The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

ARC received from fellow blogger, Jen at Jenuine Cupcakes.  Thanks!

Release Date:  On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Gripping and Sexy, Crossing my Fingers for a Sequel!

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 bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

I like vampires, but that being said, I really haven’t read many books centering on them.  So, I’m not one of those people who is burned out on them; and even if I was, I would have loved this one!  Though not overly unique, I still felt like Holly Black created a new and exciting world where twists and turns and shadows and blood will chase you into your darkest nightmares.

I really liked the main character, Tana.  I loved how resolute she was about the vampire epidemic.  She knows exactly how she feels about ever becoming one, and even when she meets an alluring, somewhat “good” vampire, she still doesn’t waver (even though I wanted her to).  She’s tough and doesn’t let fear knock her down; instead, she faces the darkness head on.  Now, her kind heart did get on my nerves at some points.  There were times when I wanted her to just say, “Screw it,” and leave, letting the vampires and “soon to be” vampires deal with their own problems.  I kind of wish it was a sense of adventure or desire to know that spurs her to action, instead of her wanting to help everyone.

Now Aiden (the ex) drove me nuts!!!  He is such a jerk, and I just wanted someone to smack him really hard in the nose.  But, like I always say, if an author can elicit a strong emotion (even a negative one) from me, then he or she is doing something right!!!  Way to go Holly on the annoying, jerkface Aiden.

And then there’s Gavriel, the mysterious, somewhat mad vampire.  He reminded me of the vampire version of the Mad Hatter.  He rambles these cryptic messages and seems to always be deep in thought.  I LOVED this about him.  He straddles the lines of madness and sanity, and every so often, he would dip to one side of the other and we would discover something new and amazing about him.  I am so hoping that Holly writes a sequel just so I can see more of him!

There was plenty of action in this one, and while the plot was slow at times, it wasn’t so much so that it lost my attention.  I also loved the idea of the “Coldtowns,” paralleling those of the ghettos during World War II.  It was intriguing to see how the other side lived, and furthermore, to see how fear can make people do horrible things.  In this case, the fear was warranted, as vampires are blood thirsty, dangerous creatures.  But they weren’t like rabid vampires, they were cold and calculating, embracing politics to manipulate the Coldtowns along with the rest of the world.

Overall, this was a great read, and I highly recommend it to vampire and Holly Black fans!

Waiting on Wednesday: Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is UNBREAKABLE by Kami Garcia.   UNBREAKABLE releases on October 1, 2013 from Little Brown BFYR.

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I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

 

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This sounds City of Bones-ish with the demon attacking Kennedy in her room.  I'm a huge fan of that series, so I'm betting I will like this one (whether its similar or not).  I'm a big fan of paranormal ya, so whenever I see one that sounds intriguing, then I find myself really excited about it.  Plus, I'm betting the twins are hot!  (Yay!)  I have never read any of the Beautiful Creatures books, so this will be my first book by Kami Garcia.

 

 

 

Blog Tour and Character Focus: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Today we have the pleasure of hosting the Altered Blog Tour!!!!  As a part of the tour, each stop has been assigned a character.  Our character is one of the hottie guys-TREV!!!!!  Check out the excerpt and then Jennifer's thoughts on Trev below!!!  Then, be sure to read my review of Altered at the end of this post!!!!  (It's amazeballs)

 

Altered excerpt for Trev:

 

I’d been so focused on Sam and what my life would be like without him that I hadn’t taken the time to consider what it’d feel like to lose Trev, too. The sorrow was immediate, and pressing. “I’ll miss you, if you go.”

 

He waved the idea away. “I’m not going anywhere. No matter how much I want to.”

 

“Come on. Someday, you’ll be free. Just promise me you won’t leave me for good.”

 

There was a long pause, and I thought maybe he wouldn’t answer. His eyes were glossy, like some far-off thought had summoned forgotten emotions. He blinked before I could ask, though, and whatever had been there disappeared. “I promise.” (Altered, page 126)

Jennifer's Thoughts:

Trev. Oh where to even start with him.

When I first began revisions on Altered with my editor she said the boys, especially, needed to be distinct characters. There are four of them, after all, and they’re all genetically altered, all badass and nice to look at. They had to have different personalities, and when I failed to do that in my first round of revisions, she suggested (though as a last resort!) that perhaps I should consider combing Cas and Trev into one character. As any smart author would, I gave the idea a good amount of thought, even though every fiber of my soul said NO WAY IN HELL. My editor is wise, and I wanted to be sure I took the suggestion seriously!

But then I realized that what she was really saying was, Don’t let these characters down! Get to the heart and soul of them and make them unique!

With Trev, it was a bit harder than it was with Cas. Trev is the kind of person who says one thing, but really means another. Whose advice is wrapped up in code. And this scene is no different. It may seem like a simple enough conversation, but when Anna notices that his eyes are glossy, that he seems somewhere else, it’s true. He is somewhere else. He’s thinking about a promise he thinks he made to someone else, and whether or not that promise will interfere with the one he’s about to make Anna. He wants to make her happy, more than anything. Though she doesn’t realize it, he loves her. As a sister, or something more, it’s not immediately clear here, and maybe Trev doesn’t even know himself. But he doesn’t want to let her down. When he makes her a promise, he wants to mean it.

