A review by lenoreo
Vanishing Act by A.M. Madden

Did not finish book.
https://celebrityreaders.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/vanishing-act-by-a-m-madden/

DNF @ 40% -- I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

I really tried with this one.  I will say one thing right from the start, this was not a *bad* book.  It just wasn't capturing my attention AT ALL, and I just have too much to read to spend my time reading something that's not captivating me.  Basically I was bored.  And when I looked at my Kindle's prediction of time left in this book and it said 4.5 hours, I said I'M DONE!

If the book kept going as it was going, I probably would have given it a 3 star.  Like I said, it wasn't bad.  But I'm behind on things as it is, so I gave up.  The first bit until we meet Spike/Marshmallow was really slow, and I did not get a great feel for Landon at all.  He didn't have personality traits that bugged me, but I really had no idea what he was like, other than self-important.  There really just didn't feel like there was any depth there.  I was already considering DNFing it at that point, b/c I think the writing style just wasn't jiving with me either.  I know it was just an ARC, but the tenses felt funny, and I kept getting tripped up on sentences because of the weird way the words were organized sometimes.

BUT!  Then we met Spike/Marshmallow.  AND OMG HE STOLE THE SHOW!  And it wasn't just because he was freaking ADORABLE, but b/c he brought out something that I had been waiting for in Landon -- a personality!  Landon was HILARIOUS when he was interacting with Spike.  Like, he was funny, and sassy, and I just started to love him!!  Things were looking up!!

And then we met Zara.  And again, nice girl, but she felt a bit flat.  And part of that is because Landon concentrated so much on how beautiful/hot she was, it really felt like the physical aspects were the main ones in their attraction.  And even at 40%, I still wasn't feeling them together.  We were *told* that he liked other aspects of her, but not shown really.  I enjoyed his teasing, and I thought we were getting a wee bit more depth, but for some reason I was just bored.  Too slow?  I don't know.  But I wasn't even remotely invested.  OK, I was like 1% invested, b/c that part of me wants to know what happens.  If anyone wants to spoil it for me, please feel free.

Honestly, in that entire 40%, the bits where Spike/Marshmallow were present were the absolute highlights for me.  But an awesome dog is not enough to make a book great.  Good?  Yes.  Great?  No.  And so I gave up.  Ah well, they can't all be matches right?