting premise but it just didn’t quite work for me. It seemed to me like there were some holes in the logic of this world.
January 12, 2021
No way. I STILL HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.
August 21, 2016
Review found at: www.awesomebooknut.com
I decided to pick this book up because it was recommended to me by Goodreads. I’m always interested to see what is recommended to me because I like to read things that aren’t well know and find hidden treasures, sometimes I find treasures, sometimes I do not… it happens. In this case however, it was a fun read but nothing completely new and the romance disappointing.
Sorry to just start right off the bat with the bad news but seriously that is all I can think about. I think this book would be AMAZING if the romance wasn’t so…blah!
Moving on… This was a YA or NA (couldn’t decide)/sci-fi story about a girl who teleported somewhere else for 10 minutes every night when she went to sleep. okay, cool! that is something new and I really enjoyed this aspect. Then on her 18th birthday the government swoops in and tells her that they own her. That she is a product of an experiment and she needs to now come live, train and work for the government. Okay, still cool. I enjoy stuff like this. This book had a Nikita feel to it, if you like that show (I’ve watched a few episodes).
Moving on… at the facility you meet Cadon and she is paired up with him. they train and he seems mysterious and they fall in love way too fast and have sex and it’s annoying. I just felt like there was no real waiting for anything! Ember doesn’t like him at first and while she does all she can to plan an escape Cadon seems to hold all the keys and answers. SO he was intriguing and the way he was constantly after Ember and wanted her to fall in love with him it was just great….then it happened like way too fast! And the only think that kept me interested was the rest of the government conspiracy plus the other guy involved and I wonder if this is going to be a love triangle.
So overall I ended up liking it, I didn’t love it, however it did make me want to read the next book to see what happens!
Sexual Content: moderate (knowledge that characters have lots of sex)
Language : heavy
Violence: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate
I decided to pick this book up because it was recommended to me by Goodreads. I’m always interested to see what is recommended to me because I like to read things that aren’t well know and find hidden treasures, sometimes I find treasures, sometimes I do not… it happens. In this case however, it was a fun read but nothing completely new and the romance disappointing.
Sorry to just start right off the bat with the bad news but seriously that is all I can think about. I think this book would be AMAZING if the romance wasn’t so…blah!
Moving on… This was a YA or NA (couldn’t decide)/sci-fi story about a girl who teleported somewhere else for 10 minutes every night when she went to sleep. okay, cool! that is something new and I really enjoyed this aspect. Then on her 18th birthday the government swoops in and tells her that they own her. That she is a product of an experiment and she needs to now come live, train and work for the government. Okay, still cool. I enjoy stuff like this. This book had a Nikita feel to it, if you like that show (I’ve watched a few episodes).
Moving on… at the facility you meet Cadon and she is paired up with him. they train and he seems mysterious and they fall in love way too fast and have sex and it’s annoying. I just felt like there was no real waiting for anything! Ember doesn’t like him at first and while she does all she can to plan an escape Cadon seems to hold all the keys and answers. SO he was intriguing and the way he was constantly after Ember and wanted her to fall in love with him it was just great….then it happened like way too fast! And the only think that kept me interested was the rest of the government conspiracy plus the other guy involved and I wonder if this is going to be a love triangle.
So overall I ended up liking it, I didn’t love it, however it did make me want to read the next book to see what happens!
Sexual Content: moderate (knowledge that characters have lots of sex)
Language : heavy
Violence: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate
zzz-books-not-for-me
March 23, 2017This book...is less than 8 hours long? It felt like 20!
I might not have been a huge fan of Rhapsodic (one of the author's other books), but at least I enjoyed it for what it was. The Vanishing Girl is another story... If there is ONE SINGLE THING that ruins most YA books for me, it's the level of selfishness displayed by the protagonists.
Ember is an action-orientated character (kind of a loner, she never really talks to anybody apart from her partner). She's pretty awesome and she is risking her life to help other telep~...oh, she just wants to escape. And maybe bring the whole project down if she's feeling generous.... and if she has the time...No, no, of course you're busy drooling over your new boyfriend with questionable mental stability. You can get back to saving the world when you're less...horny, I guess.
Oh, and what about the other teleporters? Can we find out more about them? No? But what are their special abilities, what do they think about the project, do they want to escape too? ...Can they even talk? Oh..ok.
It's a very lonely book.
I might not have been a huge fan of Rhapsodic (one of the author's other books), but at least I enjoyed it for what it was. The Vanishing Girl is another story... If there is ONE SINGLE THING that ruins most YA books for me, it's the level of selfishness displayed by the protagonists.
Ember is an action-orientated character (kind of a loner, she never really talks to anybody apart from her partner). She's pretty awesome and she is risking her life to help other telep~...oh, she just wants to escape. And maybe bring the whole project down if she's feeling generous.... and if she has the time...No, no, of course you're busy drooling over your new boyfriend with questionable mental stability. You can get back to saving the world when you're less...horny, I guess.
Oh, and what about the other teleporters? Can we find out more about them? No? But what are their special abilities, what do they think about the project, do they want to escape too? ...Can they even talk? Oh..ok.
It's a very lonely book.
January 10, 2015
Ember Is not your normal teen, sure she’s smart, she has spirit, she is a little headstrong, okay, a lot headstrong, but she falls asleep, she can teleport. Yep, really, and it’s her secret to keep, or so she thought until the day the men in black came to enlist her into service to her country and her parents let them take her! Okay, so they tried, but she gave them the slip, and just as she was taking that first step onto the bus out of town, she is nabbed by the cockiest, best looking guy she has ever seen. Too bad his snark and attitude were not all that endearing as he taunts and humiliates her and her failure to escape.
What Ember discovers is that she is not alone; there are more teens like her, training to do black ops kind of work, all through teleportation. And that arrogant guy? His name is Caden and he has been paired with Ember. They are to be a team, a dynamic duo, too bad Ember needs to play catch up and be trained to be a super spy, pronto! But there is something else going on, something sinister and only ember seems to realize it. Even Caden is blind to the possibility that there is more than meets the eye going on and someone may be sabotaging their missions from the inside. Ember means to get to the bottom of it all, even if it costs her her life.
Meanwhile, there is love growing between Caden and Ember, passionate, yet delicate, as they each dance around the truth of their feelings as they steam up the pages.
