The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

I wrote a four page review explaining why this is a good book and Holly Black is an artist. I doubt anyone would read all four pages, so here's my review: Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is the inverse of Twilight. It is the diamond you search through a mound of crap to find. It is well written and interesting, showing that some authors do still have integrity and don't throw out whatever BS they find in a bathroom (comparison necessary to show just how strongly I feel this). If you haven't, read this. If you have, good choice.

First thing's first: HOLLY BLACK IF YOU READ YOUR REVIEWS PLEASE, PLEASE CONSIDER A SEQUEL:);).
Even though I know and love Holly Black's style, I went into TCGIC a little skeptical and very worried about vampire fluff (post traumatic stress from Twilight). However, in true Holly Black style, she sculpted her own style into vampire mythology and made the story just the right amount of haunting, romantic, and badass. The protagonist, Tana, was everything I look for in a character. She was tough, self-reliant, and not a stereotypical female protagonist at all. Best of all, TCGIC was one of the few novels that put me in such suspense, that I needed to take a few breaths before I continued reading!

This was nothing I expected and everything about it I loved!!! The heroine wasn't your typical good girl that you tend to see in a lot of books today and I really liked that...she seemed more real that way. If this is a series...I will gladly read more, but if that is that then I am happily satisfied! Worth reading if only because its different.

I originally started reading this book to please my girlfriend and hadn't actually looked at it thinking it was a emo romance novel, but found myself caught up in the story. The violence and description of events does have a Buffy-ish Feel to it which actually helped vs hinder and this book is very well written

I absolutely love the main character, Tana. She truly is the wild card. I love the idea of the Coldtowns and how this kind of vampire outing really would change the world. Very compelling and interesting read

Often with vampire books you find yourself rolling your eyes at the idiotic female protagonist, who flops around and gasps and freezes at pivotal moments while the male protagonist shows how perfect he is (but obviously no one has appreciated it before now). THIS BOOK IS DIFFERENT. Splendidly different. All the characters, even the ones you don't like, are interesting and dimensional. Highly recommend. An excellent author!

I've always thought Holly Black was a great author, perhaps one of my top five favorites, but I didn't have a single one that I would reliably give to friends as her best when I recommended her. Sometimes I'd say Tithe and, more often, I'd say White Cat, but individually, none of her books cracked my top ten. It was just that the sum total of her work was so great, that I'd often include her as a favorite author.

That totally changed the moment I read this book. I fell in love with Tana and her bravery and her flaws and her kindness. The story told in this novel is, in some ways, a common vampire story -- special girl is amazing and ruthless vampire falls in love with her. If you love vampire novels, you've seen it done before. Holly Black puts amazing touches on this by making it so unique.

The world that Tana inhabits is terrific and interesting because vampires are KNOWN and feared and loved and adored and enjoy a celebrity status, which makes sense considering their beauty and their immortality. However, not everyone wants to be a vampire, nor are vampires exactly law abiding creatures, so they are outlawed to their own "towns" which are impossible to get out of.

Additionally, so much of this world AND Tana's history are explored in chapters that flesh out but do not exactly intersect with the main plotline. Normally, I find this device off-putting, but these chapters really help to detail why characters in this book act the way they do without "bothering" the story.

Tana and Gavriel are what make this book, however, not the world building. These two characters burn brightly and are both interesting and highly flawed. They make choices that are reasonable, wrong, and smart all at the same time. Tana, as the main protagonist and human girl, is the more assertive and fascinating of the two even if she is not the more powerful of the two, which is a real rarity in vampire novels. She drives the action in the events around her. People around her court her good will because they recognize this in her. Even her ex-boyfriend who cheats on her and dumps her prior to the beginning of the novel points out to her that he is afraid of her.

Better, Tana and Gavriel bounce off each other well. Though Gavriel has much more power physically than Tana, she never comes across as losing her agency in the relationship they form. She does seem surprised by how much she seems to control him, but more, she seems surprised by what she feels for him.

The main story moves along at a very fast clip with side characters introduced and left quickly as Tana DOES STUFF. The climatic scene to the story came much faster than I was expecting, but not in a bad way. The story quickly moves to a very satisfying resolution which left me hoping for more about these characters.

