Brad About Books: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Read from June 29 to 30, 2013

THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN
Expected Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Format: ARC
Page Count: 432 pages
Source: ALA

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.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a unique and utterly fantastic take on vampires, with haunting and beautiful prose + a one-of-a-kind story. Easily a new favorite book of all-time!

Let's go ahead and address the elephant in the room: vampires? They've been used so many times, it's gotten quite old. But luckily, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown gives vampires a fresh and original spin - it's unlike anything I've ever read. And you know what I loved the most about these vampires? They're beautiful (their skin is described like marble in the book) and stunning to see, but they are truly monsters at their core. And Holly Black didn't hold back with the scary and terrifying scenes. I adored absolutely every single minute of this book. It's a true and shining gem.

The Coldtowns themselves are so awesome, yet freakishly eerie. Once you're in, there's no going back. And woah. I would love to see this novel on the big screen, simply for the reason to the see the Coldtown brought to life. Black's imagination is so vivid and lush (I thought the Curse Workers trilogy was great; The Coldest Girl in Coldtown blew it out of the water.), and she never held back on anything. There are loads of surprising and jaw-falls-open moments. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown will shock you, shake you, and never let you go. Plus side? You'll never want it to end.

That. Ending. I can't even compute what happened. Talk about a page-turner! While everything about this novel is awesome, the last 100 pages had me on the edge of my seat and looking behind my back - no joke. And this novel struck a chord with my paranormal side. I have never read a book like The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but oh man, I adore this book to pieces. One of my favorite reads of the year... and of all-time!

And I'm sorry, but I have to talk about these vampires again! Vampires turn many people off immediately, since they've been done so many times. But trust me, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is an absolute must-read - I cannot even stress that enough! Come September, run to your bookstore and pick up this magnificent new prize in YA. Eerie, chilling, and wholly captivating, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Overall, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is mind-blowing and phenomenal in every way possible. This shattering new novel will have you in its captivating clutches and leave you begging for more!

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