The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa took me by surprise, proving there is definitely room for one more NA paranormal romance and adventure in the literary world! With a lot of mystery, some heart-pounding action and some scorching sensual scenes, Ms. Thalassa has built a new world with her own genetic twist. As the flagship vehicle for this series, The Vanishing Girl is amazing, tense and definitely addictive!
I received this copy from Amazon Children's Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Series - The Vanishing Girl - Book 1
Publication Date: August 19, 2014 | January 27, 2015
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
ISBN: 9781477821473
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 260 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com
What Ember discovers is that she is not alone; there are more teens like her, training to do black ops kind of work, all through teleportation. And that arrogant guy? His name is Caden and he has been paired with Ember. They are to be a team, a dynamic duo, too bad Ember needs to play catch up and be trained to be a super spy, pronto! But there is something else going on, something sinister and only ember seems to realize it. Even Caden is blind to the possibility that there is more than meets the eye going on and someone may be sabotaging their missions from the inside. Ember means to get to the bottom of it all, even if it costs her her life.
Meanwhile, there is love growing between Caden and Ember, passionate, yet delicate, as they each dance around the truth of their feelings as they steam up the pages.
The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa took me by surprise, proving there is definitely room for one more NA paranormal romance and adventure in the literary world! With a lot of mystery, some heart-pounding action and some scorching sensual scenes, Ms. Thalassa has built a new world with her own genetic twist. As the flagship vehicle for this series, The Vanishing Girl is amazing, tense and definitely addictive!
I received this copy from Amazon Children's Publishing in exchange for my honest review.
Series - The Vanishing Girl - Book 1
Publication Date: August 19, 2014 | January 27, 2015
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing
ISBN: 9781477821473
Genre: YA Fantasy
Print Length: 260 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Reviewed for: http://tometender.blogspot.com
April 20, 2015
Smack dab in the middle 2.5 STARS
It seems people either love or hate this book - friend reviews were on both sides here. I can see both sides.
The pacing of the book is great. Not once was I bored. I wish some more of the theory of teleportation and details were fleshed because I found myself having a lot of questions and issues:
☒ Why only 10 minutes a night? If it was the length of a portion of the sleep cycle, then a person should have about 4 cycles a night with varying lengths of those types of "sleep". I've done enough dream study to question this part.
☒ While I might buy that the location of teleportation might be manipulated (still a stretch), how on EARTH would they be able to put clothes and accessories (presumably makeup and hair done?) when they "appear"? Also, what happens to the clothes and accessories when they disappear?
☒ So I wanted to know a bit more about where they return when the 10 minutes are up... do they return to the exact spot they went to sleep? If so, this could lead to an escape....what if they fell asleep in a car? Would they return to where the car WAS when they fell asleep?
☒ Seriously, they had her use her email that she was using prior to coming in? I find that a bit of a stretch. Also, they send email for assignments. If the "government" was afraid of being found out, data and paper trails are the things they should stay away from. A verbal assignment would make more sense.
☒ If Ember's parents and even she herself worried about being found out and needing to protect herself whenever she teleported against her will, why didn't she try to get into some sort of martial arts training when she was younger?
☒ Amongst all her survival items in her "go now" bag, she packed a freakin' G-string?
☒ I never like it when the male character has a "pet" name for the main character before they are romantically involved. In this case it's "princess". The last book I read it was "love". Just presumptuous and....ick. The other issue was Caden's habit of being a super sleaze at times and have it dismissed by Ember: an overly friendly pat down when they first meet, and him waking her by ripping off her sheets, knowing that teleportation brings you back in the buff.
☒ With all the bodily risk to these very valuable teleporters, why is there not high tech medical equipment and surgical staff at the facility? Why aren't teleporters fitted with some sort of bullet-proof vest when they can?
☒ The back story they provide for Ember for the "mark" is too grown up for an 18 year old to pull off.
☒ Instalove/instalust
☒ This was put out by Amazon Children's Publishing? I think this too racy for that label.
Despite the above, the author can write a compelling story. I can't believe how quickly I read this book. Despite all the faults, I was engaged and I'm curious what will happen next. I like spy type books, even with the cliched "training" where the MC miraculously catches up to everyone else who has been training forever. It's dangerous and fun to try to figure out who to trust. I'm not proud of it, but the steamy scenes were a guilty pleasure even though Caden had moments of douchery throughout the book. Dammit.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Children's Publishing for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
It seems people either love or hate this book - friend reviews were on both sides here. I can see both sides.
The pacing of the book is great. Not once was I bored. I wish some more of the theory of teleportation and details were fleshed because I found myself having a lot of questions and issues:
☒ Why only 10 minutes a night? If it was the length of a portion of the sleep cycle, then a person should have about 4 cycles a night with varying lengths of those types of "sleep". I've done enough dream study to question this part.
☒ While I might buy that the location of teleportation might be manipulated (still a stretch), how on EARTH would they be able to put clothes and accessories (presumably makeup and hair done?) when they "appear"? Also, what happens to the clothes and accessories when they disappear?
☒ So I wanted to know a bit more about where they return when the 10 minutes are up... do they return to the exact spot they went to sleep? If so, this could lead to an escape....what if they fell asleep in a car? Would they return to where the car WAS when they fell asleep?
☒ Seriously, they had her use her email that she was using prior to coming in? I find that a bit of a stretch. Also, they send email for assignments. If the "government" was afraid of being found out, data and paper trails are the things they should stay away from. A verbal assignment would make more sense.
☒ If Ember's parents and even she herself worried about being found out and needing to protect herself whenever she teleported against her will, why didn't she try to get into some sort of martial arts training when she was younger?
☒ Amongst all her survival items in her "go now" bag, she packed a freakin' G-string?
☒ I never like it when the male character has a "pet" name for the main character before they are romantically involved. In this case it's "princess". The last book I read it was "love". Just presumptuous and....ick. The other issue was Caden's habit of being a super sleaze at times and have it dismissed by Ember: an overly friendly pat down when they first meet, and him waking her by ripping off her sheets, knowing that teleportation brings you back in the buff.
☒ With all the bodily risk to these very valuable teleporters, why is there not high tech medical equipment and surgical staff at the facility? Why aren't teleporters fitted with some sort of bullet-proof vest when they can?
☒ The back story they provide for Ember for the "mark" is too grown up for an 18 year old to pull off.
☒ Instalove/instalust
☒ This was put out by Amazon Children's Publishing? I think this too racy for that label.
