Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 3, 2013 / Audio unabridged edition released by Hachette Audio
Format: MP3 via Overdrive
Pages: 419 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 12 hours
Narrator: Christine Lakin
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Review Date: January 18, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: 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.
Release Date: September 3, 2013 / Audio unabridged edition released by Hachette Audio
Format: MP3 via Overdrive
Pages: 419 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 12 hours
Narrator: Christine Lakin
Source: Library Borrow
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Review Date: January 18, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks
Synopsis: 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.
First let me point out that I was torn on if this was YA or NA. Tana isn't technically 18 yet, but she isn't really in high school anymore either. I ended up swaying more toward young adult because that felt more right. Even though drinking and violence appear to be adult situations, they were pretty muted in the book. I feel like had this been new adult, it would have been more graphic and we would have gotten more "romance".
I enjoyed that this book was told in third person. Because of this we got a lot of story. In addition to what's going in the present, we also got the history of vampires and of a childhoods of both Tana and Gavriel. Toward the end, we even got one part from Tana's little sister, Pearl's POV. I thought the secondary characters had their purpose and were mostly likable...or evil.
The premise of the vampires in this book is that one turns from an infection received from being bitten. It seems very strange to me that Tana, has been bitten three times in her life and yet to turn into a vampire. Take that back, twice she’d been bitten and hadn't turned. We have no clue what results from the third bite. Not only that, but in this world, one can sweat out the vampire bite infection. Who knew! And it only takes something like 66 or 68 days...some crazy long amount of time.
I enjoyed the turn of events concerning Gavriel. For the entire book, he isn't exactly what he says he is. It’s clear that he likes Tana and wants to protect her, yet still he seeks vengeance on his enemies. Gavriel’s vengeance seems to take precedence over almost everything else. When the entire situation unfolds at the end, it's pretty clever.
I enjoyed that this book was told in third person. Because of this we got a lot of story. In addition to what's going in the present, we also got the history of vampires and of a childhoods of both Tana and Gavriel. Toward the end, we even got one part from Tana's little sister, Pearl's POV. I thought the secondary characters had their purpose and were mostly likable...or evil.
The premise of the vampires in this book is that one turns from an infection received from being bitten. It seems very strange to me that Tana, has been bitten three times in her life and yet to turn into a vampire. Take that back, twice she’d been bitten and hadn't turned. We have no clue what results from the third bite. Not only that, but in this world, one can sweat out the vampire bite infection. Who knew! And it only takes something like 66 or 68 days...some crazy long amount of time.
I enjoyed the turn of events concerning Gavriel. For the entire book, he isn't exactly what he says he is. It’s clear that he likes Tana and wants to protect her, yet still he seeks vengeance on his enemies. Gavriel’s vengeance seems to take precedence over almost everything else. When the entire situation unfolds at the end, it's pretty clever.
Tana is brave and seems older beyond her 17 years. Maybe that's because of the trauma she went through as a child. Having to grow up fast out of necessity due to her father not really being a father. Maybe her old soul is a good match for Gavriel because he is old, very old. He has that old personality to match. No childish acting ancient vampire in this book. I really appreciate that. I dislike when characters that are supposed to be old as dirt act like teenagers.
I listened to this on audio, it was pretty easy listening. I'm not sure if I care for the narrator. Te narrators voice didn't change enough for each character, as a result, once in a while I found myself going back a minute to re-listen to make sure I hadn't missed something. Overall she did a decent job, but she wasn't my favorite. Thankfully the story is strong enough to keep my attention with average narrating. Even with that said, I do feel that the story in itself did slow down at times, but the pace quickly picks back up.
The ending. Meh. What becomes of it all? What happens to Tana? To Gavriel? I wish there was a clearer end to it all. Oh well. I guess we're left to guess. If this is a standalone title, which I think it is, then I didn't care for the ending. I always like a neat tie up of everything when it's the end.
It's a good book over all. It's a decent choice on audio, but I would recommend reading it instead. It's a different take on vampires and the world at large if vampires were public knowledge. Not into series? This would be a good option for a standalone vampire book.
Happy Reading,
~Tamara
