So many things to love about this book!

A dangerous and cold planet. Full of predators of all kind, including the human kind. Sena, our MC is trying to survive this harsh place, make some money, and get off this icy rock. Her mothers were racers that perished in their last race, and Sena has sworn off all things racing, wolves included. But when circumstances throw her into the same fate as a fighter wolf, she has no choice but save herself and the she-wolf.

It is a dangerous, gripping story about found family, and the grieving of the one you lost. I was so intrigued by this world, and the interesting characters that filled the pages, including Iska, my beloved fighter wolf. Though there's a lot of world building with descriptive surroundings, I felt some things were left behind, like the explanation of the races. Sena is kind of thrown into one, and we know her reasons, but what the other people are doing it for is pretty unclear.

For the YA lovers, fair warning - there is no romance. There is a beautiful and fun friendship that forms. And it is not just between Iska and Sena. I appreciated the strong female cast, including Iska. Some hardened women out there doing what they do best and ruling the world, standing up to those that are trying to put them down, and even getting revenge where it's due.

At the end of the book we're giving a hint that maybe Sena will have more adventures out in this Sci-fi world. And if that is the case, I'm very excited and ready to explore some new planets, find more friends and family, and of course see more of Iska.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy. All thoughts are my own.

Immersive worldbuilding, white knuckle pacing, hauntingly beautiful story of a girl and a wolf.

Phenomenal, this book is absolutely pheromonal. One of the best I have read in a long time, if I could give it 100 stars I would because it’s a 100%, 100-star fantastic read.

Sena has nothing, has lost everything, and lives in an inhospitable frozen world rampant with hatred, greed and isolation. She has all but given up but finds herself thrown into the one thing that took everything from her, the one thing she swore to never do, race. This is not a love story in the traditional sense but rather a hauntingly beautiful story of how a broken and lost girl finds love and belonging with an injured fighting wolf.

The story is fantastically paced and once you hit the halfway point it kicks it up a notch and it’s damn near impossible to put the book down. The world-building is top-shelf epic and masterfully crafted. It was easy to slide into this new world and feel it come to life all around you. I was awestruck by the seemingly effortless details of everything and how all the pieces fit together.

From mineral mining, corporate/capital obsession with excess at any cost, deep-seated racism and a blatant disregard for the environment, Long weaves a pointed allegory of the planet’s native population the Scaavers and North American Indigenous Peoples. The front and centre sentiment of indigenous values on environmentalism and the importance of living in balance and harmony with the planet is not overbearing or intrusive but exquisitely woven into Sena’s story. There is an LGBTQIA element that is subtle and works seamlessly into the narrative in the form of Sena’s mothers who die 5 years prior during a race. You never meet these characters yet they have a central role in Sena’s journey and just another spectacularly crafted layer of the story.

Sena’s journey is heartbreaking but not depressing, it’s wonderfully harrowing and made my heart race and tears escape. The ending is great, on point and I wouldn’t change anything but I really, really hope there is another book. Also, let’s not forget how beautiful the cover art is and how fabulous the title. I always picture it in my mind being said in a dramatic whisper with a puff of frigid breath, in the dark… “Cold the night, fast the wolves.”

Special thank you to #NetGalley and #WednesdayBooks for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts on #ColdTheNightFastTheWolves #MegLong

Content warning: dog fighting, hypothermia, vomiting, blood, gore, loss of parents, child abuse, gun violence, colonialism

Attention all readers who once identified as wolf girls: this book is for you. On a frozen planet Tundar, Sena is scraping her way to survival while being caught between the competing interests of local gangsters and corporate overlords. An Iditarod-type race takes place every season, and she’s sworn off it as it claimed the lives of her mothers. But when she pisses off a gangster and steals his prized wolf, she must partake in the race for a chance to get off that rock.

A compelling relationship between a girl and her wolf woven throughout rad world-building that takes a hard look at the literal colonialism of taking over a planet for its resources.

This read is so much fun. The characterization is great, I really enjoyed Sena as a narrator. So much thought went into the world-building, especially as far as examining corporate takeover for colonist interests goes and the way that affects human relations. There’s also a lot of thought that went into the ecosystem and the flora and fauna found within the book. It’s science fiction that almost feels like magic, and that’s wonderful.

