The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Kindle Edition

I’m not really into vampires. Twilight was pretty much the extent of those vampirism days. But of course I saw this book floating around bookstragram and I haaaaad to buy it. Then I was thinking… wow! Holly black! I haven’t read something of hers in years… and before I knew it the book jumped to the front of my TBR and was finished in days.

It was good. A quick read. Fun, even. But it just seemed to me that everyone in this book was batsh crazy. And I think if you can embrace the crazy, you will do okay finishing this one. Some of the characters are driven by desires that I couldn’t even begin to understand. Others I could. And the small few, absolutely.

For instance, Gavriel’s mission and what drove him made sense to me. Until the end. Tana’s didn’t throughout most of the book (why must she deliver her friend and some guy she just met to coldtown? There is no sense of self preservation from this girl AT ALL), until the end…. I’m being intentionally vague. I don’t want to blow this up for you guys. The only one I could truly understand the entire time was Lucien. Sure, he’s evil, but you can get it and it’s totally consistent.

And I know not all books need a love story, or even a romance. But the one in this book is supposed to be preeeetttyyyy important I think and it fell flat. The chemistry wasn’t really there, the feelings not quite explored except for a few stolen kisses. Lots of tension (the killing kind), but not the loving kind.

And you know what have been infinitely more interesting? More history of the old vampires! The spider, the laws, what living during those days was like… what they even lived for!

But god. THE END?! Why does this keep happening to me. I feel like I have been let down by a lot of endings recently.

3.5 stars. Good but not a reread.

Despite my love for the author's other work I have to admit I was skeptical about The Coldest Girl. The name didn't really catch my interest, but I am so happy that I got it, I was immediately sucked in!

There is no long slow build up, it's a jump straight into adventure with a strong female leading the charge. The perfect amount of romance gives the story a change of depth and pace and it's a wonderful change of pace for the female to be the one doing all the rescuing! Tana is everything I would hope to be if dropped into her shoes - sure of herself and determined, even when things seem bleak.

Tana's family life and heartbreaking past remain a focal point of the story and a driving force behind her as she takes on a world she had only ever seen on tv - an aspect of this new landscape that made Coldtowns seem infinitely more real and contemporary. Oh there are vampires? Sounds like great reality tv!

My only complaint is that there isn't more story!

4.5 Stars

Oh, how delightfully delicious this was!

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown has been one of my most anticipated book of the year! I love Vampires books, even though I have been wayyyyy burnt out with them and haven't read one since April. But anything to do with Vampires, Dystopian, Quarantined Cities, and feasting on human blood in a dystopian setting, I'M IN! And The Coldest Girl In Coldtown has satisfied my craving for my Vampire-dystopian fix! Even though I would of liked these vampires to have been more...gritty, and gruesome, but they were still awesome, they just lacked that horrific, spine-chilling, menacing feel! But still definitely satisfied!

The main characters were well developed. Tana was a enjoyable, strong character, that wouldn't give up no matter the cost. And Gavriel, he had this mysterious sex appeal that just kept me drawn to him, whenever he was around! He had this rough around the edges feel to him. But once Tana broke through his hard layers, he revealed that something softer was in the inside.

Holly Black had an interesting way of writing this novel. She had one chapter of the main plot, then the next chapter had some background information on any character. Which was and interesting way for her the write Coldtown, but oh so annoying when a chapter ended with a fast-paced, heart-pounding scene, that you just had to see what was coming next, but then it would abruptly change to something that happen in the past. Sometimes I found myself screaming "NO, I DON'T CARE, take me back to the main plot, I need to know what happens!" But when the chapter didn't end on a heart-pounding note, it was interesting to get some back info on said character.

The Plot:

Vampires have come out of hiding and infected humans everywhere. Whole city's have been quarantined to contain the virus of vampirism. These cities are closed off leaving everyone left inside to fend for themselves, whether their infected or not, they refused to open the gates for anyone! So these cities became The Coldtowns.

Tana, one of the only handful of kids left that doesn't want to become a vampire, happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Living it up with some friends at a party, they get trashed, and after many hours of playing a drinking game, Tana passes out in the bathtub. Waking up hours later, she discovers that vampires have broken in and murdered everyone except for her and her ex-boyfriend Aiden. She finds Aiden infected and tied to the bed like a good little blood pet. She also finds a vampire chained up next to Aiden. Tana decides to help both Aiden and the vampire break free. They mange to escape, but not without Tana getting scraped by vampire teeth on her way out the window. She now has to deal with the last thing she ever wanted. The uncertainty of not knowing whether she's infected like Aiden. Oh, and theirs that vampire in her trunk to deal with! So not knowing if she's infected like Aiden, she make the ultimate sacrifice, and decides to go to Coldtown were she can't hurt anyone or further spread the virus if she's infected.

Coldtown turns out to be nothing like they thought it would be. It was always talked up as being a big ol' party hangout with vampires as their blood buddies. But what they find is a death trap, and a lot of wanna-be-vampires, willing to do anything to become one. And with Aiden and Tana possibly infected, they may have to watch their backs from the humans before the vampires.

Tana can't deny the incredible pull she feels towards Gavriel, the vampire she helped. She knows he's the wrong "Type Of Guy". But how long can she fight the connection that sparks when he's around. And that just might be Tana's undoing!

This was an amazingly fresh take on vampires, that had me staying up late, glued to the pages, craving more! It really was a good book even though it was slightly different then I predicated. I would have liked these vampires to have more of a backbone, versus partying it up on a live TV for humans. I did not expect that aspect of this book, but in the end it won me over and turned out be very entertaining!

Overall, I loved this brilliant take on vampires in their dystopian world. The world building was great, the action was suspenseful, and the twist were unpredictable. I would definitely recommend this book, and I think anyone who wants a new heart-throbbing adventure with vampires, should definitely pick this one up. I don't think they'll be disappointed!

I loved Holly Black's Red Glove series, so when I saw this book of hers I read the reviews and decided it was worth giving it a go, even for a few shekels. I was not eager to read another vampire novel, but someone else reviewed it saying it was not like other vampire novels, that there was a twist. So I went for it.
Holly Black is a good writer, so no problems there. However, I didn't really see that this broke new ground in the vampire story/love story/ teenaged heroine story. Enjoyable yes, like cotton candy, but without any real nutritional value. When it comes to unusual vampire novels, my favorite is Peeps by Westerfeld. That I could read a second and a third time.