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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really liked the idea of this story, with lots of adventure and a deadly race with wolves, but it just didn’t excite me as much as I hoped it would.
Sena irritated me to no end. I understand that she lost her mothers and was severely depressed because of it, but her bitter, untrusting attitude drove me crazy. I did like that she was intelligent (when she actually stopped to think things through rather than being impulsive) and didn’t back down from a fight.
I loved that there was a found family. Remy and Iska were my favorite parts of the book. Both of them are fierce and loyal and just wanted a friend. Iska honestly surprised me and grew on me very quickly, though why wouldn’t I love an awesome wolf? Her and Remy are just the kick that Sena needs to fight her depression and move on with her life.
I did enjoy the race, it’s where I really think the book picked up, though it did take half the book to get there. It was faster paced and there was more action in it. And the world building throughout was great, I easily envisioned everything that happened at every point of the book. But I do feel like I have a lot of questions that I still want answered.
Overall, I think the idea of the story was different and exciting, but that the characters just needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
I really liked the idea of this story, with lots of adventure and a deadly race with wolves, but it just didn’t excite me as much as I hoped it would.
Sena irritated me to no end. I understand that she lost her mothers and was severely depressed because of it, but her bitter, untrusting attitude drove me crazy. I did like that she was intelligent (when she actually stopped to think things through rather than being impulsive) and didn’t back down from a fight.
I loved that there was a found family. Remy and Iska were my favorite parts of the book. Both of them are fierce and loyal and just wanted a friend. Iska honestly surprised me and grew on me very quickly, though why wouldn’t I love an awesome wolf? Her and Remy are just the kick that Sena needs to fight her depression and move on with her life.
I did enjoy the race, it’s where I really think the book picked up, though it did take half the book to get there. It was faster paced and there was more action in it. And the world building throughout was great, I easily envisioned everything that happened at every point of the book. But I do feel like I have a lot of questions that I still want answered.
Overall, I think the idea of the story was different and exciting, but that the characters just needed to be fleshed out a bit more.
4.75/5 stars
This was such a good way to start the new year!! This book has winter vibes with an air of survival, loyalty, and science fiction!! I loveeed this adventure!
Goodreads synopsis:
After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with her prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option.
But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she's strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.
I’m going to be entirely honest, I was hesitant about this book. I expected a Call of the Wild type thing - you know, a survival story with a wolf - and I wasn’t sure that would be something I could like. But y’all this book was incredible, and so much more than what I was anticipating! It has just enough science fiction and a focus on characters to balance the survival story aspect and make it a truly engaging story!
This book takes place on the planet Tundar, a cold, storm-ridden planet where crime gangs rule the streets and the greedy corporations who control the surrounding planets put on a deadly dog-sled race every year to mine the precious metal exocarbon. On that world lives Sena, who spends her days picking pockets, trying to save enough money to buy a ticket off the planet and to a better life. The world is wonderfully built; it has the right amount of world-building it needs to make it feel like a science-fiction but keeps it to the scale the story requires. Sena is a very complicated main character, which makes her a great one. She makes A LOT of terrible mistakes (to the point where it’s almost annoying), but they end up having thematic significance because she learns that she can’t live her life alone, even though she feels like it protects her. While I wish her character arc was slightly more pronounced, it is still really great, and it is incredible to compare her frigidity at the beginning of the novel to her loyalty at the end.
Which has a lot to do with the other amazing characters present in the novel. My favorite was (of course) the wolf, Iska. When Sena ends up on the bad side of one of the crime bosses, he tasks her with healing one of his prized fighting wolves: Iska. Inevitably, the girl and the wolf form an undeniable connection as two souls yearning for freedom and fierce enough to fight for it. Their relationship is PERFECT and I LOVED IT. They become each other’s reason to live in a way, and it’s sooooo beautiful. The other characters are well-written as well, especially the team that recruits Sena to race with them. You can’t help but root for them, and again, it’s so heart-warming to see Sena begin to trust others to protect and help her, simply because they want to.
Apart from these elements, the story itself is an intense and well-written survival story, combining science fiction with the expected hardships of a tundra sled-dog race to create an engaging and truly heart-pounding journey. I got so invested in Sena and Iska’s story, and the icy environment made it a perfect read for the winter season. I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for winter-y reads with science fiction and high stakes, or a harrowing yet heart-warming story of a girl and a wolf fighting for their freedom.
*This book releases on January 11th, 2022 so mark your calendars! I received a free e-arc from Wednesday Books; thank you so much! All opinions are my own.*
If you enjoyed this review, you can friend/follow me here on Goodreads or on Instagram and Pinterest @ashton_reads for more bookish content (@ashton.reads on Tiktok)!! If you want, you can give this review a like or comment with your thoughts so I know you've read my review; your support means a lot to me! Happy reading!
This was such a good way to start the new year!! This book has winter vibes with an air of survival, loyalty, and science fiction!! I loveeed this adventure!