Despite the above, the author can write a compelling story. I can't believe how quickly I read this book. Despite all the faults, I was engaged and I'm curious what will happen next. I like spy type books, even with the cliched "training" where the MC miraculously catches up to everyone else who has been training forever. It's dangerous and fun to try to figure out who to trust. I'm not proud of it, but the steamy scenes were a guilty pleasure even though Caden had moments of douchery throughout the book. Dammit.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Children's Publishing for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 7, 2015
I received this book from NetGalley.com for my honest review!
Wow! Just Wow! This book was so amazing! I am looking forward to the next book in the series! This book was like a breath of fresh air and the characters were really unique and lovable! I have never read anything that could compare to this book! The story is like nothing I have ever read before!
My only negative review on this book would be that it's more of an adult novel than YA. There was a lot of sex in this book and I felt that it was inappropriate for young teens.
Ember
She was a really great main character! I enjoyed reading the book from her perspective. I enjoyed being inside her head! She is definitely one of my favorite main characters ever!
Caden
He was swoon-worthy boy squeeze for sure! He was so sweet and gentlemanly, He could give Prince Maxon a run for his money! He was something that boys usually aren't in ya books now a days.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery, government conspiracies, teleportation, and romance! Also for anyone who loves a smart ass, kick ass heroine!
Wow! Just Wow! This book was so amazing! I am looking forward to the next book in the series! This book was like a breath of fresh air and the characters were really unique and lovable! I have never read anything that could compare to this book! The story is like nothing I have ever read before!
My only negative review on this book would be that it's more of an adult novel than YA. There was a lot of sex in this book and I felt that it was inappropriate for young teens.
Ember
She was a really great main character! I enjoyed reading the book from her perspective. I enjoyed being inside her head! She is definitely one of my favorite main characters ever!
Caden
He was swoon-worthy boy squeeze for sure! He was so sweet and gentlemanly, He could give Prince Maxon a run for his money! He was something that boys usually aren't in ya books now a days.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves mystery, government conspiracies, teleportation, and romance! Also for anyone who loves a smart ass, kick ass heroine!
July 16, 2025
Do I need to say that I went into it blind because it`s Laura Thalassa and I loved it, because it's Laura Thalassa? My new favourite author? You bet!
This was very different from what I normally read, in the sense that I don't do spies, government experiments and all that, yet it felt like a coming of age Hunger Games type of story which I really enjoyed, it had many ups and downs, a bit of romance and spice, all the ingredients to make a good book.
This was very different from what I normally read, in the sense that I don't do spies, government experiments and all that, yet it felt like a coming of age Hunger Games type of story which I really enjoyed, it had many ups and downs, a bit of romance and spice, all the ingredients to make a good book.
December 29, 2017
This book was weird, but good and interesting. It kept my interest throughout the entire book and I have no idea if there is a second book available or not but I will probably dive into that.
The Vanishing Girl is about Ember and Caden. They are a pair and can travel through teleportation. Even though I liked this book - it did have flaws. First, I don't like reading about love triangles and I don't like how the author tried to make that a thing in this book. Honestly, if it did turn out to be a real thing I would have dropped the book and I would not look for the next one in this series. Then I get that Caden and Ember became a relationship way too fast and yes it was an insta love book which also isn't one of my favorites. Oh then there's the whole she was against this whole place and the government and he was like - yeah, no it's cool .. they are cool. But since she wants to leave he's all for it?!? AND the whole who is the bad guy in this book was also annoying.
Other than that I liked the book. I didn't love it but hey - I liked it. The ending was a good cliffhanger and it definitely left me wanting more but how badly? I'll never know but if I see that it's available on my Kindle or at the library for free.. then I might get it. Other than that, I can wait.
The Vanishing Girl is about Ember and Caden. They are a pair and can travel through teleportation. Even though I liked this book - it did have flaws. First, I don't like reading about love triangles and I don't like how the author tried to make that a thing in this book. Honestly, if it did turn out to be a real thing I would have dropped the book and I would not look for the next one in this series. Then I get that Caden and Ember became a relationship way too fast and yes it was an insta love book which also isn't one of my favorites. Oh then there's the whole she was against this whole place and the government and he was like - yeah, no it's cool .. they are cool. But since she wants to leave he's all for it?!? AND the whole who is the bad guy in this book was also annoying.
Other than that I liked the book. I didn't love it but hey - I liked it. The ending was a good cliffhanger and it definitely left me wanting more but how badly? I'll never know but if I see that it's available on my Kindle or at the library for free.. then I might get it. Other than that, I can wait.
March 1, 2014
I’ve been quietly raving about this book for a while now. Finally—finally it’s out for the rest of the world to read, and I can talk about it out loud! The Vanishing Girl merges sci-fi and new adult seamlessly, and what a ride Laura takes us on! The first chapter starts off in a tattoo parlor with our lovely heroine in dire need of a full back tattoo. Believe me, once you learn the reason behind it, you’re not going to blame her either. From there and on, the action doesn’t stop. The mysteries surrounding our main characters, Ember and Caden, are slowly revealed thanks to the probing of the young couple themselves. The relationship between them is double star-crossed in the coolest way. I have never read anything like it, and I love-love-love it! Caden is swoonworthy. The dialog is sometimes hot as all get-out, while at other times it’s funny as hell. Then, we have the awesome side characters: Adrian. Oh Adrian—so enigmatic and sexy! And Desiree—complicated Desiree. I don’t know whether to slap some sense into her, or just enjoy the ride. Anyway. I could go on and on. All in all, this is another stellar book by Laura Thalassa. Her first venture into the new adult world is a definite a success and a one-click must. Enjoy!
March 24, 2019
3.5 stars
Entertaining - had to get the 2nd book as soon as I finished to find out what happened - a cliffie IMHO. A secret government project that genetically altered children of preselected couples to make teleporters to carry out secret ops and assassinations. The government is not the good guy - is the other side any better? Ember and Caden are at odds about who deserves their loyalty. Caden has to choose a side.
Entertaining - had to get the 2nd book as soon as I finished to find out what happened - a cliffie IMHO. A secret government project that genetically altered children of preselected couples to make teleporters to carry out secret ops and assassinations. The government is not the good guy - is the other side any better? Ember and Caden are at odds about who deserves their loyalty. Caden has to choose a side.
April 3, 2018
2.3 Out of 5 "WTF" Stars
I could go on and on about all the things I didn't like about this, and there's quite a few. There are also quite a few reviews on here that explain it all very well.
