Book Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

This book had been on my radar for awhile, so I was happy to see it become available on BookOutlet a few months ago and snatched it up immediately. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I really enjoyed Black’s other standalone fantasy novel, The Darkest Part of the Forest, so I was cautiously optimistic. But luckily, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown ending up being a really fun and fresh take on the ever popular vampire story.

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 Good

• Unique Plot – I really enjoy how Black mixes fantasy/paranormal with contemporary. I enjoyed it first with The Darkest Part of the Forest and then again with this story. I also thought it was interesting to see how she brought a new twist to vampires. I found this story to be almost like if you had mixed True Blood with District 9, minus the aliens. I was immediately drawn into Tana’s story and her adventure into Coldtown. I also enjoyed that the story had a darker tone to it than some other vampire novels that you might know.. *cough* Twilight! *cough*
• Characters – I loved the diversity of the characters in this book. I’ve noticed that this is something Black always includes in her stories which I appreciate. I really enjoyed Tana as a character, too. She was fun, take charge, and so protective of the people that she cared about. All of the characters brought an interesting dynamic to the story and were able to actually add to my enjoyment, rather than annoy me – which doesn’t happen often! However, Gavriel was definitely my favorite. He was just so mysterious and intriguing. I’ll admit that I also loved when he would lose his grip on reality a little bit and start acting strange. I’m weird, I know!

The Bad

• Pacing – I buddy read this with Britt @ Geronimo Reads and Jill @ Rant and Rave About Books, and they both had some issues with the pacing in this book. While it didn’t really bother me, as I was hooked from page 1, I will say that this could be an issue for a lot of people. It does take almost 200 pages for the group to actually get to Coldtown, so there is a lot of buildup. This may make it a little slow for some people, and I will admit, I wish there had been more time spent in Coldtown as I don’t think we get to explore it as much as I would have liked to.

Overall, this was a highly enjoyable read for me. I found myself engrossed in the world and Tana’s story from the very first page. I loved everything about this book. My only regret is that I wish it was a series so we could see more of Coldtown and these awesome characters. But if you’re in the mood for trying a different kind of vampire book or maybe just a fun standalone, then I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Final Verdict: 5/5 Stars

Have you read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown? What did you think of it? Have you read any of Holly Black’s other novels?