Published: October 7, 2014.
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books.
More from the publisher here.
Goodreads Synopsis:
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.
Jessica on Travelling for Research:
I’m a big believer in doing my research on the ground, so I usually travel to the places I write about. For KISS KILL VANISH, that meant going to both Miami and Montreal.
The Miami trip was painless—I live in Orlando and I used to live in Miami, so it was just a matter of driving down and wandering around my old haunts.
Montreal was a bigger deal, though. I convinced my husband to come along under the pretense of taking a last vacation before the baby was born (I was five months pregnant with our third at the time). It required all sorts of organizing and babysitting for the other two kids, but it was going to be fun and so worth it. And it would have been both of those things if the night before we left I hadn’t come down with one of the worst flus of my life. My entire body was screaming at me to crawl into bed and stay there for a week. I couldn’t, though. I’d purchased expensive plane tickets, made all the necessary arrangements, and this was my only opportunity to do the research.
So. I took the two absolutely worthless Tylenols you’re allowed to take while pregnant, got on the plane (sorry other passengers), and tromped around Montreal for five days. I’m not recommending this course of action—IF YOU ARE PREGNANT AND YOU HAVE THE FLU, PLEASE GO TO BED. I pretty much felt like death, and those days all blurred together in a feverish soup of exhaustion, Vicks, and snotty tears. Good thing I took lots of pictures and notes, because I barely remember a thing.
And since then I’ve found myself wondering just how weird my brain and body might be. Because Valentina is miserable when she’s wandering around Montreal, and is it possible my body was forcing me into taking the research to the next level? Could I have needed to be miserable too so I could really understand her?
Umm, let’s hope not. Because that’s crazy. My misery mirroring Valentina’s misery—that was just a lucky/unlucky research coincidence. (Next research trip, though, I’m making sure my main character is plenty happy before I buy the tickets.)
Wow. That is a little crazy! I'm sorry you had such a miserable time in Montreal... I hope you give it another chance because it's a gorgeous city! Maybe next time you could have a character who is happy to be there. ;)
Thanks, Jessica!
Buy the book: Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Chapters Indigo // IndieBound // The Book Depository
About the author:
Jessica Martinez is the author of young
adult novels Virtuosity, The Space Between Us, The Vow, and
Kiss Kill Vanish. She was born and raised in Calgary, Canada.
As a child she played the violin, read books, and climbed trees
incessantly. She went on to study English and music at Brigham Young
University, and since then has been an English teacher, a symphony
violinist, and a mother. She currently lives in Orlando, Florida with
her husband and three children.
Find her here: Goodreads // Twitter // Website
Go back and check out all the other stops on the Kiss Kill Vanish Canadian tour!
October 6th: Kathy (A Glass of Wine) - Review
October 7th: Kristie (Lost in Ever After) - Top 5
October 8th: Emilie (Emilie's Book World) - Review
October 9th: Christa (More Than Just Magic) - Review
October 10th: Giselle (BO-OK Nerd Canada) - Character Interview
October 13th: Shelly (Read. Sleep. Repeat) - Review
October 14th: Angel (Mermaid Vision Books) - Review
October 15th: Ciara (Lost at Midnight Reviews) - Interview
October 16th: Lynne (Words of Mystery) - Review
October 17th: Jess (Read My Breath Away) - Guest Post
That is dedication! :)
ReplyDeleteRight? I'm seriously impressed she made it through all that!
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