Blog Tour - Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez

Title: Kiss Kill Vanish

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio’s arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split-second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind.

She doesn’t know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio’s love, was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can’t run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangled the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

I love a good thriller. When I first heard about Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I knew it had the potential to be just that. The more I heard about it, the more excited about it I got. Everyone seemed to be loving this book. And having now read it, I can definitely see why because I am in the same boat as everyone who's loved this book.

After what she saw from Emilio's closet that night, Valentina Cruz didn't even take the time to back her things before she fled town. She couldn't believe what she had seen, that Emilio and her father could have done what they did. But she saw it with her own eyes. Now in Montreal, with nothing to her name, Valentina is surviving, doing what she has to in order to keep a roof over her head. But when what she thought she had left behind in Miami comes back to haunt her, Valentina doesn't know what or who to believe. How can she possibly understand what she saw when she can't even explain it to herself? She thought she knew her family's story, but now she doesn't know what's real anymore. Valentina knows she can't run away from the truth anymore, but what truth was she trying to run from in the first place? 

Thrillers are awesome. Whether in book form, TV show form or movie form, I love them all and can't seem to get enough of them. Whenever I hear about a new one coming out, I get excited and can't wait to read it. With Jessica Martinez's Kiss Kill Vanish, I already knew that I enjoyed this author's books so I was interested to see how I would feel about a thriller. Kiss Kill Vanish definitely had a lot of potential. When I first heard about it, I couldn't wait to read it. The closer it got to the release date, the more positive reviews I saw and the more excited to read it I got. Once I started reading, though, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the story. For a while, I just couldn't seem to get into it. It just felt like it was not going anywhere. But then once the story got going, I was very much into it. I saw some of the big twists coming. But here were many instances when I didn't know what to believe anymore. So often, I would feel just like Valentina did, trying to puzzle out exactly what her family is involved in and who around her she can trust. Because this was very much Valentina's story, finding out the truth about her past and her family's past.

I'm not going to lie, Valentina kind of bugged me at first. To be honest, the first part of the book kinda just felt like she was throwing this big pity party for herself. Don't get me wrong, I got that she was trying to figure stuff out and that she was dealing with the fact that she saw her boyfriend kill someone after being ordered to do so by her father. And yes, she was struggling. But still, I was very excited when she finally started doing something to help herself, even if I didn't completely agree with what she was doing. By the end of the book, though, I loved the person Valentina had become. And then there was Emilio and Marcel. I wasn't sure how to feel about Emilio. Valentina clearly loved him, but I was never sure if she loved him for the right reasons. There was just always something about him that seemed off at first. And Marcel, well I didn't think much of him at first. At all. I just thought he was going to be a background character. He didn't exactly make a great first impression, but the more I got to know him, the more I came around to Marcel. And much like with Valentina, I liked him very much by the time I finished reading Kiss Kill Vanish.

With Kiss Kill Vanish, Jessica Martinez moved away from the type of contemporary stories she had so far written and I am happy to report that it was a successful change. Once I got into it, I highly enjoyed this story, even if it wasn't always what I thought it was going to be.

Be sure to follow the rest of the Canadian Kiss Kill Vanish blog tour!

October 6 - A Glass of Wine

October 7 - Lost In Ever After

October 8 - Emilie's Book World

October 9 - More Than Just Magic

October 10 - BO-OK Nerd Canada

October 13 - Read. Sleep. Repeat

October 14 - Mermaid Vision Books

October 15 - Lost At Midnight Reviews

October 16 - Words of Mystery

October 17 - Read My Breath Away

Waiting on Wednesday (84)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers devote a post to an upcoming book release they are particularly looking forward to reading.

THIS WEEK'S PICK:
KISS KILL VANISH BY JESSICA MARTINEZ

Valentina Cruz no longer exists.

One moment, she was wrapped in Emilio's arms, melting into his kiss. The next, she was witnessing the unthinkable: a murder in cold blood, ordered by her father and carried out by her boyfriend. When Emilio pulled the trigger, Valentina disappeared. She made a split second decision to shed her identity and flee her life of privilege, leaving the glittering parties and sultry nightlife of Miami far behind. 

She doesn't know how to explain to herself what she saw. All she knows now is that nothing she believed about her family, her heart, or Emilio's love was real.

She can change her name and deny her past, but Valentina can't run from the truth. The lines between right and wrong, and trust and betrayal, will be blurred beyond recognition as she untangles the deceptions of the two men she once loved and races to find her own truth.

I've read some of Jessica Martinez's other books and really enjoyed them, so I was really excited when I first heard about Kiss Kill Vanish. It's definitely different from her other books, but it sounds really awesome all the same. I can't wait to see how this will all play out and it definitely sounds like a story that will be filled with action and mystery. I can't wait!

Kiss Kill Vanish by Jessica Martinez will be published October 7, 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books.

The Vow by Jessica Martinez

Title: The Vow

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 15, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

No one has ever believed that Mo and Annie are just friends. How can a guy and a girl really be best friends?

