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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
ADORED this one. It's a slow-burn, but don't let that fool you because the world-building and characters are so intricately and carefully done that you cant help but feel like you are in this crazy, dangerous world! I loved the way Long writes characters and setting to make you feel immersed by the time the race starts, which then ups the stakes 100000% because you are so damn CONNECTED to the characters and relationships and scenes and the whole story. Just a wild, great read, a definite recommend.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*I received a free ebook copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I don't know what is up with 2022 book releases, but these covers are so beautiful! This novel follows Sena, an orphan who refuses to take part in the planet-wide obsession of racing after she loses both her mothers during the annual race across the planet's frozen tundra. But, when Sena angers the biggest gangster in town; racing might be her only escape.
Charged with the rehabilitation of the gangster's prized fighting wolf, Sena finds herself slowly building an unlikely bond with the creature and further digging herself a bigger hole when she attempts to double-cross her boss.
Sena is a strong, female who is stuck in the mindset that she only has herself to rely on. Especially, when it comes to dangerous situations because someone always seems to get caught in her crosshairs. Sena's character is knowledgeable about racing tactics, the dangers of the almost inhospitable planet, and of course the genetically engineered "vonenwolves" that pull the racing sleds hundreds of miles across the frozen landscape so that greedy corpos can mine exo-carbon; a mineral that is utilized across the galaxy for all sorts of environmentally unfriendly exploits. Not only does this keep to the general young adult themes of friendship, hope, and learning to trust others; but the novel also heavily focuses on destruction of the environment, global warming, and corporate greed. There is no romance; something I have come to appreciate in young adult fiction. Not that I don't enjoy it; because I do—but it is refreshing to see that romance is not necessarily part of everyone's story.
My one issue with this novel was the backstory behind Sena's existence. I felt like there was something missing in her story. She refers to her mom, Iska, as the racer — and her ama, as the scavver who gave up her life to be with her mom. I'm on board with having two moms, but I am curious as to how genetics work in this story that allow Sena to be half scavver.... I really wish that we would have gotten some more backstory on that, because I was having difficulty understanding how she could be 50/50.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a female-driven cast for the most part. I really enjoyed watching the dynamics between the characters -- each holding a different role of brain, brawn, and bravery. I also love the hook that was left at the end; so I hope Meg Long continues Sena's story. Overall, recommended read for anyone obsessed with wolves, who love their dogs, and are fascinated by the dangers of an ice-planet filled with vicious predators.
I don't know what is up with 2022 book releases, but these covers are so beautiful! This novel follows Sena, an orphan who refuses to take part in the planet-wide obsession of racing after she loses both her mothers during the annual race across the planet's frozen tundra. But, when Sena angers the biggest gangster in town; racing might be her only escape.
Charged with the rehabilitation of the gangster's prized fighting wolf, Sena finds herself slowly building an unlikely bond with the creature and further digging herself a bigger hole when she attempts to double-cross her boss.
Sena is a strong, female who is stuck in the mindset that she only has herself to rely on. Especially, when it comes to dangerous situations because someone always seems to get caught in her crosshairs. Sena's character is knowledgeable about racing tactics, the dangers of the almost inhospitable planet, and of course the genetically engineered "vonenwolves" that pull the racing sleds hundreds of miles across the frozen landscape so that greedy corpos can mine exo-carbon; a mineral that is utilized across the galaxy for all sorts of environmentally unfriendly exploits. Not only does this keep to the general young adult themes of friendship, hope, and learning to trust others; but the novel also heavily focuses on destruction of the environment, global warming, and corporate greed. There is no romance; something I have come to appreciate in young adult fiction. Not that I don't enjoy it; because I do—but it is refreshing to see that romance is not necessarily part of everyone's story.
My one issue with this novel was the backstory behind Sena's existence. I felt like there was something missing in her story. She refers to her mom, Iska, as the racer — and her ama, as the scavver who gave up her life to be with her mom. I'm on board with having two moms, but I am curious as to how genetics work in this story that allow Sena to be half scavver.... I really wish that we would have gotten some more backstory on that, because I was having difficulty understanding how she could be 50/50.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a female-driven cast for the most part. I really enjoyed watching the dynamics between the characters -- each holding a different role of brain, brawn, and bravery. I also love the hook that was left at the end; so I hope Meg Long continues Sena's story. Overall, recommended read for anyone obsessed with wolves, who love their dogs, and are fascinated by the dangers of an ice-planet filled with vicious predators.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
I enjoyed this one but I think I would’ve liked it more when I was younger. Would definitely reccomend for teens.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Balto in Space! A found-family adventure on a treacherous ice planet, where the stakes are high and anything on this planet could kill you. Sena’s tendency to blame herself for everything (even things far behind her control) resonated so much. No romance, just friendship with her wolf and her team of scientist friends.
CW: violence, classism & in-world racism, injury (people and animals) including frostbite
CW: violence, classism & in-world racism, injury (people and animals) including frostbite
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Classism
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book a lot, it was a really good fun read.
God, this was not what I was expecting it to be in possibly the best way.