I just want to say that this had the potential to be not only unique but also completely engaging. Unfortunately, it was spoiled by hella-insta-love with a side of love-triangle…plus a little jealous-b*tch thrown in. I also thought this was going to go in the direction of a supernatural vein, maybe, because her other books are usually that genre but this was something completely different and regrettably, it wasn't always explained in a believable manner.
I could go on and on about all the things I didn't like about this, and there's quite a few. There are also quite a few reviews on here that explain it all very well.
I just want to say that this had the potential to be not only unique but also completely engaging. Unfortunately, it was spoiled by hella-insta-love with a side of love-triangle…plus a little jealous-b*tch thrown in. I also thought this was going to go in the direction of a supernatural vein, maybe, because her other books are usually that genre but this was something completely different and regrettably, it wasn't always explained in a believable manner.
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~MY RATING~
2.3/5 STARS - GRADE=D+
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~BREAKDOWN OF RATINGS~
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Plot~ 2.5/5
Main Characters~ 2.3/5
Secondary Characters~ 2/5
The Feels~ 1.5/5
Pacing~ 3/5
Addictiveness~ 2/5
Theme or Tone~ 3/5
Flow (Writing Style)~ 3/5
Backdrop (World Building)~ 2/5
Originality~ 4/5
Ending~ 2.8/5 Cliffhanger~ Yes!
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Book Cover~ It's kind of pretty…
Narration~ Rachel Vivette ☆3.5☆-not my favorite…not my least favorite.
Series~ The Vanishing Girl #1
Setting~ I'm not really sure…
Source~ Audi0book (Scribd)
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July 6, 2015
4.5 Stars
THE VANISHING GIRL was a fantastic book that I absolutely loved! I enjoyed this book so much that I instantly dived into book two, and am reading it now as I write this review. But after hearing book three wont be released until 18 months after book twos release date, I think my heart just shattered into a million pieces. This series is just so much fun that I can't imagine having to wait a whole 18 months until book three is in my need little hands!
The world-building was interesting. I loved the world set-up and teleportation aspect, but at the same time a lot of it didn't make sense and wasn't explained enough in detail to make it plausible and believable in my mind. Their were just too many layers of the teleportation that was not elaborated on and didn't fit with the reality of common sense. But their were aspects that did and was thrilling to endure. Each teleportation only lasted 10 minutes, so whatever they had to do had to be done quick. And that made it fun and thrilling to watch unfold. But nevertheless, even with it's faults this book was still so good. I was able to easily push some of the annoying stuff that didn't sit well with me aside, and dived head first into all the juicy, fun stuff.
I LOVED the main characters, they were all kinds of fun. Going into this book I thought I was reading a Young Adult novel, which is my usual genre. But as the book progressed and it got to the intensely intimate parts, I quickly learned that is was most definitely NOT a Young Adult book liked I once thought. This book was HOT, I loved the interaction that the main characters had with each other!!! They had this chemistry that swooned and stole my breath away whenever they were within distance of each other. It had some very heated scene that literally made me want to run and jump on my husband...lol!! But at the same time it wasn't overloaded with sex or all that overdoing of affection, but it did have it's fair amount that was definitely fun. But that was positively okay with me. The sex scene weren't that graphic or overdone, and had just the right amount of it all to give you a visual that was definitely satisfying and hard to put down!
But anyways, back to their actual characters traits not just their sexual relationship...lol! They were both great main characters. I had such a blast being inside Ember's head. She was defiant, quick to judge and long to trust, hard to open up and put faith in others. But smart, strong, determined, and definitely a survivor no matter the circumstance. Ember was hard to figure out, but fun to puzzle together and see where all the pieces fit. She was just an interesting and fun characters to explore.
And Caden, oh boy where do I even start with him! He was sooo incredibly HOT!! I mean all kinds of SEXY! The way Laura Thalassa describe him would get any girl all hot and bothered. But that wasn't the only thing I loved about Caden. He was so strong, I mean physically and mentally. But also cocky and arrogant, yet he was skilled and very intelligent, even if he tried to play that bad boy card. The boy had brains and mad skills that could get the job done and some! But none of that was done in a bad way and came of as very cute and was wonderfully done.
THE PLOT
Ember Pierce has been secretly Teleporting since she hit puberty, she doesn't know how or why, just that she can't let anyone know about her secret ability, or bad things might happen. Keeping it hidden from everyone in her life, Ember goes on like normal, but at night when she falls asleep she teleports anywhere in the world her mind takes her. She has no control over where or how she teleports, just that sometimes she finds herself waking up naked or in the weirdest predicament at her teleportation destination. But all that changes when she teleports somewhere someone else directed her too, and she just so happens to be dressed seductively with a gun and a piece a paper telling her to kill someone. Yeah, that's when Ember's secret teleportation world intertwines with her reality, and it all starts to unravel...
Kidnapped for her ability and taken to a facility for people like her, Ember is thrust into a world of the unknown, where nothing seems like it should be, and the one person who pulled her into this mess may be the only one to get her out, if she can stay alive long enough to find out...
Ember finds with a horrifying realization, that she has be mutated to teleport, and that the government is going to collect their property—her. Ember is a fighter, and she isn't going down without taking the Project down with her. But in order to escape and expose the life she's been forced into, Ember must bide her time and play by the rules, at least until she has the means to escape.
Ember is paired with the last person she wants to be around, Caden Hawthorne, the same arrogant, sarcastic, and insanely hot boy that kidnapped her and brought her into this terrible life, and she has no choice but to deal with it. But as the days drag on and Ember is still stuck in the facility, she starts to understand that pairing means a lot more then just your partner helping you around. And then the realization of what that means for her and her "enemy" hits her like a thousand bricks, and she must find a way out of it before she ends up like some of the other girls—pregnant, love-sick, and doomed. But then Caden comes to her aid in more ways then one, and makes her feel things she didn't even know was possible. And then she starts to rethink everything she once thought about Caden and his motives, and realizes she just may be starting to see the real side of him—a side she is starting to like, a lot...
Forced to go on high operative missions with barely any training, Ember has no choice but to step up her game if she wants to survive long enough to save herself. With her life in danger Ember is forced to take her missions more seriously. She becomes strong, faster, and a skilled fighter, but not just that, she does the one thing she was hoping not too, accidentally reveals her true strengths—strengths that the Project would love to exploit if ever discover.
With her life coming undone at the seams, Ember is forced to become someone she's not, a distractor. One of the Projects best distractors at that. Her job? Using her body, mind, and profiling talents to distract her targets. But Ember is quickly learning the hard way, that her so called "talent" may just be her downfall, and ultimately cost her her life...
THE VANISHING GIRL hit me by surprise and stole my breath and heart away! I did not think I would like this book as much as I did. At first I wasn't too keen on the whole teleporting aspect, it's definitely new to me, but the secretive opps missions, highly skilled spies, corrupted government, and the promise of hot romance caught my attention and lured me to this world. But I am so happy that it did, because I found myself eating it all up and falling head first into this world!! The teleporting was actually a fun aspect of THE VANISHING GIRL, even with it's lack of believability, it was still fun to see where Ember popped up next, and if she would be naked or in any other awkward situation.
Overall, THE VANISHING GIRL was a fun ride with loads of everything I love. Action, adventure, conspires, spies, combat training, aggressive missions, betrayal, suspicion, plotting, corruption, evil governments, romance, HOT sexual scenes, and one of my new favorites, Teleportation!! So if any of that sounds liked something you'd enjoy, then I definitely say to give THE VANISHING GIRL it's fair shot, it did not disappoint me!!
April 3, 2017
This book captured my attention by page five. Just like her work on
The Queen of All That Dies,
Laura Thalassa has a way of writing action-oriented stories that suck you in with independent, capable young heroines and interesting plots.
THE STORY
Ember Pierce is a teleporter. Every night when she falls asleep, she is transported temporarily to another place...for ten minutes. She's brought to a secret, government-run school with other like-mindedmutants young people with abilities so that they can hone their abilities to serve this secret government purpose. Along the way, there's Caden. Caden is a good looking, shameless flirt who serves as Ember's partner and love interest. Because of course.
THE GOOD
1) This will be good for fans who liked that training school, dystopian vibe of Divergent.
2) Also good for fans of the trope of a girl and guy partnered together and the girl's role is to be the eye candy on their missions. Cue the "jealousy and coyness and guys drooling over the pretty girl" trope.
THE BAD
1) Yeah, we're definitely hitting the younger young adult crowd with this one. The characters are marginally developed in favor of a fast-moving plot, and the relationship bantering is all for titillation.
2) If we're really young adult, which we are, I'd say it was inappropriate to have those two sex scenes. They weren't raunchy by any means, but they were explicit enough that I cringed at the thought of thirteen-year-olds reading it.
THE VERDICT
This book was fast, action-oriented, and ended with a great cliff-hanger. Again, I feel like younger readers will gobble this up. As for me...I will call it a skim-read and not continue with the sequel.
This book is on the Amazon Prime Read list, by the way, so you can borrow it for free if you have a basic Amazon Prime account.
THE STORY
Ember Pierce is a teleporter. Every night when she falls asleep, she is transported temporarily to another place...for ten minutes. She's brought to a secret, government-run school with other like-minded
THE GOOD
1) This will be good for fans who liked that training school, dystopian vibe of Divergent.
2) Also good for fans of the trope of a girl and guy partnered together and the girl's role is to be the eye candy on their missions. Cue the "jealousy and coyness and guys drooling over the pretty girl" trope.
THE BAD
1) Yeah, we're definitely hitting the younger young adult crowd with this one. The characters are marginally developed in favor of a fast-moving plot, and the relationship bantering is all for titillation.
2) If we're really young adult, which we are, I'd say it was inappropriate to have those two sex scenes. They weren't raunchy by any means, but they were explicit enough that I cringed at the thought of thirteen-year-olds reading it.
THE VERDICT
This book was fast, action-oriented, and ended with a great cliff-hanger. Again, I feel like younger readers will gobble this up. As for me...I will call it a skim-read and not continue with the sequel.
This book is on the Amazon Prime Read list, by the way, so you can borrow it for free if you have a basic Amazon Prime account.
March 12, 2015
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley from the publisher in exchange for a honest and unbiased review.
In The Vanishing Girl, we meet Ember who has just been collected by the government and transported to a facility in the middle of nowhere. Here she meets others just like her (people who can also teleport in their sleep) and is paired off with her partner, Caden. She learns that she is going to be trained to be a spy for the American government.
This was on of those books that instantly drew me in. Not once did I feel as though the book was lagging. I had no trouble finishing most of this book in one sitting. The story felt original and I never felt like I was comparing this book to any other one I have read before. The pace was great and I was turning the pages as fast as I could. I’ll admit it, there were a few times I would skip a page or two ahead because the anticipation was just too much!
As far as characters go, I thought Ember was alright. I liked her most of the time. She was quick to learn (of course that has something to do with her genetics) and slow to trust. Now in the “falling in love” department, she gets a “F.” She falls in love with Caden after one week of meeting him, or so she says. And Caden? The first serious question he asks Ember is “Could you love me?” What is Ember’s response? “Yes. I could love you easily.” I’m not forgetting the fact that they were genetically matched to be together, but still. The instalove was through the roof with this one. Other than the instalove, I did enjoy most characters. There are also some characters we don’t see enough of, but I’m sure we will in the second installment.
I felt like the plot was full of constant twists and turns. There were quite a few moments I did not expect. The way the events unfolded was also surprising. Yes, we did have the instalove, but I really enjoyed the story. The plot was quick and I wasn’t bored for a second. There are a few mature scenes throughout the book, so I would not recommend this one for anyone under eighteen. It is a book written for adults. That being said, the ending leaves you seriously hanging. I definitely plan to read the second installment!
3.5 out of 5 stars
In The Vanishing Girl, we meet Ember who has just been collected by the government and transported to a facility in the middle of nowhere. Here she meets others just like her (people who can also teleport in their sleep) and is paired off with her partner, Caden. She learns that she is going to be trained to be a spy for the American government.
This was on of those books that instantly drew me in. Not once did I feel as though the book was lagging. I had no trouble finishing most of this book in one sitting. The story felt original and I never felt like I was comparing this book to any other one I have read before. The pace was great and I was turning the pages as fast as I could. I’ll admit it, there were a few times I would skip a page or two ahead because the anticipation was just too much!
