The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Christine Lakin

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from best-selling and acclaimed author Holly Black. 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.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from best-selling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

©2013 Holly Black (P)2013 Hachette Book Group

Cold and Hot

I got this during a $5 sale audible was having. After reading the description and saw it had vampires I could not resist purchasing.

Holly Black is not an author I had heard of before. The world she created is a dystopian apocalyptic setting. A massive worldwide virus outbreak. (Sounds similar to this past year.) However, this virus is one that turn you into a vampire. There are not glittering in the sun vampires here. These vampires cannot go into sunlight or they start to burn. There is no vaccine they can take to cure themselves. However, once infected you can wait X amount of time to allow the virus to run it's course and you'll remain human. The only issue is the hunger that vexes you to get blood at any cost.

When our female lead goes to a barn party and wakes up the next day with everyone cold. She has to wonder what in the world is going on. Then she finds a vampire chained in a room and her ex has been infected. Luckily the government came up with containment areas that they call Cold Towns. After her own personal history with the virus, she refuses to put her family or anyone else as risk in case she has also been infected. In case of possible infection you can report to the closest Cold Town to turn yourself in.

This turns into one interesting journey to do the right thing. If her ex is infected can he resist wanting to bite her? Who is this mysterious vampire that was locked up? How old is he? Is she truly infected? So many twists and turns!

The narrator Christine Lakin does a great job with both the male and female voices. She's even able to put a sexy accent on our unknown vampire friend.

It is a clean novel with action, adventure, and romance within a paranormal realm.

what a heroine

narration was brilliant.
the story kept twisting and moving, getting a little more complex as it went along.
it showed, in the story, that fantasy of wanting to be a vampire and the reality of the "lifestyle" were not as romantic that young humans thought it was and wanted to become.
a true joy to listen to, very well written and amazingly narrated.

'Coldest Girl' is on Fire!

The title of Holly Black’s “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” is a bit of a misnomer, because throughout this book main character Tana is on fire!

The book opens with Tana waking up the morning after a party to discover that vampires have slaughtered everyone in the house. The only survivors are Tana, her bitten (and infected) ex-boyfriend Aiden and a handsome, mysterious vampire named Gavriel. Unsure if vampires are still in the house, Tana makes a snap decision – she is going to rescue Aiden and Gavriel. She stops at nothing to ensure the three of them get out of the house unharmed.

In a world where most teenagers are fascinated by vampires and will go to great lengths to be turned, Tana holds a different viewpoint. She does not romanticize vampires. Rather, she recognizes how dangerous they are. She remembers all too well how badly her mother suffered after being bitten.

Now Tana finds herself traveling with Aiden, who is infected, and Gavriel, who is a vampire. By law, anyone who has been infected or exposed to a vampire must turn themselves into the authorities or report to the nearest Coldtown immediately. So to Coldtown they go.

Coldtown is a strange and fascinating world where vampires and humans co-exist. Tana soon finds herself drawn into this world. Her dangerous attraction to Gavriel grows stronger even as she becomes entangled with a powerful vampire who has the power to destroy everything she holds dear.

Narrator Christine Lakin does a wonderful job with the narration. Her voice is smooth and youthful, with a touch of humor that suits Tana perfectly.

This may be a young adult novel, but the graphic and adult content makes it suitable for vampire fans of all ages. If you love a good vampire story teeming with biting and blood, you will love “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.”

One of my favorite rereads!

Thank you Holly for writing a vampire book!
If you love vampire books because they’re sparkly, this is not the book for you!

What would life be like if we woke up one day and vampires spread their virus with a bite and the government’s quarantined whole cities in an attempt to control the outbreak?
How would it change the way you live your life and raise your kids?
What would it be like if you lost a loved one to the virus or became infected?
Can you still do the right thing, or does going cold turn you into a monster?

Tana wrestles with all those questions as she drives a car of kids to a cold town.
I absolutely love this take on vampires as monsters and Tana’s description of everything that happens to her.

The narrating was great and easy to listen to.
I’ve reread and listened to this story over and over.

Christine Lakin is Amazing

Where does The Coldest Girl in Coldtown rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book is tied for my favorite audibook I have listened to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown?

I loved that this book is a complete story and wrapped up perfectly.

What does Christine Lakin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

When I finished this book I immediately went and looked at what else Christine Lakin has narrated. She made this book so amazing.

Wonderful Story, Perfect Narration!

I have lost track of the number of times that I have listened to this book! I can probably quote entire passages. So I thought I should review it! In Tana's world, vampires are real, but these are not the silly vamps of Twilight so don't be put off by that. Before I bought this book I didn't know it had vampires in it. I got it simply because it was written by Holly Black. Seventeen-year-old Tana has had a difficult life for the last few years, in no small part due to the aforementioned vampires. Because of this, she's a flawed person, but those flaws are what make her so relatable. From the very first page, she finds herself in a dangerous predicament and some of her decisions may not seem to make sense at first, but as we get more and more of her backstory unfolding in little glimpses, we begin to understand what drives her. And we begin to root for her as she heads to the heart of Coldtown, along the way meeting various people that may or may not be what they seem. Tana proves brave and a little bit sarcastic. You'll keep rooting for her 'til the end! Ms. Black has hinted that she might write a sequel, I fervently hope she does!
As always, Ms. Black's character development is terrific. Her descriptions are so vivid you feel you're there without them being flowery or overdone. So let's talk about Ms. Lakin. This was the first book I'd listened to her narrate, but it wasn't the last! Her narration was so perfect for this that I have since sought out other Audible titles narrated by her. She was so good that I could always tell who was talking without any difficulty, seeming to effortlessly choose the perfect voice for each character and her emoting was spot-on!

Love it!

I love everything about this book. I’ve read it multiple times and now I’ve listened to it. It’s still just as good each time.

My Favorite Book.

What did you love best about The Coldest Girl in Coldtown?

This is my favorite book of all time (Besides "I Want To Go Home" by Gordon Korman.)
The descriptions, the characters, the entire world we're immersed into--they're all exactly, perfectly right. They feel like comfortable friends that you want to spend time with and know, if you could only jump into the pages, that you and the characters would have a fantastic time. Kind of like the YA/fantasy version of Aaron Sorkin, if you will. (Which you probably won't, but I do.) ;)

Who was your favorite character and why?

I adore Gavriel. I want to know more of his story.

Which character – as performed by Christine Lakin – was your favorite?

Tana, the main character, was vibrant, strong, and confused all at the same time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The unexpected lives of fascinating people--some of whom are already dead."

Any additional comments?

SEQUEL. I beg of you.

Wow!!!

Great book! Narration is amazing! Get this and read/listen to it now you won't be disappointed!!

Pretty good but...

I'm not one to review a lot but I needed to share what struck me about this book. The music was awful! Someone decided it needs "mood" music and it's nothing but distracting and seems way out of place. Narrator would be great if she wasn't overridden by a suspenseful tune drowning out the sound of her voice.