After years of living in the shadows, being glorified as sparkly lovers and dangerous enemies and on TV, vampires have revealed themselves to humans. After a nasty outbreak of vampirism, thanks to a misplaced act of mercy, the world cannot ignore the lore. Infected cities are walled off from the public, called Coldtowns, these places are exquisite prisons for vampires. Humans, enthralled with the beauty and horror of vampires flock to the Coldtowns to offer their sweet red blood for the chance of being turned.
An entire industry has sprung up around the Coldtowns. The elaborate masquerades of vampires are broadcast on reality TV. Vampire Hunters have shows as they chase the stalk the creatures. Blogs are created as envious teens dream of becoming immortal.
Tana is not one of those teens. She knows all to well the threat presented by vampires. Her mother was bitten when she was a child. As she became Cold, all her mother needed was the taste of human blood to completely turn. Tana's father tried to save his wife by locking her in the basement in the hopes that the illness would run it's course and she would recover. But as the days grew longer her thirst for blood grew as she called out to her daughter. Tana, thinking she could help her mother opened the basement door...but instead of her mother there was a blood-thirsty monster downstairs.
Tana survived, but she still remembers the feeling of her mother's teeth on her skin and the way her father beheaded her with a shovel....
Years later, Tana awakens in a farmhouse after a rough night of partying. As she stumbles around looking for a bite to eat she notices that the other hungover party-goers are not passed out...but dead. Drained of blood, Tana realizes that a vampire must have infiltrated the party. Trying to get out of the house as fast as possible she looks for her car keys only to find them near her ex-boyfriend Aiden (who has been bitten and chained to a bed) and a mysterious vampire, Gavriel.
After a quick escape from a group of vampires looking to kill Gavriel and finish off Aiden, Tana decides her best option is to take the two to the nearest Coldtown. Getting into a Coldtown, it is getting out that is the hard part. Are Aiden and the suspiciously crazy Gavriel worth the risk?
Holly Black has hit it out of the park! I do NOT like vampire stories (at least not any written in the last 10 years) but this is the perfect mix of satire and suspense! I loved every minute and wanted to keep reading after the last page!