My only hang-up is that the pacing felt a little uneven. The race does not start until about the halfway mark, but the character development and world-building leading up to it are absolutely necessary. And then comes a cinematic adventure through frozen woods, across icy lakes, and within cozy caves. The details and scenes are vivid and immersive, making this a quick read.

This is something I want to specifically point out, but this book has no love interest, at least not in the romantic sense. Its heart lies with Sena and Iska, and I’m so glad Long kept that focus throughout. Sure, there are people who come in and out, and the theme of found family is certainly there. But the bond between wolf and human develops and weaves through every aspect of the plot. It’s compelling and heart-wrenching at times, and the way they find healing through each other is absolutely beautiful.

I also hesitate to call the world-building queernorm because while people held prejudice against Sena’s mothers as far as relations between the colonists and colonizers go, they are dead at the start of the story and there isn’t much mention of other queer relationship or non-traditional familial structures.

That all being said, this overall a great adventure with tenderness and healing at its center taking place on a frozen planet which felt written for me specifically.

How much I liked this book came totally out of left field for me. It was really well written, and had some really solid fantasy elements - it's not what I normally vibe towards in this, and the idea of kind of a doomsday alien world is generally not something I love, but it was so well written and engaging. Very into it, and worth a read.

What an exhilarating debut novel! This book was such an interesting take on science-fiction (a genre I don't odten pick up) because it feels like it should be more fantasy. Our main character, Sena, is born of two mothers and gets in trouble with a local gangster which puts her on the run. In exchange for her safety, she promises a team of scientists to compete in a deadly sled-race; the same race that took both of her mothers' lives. Sena and her wolf live on a deadly ice planet where it seems everything has teeth and is out to get you.

Sena is a fun and frustrating main character. She's very adept at taking care of herself as an orphan but knowingly makes a lot of bad decisions that endanger her. Of course, that's what keeps the plot so interesting! There's a bit of found family here as well that I truly enjoyed and the world-building as previously stated was phenomenal. Sena also deal with racism and being someone from two different cultures which adds great nuance to her storyline. I really hope there's a sequel!

I would recommend this to those that like books similar to Six of Crows or other high-stakes YA books!

BOOK: Happy Pub Day to this savage, icy beauty. Cold The Night Fast The Wolves is a YA Sci-Fi set on the planet of Tundar. 17yo Sena has lost her mothers and is pick pocketing her way off the planet. When she steals from the wrong person, she finds herself in charge of healing a prize fighting wolf. Except, trouble continues to follow her and a few bad choices find her fighting for her life in the vicious, annual dog sledding race that killed her mothers.

KAT: When I was a kid, I literally tried to train my dog (a part husky, party yellow lab named Mandy) to be a sled dog. It didn’t work, but the dream of racing across the icy tundra pulled by a team of dogs still lives on. Basically, this book was made for me. The world is so accessible you almost forget it’s sci-fi, and I’m haunted by the main character’s questioning of how far she would go to get what she wants—and does it include leaving people to die on the ice? It’s a pretty straightforward adventure, though it still managed to surprise me in places. It had some really great secondary characters and I really enjoyed watching Sena and her wolf, Iska, as they tackle everything from vicious cold to wild animals to monstrous humans.

BOOZE: I used @HBH’s Fig twist on the classic Dark & Stormy to accompany this book. I knew the moment I started it that it deserved to be paired with a drink that was classic yet surprising, will keep you warm from the inside (thanks Bourbon), and had a name that makes you feel like you’re watching the clouds gather on the horizon.

IN THE END… I read most of this book in one sitting and had a great time doing it. It’s full of angst and adventure and it’s a fun escape into a world that I definitely would NOT survive in.

