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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I ate this book up. It is like The Hunger Games, but set on an almost uninhabitable ice planet, and instead of the Games there’s a super dangerous wolf-sled race where everyone is killing and cheating everyone to be the winner. Also, it doesn’t have the whole love triangle going on like The Huger Games does, so you really get to know the main character and her motivations. There is lots of low-life, gangster activity framing the story as well, and the corruption of the participants in the race and the people who control the wealth (and everything else) on the planet makes for an awesome page-turner.
A girl races across ice planet Australia with a wolf that could kill her.
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Whoa, this was good! A frozen tundra of a planet with evil greedy corporations at the helm that profit off of part-genetically engineered wolf fights and sled racing. The indigenous people called Skaavers live in hiding and they abhor the ways of the corpos. The main character Sena is a tough pick pocket outsider who had two mothers one a racer and one a Skaaver -- so she doesn't feel she fits in with anyone anywhere. She ends up really pissing off a big bad guy and so begins the adventure. She ends up befriending a natural wild wolf and participating in a treacherous sled race that she vowed she would never take part in. Full of edge of your seat action, this story moves swiftly and I was completely involved in Sena's world until the very end. I would absolutely love to see more from this universe!
adventurous
medium-paced
I try a lot of debut novels and I started the month with the book, ‘Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves’ which released in January 2022.
☕️ 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓲 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 :
‘Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves’ is a fast-paced, heart-pounding dystopian fantasy written by the very talented Meg Long. The character development and world building are just right to keep you from feeling overwhelmed and to make you feel invested in each individual. It's refreshing to read a book where the heroine isn't empowered to save the world by a heterosexual love interest. Instead, it concentrates on the development of a friendship between a fiercely independent girl and a she-wolf, as well as how they survive together and develop trust in one another. This book is such a wonderful mix of dystopian, science fiction and adventure. I would recommend it to everyone, even if you aren't normally into dystopian YA.
☕️ 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓲 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀 :
‘Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves’ is a fast-paced, heart-pounding dystopian fantasy written by the very talented Meg Long. The character development and world building are just right to keep you from feeling overwhelmed and to make you feel invested in each individual. It's refreshing to read a book where the heroine isn't empowered to save the world by a heterosexual love interest. Instead, it concentrates on the development of a friendship between a fiercely independent girl and a she-wolf, as well as how they survive together and develop trust in one another. This book is such a wonderful mix of dystopian, science fiction and adventure. I would recommend it to everyone, even if you aren't normally into dystopian YA.
* I was sent a early copy to review.
An epic story about a girl who just wants to escape her world and a wolf who was bred purely to be vicious are thrusted into a deadly, high stakes race with very little hope of survival.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is set on a highly uninhabitable frozen wasteland of a planet where every creature that happens to live on it, is extremely deadly and out to get anyone and anything for a quick meal. This entire planet has absolutely nothing going for it except this deadly race that happens once a year and where plenty of people hope to make some sort of money by the end of it. And that’s what our main character Sena wants, to make enough money to get off of the planet that has nothing to offer her. Even if it means competing in a race that tore apart her family and took everything she’s ever cared about away from her.
I actually bumped this book up a star because it surprisingly brought tears to my eyes which, by the way, is HIGHLY unusual for me. It did take quite some time, like half of the book, to get to the high stakes race part BUT I think that was important because we really learned what kind of character Sena was. She’s alone with not much to lose and all she wants is to escape. I think that’s a really important part of the theme for this book so don’t let it get you down.
But what I loved most about this book? The bond between wolf and girl. I’m a sucker for animals and prayed the entire time I was reading this book that the wolf would make it out alive in the end. Which, I won’t say what happened either way *insert wink face*. But I freaking loved the fierceness of this wolf and the pure joy she brought not only me, but Sena. This book is about finding your own version of a family and you know what was a breath of fresh air? The fact that there was absolutely zero romance. I honestly thought I couldn’t enjoy a book that had no romance but this book proved me wrong. This is also a story about a found family and I know we all love that.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is Meg Long’s debut novel and I for one can’t wait to see what else she brings to the table.
An epic story about a girl who just wants to escape her world and a wolf who was bred purely to be vicious are thrusted into a deadly, high stakes race with very little hope of survival.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is set on a highly uninhabitable frozen wasteland of a planet where every creature that happens to live on it, is extremely deadly and out to get anyone and anything for a quick meal. This entire planet has absolutely nothing going for it except this deadly race that happens once a year and where plenty of people hope to make some sort of money by the end of it. And that’s what our main character Sena wants, to make enough money to get off of the planet that has nothing to offer her. Even if it means competing in a race that tore apart her family and took everything she’s ever cared about away from her.
I actually bumped this book up a star because it surprisingly brought tears to my eyes which, by the way, is HIGHLY unusual for me. It did take quite some time, like half of the book, to get to the high stakes race part BUT I think that was important because we really learned what kind of character Sena was. She’s alone with not much to lose and all she wants is to escape. I think that’s a really important part of the theme for this book so don’t let it get you down.
