Book Review: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Publication Date: September 03, 2013
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
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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.

My Thoughts:

Another enjoyable book to read by Holly Black introducing vampires. I said to myself that I'd stop reading books regarding vampires because the happenings are somewhat repeatable and predictable. But here I am, kept on reading books about it and happened to enjoyed every bit.

This was epic! It was full of blood and that feeling when you read about sexy vampires starts to resurface everywhere. I love Holly Black's writing. It's so detailed and it really gets to the point and I love how the past events were told so that it makes it more understandable for the reader. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown made it impossible for me to put the book down (yet possible enough for me to get laze around from reviewing). The start of the book was already enough for me to keep on reading despite how creepy it was. Honestly, it was creepy and a bit disturbing for someone who cringes at the thought of corpses.

Tana, the narrator of the story and one of the main characters, had me liked her from the beginning. She's brave and smart and she cares for the people around her, even her jerk of an ex-boyfriend (who was actually okay during the few remaining chapters). Gavriel is one heck of a swoon-worthy vampire for me and he's not usually the kind of vampire guy I read that happens to be "too perfect in looks and other stuff". He's got his moments (and I meant scary moments, whenever he drinks blood) and his past to add to his dark demeanor. I think the only character that really got on my nerves was Midnight. This character was the one that almost made me want to hurl the book (no, not really) because she annoys me so much with all her "I want to be a vampire - let's blog this crap". She's pretty crazy and definitely not in a good way.

Bottom Line: Very fun to read yet some disturbing (bloody) scenes at some point but the book ended in a good way. Midnight was the only turn-off I found.

My Rating:

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Book Review: White Cat by Holly Black

Title: White Cat
Series: Curse Workers, #1
Author: Holly Black
Publication Date: May 04, 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Cassel comes from a family of Curse Workers - people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail - he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.  

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

My Thoughts:

My first Holly Black book and it didn't disappoint! The story made it hard for me to put the book down and it's a rare thing to read a Young Adult book with a male's perspective. Or maybe I just missed some books, I don't know. I ended up enjoying and loving White Cat to the point that I actually marathon the series. The fact that this involved a cat added bonus points to my liking. Cassel had me confused with my feelings for him. One moment I want to shake him and yell, "Wake up!" then the next I want to hug him and tell him that it's not his fault. In the end, it had come to my conclusion that I like him. For the other characters, especially his brothers, I have so many mixed emotions. Lila, on the other hand, I like her from the start. She's one of a kind.

I've read the three books already but I'm only making a review for the first one. Black Heart, last book, was my favorite and the ending was a wonderful thing for a closure. Although some parts were rushed in the series, there's still this gut feeling that made you want to forget that minor detail and the bigger part of you just happens to enjoy despite the flaws.

My Rating:

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