This was a book that drew me in by the description but as soon as I opened it, I couldn’t get into it. The storytelling was rich but it didn’t hold my attention.

Cold the Night.... is a really invigorating and exhilarating read! I really enjoyed it and it kept me on my toes, the premise was also new and fresh and it's definitely unique.

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a really great YA sci-fi thriller about a girl names Sena who is on the run from a bad guy and hooks up with a racing team to get away. It takes place in a future world where it is super cold so one wrong move and your dead, add to that a blood-thirsty boss man hell-bent on revenge and you have a real pulse pounder. I loved the main character Sena and her wolf Isla. The secondary characters of Remy and the scientists were also really well done. The setting was amazing, the author is a fantastic sensory writer and you can really feel the cold as you read. The plot was solid but a tad laggy in the middle. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see what this author has in store next.

I'll have to recheck bc it may be me but this is a book that needs a bit more set up about that it's considered off world and how this specific world works. There's a lot of terminology (scavver, racer, splinter wood, exocarbon, vonwolves, all sorts of terrifying predators and goblins) that were more embedded in the book without specific context that may turn some readers off (it's fast paced, lots of things don't get explained but I will say lots of show and don't tell which was nice). I really enjoyed the main character and her wolf, the tension was well done and it had a satisfying conclusion that left room for a sequel.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Meg Long and Netgalley.
Just wow! Meg Long is freaking fantastic!
I was enamoured of this world from the start, but the shape it took was exactly.what I needed!
A girl on a snow world, who...spoiler, spoiler, spoiler!
I adored the whole dang story! The ending was a bit twee, so I'll take a star from the rating.

Excited for the debut of Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves for Meg Long! There's a huge survival aspect in the book and it makes you want to root for the characters even more. I can't wait to read more from this author!

Meg Long's debut is an absolute thrill-ride from start to finish. Tundar is a cruel, cold place and I really felt like I was there with the characters, like I was a part of their team. The whole premise is so unique in its sci-fi setting, and the incredible addition of Iska the wolf was icing on thr frozen cake. Loved it, loved it, loved it, and I hope there will be a sequel!!!

As someone who has grown up on watching Balto and reading Call of the Wild and White Fang, I couldn't wait to read this book. And it did not disappoint. This is a brilliant debut novel following 17-year-old Sena and her many dangerous encounters on the icy planet called Tundar.

It's an incredibly vivid sci-fi. The entire time I was reading I kept thinking about how it's the type of book that has potential for a movie adaptation, because of how fun and exciting the setting and story was. It kept a nice, fast pace for the first 25%, keeping me engaged until it really picked up. Then I flew through the rest of it, because this book does what every good fiction book should do: it enthralls you to where you keep wondering what's going to happen next.

I do feel like the story is more character-focused, and I thought Sena's character was unlikable for around the first 45% of the story. But that's a part of what makes this story so good: the character development. To be able to notice as Sena adapts and grows out of old habits and begins to trust others. And, obviously, the best example of this is the beautiful development between Sena and Iska. It was so great to read about their bonding and how their trust grows between them.

As for the setting, it's so, so, so cool. Absolutely fascinating world-building, and again, very vivid in descriptions. I also appreciate how this story delves into humanity's greed and capitalism and its effects.

The only thing I didn't love about this book is the ending - it felt sort of rushed, in a way. But I'm very excited to see what Meg Long has in store for the future.

The story had a bit of a slow start, but the pace slowly picked up and I really sank in to the story. The book has a very strong survival and anti greedy corporations theme. It was action packed. Some of the book was a little repetitive, but I really enjoyed the story. It was kind of refreshing that this book didn’t have any type of love story attached to it as so many do. The book is about a girl trying to survive on her own after her mothers died and learning that it is Ok to get close to people again while trying to survive the dangerous race conditions with her new friends.

I also want to mention how gorgeous this cover is and that I love the title of this novel. The title piqued my interest before reading, and once I began reading, I found that it was a perfect title that described the book well.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #ColdtheNightFasttheWolves

Big thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Occasionally a book comes along that is just so perfect in everything from plot to character development to pacing that you can't help but wish you could read it for the first time again and again. Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long is that book.

From the first page, I was hooked. This is a fast paced sci-fi-y survival story done exactly right. There are tropes- oh, there are tropes galore- but they are executed to perfection. Main character Sena is your typical stubborn, hard-headed, fearless YA protagonist with dead parents but she's so well written I didn't care what a stereotype she was because she was real.

Seventeen year old orphan Sena lives on a frozen, monster-infested ice planet called Tundar. The one thing that attracts people to the barely-hospitable world is a yearly dogsled race where teams attempt to reach a deposit of the valuable element called exocarbon which can be mined and sold for huge amounts of money. The race, however, is unbelievably dangerous and few survive to reap their rewards. In fact, the race is what claimed Sena's mothers' lives, leading her to become one of the few people on the planet not interested in competing.

Sena ends up in over her head with an angry mob boss and a series of events predictably leads her to join the race against her will, along with a wolf stolen from said mob boss. Not just any wolf, but a vicious fighting wolf who happens to bear Sena's mother's name, Iska, plus a ragtag racing crew who are more interested in the science of the exocarbon than the typical money hungry, brutish racers.

