The Vanishing Girl: 1 Paperback – 27 Jan. 2015

Picked it up on through a BookBub recommendation and it sat on my Kindle for a while. But so so glad I picked it up and read it. It's a great premise and I love the protagonist!

“The ultimate goal of the Prometheus Project is to train you to use your talents to protect our country.”Since the onset of puberty, Ember has had the ability to teleport anywhere in the world for ten minutes while she’s asleep. It’s a secret that she has managed to keep to herself for five years. A week after her 18th birthday, her parents confess that they went through a government funded fertility program when they had Ember. In return for the government subsidising the cost of their fertility treatment, her parents had to agree to let their child enlist in the military for a minimum of two years once they turn 18. No sooner have they finished explaining, government agents headed by the nefarious Dane Richards arrive to recruit Ember.Ember’s efforts to abscond are thwarted when she’s captured by a fellow teleporter, Caden Hawthorne and taken to a remote facility. Ember comes to realise that other teleporters like herself are being trained to be used as weapons. Paired up with Caden, Ember can only bide her time before she can escape and expose the project. Increasingly mistrustful of the governments sinister motives and with each mission more dangerous than the last, can Ember convince Caden to leave before it’s too late?The Vanishing Girl is the first instalment of the Vanishing Girl series and was my first introduction to the author. The concept of a genetically enhanced protagonist who has the ability to teleport and is forced to work for the government was an intriguing one. Despite an interesting start, however, the plot goes downhill somewhat, mainly due to the insta love cliches that all YA heroines seem to fall victim to. Mainly where girl finds out she’s imbued with some special power, who instantly falls for the handsome boy for no other reason than the fact that he’s hot and has pecs. I originally thought that this was for a YA audience but as the book progressed, some of the intimate sexual scenes suggested otherwise.Ember is an likeable protagonist. Snarky, defiant, strong and determined albeit flawed at times in her inability to see the obvious.The appealing aspect of the book for me was the world building and I feel that the plot would have benefited more had the author further explored Ember’s powers as well as the government’s agenda and fleshed out some of the secondary characters, namely Ember’s fellow team mates. Nevertheless the cliffhanger has ensured that this reader will be listening to the audible sequel.I listened to this version on Audible and was dazzled by Rachel Vivette’s clear and concise narration. I was impressed by how easy she made it for listeners to distinguish between each character, particularly the male voices. She has definitely become one of my favourite narrators.Ideal for fans of Sci Fi, genetically modified powers, government conspiracies and suspense.

Plot: 5* - there are any plot-holes, but the concept is very complicated hence it would challenge even experienced Fantasy authorsCharacters: 4* - decent enough characters. Well-fleshed out with no woman-to-woman b*tching or hating or $lut-shamingRomance: 2* - this was a huge let down. Thankfully there was no insta-lu$t as such, however, it over so fast and took over the book.It would have been much better if the romance built gradually. I liked Caden's and Ember's interactions when they first met, with the characters playing a cat-mouse game and Ember almost hating Caen.This ought to have continued. But instead they fall in love way too soon, get all into each other with loads of $mut scenes while the story languishes away.I would have enjoyed it more if it focused on Ember trying to find a way out instead of getting so into Caden.

I love Laura Thalassa's work. It's addictive and brilliant. I love the characters of Caden and Ember. Very believable characters and such a good premise and story with realistic limitations. I love this series.

First problem parents can't enlist their children so Ember and her parent should have been threatening solicitors police and all sorts when they came for her. Next they haven't explained anything, as for training what training she just gets thrown in an told to participate there is no lesson. They left her computer access, Facebook email, seriously a covert operation would've erased her. Also why hasn't she enlisted outside help as she has access.I can't finish this book it just isn't working for me I want to slap some sense into most of the characters and the love interest no way is he trustworthy he's an irritating jerk who needs his assistant handed to him also a total set up. The only good thing I can say is the characters are fairly well fleshed out and the writing flows just not enough for me.

I really had my reservations upon embarking on this book - doubting that it deserved the rating it hasBut man was I wrong!! LOVED IT! So much!!!Cannot wait to continue the series!!!

It reminded me of one of my favorite movies: Jumper.Perhaps this one is too raunchy for a YA read, I think it would go better in the NA category because there's sex involved. But overall a good read.

This book was just my cup of tea. A YA book that involved teenagers with teleporting abilities.Reasonably predictable but not boring. It kept me engaged and I wanted to know what happened next. An easy escapist read.