The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

I was honestly never very into vampires in the first place although I don't mind the occasional paranormal, vampires had just already been so overdone by the time I started reading YA that I was tired of them before I even read any vampire books. Sorry. But I still pick up the occasional vampire novel that catches my eye, and one of those was The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black. 

I have wanted to read a Holly Black novel for ages, and that just never happened but with the release of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown I decided it was finally time––plus it was a standalone novel and those just generally appeal to me, especially in YA where they are far less common. Oh, and that gorgeous cover, I know we're not supposed to admit it, but just look at its beauty! 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is the story Tana, a teenage girl living in a world where vampires are locked behind walled cities, or Coldtowns, and sometimes humans get stuck there as well. After a party gone horribly wrong, and unsure if she's infected or not, Tana heads behind the wall hoping to save herself and return home to her family. 

The premise of Coldtown really caught my attention, and it was immediately fulfilled when I began reading the novel. Unfortunately, as the story continued it just didn't have the same spark and tension as the first 100 pages or so (and at over 400 pages long, that's a pretty big problem). I did enjoy Black's writing, and there's a lot of nice twists in the book, but it is definitely heavy on the story and lighter on the character depth. 

Tana goes through a lot, and I really wanted to connect with her struggle, but it– as well as the romance– just didn't have the impact on me that I expected. Part of that might be due to the third person narrative, but even then, I expected more of an emotional investment in the story, rather than just one to the plotline.

Even though I never really connected with Tana, I still enjoyed following her journey, so I don't regret reading (or finishing) The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. It's a fun twist on vampires and it's got a complicated storyline that I didn't expect. I would definitely be willing to pick up more books by Holly Black in future and if you enjoy thrill-filled vampire stories, I do recommend The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

Release Date: September 3rd, 2013  Pages: 419  Source: Borrowed 
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers  Buy It: Book Depository