Sena's relationship with the wolf Iska is everything I've ever wanted in a book. It is beautiful and heart-wrenching and completely believable. The way Sena and Iska start as strangers, each equally wary of the other, and come to depend on each other, two brave souls, alone in the world until they find each other, was a thousand times more fulfilling than any romance subplot I can think of.

The side characters are interesting in their own way, though none nearly as compelling as Sena and Iska. And even though I suspected exactly what their fates would be, I had to read to find out how they get there because the journey is the whole point of this book.

I cannot think of one dull moment in Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves. The plot moves along at breakneck speed, every scene, every line of dialogue moving it forward. I felt like I was flying through this book as fast as Sena and Iska flew through the trails, barely time to stop and check my surroundings. In fact, if there was one negative thing I could say about this book, it's that it isn't longer. On the short side for its genre, Long could easily have added another 100-200 pages, giving rich backstory to interesting side characters, but perhaps to stretch the story out would be to lose some of its magic. The book certainly doesn't suffer for its speedy plot.

One thing worth mentioning, both for those who will rejoice and those who will be disappointed, is the book's complete lack of romance. Sena has no real love interest, and to shoehorn any in would truly be to take away from the plot and the perilous, lonely, barely survivable journey Sena is on. However, there are likely some who will be disappointed, especially as several characters seem perfectly poised to be a love interest to grumpy Sena but nothing ever comes of it.

At its core, Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a story about the dangers of capitalism and corporate greed, wrapped up in a heart-pounding, heartbreaking tale of one girl and her wolf trying to survive against all odds.

Content warnings: death (graphic, human and animal), violence (graphic), gore (graphic), animal cruelty (graphic), murder, organized crime, abandonment,

I really enjoyed reading this book. I haven’t read anything like this before. this was very adventurous and exciting, and I never wanted to put it down. all of the characters were interesting, Sena was an amazing written protagonist! I loved Sena and Iska’s relationship throughout the book.

<b> I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. </b>

<i> "Tundar ice has a certain scent, like a wild caress and the kiss of a cold, cold death. It smells of promise." </i>

I was immediately drawn to the absolutely gorgeous cover of this book! Typically I tend to shy away from Sci-fi books because I tend to get bogged down in all of the science. However, I just couldn't pass up this book!

<i> Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves </i> did not disappoint! Despite the fact that there was quite a bit of action in this book, I would definitely consider it more character driven. There is a lot of growth and challenges that Sena goes through and that is the focal point. I loved the relationship with Sena and Iska. Iska was such an interesting wolf and I absolutely loved her. She definitely had me on the edge of my seat a couple of times. Also Remy was a lot of fun!

I would hope there is a sequel coming because Sena and Iska's story is far from over.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press Wednesday book for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you #netgally for letting me read an earc of this book for an honest review. The cover alone made me want to read this but I’m all honestly I didn’t get very far. It wasn’t a bad book by any means just not my kind of book. I didn’t realize it was off world, flying ships very futuristic. I wish I could have engaged more because it sounds like an amazing book

4 stars
Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a sci-fi adventure full of rich world building, intertwined with some great commentary on capitalism, and beautiful character development and relationships. This book did start a bit slow, but once it picked up at about the 25% mark, I really fell in love with this author's writing style. I will say though, that although the plot of this book is exciting and action packed, I'd definitely still consider this a character driven book, so if that's something you're not into, this might not be the book for you. As someone who likes character driven books though, I really enjoyed this. The "animal bond" aspect of this book is very reminiscent of Balto (both involve racing through the cold terrain), or any animal movie involving the trope of an animal who "couldn't be tamed" until a certain someone comes along, but this book is much grittier than those stories and adds in some really interesting sci-fi twists. Overall, I really enjoyed this and would highly recommend it to lovers of character driven sci-fi's.

2.5 stars

Something about this is so amateurish. The good characters are VERY GOOD and the bad characters are VERY BAD. It's a fun, action-filled read, but there are enough inconsistencies in the storytelling that it left something to be desired.

One of the biggest flaws in this story is the overuse of hyperbole. Throughout the entire story it is mentioned ad nauseum how DANGEROUS the race is, how DEADLY everything on the planet is, how the STAKES ARE SO HIGH. I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough. I don't think that a race with a 50% death rate would be so popular; it's simply too dangerous to be believed. I don't think that, if the race is as dangerous as claimed, the character actions in the second half of the book make sense. <spoiler>They are not even close to being halfway to the drillsite when Kulok abandons them. Why do they choose to go on instead of going back to the Ket?</spoiler>

In the same vein, the timing is suspect. At one point Sena says that if they can keep up the pace, they could make it to the drillsite in two or three days. They are there less than 24 hours later. This just doesn't make sense, and it is a consistent theme throughout the book.

I found the world-building just a little too basic also. The splintertrees were fascinating and well-done, but the setup of the "corpos bad, scavvers good" dichotomy was too simplistic and almost offensive.