Goodreads synopsis:
After angering a local gangster, seventeen-year-old Sena Korhosen must flee with her prize fighting wolf, Iska, in tow. A team of scientists offer to pay her way off her frozen planet on one condition: she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Though Sena always swore she’d never race after it claimed both her mothers’ lives, it’s now her only option.
But the tundra is a treacherous place, and as the race unfolds and their lives are threatened at every turn, Sena starts to question her own abilities. She must discover whether she's strong enough to survive the wild – whether she and Iska together are strong enough to get them all out alive.
I’m going to be entirely honest, I was hesitant about this book. I expected a Call of the Wild type thing - you know, a survival story with a wolf - and I wasn’t sure that would be something I could like. But y’all this book was incredible, and so much more than what I was anticipating! It has just enough science fiction and a focus on characters to balance the survival story aspect and make it a truly engaging story!
This book takes place on the planet Tundar, a cold, storm-ridden planet where crime gangs rule the streets and the greedy corporations who control the surrounding planets put on a deadly dog-sled race every year to mine the precious metal exocarbon. On that world lives Sena, who spends her days picking pockets, trying to save enough money to buy a ticket off the planet and to a better life. The world is wonderfully built; it has the right amount of world-building it needs to make it feel like a science-fiction but keeps it to the scale the story requires. Sena is a very complicated main character, which makes her a great one. She makes A LOT of terrible mistakes (to the point where it’s almost annoying), but they end up having thematic significance because she learns that she can’t live her life alone, even though she feels like it protects her. While I wish her character arc was slightly more pronounced, it is still really great, and it is incredible to compare her frigidity at the beginning of the novel to her loyalty at the end.
Which has a lot to do with the other amazing characters present in the novel. My favorite was (of course) the wolf, Iska. When Sena ends up on the bad side of one of the crime bosses, he tasks her with healing one of his prized fighting wolves: Iska. Inevitably, the girl and the wolf form an undeniable connection as two souls yearning for freedom and fierce enough to fight for it. Their relationship is PERFECT and I LOVED IT. They become each other’s reason to live in a way, and it’s sooooo beautiful. The other characters are well-written as well, especially the team that recruits Sena to race with them. You can’t help but root for them, and again, it’s so heart-warming to see Sena begin to trust others to protect and help her, simply because they want to.
Apart from these elements, the story itself is an intense and well-written survival story, combining science fiction with the expected hardships of a tundra sled-dog race to create an engaging and truly heart-pounding journey. I got so invested in Sena and Iska’s story, and the icy environment made it a perfect read for the winter season. I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for winter-y reads with science fiction and high stakes, or a harrowing yet heart-warming story of a girl and a wolf fighting for their freedom.
*This book releases on January 11th, 2022 so mark your calendars! I received a free e-arc from Wednesday Books; thank you so much! All opinions are my own.*
If you enjoyed this review, you can friend/follow me here on Goodreads or on Instagram and Pinterest @ashton_reads for more bookish content (@ashton.reads on Tiktok)!! If you want, you can give this review a like or comment with your thoughts so I know you've read my review; your support means a lot to me! Happy reading!
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Young adult sci-fi adventure, great pacing and characters I cared about. Will read the sequel.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves started off strong and didn't let up until the very end. Wolves are one of my favorite animals, so I loved every minute spent with Iska. I don't know how Meg Long did it, but I feel like I just came back from an adventure on another world! The world of Tundar was so vivid, it was easy to imagine being in the icy wind and snow, and surrounded by the dark, dangerous woods. Every creature jumped off the page.
If you're looking for a YA sci-fi novel with romance, this isn't it. If you don't normally read sci-fi but want to try, this is the perfect novel. If you're looking for a book with an immersive world to get lost in, I highly recommend Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves.
If you're looking for a YA sci-fi novel with romance, this isn't it. If you don't normally read sci-fi but want to try, this is the perfect novel. If you're looking for a book with an immersive world to get lost in, I highly recommend Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Torture
This is honestly, one of the best YA books or any book for that matter, that I have read in a long time! Sometimes, when I read a book set in a different world, so vastly different from the world we live in, it takes me awhile to get used to it and to try and picture it. This book was not like that. It takes place on a different planet but Meg Long does such a good job with her descriptions, it was so easy to imagine it. Sena is only 17 but she is so mature and dealing with such real issues and trying to find her way. I loved the relationship between Sena and Iska, the fighting wolf. It's a fast paced, emotional at times and all around very good book. I was very pleasantly surprised, and would love to see a sequel.
In love with this book. Frozen planet, animal companion, found family, survival, corrupt corporation, dog sled racing what more could you want. The writing was phenomenal (I can't believe this is a debut), action packed. At 50% of the way through I was shocked that that is all I had read since so much as happened and I was thrilled that I still had 50% more to read. I have read books that are 500 pages long that don't have much world building and action as Meg Long has managed to do in 360 pages. I cannot wait to see what else Meg Long comes out with.