Review Detail

Let's be honest, I am a nightmare for a reader. I am so picky when it comes to books, it's a miracle I even have favorites. But I am truly the pickiest when it comes to vampire literature ever since taking a class on the matter two years ago. We had to read Polidori, LeFanu, Stoker, Rice and Gomez and I've been even more of a nightmare on any supernatural story featuring the undead that comes my way ever since. So, color me surprised when I read "The Coldest Girl In Coldtown" by Holly Black and knew from chapter 1 onwards that I was in love. Rest assured, this book is awesomeness incarnated, and something I would love to analyze more closely for a college thesis any day.
“Coldest Girl“ is told from various perspectives of the story’s main characters, and I absolutely adored it. It made for great tension and surprise while reading, and definitely raised attention anew every time a different perspective aside from Tana’s opened a chapter. Tana is the main character and point of view here though, and, unlike too many female protagonists of the genre, I never found her or her decisions annoying or weak in any capacity. The way she’s introduced was something new and oddly “normal“, and the way the supernatural was then incorporated made for a great start to the story all-together. Everything reminded me a lot of a Anne Rice novel, only more interesting considering the book’s target age group (because let’s be honest, Armand didn’t really do it for me in the long run as a storyteller quite frankly because he was old and a man). I loved that this vampire story featured Tana as the main connection to the story rather than say her badass and dangerous love interest Gavriel, who really could’ve been taken straight from Interview with a Vampire. But because Tana took the reins in the journey (she’s NO damsel in distress like too many female characters in the genre, she’s badass in her own right, but she’s real), it made for something I could relate to on a new level and which made “Coldest Girl“ so exciting to delve into. Also, Gavriel was fun to get to know, because he’s NOT a romanticized version of a vampire, he’s mad to the core and I loved it.
The world Black has created for the setting is also greatly captivating and felt surprisingly unique, with the ideas of Coldtowns and the media aspects in the story. I loved how the modern media played a great part in this vampiric version of ours. It made for great entertainment for the characters, as well as for the reader.
A must-mention is that oh my God, does this book have the BEST kissing scene I have ever read. It was scorching, and I loved it and probably reread it ten times before continuing with the novel. So yeah, be prepared. Tana is awesome, and she gets more awesome by the end of the book and she’s pretty much my favourite vamp lit heroine in all the books I’ve read so far.