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 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. (Synopsis from GoodReads)
Author: Holly Black
Publication Date: 2013
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Number of Pages: 419
Where I Got It: Barnes & Noble, Huntersville, NC
Dates I Read It: October 26-November 2, 2013
Why I Read It: Pure Pleasure/Halloween
Number of Stars: 2.5/5
I was really excited for this book. Some of my favorite reviewers gave it a standing ovation, the cover is eye-catching and beautiful, I am a sucker for vampire books and I have always wanted to read something by Holly Black so I thought that this would be the perfect place for me to start reading her books. Unfortunately, I found my first Holly Black book to be a great disappointment. I really liked the idea of the story and the plot sounded really interesting and I was excited for a new take on vampires but the story as a whole fell flat for me.
The writing style was the first thing that I found that I did not like about this story. The style as a whole was just...really...odd. It felt unbalanced for the entire book and I found myself confused over several scenes and especially confused over how the transformation from a human to a cold person to a vampire really worked. The first chapter started off great, and it really pulled me in. After that first chapter though, the story went nowhere fast. Despite the plot sounding like it was going to be an action-packed thrill ride, there was really very little real action in the whole story. I felt like I spent the whole time I was reading the book waiting for the action to start. The last 100 pages were a chore for me to get through. It took me a lot longer to read this book than I originally anticipated. I just did not feel excited to jump back into the story at all and I got to a point last night where I wasn't sure that I would be able to complete the book.
For me to really enjoy a book, I have to care about the characters. In this book I did not care about one. single. character. In fact, I hated them all. They all seemed really one dimensional. Not only did I not care if they lived or died, but I actually was hoping for one or two of the "good guys" to bite it, just to give a little oomph to the story! There was a sudden love element to the book that, to me, seemed to come out of nowhere and I totally didn't buy it. The relationship felt forced, almost as if Black had to add it to the story once the book was over. Oops, I forgot that teenagers have to have a love story in every single book that they read, let me quick add a crappy one that no one believes.
I have heard that yes, there will be a sequel and I have also heard that no, it is a stand-alone book. I can see where there would be room for a sequel, but if there is, I honestly don't think that I will read it. I would like to read something else by Holly Black though since I do hear great things about her. She will be at Yallfest (NEXT WEEKEND!!!!) so I am going to take my copy and hope to get it signed. I also hope to pick up some of her other works while there and I have high hopes that those books will be a better fit for me.
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