As far as characters go, I thought Ember was alright. I liked her most of the time. She was quick to learn (of course that has something to do with her genetics) and slow to trust. Now in the “falling in love” department, she gets a “F.” She falls in love with Caden after one week of meeting him, or so she says. And Caden? The first serious question he asks Ember is “Could you love me?” What is Ember’s response? “Yes. I could love you easily.” I’m not forgetting the fact that they were genetically matched to be together, but still. The instalove was through the roof with this one. Other than the instalove, I did enjoy most characters. There are also some characters we don’t see enough of, but I’m sure we will in the second installment.
I felt like the plot was full of constant twists and turns. There were quite a few moments I did not expect. The way the events unfolded was also surprising. Yes, we did have the instalove, but I really enjoyed the story. The plot was quick and I wasn’t bored for a second. There are a few mature scenes throughout the book, so I would not recommend this one for anyone under eighteen. It is a book written for adults. That being said, the ending leaves you seriously hanging. I definitely plan to read the second installment!
3.5 out of 5 stars
Read
July 9, 2020I liked a lot , good plot
April 9, 2015
Big Thank you to Amazon Publishing for giving me this book!!! I LOVED IT!
HELLO BOOK! HELLO LAURA THALASSA! WHY DID I NOT HEAR OF YOU SOONER!?
Okay this book took me by surprise and was a boatload of awesome! No joke.
I loved the characters. I LOVE Caden. I love the story line. The suspence, the danger...just everything!
Also did you see that beautiful cover!? Just saying.
Sorry, I'll lay off the love fest, let's get to the plot:
Ember has a secret. One she's never told anyone, she can teleport to other places when she falls asleep.
However, that really only happened after she turned 18.
She's more than a little confused when she falls asleep and teleports to a place in a beautiful dress at a party, and meets a handsome to boot guy who buys her a drink. It becomes even worst when she finds a note that tells her,
"Adrian Sumner needs to die"
And so begins her mad dash to find out what the heck is going on.
Everything take a turn for the worst when the Government shows up and takes her away,
Enclosed in a place that looks like a prison, there is only one thing she desires above all else.
Escape.
Only one thing that can stop her,
Caden.
Read to find out what happens next!
I loved the suspense in this book. I'm so surprised, because technically this is one of those books that left me with more questions than answers, but i still was really into it! I already went to get the next book, no joke!
sheesh, that was a ride!
It was so beautifully written too!
Okay, so this is a new adult (the 'adult' is underlined because there'll be obvious *cough cough* adult scenes) Fair warning.
That ending was so mean, but considering i have the ARC (Advance reader copy) for the next book, I'm more than happy for that!
I don't think you'll regret this if you read it.
Did i mention the best part- NO LOVE TRIANGLES! at first my stomach somersaulted in dread because i thought there'd be one, but nope!
Stay awesome my lovelies!
-The Book Herald
tweet me @thebookherald
HELLO BOOK! HELLO LAURA THALASSA! WHY DID I NOT HEAR OF YOU SOONER!?
Okay this book took me by surprise and was a boatload of awesome! No joke.
I loved the characters. I LOVE Caden. I love the story line. The suspence, the danger...just everything!
Also did you see that beautiful cover!? Just saying.
Sorry, I'll lay off the love fest, let's get to the plot:
Ember has a secret. One she's never told anyone, she can teleport to other places when she falls asleep.
However, that really only happened after she turned 18.
She's more than a little confused when she falls asleep and teleports to a place in a beautiful dress at a party, and meets a handsome to boot guy who buys her a drink. It becomes even worst when she finds a note that tells her,
"Adrian Sumner needs to die"
And so begins her mad dash to find out what the heck is going on.
Everything take a turn for the worst when the Government shows up and takes her away,
Enclosed in a place that looks like a prison, there is only one thing she desires above all else.
Escape.
Only one thing that can stop her,
Caden.
Read to find out what happens next!
I loved the suspense in this book. I'm so surprised, because technically this is one of those books that left me with more questions than answers, but i still was really into it! I already went to get the next book, no joke!
sheesh, that was a ride!
It was so beautifully written too!
Okay, so this is a new adult (the 'adult' is underlined because there'll be obvious *cough cough* adult scenes) Fair warning.
That ending was so mean, but considering i have the ARC (Advance reader copy) for the next book, I'm more than happy for that!
I don't think you'll regret this if you read it.
Did i mention the best part- NO LOVE TRIANGLES! at first my stomach somersaulted in dread because i thought there'd be one, but nope!
Stay awesome my lovelies!
-The Book Herald
tweet me @thebookherald
April 10, 2022
Only if the inside was as pretty as the outside.
nope
December 18, 2014Having the love interest literally kidnap the heroine and force her into a program to make her a weapon is the exact opposite way to get me to read your novel.
January 29, 2015
I'll admit that I wanted to read THE VANISHING GIRL entirely because I thought the cover was gorgeous. I like the colors and the abstract strangeness, like a bit of classic sci-fi sneaking into a modern YA cover.
The eponymous girl is Ember Pierce, who teleports for ten minutes every night just after she falls asleep. She thinks she used to it until she wakes up in a club and flirts with a man named Adrian, only to find a gun in her purse and a note telling her to kill him. Rather sensibly, she panics more over someone knowing what she can do and trying to use her instead of attempting to assassinate a complete stranger.
Then she finds out that her parents could only have a child through an experimental program, and she now owes two years of service to the military. It's very obviously illegal and preposterous, even in a world where people can teleport, so you just have to go with it. At the school she's taken to she's paired with Caden Hawthorne, who is infuriatingly good at keeping her from escaping. Ember falls for him in a rather rote manner, although I did appreciate that there wasn't a forced love triangle with Adrian. The scenes between Ember and Caden are written with lots of tension, its just hard to believe she falls for him after how terribly he treats her at first.
Ember, unsurprisingly, starts to find more and more evidence that the school is sinister. Because secret experiments on babies and being kidnapped weren't enough evidence that everything was bad new. I sound cranky, I know. I enjoyed reading THE VANISHING GIRL, and thought it was a a fun ride. But after I finished, it was hard to seize on anything as a standout moment. Also, it was one of those books without a real ending, which drives me nuts.
I am, however, eager to read the second book. THE VANISHING GIRL ends with a cliffhanger, and I'm not sure how Ember will survive or how she'll react to what happened in the next book. I also hope the next book has more Adrian, who is conducting his own investigation into the school and experiment outside its walls.
