The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Review

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: September 3rd 2013
Publisher: Little Brown for Young Readers
Source: ARC for Review
Rating: 4/5

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.

Review:

 

I haven't read a really enjoyable vampire book in quite a long time until reading Holly Black's The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. The atmosphere that Holly has weaved together in her latest novel in dark and gritty just like a tale about vampires should be.

 

While the book does start off on the slow side it serves a purpose, which is world building. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown has a complex world which takes time to explain to readers. If you stick through the slow beginning I can guarantee that you will end up loving the every other minute of the book.

 

As we all know vampire are REALLY over used these days in film and literature making it hard to create a story line that is unique. I strongly believe that The Coldest Girl in Coldtown stands out amongst other vampire book that have been written in the past and will continue to do so with the ones that are sure to come in the future. The concept, vampire mythology, and especially the setting are things that I haven't encountered before and is the main reason I ended up liking this book as much as I did.

 

Being a fan of Holly Black and not having read anything from her in a while I loved getting back into her writing and really enjoyed the dark element shes takes on in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. Overall I really enjoyed The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and I was left wanting more (not sure if there will be more books or not). I highly recommend this book to fans of fantasy/paranormal books.

Black Heart Review

Black Heart

Holly Black

Margaret K. McElderry

April 3rd 2012

* A copy was provided for review by Simon and Schuster Canada.

Summary:

Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

Review:

Here comes the conclusion to the awesome curse workers series that everyone has been waiting for. A paranormal book that incorporates the mob. I don't think I'm alone here when I say that I love this series and am sad to say goodbye to Cassel and everybody else. Lucky for us Holly Black produces an amazing conclusio to an amazing series.

One thing that I really love about this series is that usually main characters are protagonists but I would say Cassel and his friends and family are antagonist. It's a very interesting twist! I consider everyone to be good "bad"guys. Cassel does bad things with a good purpose in mind. But in Black Heart I will say that both Lila and Cassel change for the worse, Cassel is a love sick puppy and Lila is very ruthless, this wasn't very enjoyable for me to read. I was also a bit disappointed with the relationship between Cassel and Lila throughout the book, instead of growing together they grow apart, I was happy to see that at the end things finally got sorted out. To be honest I think Cassel is WAY to good for Lila...

Cassel is the best male narrative that I have read, I really love him, he's funny, charming, has the whole bad boy going, and is truly a great guy deep down inside. Holly Black has mixed a few different mysteries into Black Heart that Cassel has to solve, each one is absolutely absorbing and engaging and makes the book unputdownable. I even have a thing for his brother Barron. Man, I'm really going to mix these hot bad boys and their mobster ways..

The stakes are at their highest in Black Heart, Cassel relationship with Lila is put to the test and even his life is a risk. He makes a decision during the book that is risky and very surprising, that I at first questioned. I have fallen in love with the world of the curse workers and all the characters. Mobsters who can do magic is a genius idea and I am glad to see that someone came up with it. Thank you Holly Black! The ending was very bittersweet for me, and laughed a bit. The ending it left very open, I can see someday having Cassel's story expanded. A girl can wish right??

Black Heart is an amazing finale to the much loved Curse workers, readers wont be able to help but love it! Make sure to pick up Black Heart or the first two in the series if you haven't already. You are in for an amazing reading experience.