I loved the atmosphere and descriptions of the setting. Everything is cold and barren. The pacing unfortunately was way too slow for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This was the perfect read for a week-long trip to Michigan in January. The author does a really superb job with the setting; you can feel the cold burning Sena's face and biting at her toes. The worldbuilding was great all around. I can completely envision this icy ball of a planet, being systematically undone by corporations that care for nothing but profits, and everything on it from its flora and fauna to the climate itself suffering because of it. Sena was such a great character, totally typical of a teenager, resisting doing what they KNOW needs to be done because they just... don't... wANnA! lol. I really liked Timur too, and the scientific crew: Remy, Pana, etc. I would have maybe liked a little closure on the Askaa and Tulok situation (don't want to spoil anything) but I guess that (not knowing) is more true to Sena: she's ready to LEAVE and that really could care less what happened to them.

I would be happier with the story if I felt like Sena was more concerned about the scavvers; she's more interested in getting off planet than anything else. Even though she knows the scavvers are embattled and the climate is under attack, she's more interested in her own escape. Well, that's a 17 year old for you. Perhaps the author has a followup planned? The door was certainly left open for Remy and Sena to, as Remy puts it, cause trouble. I would also have liked things to get going a little faster for Sena in the beginning, as the race doesn't start for quite some time.

But I'm a sucker for an animal story, and Iska won me over completely. If Meg Long chooses to write a followup to Cold the Night I'd love to read it; I'm curious to know how Iska likes life aboard a spaceship!

|| 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves
Meg Long
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

|| 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒:
Sena doesn’t want to be a racer. Her moms died racing and all she wants to do is get as far awake from the race, vonenwolves, and off her icy cold planet. However when you are not accepted by your people, it’s hard to make a living. Money is the only thing keeping Sena from getting out, but then a wolf comes into her life and changes everything.

|| 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
•Alaska wilderness/icy isolated settings
•Dog sledding stories like Balto or 8 Below, but a slightly darker take
•Found family

|| 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
This is probably my first sci-fi other world type book. The first half really sets the background for the book. It’s a litttle slower paced and it took me about 50 pages ro get a little invested, but once you get to the halfway mark the story really takes off. It’s full of action, visual details of the world, some mystery, and honestly I had no idea how it would end and who would make it to the end! I think it also leaves us open to more adventures with these characters, but also it could just end and everything be okay. I look forward to reading future books by Meg Long!

Thank you Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As I got to the last few chapters of this book, I could not put it down. I just wanted Sena and her wolf to make make it to the end in one piece. That Sena comes out with a found family at the end is even better.

When Sena angers the local gangster instead of doling out some type of punishment he forces her to help heal his prized fighting wolf. But when she attempts to steal from him, she is forced to flee with his wolf in tow.

She turns to a team of scientists who offered her a way off-planet if she helps them get to the finish line of the planet's infamous sled race. A race Sena vowed to never participate in after the death of her mothers on its trails.

As the race unfolds Sena leans into the survival skills her mothers taught her as her group faces many dangers along the way.

Thanks so much to the publisher, the author and NetGalley for this ARC to review.

It was so easy to get lost in this world! Sena is an orphan, stuck in an ice world that is under the corporation’s control. Her one goal is to get off this world and live elsewhere. When given the chance to coach teams in the most difficult race, she can’t turn it down. She needs the money, but she refuses to race.

Sena was easy to love. She was downtrodden, barely surviving and alone. Everything seemed to depend on this race her mothers died in. Her perseverance and strength were admirable. The relationship between Sena and Iska is heartwarming. I loved watching them learn to trust but also endure. They forged a family with others and you could almost see Sena’s emotional walls cracking and breaking.

It’s a fast-paced story about survival and love and everything in between. It’s exciting throughout with moments that provoke thought and emotion. It was such a unique and fascinating setting where so much good prevailed.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book releases January 11, 2022.

Cold the Night, Fast The Wolves is a Sci-Fi novel set on the planet Tundar. When I first started reading I was wondering if the main character Sena lacked the depth or ‘heart’ I often like to see in a main character, but as the book progressed it became very clear this is a smart and intentional choice by the author Meg Long. Sena has scars, she doesn’t have much other than unwelcome memories of what she’s lost, and we get to witness a really beautiful rehabilitation. Some themes I really cherish in this book are found family and how animals save our souls. Sena has a lot of really negative self dialogue throughout the book and that’s something I don’t think is often highlighted. When we get to see internal dialogues it’s often a pep talk, but those anti-pep talks are, I think, a really effective way Long helps us understand Sena. Also, writing this from Canada in January, Long accurately captures how ruthless winter can be. This book gave me major Star Wars: The Phantom Menace vibes, except I really liked this book!

“𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚜, 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚎𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚝𝚑.”

Happy #PubDay to Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by @heeeyitsmeg.
Here’s a binge worthy young adult novel that quickly became one of my favorite reads in December.

It’s that perfect blend of YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi with a dynamic, resilient young female protagonist who instigates a flurry of turmoil while trying to find a way off the frozen planet that she refuses to call home.

Her only way of escape is entering the planet’s sled race.

With the help of a group of misfit scientists, Sena Korhosen, must do the one thing she always determined not to do, survive the race. A race that claimed her mothers’ lives that left her orphaned years before. She along with her wolf, Iska, attempt to navigate the long frozen trek so that she can hopefully earn the money she needs to leave the planet behind.

This, my friends, was a wild ride.
It’s the perfect book to read while cozied up with with a warm cardigan and a lighted candle. There many unexpected twists and turns that will leave you feeling exhilarated. It will also make you wish you had a wolf friend to keep your toes warm.

I thoroughly enjoyed the world building. It helps that I spent my youth in Alaska, and now I watch the sci-if show The Expanse on repeat, so it was easy to imagine the barren landscape and the cast of characters who must be strong to endure that level of harsh living. The beauty of the relationship between Sena and Iska left me rooting for them to make it to the finish line. The unexpected nods to environmental concern was an added bonus.

I highly recommend the delightful debut by Meg Long.

Thank you to @wednesdaybooks for the opportunity to read and review this.

This story had incredible world building that was wonderfully captivating around every turn. This young adult debut set unique fantasy world centers around survival, found family, and the incredible bond between a girl and her wolf.

Sena and her wolf have to flee after angering a local gangster, and when they come across a team of scientists they give her a means of safe passage. All she has to do is get them to the finish line in the planets infamous sled race. With the trauma racing has brought to her life with it claiming both her mothers' lives she finds herself at odd with what to do. But racing is her now only option if she truly wants safety. In this riveting story the tundra is a treacherous landscape that has their lives hanging in the balance constantly. Within this story Sena has to find her strength both inside and out, and learn if her and her wolf are enough to get them all out if this race alive.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Set on a frozen planet where life revolves around a dangerous race to mine the planet’s most dangerous and difficult to access resource and specially bred wolves for racing and fighting, Cold the nIght fast the Wolves is the perfect fast-paced winter read and one hell of a debut. I have a soft spot for winter survival stories, maybe because I grew up in Texas where winter was often more of a theory and an optional experience, but throw in found family, fascinating world building, and a tenacious lead in Sena, and I was completely hooked.

On Tundar, the people say “nothing taken, nothing given” but Sena has had far more taken from her than she’s been given when the race that the whole planet basically revolves around claimed both of her mothers years ago. Left with limited allies and resources, Sena has avoided the race and the wolves as much as she can and the painful memories that come with them while trying to scrape by until she can leave Tundar for good. When she’s caught stealing by one of the most dangerous mob bosses, Sena has no choice but to tend to an inured she-wolf which sets into motion a chain of events that could finally see Sena drawn back into the race but with allies she never expected.

I really loved this book. Tundar is essentially frozen space Australia where everything from the storms that knock out technology, to the cold, and the vast array of predators that live in the splinter wood want to kill you. Also because one of Sena’s mothers was one of the natives, a scavver, and people are racist and prejudiced, more than a few people want her dead too. I just loved Sena’s spirit so much. She’s been through a lot by the time the book starts but she hasn’t let it break her or her wit and is still fierce in the face of people who want her to be less. I was rooting for her every step of the way and it was a joy to watch her find people and a wolf to appreciate her in the face of so much hostility. This is one of those stories where it doesn’t have a big romance in the foreground but I didn’t miss it at all. Cold the Night Fast the Wolves was compelling as hell and well grounded and written in such a way that I was so engrossed in Sena’s journey and the landscape of this world that the author built, I didn’t feel we were missing anything. This book gets five stars and some hearty kudos from me. What a stellar debut to come out swinging with! Pick this up from your local indie and strap in for a wonderful adventure!

i loved the icy atmosphere built for the book, and the unique concept of sledge races that it put forward. but the execution lacked and the pacing decreased my enjoyment of the book.