The eponymous girl is Ember Pierce, who teleports for ten minutes every night just after she falls asleep. She thinks she used to it until she wakes up in a club and flirts with a man named Adrian, only to find a gun in her purse and a note telling her to kill him. Rather sensibly, she panics more over someone knowing what she can do and trying to use her instead of attempting to assassinate a complete stranger.
Then she finds out that her parents could only have a child through an experimental program, and she now owes two years of service to the military. It's very obviously illegal and preposterous, even in a world where people can teleport, so you just have to go with it. At the school she's taken to she's paired with Caden Hawthorne, who is infuriatingly good at keeping her from escaping. Ember falls for him in a rather rote manner, although I did appreciate that there wasn't a forced love triangle with Adrian. The scenes between Ember and Caden are written with lots of tension, its just hard to believe she falls for him after how terribly he treats her at first.
Ember, unsurprisingly, starts to find more and more evidence that the school is sinister. Because secret experiments on babies and being kidnapped weren't enough evidence that everything was bad new. I sound cranky, I know. I enjoyed reading THE VANISHING GIRL, and thought it was a a fun ride. But after I finished, it was hard to seize on anything as a standout moment. Also, it was one of those books without a real ending, which drives me nuts.
I am, however, eager to read the second book. THE VANISHING GIRL ends with a cliffhanger, and I'm not sure how Ember will survive or how she'll react to what happened in the next book. I also hope the next book has more Adrian, who is conducting his own investigation into the school and experiment outside its walls.
February 10, 2017
First off, the cover is gorgeous. Secondly, the synopsis? The synopsis drew me in so freaking quickly. I read the first paragraph (of the synopsis) and then requested this novel. When I read the rest of the synopsis, I was still so intrigued, and very excited to read the story.
The focus of this story is trained in on Ember Pierce. A girl who has strange dreams, a girl who can teleport. All of this is very interesting. And when I actually got around to reading The Vanishing Girl, I was blown away. The creativity behind this novel is wicked. Mind boggling, really. The plot behind this book just seems to impress me, more and more. What actually happens when Ember finds out why she teleports, is INSANE. Do you hear me? Insane.
The Vanishing Girl, is a fast paced book that had me hooked from the second I started reading. Ember is a sassy teenage girl, who doesn’t trust easily, and who is different. And I can really relate to Ember in that aspect. Not the teleporting, of course..But I can relate to Ember in the sassy-ness and why she doesn't trust easily. Ember is different from the ones who are different. And I think that's because of the how and why she was brought in. With her upbringing, and late collection.
In this first novel, there are no love-triangles. Yes! None of the “I like you, but…” situations. It's pretty strictly Girl likes Boy, Boy likes Girl. Simple as that. So it seems– I can’t say for book two, though.
The bottom line is: I really enjoyed this novel. Ember is a great character, and yeah, her situation sucks, but she doesn't give up hope. Thalassa's writing in The Vanishing Girl is great and the story is super easy to follow. I wasn't ever confused by what was happening. I also really enjoyed Thalassa's world building. We're given pieces of information, not all at once, but progressively. Everything seems to fall into place naturally, and I love when books fall together seamlessly.
A huge thank you to Lavabrook Publishing Group, for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review, via Netgalley.
The focus of this story is trained in on Ember Pierce. A girl who has strange dreams, a girl who can teleport. All of this is very interesting. And when I actually got around to reading The Vanishing Girl, I was blown away. The creativity behind this novel is wicked. Mind boggling, really. The plot behind this book just seems to impress me, more and more. What actually happens when Ember finds out why she teleports, is INSANE. Do you hear me? Insane.
The Vanishing Girl, is a fast paced book that had me hooked from the second I started reading. Ember is a sassy teenage girl, who doesn’t trust easily, and who is different. And I can really relate to Ember in that aspect. Not the teleporting, of course..But I can relate to Ember in the sassy-ness and why she doesn't trust easily. Ember is different from the ones who are different. And I think that's because of the how and why she was brought in. With her upbringing, and late collection.
In this first novel, there are no love-triangles. Yes! None of the “I like you, but…” situations. It's pretty strictly Girl likes Boy, Boy likes Girl. Simple as that. So it seems– I can’t say for book two, though.
The bottom line is: I really enjoyed this novel. Ember is a great character, and yeah, her situation sucks, but she doesn't give up hope. Thalassa's writing in The Vanishing Girl is great and the story is super easy to follow. I wasn't ever confused by what was happening. I also really enjoyed Thalassa's world building. We're given pieces of information, not all at once, but progressively. Everything seems to fall into place naturally, and I love when books fall together seamlessly.
A huge thank you to Lavabrook Publishing Group, for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review, via Netgalley.
December 19, 2017
This is a typical 3 stars-book to me.
This is a quick and entertaining read with some flaws:
I liked the teleporting-idea as well as the government's involvement in the whole story.
The writing was okay, but lacking some variations. The author kept using the same formulations over and over again (e.g. "invaded my personal space") and that started nagging me at some point.
I also have mixed feelings about the protagonist Ember. She was sassy and knew how to help herself, but kept behaving absolutely dumb. Caden was just the average male love interest, gorgeous, strong and caring, etc. That doens't mean I didn't like him, but I wished he had more striking features to make him more unique.
The storyline was interesting and immediately catched my interest, although it suffers from some logical flaws.
Nevertheless this book was an enjoyable read and I think I'm going to give the sequel a try.
This is a quick and entertaining read with some flaws:
I liked the teleporting-idea as well as the government's involvement in the whole story.
The writing was okay, but lacking some variations. The author kept using the same formulations over and over again (e.g. "invaded my personal space") and that started nagging me at some point.
I also have mixed feelings about the protagonist Ember. She was sassy and knew how to help herself, but kept behaving absolutely dumb. Caden was just the average male love interest, gorgeous, strong and caring, etc. That doens't mean I didn't like him, but I wished he had more striking features to make him more unique.
The storyline was interesting and immediately catched my interest, although it suffers from some logical flaws.
Nevertheless this book was an enjoyable read and I think I'm going to give the sequel a try.
March 25, 2017
Wow! I love Laura's writing this was great! Not as good as Rhapsodic but I like fantasy a smidge better than sci-fi! I can't wait to read the end of this series so I'm starting book 2 now lol
June 18, 2015
“Do you ever feel like your perception of reality is so distorted that you wouldn't be able to see the truth if it were right in front of you?”
One thing's for sure: Even if I'm not in a reading slump, I still won't like this book.