Holly Black has written another darkly beautiful tale where you see the dirt and grime of the real world, and fall in love because of that. the characters were unique and full of so much life I couldn't stop reading. For much of the book, I couldn't understand where things were going to end up, but that's what made it so much more real. While it has the undertones of a vampire love story, it is not that. The vampires are very human still, but they were deceptive and scary as well.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Edition reviewed: First edition hardcover by Little, Brown and Company
No major spoilers, minor spoilers under "the romance".
Rating: 2 stars

Why I picked it up:
This book came highly recommended by reviewers, friends, critics, etc. I knew the basic premise, in a society with “coldtowns,” and I was excited for a strong standalone novel, amongst a sea of YA series. I mean, how many urban fantasy romances do you see floating around that aren’t a part of a longer duology, trilogy, etc.?
So I added it to my the store cart. And after receiving it, I told myself to wait, so I could savor the moments when I cracked open the book to enter Holly Black’s world of coldtowns.
And this is my review.

The Writing:
Rather than describing the general summary of the novel, I’m going to assume that most of you have read the provided description.
Before I even get to the actual writing comments, I need to get something off my chest: One of my biggest pet peeves in books is when the book feels dated. This book was definitely dated and no where near timeless. Website like Flickr, Tumblr, and Youtube are mentioned constantly, camera phones are everywhere – this is definitely the kind of book that feels like it’s going to get really old really fast.
On top of that, the technology element literally cannot be ignored. The fact that everything in this novel, practically, is being filmed and watched by the world made me feel uncomfortable. Not that I mind technology. In The Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, technology is a huge part of the characters’ culture and society, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you if it was written this year, or if it was written 20 years ago. With The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, I doubt I’d be able to forget. It didn’t make me roll my eyes, and the parties thrown in Uglies are actually interesting.
Now on to the actual writing.
A lot of other people have touched on this as a negative: the characters are unlikeable, melodramatic, and unrealistic. Why would Holly Black write about these characters that readers want to hate? She’s obviously an experienced writer, and I’m sure she could craft more believable, likeable characters, but that did not happen in this novel. I generally like many more characters than I dislike, but I honestly couldn’t relate to anyone in this book. I think it’s partially the way they behave, but it’s also that I don’t find Holly Black to have a convincing teenager voice. I can’t immerse myself in the writing because it just seems very superficial. Not to say that I can only read YA voices, because I read an equal amount of adult fiction as Young Adult fiction. In this book, with this setup, these characters, and this plot, the voice didn’t work out.
There are some memorable parts of this book that were interesting, but all of that is completely overshadowed by the drawn out writing – it constantly seemed to dragon. On top of that, it always feels as though you know what will happen next. Not that the ending was predictable, you can almost always tell what the next part of the story will be, which really ruins the decent suspense that the book had going.
Holly Black is a skilled writer, but the characters (see below) seemed utterly unrelatable, and the events, no matter how dramatic, were the very opposite of raw. The writing just exuded an overly polished feel, and I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything, despite the gruesome details.
Not emoted, and that’s saying a lot because I am the biggest crier ever. My eyes tear up at the drop of a hat, and I was stunned by how little I cared for this book. Honestly, it sounded so promising, and I was sure that at least a tiny part of me would latch onto something to like in this book. But instead, I was let down by the curious emptiness in the writing.

The Characters:
I have never read a book where I have disliked the characters so much. I felt indifference for the book itself, but I actually got irritated by the characters to the point where I almost couldn’t finish the book. That’s a big deal for me, personally, because I have never not finished a book in my life intentionally.
But on to the characters, and what I think about them.
Midnight and Aidan are my least favorite characters by far. Their shallowness and stupidity left me speechless. They are incredibly superficial and seem to have no redeeming qualities. Aidan especially, as the ex-boyfriend of Tana, is probably supposed to be an alluring character, but he is the opposite. His smile is always “sly,” he seems to have no qualms morally, and is an all around jerk.
Tana, the protagonist, is only slightly better. She’s reckless to the point of silliness, because she flat out does not think before she acts. She even acknowledges, on Pg. 171 of this edition of the book, “This is exactly what’s wrong with me… If there’s trouble, I go straight for it.” I nearly smacked myself in the face. She knows there’s trouble, and she doesn’t approach it to be brave or sacrificial. She has nothing to gain at all and everything to lose, so it’s nothing like when a character is being reckless to save someone or gain something.
There’s nothing I hate more than a dumb character, and almost every decision Tana makes lacks caution and foresight. If this was a movie, it’d practically be a comedy because she is so clueless.
And then Tana completely changes. She transitions into someone who retains none of her former traits (except for the recklessness). There was just no character development with her, because it would go from point A to point B, and I would screech at Tana for doing something so out of character.
Gavriel is my favorite character, but that doesn’t mean much because I still don’t like him. He’s the only one of the cast who actually has a hint of mystery, and he’s the only one I would ever want to know more about. This is probably due to his backstory, and his deranged behavior. Unfortunately, the extent of his deranged behavior/manner of speaking is only likeable to a certain extent because you wish that someone could actually have an intelligent conversation with him.

