Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

15 reviews

louisepea's review

adventurous dark funny tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

A little too young adult to be fully enjoyable for me, but Holly Black's story-telling was beautiful and immersive, as always. 

Unlike her Folk of the Air series, this is one YA book I think is best suited to teenagers. Especially those who've ever thought about running away from home to become or befriend a vampire.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, and Confinement

smuttymcbookface's review

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

There was a lot to love about this, and some things I didn't like so much.

The darkness of the world-building was great, and it was nice that this had a vampire-human romance that did not romanticise vampirism. I loved the "in-between" chapters which gave extra information. The length of them was perfect so that you didn't feel like you were being pulled away from the story.

There was something very compelling and relatable about Tana and Aiden. It was nice to see through the "cool although kid" mask into the real fear of not fitting in and not finding yourself. Although I found it a little annoying that everyone was alt, it did make the world-building more fun.

I liked that Tana wasn't a Mary Sue; she made so many mistakes, and kept going back and forgiving people she really shouldn't have.

I love how the story unravelled, with more and more slowly revealed. However, I did not like the final climax,

and that she went dancing with her 12 year old sister and friends directly afterwards as if nothing had happened and she wasn't traumatised from parties or in the process of turning?

I did like the final chapter though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Self harm

Moderate: Torture and Grief

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

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

laurenevlyn's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read. I’m in awe at Holly Black and her ability to create such complex characters and stories. This books was as much a commentary on society and romanticization as it was a story. I loved both aspects of it. I believe I may be thoroughly in love with both Tana and Gavriel. Speaking of, I also adored how Tana got shit done. She had such reasonable thought processes and the kind of common sense that is rare among YA protagonists. All in all, an incredible book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

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

psydneigh's review

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Absolutely loved this book! Tana is a badass FMC and I ate it up! Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Suicide

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

kels_18's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Confinement, Self harm, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcoholism

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