Then the summer before senior year, Mo's father loses his job, and by extension his work visa. Instantly, life for Annie and Mo crumbles. Although Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he'll be forced to move to Jordan. the prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and returning to a world where he no longer belongs terrifies him.

Desperate to save him, Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie--that they are in love. Mo agrees because marrying Annie is the only way he can stay. Annie just wants to keep her best friend, but what happens when it becomes a choice between saving Mo and her own chance at real love?

I always love a good contemporary story that's a little different and that's exactly what I got from Jessica Martinez's The Vow. This was a story about love, but not in the way that you would think. ANd because of that it was a refreshing and heartwarming story.

Annie and Mo may not have had a lot of friends but they've always been able to count on one another. When you're the dead girl's sister and the only Muslim in a small town, having someone you can always rely on means the world. When Mo's father loses his job and announces that he family is moving back to Jordan, Moa and Annie are willing to do anything to stay together. The only way to do this is to tell one colossal lie and put both their futures at risk. But what happens when that lie--telling the world they are in love--threatens Annie's chance at real love?

In The Vow, Jessica Martinez wrote a story about love, but not the kind of love you would expect. Here, the focus is on the love two best friends have for each other. And I loved reading about Mo and Annie's friendship. It was refreshing to read a story that focused on friendship rather than romance, especially the friendship between a boy and a girl. Too often, I'll read stories where the two friends realize they're in love with each other, but in The Vow, Mo and Annie's relationship is entirely platonic, despite what others around them might believe. It was just interesting to read about their friendship and see how it affected the other aspects of their lives, especially when it came to having an actual chance at love. Both were so willing to sacrifice everything for the other that they almost forgot to think about themselves until it was almost too late. And the ending was bittersweet because of that. I won't go into detail, but I will say that it wasn't how I thought things would go.

I've already said this, but I loved reading about mo and Annie's relationship. So often, it reminded me of the relationship I have with my own best friend. Not that we've ever considered getting married to avoid deportation, but the platonic nature of our relationship has often been questioned in the past. There was so much between Annie and Mo and I could tell just how much they cared about each other. But in a way, that mutual caring was Mo and Annie's downfall. They were loyal to each other to a fault. But at the same time, I respected them because they were will to sacrifice so much for the other. But they would often neglect their own pain, though they saw the other's. Mo saw what Annie's loyalty was doing to her, how it would end up hurting her. And Annie just wanted to do whatever she could help Mo, no matter what the cost to herself and her own happiness. Overall, though, I loved their friendship, even if at times it proved to be quite imperfect.

Jessica Martinez's The Vow was a refreshing and heartwarming read. It was so nice to see a friendship explored, one that was completely platonic. If you're looking for a great story about friendship, then I strongly recommend The Vow.

Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Title: Virtuosity

Author: Jessica Martinez

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Release Date: October 18, 2011

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't rust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win that she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she's told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes being on top just means you have a long way to fall...

Why I don't read more contemporary novels is a mystery to me. Every time I pick on up I am captivated and I fall in love with how realistic the story feels. Of course, the very same thing happened when I read Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez. It was an incredible story that captivated me from start to finish.

Her whole life, Carmen has worked toward one goal: wining the prestigious Guarneri competition and the honor that comes with it. All those years of endless violin practices and the calluses that come from hours of playing have to have been for something. But when Jeremy shows up in Carmen's life, she loses focus for the first time. What if Jeremy was better than winning the world's most prestigious violin competition. Carmen knows that she shouldn't be with Jeremy, not only is he a distraction but he's also her biggest competitor. But she can't seem to stay away from him. And it's not like Jeremy seems to mind spending time with her either. Maybe Jeremy will be the one to help Carmen feel again after months of taking anti-anxiety drugs to perform. Because what Carmen wants more than anything is to feel again.

Virtuosity was an absolutely fantastic story. To be honest, if I didn't know any better I wouldn't believe that Jessica Martinez was a debut author. Her story was incredible and there wasn't one moment it didn't feel completely real to me. And not only did it feel real, it was also absolutely captivating. Right from page one I was drawn in and I couldn't wait to find out more about the characters and their stories. More than anything, Virtuosity reminded me of why I love contemporary books so much and made me wonder why I read so little of them. But more than anything, it was simply a truly amazing story.

Carmen was such a relatable character. I honestly felt like I could relate to her on so many levels. The violin playing, the pressure she was under to perform and succeed. She was a character I absolutely loved getting to know. Her fears, her doubts, her passion, everything about her just felt completely real. And more than anything, I could understand why she felt the way about she did about Jeremy. From the moment I met him in the story, I feel a little bit in love with Jeremy. And kept falling more in love with him him the more I found out about him. He was a great character and the perfect balance for Carmen. Though it sometimes seemed like his intentions weren't always the most noble, I could tell that he really cared and would do the right thing when it comes down to it. 

Overall, Virtuosity was an absolutely incredible read. Jessica Martinez is a fantastic new author and she wrote and amazing story in this book. I absolutely cannot wait for more from this brilliant new author.