Review: “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” by Holly Black

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Author: Holly Black

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Dystopian

Release Date: September 3rd, 2013

Published by: Indigo

Many thanks to Indigo for the copy of this novel! My opinions are all non-bias and I received this from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

I first heard about this on Goodreads, and the cover just drew me in right away. It was enveloping and intriguing, and the premise was even more incredible. The idea of a sort of Dystopian-ish world mixing with Vampires ultimately won me over and I was very lucky to get a copy from Indigo to review!

Holly Black has created a world far beyond the standard Vampire and Futuristic ones we have come to know. Coldtowns now exist; they are containments within our own cities that house Vampires, who are just as much a threat and no longer a secret.

The beginning hooked me in right away, with Tana; the main character (who is pretty much this smart and inquisitive, bad-ass girl who is scarred by her past) waking to the start of a very long nightmare–one that isn’t in her dreams, but very real. What struck me first was how the Vampires were described; monstrous creatures that lurk in the shadows, hungry for blood and no remorse, their love of parties and drinking anyone’s blood. This was such a change from the other Vampires I’ve read about, where they are tame and more laid back in their backstories and creation of the Vampire’s hunger and lifestyle.

Tana and her ex-boyfriend; Aidan, along with a Vampire named Gavriel, escape from some pretty horrible Vamps at the start. Aidan is in “transition” and if his body can’t fight off the poisonous disease of Vampirism, he will become one. Gavriel is pretty tame, not at all described to be a huge threat. He and Tana had a connection that I picked up on during the start-to-middle of the book, one that started subtly and not forced. But Aidan was this play-boy who was only out for fun and toying with Tana. They had a long history, but for me, she had more of a chance with Gavriel, than going back with Aidan. I was awaiting a little bit of a love-triangle, but…there wasn’t so much of one, which was refreshing and totally changed and surprised me about the book! I’m usually so good at guessing, but The Coldest Girl was never predictable. Extra points for that!

I’ve only read a few treasured Vampire books where the characters stand out and hold their own whilst the main character is not the narrator. I still felt sympathetic and connected with Tana and her story, which is very important for me to believe in a novel, and I LOVED this one. I don’t like giving away too many spoilers, because everyone deserves to see how amazing this is for themselves, but I did not regret reading this at all. It was one of my favourite Fantasy novels of the year by far. A real hidden gem of-a-book.

With it’s dark humorous moments, alluring characters and walking nightmares, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was a huge hit for me. I thoroughly loved it from beginning to end, and is up there with very few Vampire books that are classic and hold their own twists on the original and historic Vampire tales.

Holly Black is a fantastic author that I can’t wait to read more of!

5 stars! (or Cats, given my system!)