Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

9 reviews

librarymouse's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this book for the first time when it came out in 2013. Over a decade later, I am so happy that this book has held up against the memory I had of reading it for the first time. It does hit some of the pitfalls of other vampire fiction, like a man who looks young but is nearly a century old falling in love with a seventeen year old girl. However, Holly Black's exploration of the characters and the reasoning behind the formation of their mutual interest being rooted in something other than just physical attraction, made it far less icky than it could have been. With the impulsivity of the young vampires and the impulsivity and hedonism of the vampires who were turned at a young age, it makes me wonder if there is a halting of mental and emotional development at the age at which they were turned in this iteration of vampire lore. This book is absolutely blood-soaked, with descriptive explanations of viscera and torture, but it is also incredibly funny, and oddly very human.

I really thought Aiden was going to kill Pearl after his shenanigans and coercion after being turned. It was a nice twist to see that even as they've become morally gray, they're still the same characters - the existential question underlying the entire book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Dysphoria and Excrement

rafacolog's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Drug use, and Blood

vexatiousbird's review

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Solid YA - good appealing world building, clever and fun read, classic vampire swoons. Believable teenage stupidity and the right dash of courage for a hero. Lots of grey morality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent and Gore

Minor: Drug use, Torture, and Suicide

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Classism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Dysphoria, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Torture, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Violence

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Grief, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Torture

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Suicide, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

cait's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Murder, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Death of parent

risten's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cannibalism, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Torture

Moderate: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

karapillar's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Suicide and Kidnapping

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Slavery, Medical content, Trafficking, and Vomit

leahjanespeare's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, such a great spooky/Halloween read! And I recommend going the audiobook route - there is CREEPY MUSIC at intense moments (like a podcast!) ; the first time it happened, I jumped in my chair! What a solid, original vampire tale. Must read for the genre.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Self harm, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Blood