tellemonstar
Written on Mar 16, 2014
Coldtown is dangerous. A prison for the damned and those who party with them.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince comes a deliciously dark YA novel for fans of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries.
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. It's an eternal party, shown on TV 24 hours a day - gorgeous, glamorous and deadly! The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown's gates, you can never leave ...
When Tana wakes up one morning after a perfectly ordinary party, she finds herself surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of the massacre are her 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 heart of Coldtown itself.
A wholly original story of rage and revenge, love and loathing from bestselling and critically acclaimed author of The Spiderwick Chronicles and The Folk of the Air series, Holly Black.
- ISBN10 178062171X
- ISBN13 9781780621715
- Publish Date 6 February 2014 (first published 1 January 2013)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 28 February 2024
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Hachette Children's Group
- Imprint Orion Children's Books
- Format Paperback (US Mass Market)
- Pages 432
- Language English
Reviews
Angie
Written on Oct 6, 2013
The plot of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is uninspiring, and actually kind of boring. I wasn't even sure what the point was until close to the end. For much of the book, it was just Tana stumbling around Coldtown facing one obstacle after another. Yet, she gets lucky every time and pulls out of it covered in blood, although usually not her own. Eventually some kind of mission is introduced involving Gavriel, but that was over almost as soon as it started. I was just unimpressed with the plot, and feel like more could have been happening.
While the plot may have been lacking, the world building was quite awesome. I was never confused about why Coldtowns existed, or how they came to be, or why they were necessary. I didn't feel like I needed to know more, although I did want to, since it was all interesting. Every other chapter was essentially a world building chapter, or some kind of extra. Sometimes they told of the past and how things got to be the way they are. Other times it was a blog post which illustrated just how strange this world has gotten. A few times it was just what side characters were up to while Tana was running around Coldtown. None of them felt unnecessary or gratuitous as each chapter added on to the world or the story as a whole. I definitely like the even numbered chapters much better than the main odd numbered ones.
I liked The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but it left me pretty unsatisfied. I think I'm easy to please when it comes to vampires, but there was just something missing from this book for me. I do have to say that I did like how Tana was so set against becoming a vampire, even though it's seen as something glamorous and wonderful. And she stuck with that decision throughout. However, that ending...I don't even know. What was that random declaration of love?! They've known each other for maybe 3 days, and spent most of it apart or trying not to get killed. I think that kind of ruined the last chapter, which I had actually quite liked.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
elvinagb
Written on Sep 8, 2013
e_rodz_leb
Written on Aug 27, 2013
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inlibrisveritas
Written on Aug 27, 2013
This is my first Holly Black novel and I think I’m in love. Her writing and ability to paint a picture really drew me in from page one, so much that I finished the whole book in a day. I only put it down when I had to eat and even then I’d find myself shoveling food in my mouth so I could get back to it.
Tana is a strong and solid main character who doesn’t cave under pressure or give into the glamor. The best thing about Tana is that when she’s faced with the reality of a vampire she doesn’t immediately tilt her head and offer up her life like most YA girls do. She doesn’t want it and she’s not fool enough to see only the positives and I love her for it. Aiden is Tana’s ex-boyfriend, now before your groan he’s just her ex-boyfriend…and honestly I can see why. This guy has some issues and I liked the odd tentative relationship they continue to have thanks to the vampire infection. And then there is Gavriel. He is definitely my favorite and why wouldn’t he be, he’s crazy…and I tend to go for the crazy ones it seems. He has a interesting and quite violent past that has really shaped who he is and I personally enjoyed his odd dangerous quirks. The way he speaks is like 1 part poetry and 3 parts crazy.
The story is a gritty one filled with pain, danger, hope, and thoughts on the nature of humanity. I love the concept of Coldtowns which are quarantined cities filled with infected, vampires, and humans…once you go in there is very little chance you ever leave. People on the outside are fed a glamorous picture of parties and fun for eternity however the reality is really gritty and really dangerous. The nature of the vampire is called into question quite a few times as well and I like that it’s not just a surface book it takes things deeper. The antagonists are self absorbed, dangerous and they don’t shy away from cruelty. I liked the flashbacks and the moments where we get glimpses of other people involved, and I liked the interesting depth it added to the overall story.
Overall this is a YA vampire novel that I can truly recommend, though it may not be for everyone. I love it for it’s unique take on both vampires and a society desensitized to their monstrous nature in favor of the glamor. I think this is a standalone but I really wish it wasn’t, I need more!
lizarodz
Written on Aug 27, 2013
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Ashley
Written on Jul 1, 2013
Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is haunted and addictingly disturbing! This book starts off with a bang, and I promise it's a sign of what's to follow. It's dark, gruesome, and gory. After that, I'll admit that it took me a little while to get fully into the story, but once I did, OH MY WORD!!!
"They'll drink up the whole world if we let them."
Page 92
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown takes on an insanely horrifying vibe. There's lots and lots of blood, brutal deaths, and terrifying scenes. These vampires aren't like the ones in Twilight where they try to not be monsters... these vampires are bloodthirsty, brutal, and have no mercy. Every time I thought something was so crazy and so vile, I figured, "Well this is it. This is the most creepy and violent scene of the book, there's no topping that." But I was proven wrong every.time. Because Holly Black always topped it.
"Every day since the one he'd died was not one where he aged, but rather one where he grew away from humanity. He didn't seem older than he must have been when he died; just entirely stranger."
Page 147
Things just get more and more twisted, dark, and terrifying, until I couldn't look away. It's like when there's an accident on the freeway and you CAN'T. NOT. LOOK. It's horrible, it's sad, but you can't not look. This is the same thing. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is all kinds of twisted, with bloodbaths, murders, and no happily ever afters. Sometimes in books I think, "Well these characters obviously won't die." There is no feeling like that in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. Holly Black has no mercy and that's what makes this book terrifyingly realistic. There are VAMPIRES out there so there will be many deaths and they will be brutal as hell.
There's also a really unexpected (or expected, however you look at it) romance that develops, that had me HOOKED! It's the ultimate kind of dangerous, forbidden love. But it's not cheesy. I kind of couldn't figure it out, but that's why it was so awesome! The whole relationship was so unexpected—the way they acted, the things they said.. everything. But it wasn't unexpected in the way that it doesn't work. Quite the opposite. It worked, and it was so sweet, but it kept you on your toes.
"You are more dangerous than daybreak."
Page 160
Above everything else, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is exploding with bloody originality. I'll admit that I haven't read a ton of vampire books, but this one was so different from everything I thought to expect in one.. and I loved it! It's dark, twisted, wrong, and so addicting!! What I love most about this book is how it caught me by surprise. I didn't expect to love it nearly as much as I did, and I kind of love it when that happens!