[minor spoilers here]
The Romance:
Romance is not big in this novel. No insta-love whatsoever – I’m not even sure normal love exists in this novel. Gavriel might confess that he loves Tana at the end, but I didn’t find that believable in the least. She doesn’t reciprocate, so there’s nothing on that end, either.
Steam level was minimal. I can only remember about 3 scenes that seemed vaguely “romantic.” The first is a lustful kiss in which Tana risks her life, the second is bloody and not very compelling to read, and the last is almost sweet (although it’s in the last pages of the book). Kissing once is as far as it gets, really.
I don’t need romance, but I’m soft on it. It’s usually the part of the book where I’m the most generous, but this book only had the minimum construction of a “romance.” As in two people that have been in each other’s company for the span of the book, ending with a love confession. No chemistry, minimal buildup, and no character development in that time.
The reason this lack of a relationship bothered me so much was because the set up was there. Everything was there; the opportunities for a non-superficial or blood drinking interaction were plentiful. Black could have used the setup of the novel to at least enable a little bit of a pretense of a real romance, but it was ignored.
[end minor spoilers]

The Ending:
The ending was very short, but I liked it. Probably the best part of the book because it was appropriate for the story Black was writing. It fit. But I don’t think that I need to mention that it didn’t bring up even a hint of emotion for me.

Final Thoughts:
This book is definitely more gruesome than I would have expected. In Chapter 32, it spells out that “he took out his guts and knotted them around the bars of his cage,” “drove rusty nails into the soles of his feet,” etc. I knew there was going to be a lot of blood, but it was a bit underplayed in the marketing of this novel. As clarification, I’m not against horror, but horror done right is a world away from seemingly mindless gore in a YA fantasy romance. It’s not the amount of blood that makes you feel something – it’s the emotional structure, buildup, and execution of the scene.
I thought this book was going to be like a standalone version of twilight: romance-centric, with a love triangle with 2 likeable male leads, quick moving plot, and no unnecessary violence.
This book was pretty much the opposite.
It could have easily been cut down about 100 pages (or at the very least 50), because it dragged and dragged along. Yes, there were a few exciting scenes that made me sit up straighter, but you don’t judge a book by the scenes that are few and far between – you judge a book based on how it makes you feel, as a reader.
I simply could not handle these characters.
Something I liked?
I feel like I haven’t really seen this kind of classic vampire because, ironically, so many vampire writers today are trying to be more creative (and possibly less bloody). Black’s vampires are what I’d imagine the classic vampire to be: they burn in the sun, can be killed with a stake through the heart, they have elongated canines, and are unforgettably predators. As in unlikeable creatures that are neither sweet nor gentle, and view you as food.
I can see people liking this book, if they prefer (bloody) drama over love, friendship, sacrifice, and family. Because this book lacks all of those. The violence in this book, and everything about the endless parties in Coldtown really just tired me out.
If you were looking for a quicker, fluffy read to get you through a boring day, this isn’t it. Its drawn out length, unrelatable characters, and predictability would definitely make a boring day worse.
The romanticization of Coldtowns and being a vampire is beyond ridiculous. And the drooling characters that would do anything to become immortal blood drinkers are unbelievable. On top of that, I would never believe that these Coldtowns could exist in a modern world, where people live normally and party and go to school, and watch vampires party on their laptops.
In 3 words, this book is boring, nonsensical, and superficial.

I really really liked this book. It had an interesting setting and I loved the main female and male characters. Most were older teens and young adults so it had a slightly older vibe to the story which I liked.

As a vampire literature enthusiast, and a long time Holly Black fan, I was very excited to read this book. I was definitely not disappointed.

It had the grungy feel of other Holly Black boos, which I love, and it reminded me a bit of the feel of Poppy Z. Brite's book 'Lost Souls'.

'The Coldest Girl in Coldtown' has it's own history, which I greatly liked.

This was a great read.

I genuinely enjoyed this book. I think it was well written and keep the reader at the edge of there seat. The only pet peev I had was the fact that when a really good part would come it would cut to the past or something else. But they answered questions you would other wise still be wondering about at the end of e book. I say READ this BOOK.

This book had me from beginning to end. Loved the world building concepts and the story execution was excellent! My only problem is that it appears to be a stand alone book, not part of a series, and I really want more!