The relationships between characters is the same way. All of them, including Sena, our main character, are very static and flat. No character development happening here. The characters were unbalanced too. Temur is an important character in the first 30% of the book, and then disappears and is never mentioned again. That's just lazy writing.

I'm not trying to say this book is terrible. It's not. It's suspenseful and kept me reading, even as I was rolling my eyes. I just wanted....more from it. Richer world-building and character relationships. More nuance. More believability.

***Thank you to Netgalley for this arc***

I’ve been dying to read this book and although it has unique qualities to it, I still found myself not meshing as well with it as I would have hoped. The cover is still gorgeous though! Probably one of my favorites I have seen for the new year.

The book is told from one perspective and it comes from Sena. She is a thief and takes care of herself as she has no family to fall back on. She isn’t a boring character in the slightest but I still didn’t connect with her either. I think the disconnect started with the slow start of the book and how every chance someone or Sena gets they bring up her dead mothers. I’m all for tragic backgrounds but I don’t want it to become the main character’s whole personality and why practically everyone on the planet hates her. It makes sense as to why found family exists in this book because Sena can’t really be picky.

There are some minor characters that do shine through as well as some that fall through the cracks. A couple were mentioned in the beginning and I thought one in particular would have a decent sized role but to my surprise he got dropped.

When starting this book I also didn’t realize, or maybe forgot, that it would have sci-fi/dystopian aspects to it. Sci-fi is a genre I have a love/hate relationship with. I have read books from the genre I have loved and have read some I hated. I think my issue for this book in particular is that although what was mentioned about genetic engineering and climate was interesting I still felt like I was missing information and would have liked to know how it all got started, more about the corpo commandos, and more about the other planets.

I did like the last half of the book more because it’s truly where the action starts when it comes to the racing. There are quite a few plot twists to go along with it and I only saw one coming so I would say that those are good odds. The icy planet setting is a unique one as I have only read a couple books with a similar one but plots have been very different. I also liked the wolves and would say Iska was my favorite part of the book. You can’t go wrong with animal companionship!

Overall, this was good but still missed the mark for me in some ways.

More YA scifi please! This book is incredible.

I love space stories, I love survival stories, and this book gave me the ice planet, anti-capitalist, high-stakes plot of my dreams. Right away, the concept of a deadly Iditarod in space had me hooked and this delivered on every level. The worldbuilding is incredible. I could feel everything from the blizzards to the ice in vivid detail.

Sena is also one of the most chaotic characters I've read in a long time, somehow managing to be both incredibly start and an industrial grade dumbass for most of the book. She makes bad decisions, she's selfish, she loves her wolf, she's trying her best and those traits were so relatable and real. Just a teen being a teen, but also trying to stay alive on a frozen planet.

I loved the found family/spark of hope in the midst of this brutal world. It was a breath of fresh air among the chaos of the race.

This book is so exciting. There is never a dull moment. The book opens with Sena being chased (possibly for a good reason) and landing in the middle of a wolf's cage. Sena scrapes by as a pickpocket and by doing odd jobs on a frozen planet that is consumed with greed. But you can read the blurb, which is probably better written than what I will come up with.

As I said, the book is exciting. It's entertaining. It's fast paced. And (most of) the characters are likeable. This is sort of a classic good vs. evil. But it takes place on a frozen planet and there are bioengineered animals and the wildlife could kill you.

I would definitely recommend this one.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 but I was incredibly let down. Sena had very little personality, the world building was confusing, and there was an abundance of characters introduced at the beginning who we never get to learn the fates of. The boy who fixed Sena's cloak seemed like he was being built up to being the love interest, but then he disappeared without a trace. It became a little more exciting when the race began, but I wasn't attached enough to any of the racers to care if they lived or not. Overall, a disappointment.

You will love Sena the minute you are introduced to her. And when, later, you meet she-wolf, Iska, you fall in love all over again.

Sena is a seventeen year old orphan/pick pocket extraordinaire, Scraping out a living on an ice planet, she runs afoul of her friend Temur's boss, who raises and fights vonenwolves. I thought Temur would be Sena's ally/companion on her adventures, but after a brief introduction, we don't see much more of him. Pity, he was an interesting character.

Sena steals the vonenwolf, Iska, from her abusive owner, Temur's boss. He comes after her, she escapes by joining a group of scientists heading out on a cross-country wolf-sled race, and the action becomes non-stop.

I would have given this well written, tight storyline, action-filled novel five stars, but for one thing: the second half of the book starts to drag with repetitive retelling of things we've already been told. Yes, the ice causes hallucinations; yes, the scavvers are a mysterious, scary people; yes, the splinter woods are full of terrifying monsters, yes, its' very very very cold on this planet. You only have to tell us once, trust your readers to remember. Not sure if the author was trying to lengthen the book or what, but the same nuggets of information are constantly repeated ad nauseum throughout the second half.

That being said, this is still a grand escape for an afternoon at the beach or an evening curled up on the couch. You will be mesmerized by Sena and all her new friends. And you will want to read more about them all. Fingers tightly crossed for a second installment of Sena and Iska's adventures.