The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

by Holly Black

[Angie]

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a book that I was pretty excited to read because...vampires! Unfortunately, that excitement didn't stick around for very long. I did like it overall, but there was nothing special that made it stand out to me. Tana wakes up at a party where everyone is dead except for her, her exboyfriend, and a random vampire. She saves herself and the two boys, and heads off to Coldtown since her ex, Aidan, is infected and has nowhere else to go. As for the random vampire, Gavriel, he has plans of his own that also involve getting into their local Coldtown. Tana may or may not be infected also, but she's not willing to return home and take that chance. However, once you enter Coldtown, there's no coming out.

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.