The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black | Book Review #89

“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 really enjoyed reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. The story brings Vampires and their old myths about burning in the sun, being awake during the night. Of course there are people and shows that people ogle over. That part in itself is just the way that the 21st century people know how to live and deal with things: glitter it up so no one freaks the fuck out.

And of course, there are people who see through that and know what Vampirism is really like: bloody, and scary as hell. I’m glad that the main character, Tana didn’t fall for that. She knows first hand what Vampirism is really like. So I’m really glad that Tana, the main character, didn’t fall for that. And in that instance she found out what it’s like, she knew what could have been. What could have changed her for the rest of her life. She knows first hand what people in this story are idolizing, and it repulses her.

I thought there would only be one point of view from Tana, the main character this is all centered around. But there is more than one point of view, and I’ve found that a few people didn’t like that about the book. I, on the other hand, was glad that there were more than one point of view. I’m glad that there were a few differing views aside from Tana. The story would’ve been fine without the other views, but I really feel like with the other views, they only enhance the story. That the views make the story all that more real. Most of the story is in Tana’s POV though, which I really appreciate.

I love the fact that when Tana knows that her sister is in danger, Tana turns into this ferocious mama bear that will literally almost do anything to keep her little sister from harms way. Those two just have a bond that will last their life times. I wish we got to see more interactions with Tana and her sister actually.

I actually really like the relationship that Gavriel and Tana have. Here are these two people that would have never have gotten to meet under different circumstances. Yet they’re there for each other when they’re most likely to do something stupid; or when they need each other. It’s like they’re there even when they not physically together.

I don’t usually end up liking books with flashbacks; I tend to find them just a little tacky, but with this book, this story, the flashbacks only add to the story. The flashbacks addd multiple character stories to the main story, but I found myself liking the effect while reading.

I also like the fact that this book has romanticized vamps, but not to the point where everyone is overly dramatic to the point where it’s downright cheesy. I like the fact that most of the characters that Tana comes across are actually seriously repulsed by vampires.

There was a plot twist that I didn’t even expect to happen, but once you know what happened, I was like “OHHHHH…” I mean, there were quite a few twists and turns that I didn’t see that I really felt like I should have because it was like the story was hiding whatever was happening behind the scenes. Which doesn’t make all that much sense really, but just picture it like you’re watching a movie, and then there are a lot of cuts throughout the movie, yet the story still runs smoothly, and there are some parts of the movie where the screen turns blurry.

I actually really loved this story and seeing Gavriel become this different type of person. I couldn’t really get into it when I first tried reading it, so my friend who read it with me ( @girlwithabookinherhand on tumblr) and we were like, let’s just read it through, no number of chapters per week. And then we read it, and I really got a sense for the story and the characters. The flow of the story is great as well; even with the flashbacks and the differing points of view.

Thank you for reading my review of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown! I’m curious, have you read this book before? If you have, what do you think of it? – You can click the cover to be lead to The Coldest Girl in Coldtown on GoodReads! — And I really love the cover for this book. It’s so pretty.