A really wonderful tale about a dark world.

Tana lost her mother to the vampire plague and has the scars to prove it. One morning she wakes up in a house where there had been a party and almost everyone is dead. She saves the 2 survivors, even though one is infected and one is a vampire and they hit the road for Coldtown, a quarantined area for vampires and the infected.

Once in Coldtown, things go from bad to worse and besides fighting for personal survival, Tana becomes entangled in a war between vampire factions.

This is no sparkling fairy tale. There is plenty of violence and gore. Tana is not the kind of girl who stands around waiting for rescue, when she is threatened or under attack, she fights back. Like many Holly Black stories, the heroine and the monster fall in love, after you discover that the "monster" may not be so bad.

I went into this book a little wary because, well, vampires. But I was pleasantly surprised by how well Holly Black handled the story and didn't fall into any of the stereotypical vampire cliches. This is the first Holly Black book I've read and I will definitely be reading more.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was Tara as a main character. She was flawed in just the right ways while still being able to stand up for herself and make her own decisions. When situations came down to the wire, Tara was the one to kick everyone into action and get s*** done. I was super happy with her as the main protagonist and wish there were more girl characters like her.

The romance aspect was up and down for me. I really liked Gavriel. He was crazy, yes. He was a vampire, yes. But he was a sincere, honest, crazy vampire. He spent most of the book on a quest for revenge but Black managed to still give him the best qualities of humanity which kept him interesting and kept me on my toes. His fascination with Tara stemmed from the fact that she was the first person to show him compassion and that was a believable premise. My biggest pet peeve is when people are together just because. I want reasons! Does he love her quirks? Does she love his compassion? GIVE ME REASONS! Holly Black gave me the reasons I was looking for and I was so thrilled about that. The down aspect of the romance was Tara's reaction to it. She was a kick-ass character in every aspect of the story except when it came to Gavriel. There were occasions when he was around that she sat back and seemed weaker than usual. I would have liked to see her stay consistently strong.

The Coldtowns were a giant facet of this story and I was so fascinated by them! In Tara's society Coldtowns had become this huge pop culture phenomenon. They had live feeds running out of the city, people dedicated blogs and shows to them, and they had their own celebrities. The fact that people were equally scared of and in awe of these vampires was an interesting aspect to add and made the world feel more fleshed out. I would love to see more stories of people trapped inside Coldtown when the walls went up or even just those who went to Coldtown voluntarily to see the glitz and glamour of the live feeds up close. I think there's definitely more to explore there.

Star Count: 4.5 I finished this book wanting more!

Really enjoyed this book. I have read many paranormal/ supernatural books and I found myself enjoying the characters immensely, especially Gavriel. I love the fact he classified himself as an insane monster, yet he never realized that he was actually still in tune with his humanity due to his ability to love Tana.

Holly Black really pulled through with this story. It was very well written and interesting. It looks like this will turn into a series but for once I am looking forward to it! There was just enough gore not to overdo it and for once the romance portion of the story was not the main focus. Tana is a bad ass and is one less whiny female in a book series. She has a can do attitude with the right amount of sass. I highly recommend this blook.

An engaging and gripping page turner with well drawn main characters, some neat plot developments, and just the right amount of horror. Black is a very good writer and this is a fine addition to the vampire genre for adults and older teens. It deserves to be a big hit and I have high hopes for another visit to Coldtown!

The summary of this book intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. I loved the characters. The real pull was the opening of this novel, it felt realistic. I will definitely be keeping tabs on this author.

Only reading eight chapters is kind-of mean but it's so worth it to have an idea if this is for you. I can't wait for September! The preview gave enough story, character introduction and action to know this is my kind of read. Tana wakes up in the morning in a bathtub after an all night party to find most everyone at the party has been killed by vampires. Besides her, the only two to survive is her ex-boyfriend who is now infected and a mysterious vampire who everyone seems to be after. The worst part is not knowing how the book will turn out for a month :(

Very well developed characters, interesting plot and not predictible. Sometimes these vampire books are "same ole same ole" but the storyline actually took it to another level. Well worth the time and money..and I am glad I found a new author to follow!

Very good and typical of Holly Black 's style but it seemed like something was missing. I enjoyed the fact the main character is strong and has no desire to be a vampire unlike another female protagonist. But I still like that Black 's books like Ironside and Valiant are better reads.

I really enjoyed this book! There are so many books out there that work a "twist" on the vampire story, but this one did a great job. I cared about the characters and what they did, and thought the world she created was really innovative. Great job, make sure to write a sequel!