Considering the premise and a recommendations from a friend who said that this author's writing was great, I was expecting to be “wow”-ed greatly but the book was just…was.
Ember Pierce has the ability to teleport and she's been hiding it because she's afraid that some organization will come after her for her abilities. One day, she finds out that she is originally a part of a secret government project that involves altering the genes to create unusual abilities like her and she also has to serve the government for two years as part of the agreement her parents has made with them.
I'd like to elaborate more but yeah, telling more would give away most of the book's story.
Anyway, I didn't like the hero, Caden, at all. I mean, the guy was a pervert. He went first went around Ember's things, finding her underwear; he woke her up by dragging the covers away from her, knowing that she slept naked. Pretty much things like those that would make you normally hate a guy.
But Ember? Oh no, she falls in love with him.
“love” they felt for each other didn't feel like the real one for me.
Speaking of love, there was too much romance in it, enough to probably put this under the New Adult genre with all the sex happening. (It's under Young Adult in Amazon.) I'm still confused why it's under the Young Adult genre.
Also, I don't know if it's just me but I finished this book quickly even when I didn't skim it. No joke. I had to take a break because I was wondering if it was normal. Despite my almost neutral attitude towards it, I got through it easily but it didn't manage to rouse any emotions from me, save mild irritation to the hero.
All in all, it was good enough that I would read the next book out of curiosity.
July 26, 2016
Anything written by Laura Thalassa I will read. She has earned my loyalty through her other fabulous stories (Unearthly/Queen of all that Dies series.) That being said, not all stories are great, and this one didn't really hold my attention
18 year old Ember can transport in her sleep. A secret she has guarded with her life and will do anything to protect. All her plans for the future go to shit when she's found by the government and discovers she was part of an experiment and there are many just like her who can transport. Including super hunky Caden. She is forcibly taken from everything she knows and trained to become a weapon of the government. Unlike others, Ember is a speschul snowflake and questions THE MAN at every turn. This gets her into trouble she never imagined herself in as she discovers the dark side to the government and the Promethius Project.
WTF. This book sounded awesome. But, unfortunately, it was rushed. Nothing was fully developed, events switched quickly, thoughts and feelings weren't fleshed out. I just felt no connection to the story because everything happened so abruptly. It read like this to me:
"I'm Ember I can transport. Oh shit, the government is here to take me!! Oh who is this hunk!? Shit he captured me! Oh, he's my partner. Oh I'm in love. Oh, and the government is evil."
Anddddd that's the first half of the book. It literally is that abrupt. Speaking about abrupt, oh the romance (wait what?) It is insta-lovey as hell. There is literally NOTHING special or outstanding about Ember. We as readers don't even get the time to fullt know her yet Caden is instantly in love with her. What?
Ok, despite how much I'm complaining it gets two stars because the the plot got pretty interesting in the end. Enough so to make me start the next book right away. All I'm saying is thank the gods for 1-click buys on Amazon.
If you enjoyed this review, do me a favor and check it out on my blog here along with a lot of my other reviews!! They're all first in series!
18 year old Ember can transport in her sleep. A secret she has guarded with her life and will do anything to protect. All her plans for the future go to shit when she's found by the government and discovers she was part of an experiment and there are many just like her who can transport. Including super hunky Caden. She is forcibly taken from everything she knows and trained to become a weapon of the government. Unlike others, Ember is a speschul snowflake and questions THE MAN at every turn. This gets her into trouble she never imagined herself in as she discovers the dark side to the government and the Promethius Project.
WTF. This book sounded awesome. But, unfortunately, it was rushed. Nothing was fully developed, events switched quickly, thoughts and feelings weren't fleshed out. I just felt no connection to the story because everything happened so abruptly. It read like this to me:
"I'm Ember I can transport. Oh shit, the government is here to take me!! Oh who is this hunk!? Shit he captured me! Oh, he's my partner. Oh I'm in love. Oh, and the government is evil."
Anddddd that's the first half of the book. It literally is that abrupt. Speaking about abrupt, oh the romance (wait what?) It is insta-lovey as hell. There is literally NOTHING special or outstanding about Ember. We as readers don't even get the time to fullt know her yet Caden is instantly in love with her. What?
Ok, despite how much I'm complaining it gets two stars because the the plot got pretty interesting in the end. Enough so to make me start the next book right away. All I'm saying is thank the gods for 1-click buys on Amazon.
If you enjoyed this review, do me a favor and check it out on my blog here along with a lot of my other reviews!! They're all first in series!
April 24, 2014
I've been mulling over this review since I finished the book at 2am last night. Seriously, I couldn't put it down. L. Thalassa hooked you from chapter one and kept your interest the whole way through as you tried to put all the pieces together. I found myself trying to think ahead in an attempt to figure out what the author was thinking about where the book would go. But the mystery and intrigue kept piling up. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? What the heck is going on, here?? And who is Caden? I mean, really, who his he and which side is he on? (Please, oh, please be on Ember's side!)
This book really makes you grow suspicious of EVERYONE, except for Ember, and she's just as confused as the reader is!
L. Thalassa did a smash-up job weaving what we love about NA contemporary with super-exciting science fiction elements and suspense. Whoa! Seriously, WHOA!
But I will give you one small warning: Don't expect this book to conclude on the last page. This is book #1 of a series you won't want to put down!
This book really makes you grow suspicious of EVERYONE, except for Ember, and she's just as confused as the reader is!
L. Thalassa did a smash-up job weaving what we love about NA contemporary with super-exciting science fiction elements and suspense. Whoa! Seriously, WHOA!
But I will give you one small warning: Don't expect this book to conclude on the last page. This is book #1 of a series you won't want to put down!
February 21, 2016
*Full review on my blog*
Okay. WHAT?!?!? This book started out okay, but by the end, I was in loveee. The characters are badass, the plot is fast-paced and fun, and the overall story is unique and interesting. This is a really solid first book in this trilogy! I love the teleportation and spy elements, and well as the kick-ass characters. But I definitely need to read the second book soon, because that ending killed me!!!
Okay. WHAT?!?!? This book started out okay, but by the end, I was in loveee. The characters are badass, the plot is fast-paced and fun, and the overall story is unique and interesting. This is a really solid first book in this trilogy! I love the teleportation and spy elements, and well as the kick-ass characters. But I definitely need to read the second book soon, because that ending killed me!!!
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