But what I loved most about this book? The bond between wolf and girl. I’m a sucker for animals and prayed the entire time I was reading this book that the wolf would make it out alive in the end. Which, I won’t say what happened either way *insert wink face*. But I freaking loved the fierceness of this wolf and the pure joy she brought not only me, but Sena. This book is about finding your own version of a family and you know what was a breath of fresh air? The fact that there was absolutely zero romance. I honestly thought I couldn’t enjoy a book that had no romance but this book proved me wrong. This is also a story about a found family and I know we all love that.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is Meg Long’s debut novel and I for one can’t wait to see what else she brings to the table.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a quick and fun themed read, but I was so annoyed with the main character, Sena. She never really did anything, failed at all her tasks, suffered with self loathing, and honestly didn’t have any enduring qualities. Remy was so much more intriguing and had main character energy I was missing. I know the next book will focus on her, but idk that I’m interested enough to continue the series. I also felt like plot elements such as the race itself were barely fleshed out and thought that was irritating seeing that the whole book was centered on this race. A lot of things just didn’t make sense to me and I was left wanting.
LGBTQ+ rep: mention of F/F parents of main character
“Their last race was for us to give us a chance at a better life off-world somewhere. They thought they could race against the odds for that life. Instead, my mothers were destroyed out here by the other racers. Those same racers that have tried to stop me at every turn. Tried to push me down. Tried to end my life.
I climb to my feet. It’s time that I fight back.”
The pacing on this one really threw it off for me. It's such a cool concept, and I wanted to love it, but it wasn't the strongest.
On the icy planet of Tundar, winter lasts year-round, and when it finally gets warm enough to cross the tundra, the planet's famous wolf race pits racer against racer, and racer against nature. Sena's mothers were lost to the race, and she has vowed to do anything she can to get off world, away from everything that reminds her of them. What she doesn't factor in: the ill-timed arrival of a hurt wolf, a bad deal with a mob boss, and being forced into the very race that took her mothers' lives.
When this opened, I felt like the action was going to be great. Sena is such a little badass, willing to do anything to get off-world, and that came through right away. She will steal whatever she has to, do whatever it takes, and the first few chapters, I was on board with everything playing out.
And then, everything slowed to a crawl. The actual race part of this plot - which seems like it should start quickly, given the synopsis - doesn't start until over halfway through. A lot of characters are introduced, some stuff happens, but in between the great beginning and the race, there is just...filler. Or what feels like filler. I couldn't even tell you what goes on, except that it made me zone out and just want to skip through to the more exciting bits.
What this book does in a really lovely way is showcase the relationship between Sena and Iska. As a dog person, it's not hard for me to invest when animals are involved, and I found that their development was done very well. It's super nice to have a book focused on an animal-human relationship like this instead of a romantic one. A little breath of fresh air there.
I also found that some characters became caricatures of themselves. Especially Kalba and his goons - they are just such stereotypes that I found it hindered my enjoyment of the story when it involved them. Sena is great, and I pictured Kirima as Peli Motto from the Mandalorian so that helped with her. But even the professor and everyone that comes in later - I just didn't connect with them, because they felt like cardboard cutouts of characters to me.
But yes, the pacing really made this one hard for me. Once we got out onto the ice for the race, I was a bit checked out. I wish it had been more consistent so that I could've enjoyed it more.
I climb to my feet. It’s time that I fight back.”
The pacing on this one really threw it off for me. It's such a cool concept, and I wanted to love it, but it wasn't the strongest.
On the icy planet of Tundar, winter lasts year-round, and when it finally gets warm enough to cross the tundra, the planet's famous wolf race pits racer against racer, and racer against nature. Sena's mothers were lost to the race, and she has vowed to do anything she can to get off world, away from everything that reminds her of them. What she doesn't factor in: the ill-timed arrival of a hurt wolf, a bad deal with a mob boss, and being forced into the very race that took her mothers' lives.
When this opened, I felt like the action was going to be great. Sena is such a little badass, willing to do anything to get off-world, and that came through right away. She will steal whatever she has to, do whatever it takes, and the first few chapters, I was on board with everything playing out.
And then, everything slowed to a crawl. The actual race part of this plot - which seems like it should start quickly, given the synopsis - doesn't start until over halfway through. A lot of characters are introduced, some stuff happens, but in between the great beginning and the race, there is just...filler. Or what feels like filler. I couldn't even tell you what goes on, except that it made me zone out and just want to skip through to the more exciting bits.
What this book does in a really lovely way is showcase the relationship between Sena and Iska. As a dog person, it's not hard for me to invest when animals are involved, and I found that their development was done very well. It's super nice to have a book focused on an animal-human relationship like this instead of a romantic one. A little breath of fresh air there.
I also found that some characters became caricatures of themselves. Especially Kalba and his goons - they are just such stereotypes that I found it hindered my enjoyment of the story when it involved them. Sena is great, and I pictured Kirima as Peli Motto from the Mandalorian so that helped with her. But even the professor and everyone that comes in later - I just didn't connect with them, because they felt like cardboard cutouts of characters to me.
But yes, the pacing really made this one hard for me. Once we got out onto the ice for the race, I was a bit checked out. I wish it had been more consistent so that I could've enjoyed it more.