But this one is a lie. He may not be certain of his past, or his future, but he knows he won’t be able to keep this promise and that kills him. Words are important to him, and using them to deceive Anna is the worst possible thing he could ever do.

 

ALTERED BLOG TOUR:

Monday, January 7th –YA Bibliophile

Tuesday, January 8th –YA Sisterhood

Wednesday, January 9th –Confessions of a Bookaholic

Thursday, January 10th –Once Upon A Twilight

Friday, January 11th –Icey Books

 

Altered by Jennifer Rush

ARC received through trade

Published by:  Little Brown BFYR

Release Date:  On Shelves Now

Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn

The Sisters Say:  Action-packed and intriguing

When you can’t trust yourself, who can you believe?

Everything about Anna’s life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who’s stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them.

Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.

Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

 

Danger lurking around every corner, conspiracies threatening to push loyalties, and desire pulsing to be released—Altered is perfect!  It’s The Bourne Identity for teens, only better—with a plot that puts a high speed chase to shame.  Full of mystery and suspense, romance and intrigue, Altered is a MUST READ!!!

Before reading Altered, I was in a reading slump.  The books I had read were good, but not great.  You know, they weren’t the kind of books that you text your friends and family to read right away.  But Jennifer Rush blew my bore streak right out of the water!  Altered drew me in from Chapter 1, and the hits just kept coming from there!  Page after page, I was drawn deeper into the secrets of her world; and by the end, I wanted to turn right back to page 1 and read it all over again!!!

The best thing about Jennifer’s debut novel was that every character had dimension.  I felt like they each had a depth, and even though their secrets went deep and many were not revealed, I still felt like I knew each one.  This was a huge feat, too, since there were so many characters that were in the spotlight.  You have Anna and the 4 guys that she goes on the run with, and each of these 5 characters is a main character in their own way.  I was thrilled that Jennifer was able to bring such life to so many without it taking away from the story or confusing me amongst them.

My favorite character was one that many readers will dislike—Nick.  He is angry and brooding, and he makes it no secret that he dislikes Anna.  Yet, there is something so vulnerable and truthful about him that I just couldn’t help but open my heart to him.  I liked his in your face attitude and his rebel without a cause actions.  It was sexy and provided great conflict amongst the five as they were running for their lives.

Anna and Sam are technically your two main characters, even though the other 3 boys take much of the spotlight.  I really enjoyed the romantic tension between these two characters, and I found myself rooting for them to get over their secrets and fears and just get together!  Anna was intelligent and strong-willed, and she definitely held her own against the four superhero-like guys.  On many an occasion, I thought she was going to shove her fist in Nick’s face!  I liked her bite-me attitude, and she definitely made me run the gamut of emotions.  And Sam…you can just tell he is constantly thinking of everyone else before him.  Now, normally a guy that is too sweet just rubs me the wrong way, but Sam had his superhero alter-ego, so that evened him out and made him extremely sexy!!!

Altered fills the gap in the much needed YA genre of romantic suspense.  It felt like I was reading some of my favorite adult romance suspense authors (Lori Foster, Maya Banks, etc.), only with teenagers.  I loved it!  There just aren’t many YA books out there (I would even venture to say there aren’t any!) that are like Jennifer’s novel.  Rough and seductive—where around every corner lurks a secret and an assassin.  It was perfect!  I wouldn’t change a thing!

I HIGHLY recommend this to all fans of YA and even Adult romance.  There isn’t any sex or naughty content, either, so it’s safe for all teenagers.  Yet, I even think fans of adult romance will enjoy this book!



Teaser Tuesday: Altered by Jennifer Rush

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!

To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

(make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

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Altered by Jennifer Rush
Published by:  Little Brown BFYR
Release Date:  1-2-2013

"'Hope is a waking dream.'  I let the words echo in my head.  The quore reminded me of that feeling you get when you start to wake from a dream you don't want to leave.  That crushing sensation in the center of your chest, like you are losing an important piece of yourself you won't ever get back." ARC, pg 115

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I loved this book so much!  It was one of those that I HAD to read in one sitting because I refused to put it down.  It had it all--action, intrigue, romance, murder, and mystery!  It's the best book I've read in the last few months! 

So go pre-order it today!!!

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger.  ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE releases on February 25, 2013 from Little Brown and Company.

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It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly.  It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to finishing school.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is the bane of her mother's existence. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper etiquette at tea--and god forbid anyone see her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. She enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But little do Sophronia or her mother know that this is a school where ingenious young girls learn to finish, all right--but it's a different kind of finishing. Mademoiselle Geraldine's certainly trains young ladies in the finer arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also in the other kinds of finishing: the fine arts of death, diversion, deceit, espionage, and the modern weaponries. Sophronia and her friends are going to have a rousing first year at school.

First in a four book YA series set 25 years before the Parasol Protectorate but in the same universe

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I have been watching for this one since I first saw people bringing home ARCS from BEA.  (I'm super jealous by the way.)  It focuses on a girl a little younger than what I am used to reading (she's 14, I usually like the 16-20 range), but the synopsis just sounds so intriguing, that I still am dying to read it.  I love the idea of assassins--in fact, if I found a genie and got one wish, it would be that I had the bad-a kick butt skills of an assassin.  It would just be fun to wield that kind of power--don't judge my maniacal side.  Anywho, I think this one sounds great and I am anxiously awaiting it!

P.S.  If you have a copy--I'd love to borrow it or trade for it!