First of all, this is a subtly science fiction novel about a girl trying to survive a cold, harsh world. It’s also a little heavy-handedly anti-corporation (which I’ll get behind totally, but it’s super not subtle at all). Things seem to go wrong for Sena at every turn but not in an unsurprising or too predictable way and that kept the tension high and made this feel like an old adventure novel. She steals from the wrong people and ends up running for her life in her icy worlds dangerous race with my favorite sidekick ever, her wolf, Iska (as well as an unexpectedly awesome racing team who I am also in love with).
When I pitched it to my friend I worded it: “Marie Lu writing Balto remixed with some Jack London vibes.” Honestly, I think I’ll stand by that even if it’s not 100% accurate. The characters all stand out, the world building is very cool, and it kept me on the edge of my seat; it’s hard to want more from a book like this. It’s got found family, criminals, people talking to dogs/wolfs that seem to understand them, crazy violence (of both fight for survival and let’s blow shit up varieties), badass female character, realistic consequences… in other words it was right up my alley. Oh! And there was no forced romance trying to steal the spotlight, which is amazing!
I’m gonna stop singing praises here for a moment and point out a few flaws. The main problem is that the pacing was a little off sometimes - slow when it needed to be fast mostly. There’s a lot of action and sometimes it drags for no good reason. The writing style also doesn’t help that. With a character like Sena I’d assume the writing style would be sarcastic or a little more descriptive or flowery and instead it’s very stark and flat. Stark fits the genre it pulls from and the dangerous, stormy tundra of the setting, but the book’s written in first person and I wanted to feel a little more of Sena’s personality there. Having a more dynamic voice would have also helped with small parts of the book that felt a little over the top and cartoon-y in a way that I’d generally not notice in sci-fi and don’t settle as perfectly into adventure and survival novels.
And one last thing before I get some space from all of this: HOLY SHIT REMY! I need more of this girl. I need a prequel and a sequel stat. I want to know everything about her past and how she got here and I want the promise that the end of this book makes (I was under the impression this was a standalone but now I’m hoping to god it’s not).
I’m gonna get vaguely spoiler-y here in a second: forewarning.
The end of this book, literally the last three pages, gave me the impression of a series kind of like Sanderson’s Skyward and a little Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles. A series that seems to change settings and subgenres wildly like Skyward and follows a different character’s main story each book like The Lunar Chronicles. It felt like I was missing a first book in a series when Remy was introduced because her story immediately felt huge and drew me in and I wanted more of it - and I’d love to hear it from her perspective too. Where this book ends it also seems to promise a new adventure in an entirely different setting as well. I don’t know - at this point I’m just babbling - but I’m gonna keep an eye on this author because this is one hell of a debut.
First of all, this is a subtly science fiction novel about a girl trying to survive a cold, harsh world. It’s also a little heavy-handedly anti-corporation (which I’ll get behind totally, but it’s super not subtle at all). Things seem to go wrong for Sena at every turn but not in an unsurprising or too predictable way and that kept the tension high and made this feel like an old adventure novel. She steals from the wrong people and ends up running for her life in her icy worlds dangerous race with my favorite sidekick ever, her wolf, Iska (as well as an unexpectedly awesome racing team who I am also in love with).
When I pitched it to my friend I worded it: “Marie Lu writing Balto remixed with some Jack London vibes.” Honestly, I think I’ll stand by that even if it’s not 100% accurate. The characters all stand out, the world building is very cool, and it kept me on the edge of my seat; it’s hard to want more from a book like this. It’s got found family, criminals, people talking to dogs/wolfs that seem to understand them, crazy violence (of both fight for survival and let’s blow shit up varieties), badass female character, realistic consequences… in other words it was right up my alley. Oh! And there was no forced romance trying to steal the spotlight, which is amazing!
I’m gonna stop singing praises here for a moment and point out a few flaws. The main problem is that the pacing was a little off sometimes - slow when it needed to be fast mostly. There’s a lot of action and sometimes it drags for no good reason. The writing style also doesn’t help that. With a character like Sena I’d assume the writing style would be sarcastic or a little more descriptive or flowery and instead it’s very stark and flat. Stark fits the genre it pulls from and the dangerous, stormy tundra of the setting, but the book’s written in first person and I wanted to feel a little more of Sena’s personality there. Having a more dynamic voice would have also helped with small parts of the book that felt a little over the top and cartoon-y in a way that I’d generally not notice in sci-fi and don’t settle as perfectly into adventure and survival novels.
And one last thing before I get some space from all of this: HOLY SHIT REMY! I need more of this girl. I need a prequel and a sequel stat. I want to know everything about her past and how she got here and I want the promise that the end of this book makes (I was under the impression this was a standalone but now I’m hoping to god it’s not).
I’m gonna get vaguely spoiler-y here in a second: forewarning.
The end of this book, literally the last three pages, gave me the impression of a series kind of like Sanderson’s Skyward and a little Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles. A series that seems to change settings and subgenres wildly like Skyward and follows a different character’s main story each book like The Lunar Chronicles. It felt like I was missing a first book in a series when Remy was introduced because her story immediately felt huge and drew me in and I wanted more of it - and I’d love to hear it from her perspective too. Where this book ends it also seems to promise a new adventure in an entirely different setting as well. I don’t know - at this point I’m just babbling - but I’m gonna keep an eye on this author because this is one hell of a debut.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated