The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Author: Holly Black

Publish Date: September 3, 2013

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 419

Buy the Book: The Book Depository | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Received: NetGalley

Rating: ★★★★★

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 have to say that the moment I say that a novel by Holly Black was up for review, I was thrilled and I jumped at like I am sure many other people did. Because, who wouldn't want to read it? Plus it's about vampires and who doesn't want to read about vampires? This book holds a little bit of a twist on how people embraced or ran away from vampire when they first made their presence known. Places called "coldtowns" opened up everywhere and people that lived in these towns were free game essentially for vampires to feed off of. Many come because they seek the glamorous life of the vampires and eternal beauty that comes along with it. The premise of this novel seems pretty realistic to me. The characters bring to life this world perfectly, proving that not everyone wants to be a vampire and not every monster is as bad as you think they are. There are secrets, lies, betrayals, and twists that caught me off guard. You'll see that love and friendships develop in even the odds of places and the darkest of circumstances. I have fallen in love with this story and I am sure you will too! 

I always worry about whether I will like a main character because that is almost a make or break for me. If I don't like a character then it makes it hard to want to read the book but I really loved Tana from this book. She remains true to herself throughout the course of the novel and that is a rare thing to see in books now-a-days. Most characters flipflop continually and never make a steady choice that they are willing to stick to, especially if there is a horrible outcome but Tana holds her head up high and lets whatever happens happen. Of course, I still faced the frustration with her when she didn't make the choices I want her to but that is part of her appeal because she doesn't change for anyone. She is loyal to those that she loves, which is undeniably admirable, and never gives up until the best outcome happens. She is a strong female character and I adore her for it. 

Aiden, oh Aiden, how many bad choices can you make? All of the information you collect about this ex-boyfriend certainly doesn't make you his biggest fan. I learned a lot about how he once was and by the end, I got to see how much he has truly grown throughout the novel which is a ton. He went from the crappy ex who I would've left to die at the hands of vampires to the boy that you want to be happy and silently cheer for despite your original opinion of him. I definitely came to admire him for his choices by the time I shut the book but who knows whether he was the crappy guy he once was or whether it had been a front. Love this guy but no... he didn't seem like the best choice for the lovely main character.

There always has to be a secretive, brooding type that has to be absolutely gorgeous and the main character just can't seem to get over his good looks. Well, to a certain extent that was Gavriel, who is an attractive, nay, beautiful vampire that captures a lot of the typical ideals of being an immortal without going crazy. Tana, despite her best instincts, cannot keep away from the guy that is everything everyone hates. He's a vampire. She knows that she should stay away but even I will admit that I wouldn't keep away from someone like him. He's too awesome. As the story continues though, you realize that you don't really know who Gavriel actually is. The secrets surface at what can either be the most opportune moment or the worst moment possible. He really comes into himself near the end of the book, proving that he could quite possibly be insane in every sense of the word. Yet, he is so attractive and wonderful! 

I wish I could talk about more characters and some more of the plot but you really just need to check it out. It is such an amazing book that it deserves your attention, trust me.

**This book was received from the publisher via NetGalley. None of the review was influenced by the author or the publisher. This is a completely original review. The thoughts and feelings of the reviewer are entirely her own and have no ties to the publisher.**