I knew quite soon that this was going to be a difficult book to review. Turned out I was right! It’s one of those rare books that I objectively know deserves 5 stars because of their excellent writing, plot, worldbuilding and characters, but somehow – sadly! – my heart just doesn’t fully agree.

I had the same thing with Under The Never Sky, which I really really really liked, but didn’t love. I gave that one 5 stars anyways and I feel The Coldest Girl in Coldtown … * prolonged moment of doubt * … also deserves 5 stars.

Damn this rating system! I wish there was a way to give a heart on top of the amount of stars for books you really love! Anyways, I’m rambling here: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown was a pretty awesome book and you should definitely read it. If you’re not squeamish about a bit of gore and some blurry ethical boundaries, that is.

In some ways, TCGIC (that title really needs an abbreviation) reminded me of The Hunger Games. Not because any book where teens are drafted and forced to somehow compete is a Hunger Games rip-off (because in TCGIC no-one gets drafted and no one is forced to compete … at all) but because of … lots of vague reasons I can’t really divulge on.

However, I’ll try! Tana is, in some ways, quite like Katniss. For starters, they both have a little sisters whose name starts with P and who they’d do anything for, which isn’t as lame a reason as you might think, seen as how it’s a formative relationship for the MC. Tana and Katniss are both survivors in any environment you throw them in. In this comparison with THG, Coldtown represents both the luxurious, crazy unethical decadence of the Capitol and the brutality of the Arena.

The worldbuilding in TCGIC was excellent and effortless. The same can be said about Holly Black’s writing, though I know how much effort actually goes in making a text seem effortlessly written and also read as easy as it appears to be put on paper. This book has definitely made me want to read others by this author.

On this subject the only thing I have to complain about it is third person perspective. Sigh. I wish there was a button to push on your e-reader that immediately changed the perspective of a book whilst reading it! (That would be awesome, actually. Quick, someone invent that!) The perspective sometimes confused me when there were too many characters in one scene and it was hard to distinguish the main character’s dialogue from the others.

Romance-wise … It could have been a pretty epic romance, but because I guess this wasn’t the main focus of the story, it sort of wasn’t. The ending was pretty perfect though. A silver lining kind of ending. I really liked that.

In conclusion: yes, I’d recommend The Coldest Town in Coldtown if you’re looking for a vampire story that isn’t all about teen love and if you enjoy the darker side of vampirism. However, it’s not a book I’ll feel inclined to reread.

So there’s that: five *****, but no ❤

[SPOILER ALERT] I really hated Midnight. The book got so much better once that B**** died. [END OF SPOILER]