*I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

A solid debut from Meg Long. This was fun from start to finish. It’s perfect for fans of sci-fi/dystopian stories, and anyone with a sense of adventure!

Seventeen-year-old Sena has been coping with the grief of losing her mothers and has been pick pocketing to try to buy her way off her frozen planet of Tundar. After upsetting a local gang boss, Sena finds that she must flee with a wounded fighting wolf, as their lives depend on it. A team of scientists offer her a way off of Tundar on the condition that she gets them to the finish line of the planet’s infamous sled race. Sena never wanted to race as it had claimed her mother’s lives, but she sees no other option, so she accepts their offer.

The tundra where the race takes place is extremely treacherous, and their lives are threatened at every turn along the way. Sena begins to question her abilities and if she’s strong enough to do this. She must do everything she can, along with the wolf, to get them out of the race alive.

Sena is a great protagonist as she is definitely stubborn and headstrong. I loved watching her relationship with Iska, the wolf evolve through the story. I also like how the story explored the impact of exploiting natural resources and colonialism.

A great wintry read, perfect for this time of year! Be sure to check this one out.

Book Review: Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is the young adult science fiction debut novel by Meg Long. It contains elements of survival, dystopia and adventure.
Sena is a teenage pick pocket and orphan living on a planet only known for two things; freezing temperatures and a mineral that everyone needs. Once a year groups of people pulled by sled wolves travel across the frozen forests, lakes and mountains in an effort to get to the deposits first. Sena lost both her mothers in this harrowing effort and vows to never participate herself. But after getting herself into trouble with a local mob boss she has no choice but to take up with a scientist who wants to study the mineral and needs a team to get them there. With the help of Sena’s new companion Iska (a former fighting wolf) the group will face impossible odds on their trek across the frozen planet.
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is an exciting and fresh story about a girl and a wolf who have to learn to trust each other to survive. Like many people from hard places Sena has a tough exterior and doesn’t rely on anyone but on the journey she’ll have to let down her guard and let the other members of the team help her. The first 25% of the book I really struggled with Sena’s terrible decisions and what felt like a death wish especially in dealing with the mob boss. But by the time they begin across the ice the story picked up and I really started to appreciate her.
I highly recommend this novel to readers of all ages who like exciting survival stories with touches of science fiction and a dystopian setting.
4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

COLD THE NIGHT, FAST THE WOLVES is a perfect wintry ice-filled tale that delivers an exciting story of survival, determination, and one young woman’s journey to discover who she is and what she’s truly capable of.

With this incredible debut, author Meg Long introduces readers to a phenomenal main character named Sena who starts the story out rather tough, brusque, and generally emotionally closed off since the death of her mothers. Through the course of the story, we witness her transformation as she slowly but surely comes out of her shell and into her own and learns to let open up a bit and let others in. This is a story of found family, and that’s a trope that will get me every time. There’s also another wonderful relationship in this story, and that’s the one between Sena and her wolf. Both start out very untrusting and very, very wary, and I loved watching them both slowly learn to trust the other.

I loved the world-building and the atmosphere that Long created in this book. It’s cold, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving, and it was all made so much better since the weather outside perfectly matched the weather and the surroundings of this book. I also really liked that the story takes place on an entirely different planet and there are plenty of science-y bits and tech and gadgetry that go along with that.

Bottom line — a fantastic debut, Meg Long is an author that I will certainly be following along with. 4 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital arc.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long is a captivating read that is vivid, dangerous, and absolutely exhilarating. A story of survival alongside a heartwarming bond that grows between girl and feral fighter-wolf. Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a must-read for young adult sci-fi fantasy fans.