This was an interesting read for me. I think that it dealt with the heavy topics introduced in a way that highlights the teenage experience, and how it can be seen differently in everyone, which made the story seem very real. However, the characters were so ‘teenage’ that they detracted from the messages.

While I like when books have pop-culture references, especially with teenagers, the sheer amount of them in this novel felt forced and unnatural. There were many times I had to put the book down because of the string of dialogue that felt very teenage movie-like. That being said, it could be how younger teenagers are talking, which is why I’m not used to it.

I enjoyed the new perspective on mental health, and how it is seen differently in every generation, especially through the eyes of a teenager. Thank you to NetGalley, Flux Books, and the author for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own

This just was a really great read. I enjoyed the writing a lot and story really felt like something especially me from a few years ago would have needed. It took me way to long to start it actually because I was rightfully scared of the emotional commitment. It was the exact type of predictability I loved and felt perfect in the book. I *cried* . It was a hard read but also absolutely a delight.

Cold Girls is a tender contemporary queer YA novel exploring grief, the growing pains of adolescence and the intense female friendship that queer girls often experience.

I was drawn to this book because I greatly enjoy explorations of death and grief, particularly in YA novels and I also happen to deeply love queer stories! Cold Girls follows Rory, who struggles to deal with the death of her best friend in a car accident that she herself survived. Forced by her mother to go into therapy after the "Xanax incident", Rory has to face her grief and the intense friendship she experienced with Liv.

Overall, I loved the way Maxine Rae captured the intensity of teenage life and particularly those explosive female friendships most sapphic teen girls will have experienced. I also greatly appreciated the way Rory's grief was given space in all its complexity and irrationality.

Unfortunately, I found a lot of the flashback scenes very hard to read because the dialogue was just filled with so many pop culture references, curses, and random little political discussions because Liv has to prove how grown up and complex she is and frankly, I found her whole vibe incredibly annoying! However, I understand that this is also because I am no longer a teen so I might be more sensitive to this kind of "look at me, I am such a cool and aloof teen girl" kind of dialogue in books, but I can imagine that teen readers might roll their eyes at the amount of this kind of language as well. As much as I appreciated the threads of emotional intensity that Maxine Rae was able to weave here, this level of teenage cringe did unfortunately colour my reading experience of Cold Girls and made it a much less enjoyable read than I hoped.

In some ways, I think this could've been almost a sapphic contemporary equivalent to Looking For Alaska! Rory is easily impressed by Liv, so eager to glorify her and bask in her glow, leaving little room for the human complexities of Liv as a whole person. Similarly, it is a book centered around intense teen relationships, the firsts of adolescence and the shattering experience of losing a loved one and being left with more questions than answered.

It is an amazing story about two girls and what they go through. I loved the discussion on mental health and the ways it manifests.

I enjoyed reading cold girls, but not so much that I am suuuper excited about it. If you like YA books with (good!) LGBTQ+ rep, teenage love stories and lots of angst and drama, read it. It is not necessarily a happy book, but it is easy to read and a pretty good book, imo.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Rory and Liv…
...the best of friends, and yet…
...and yet.

This book had so much darkness to get through, so much guilt to shed, so much light to let in, and yet, we reach some of those points, but not all...and THAT’S OKAY. It’s okay to not have the perfect life. It’s okay to have things to work through. It’s okay to need others, ask for help, and let people in. It’s okay even if you don’t just so long as you don't let yourself get so lost you miss out on LIVING. Loss hits everyone differently for various reasons, but it hits hard nonetheless.

I appreciated seeing Rory's journey from the inside (before the accident) and the outside (afterwards). It gave a new perspective for those that haven't been as closely touched by tragedy, while making it easier to relate to for those that have yet allowing them to also see that falling down doesn't mean you stop trying to get back up. Aside from the heartache, there were other "me too" moments for readers. From the hallowed experience of high school to the triumphs and challenges of discovering just who you are, who you love, and where you fit in, there's something that everyone can touch with a modicum of understanding... making it a surprisingly powerful read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flux for the opportunity to review this book.

Where do I start? The story is told in two main parts; pre and post the main event. The story is written from an 18 year olds point of view so as expected we have the usual teenage angst amongst other dramas. Rory is trying to deal with survivors guilt from a family that keep a watchful eye on her due to previous experiences.

I do enjoy stories turbulent stories that drag the reader back and forth and there’s no denying that this lives up to this expectation. Some of the dialogue does sound forced, there are background characters that don’t really add anything to the story and some bits that feel missing with regards to the story itself. However, none of that took away from this emotional rollercoaster and Cold Girls is still my YA 2023 favourite read. The soundtrack to this book is also fantastic

I am not entirely sure what I am feeling about this story as it left me feeling rather incomplete, like parts are missing. Maybe I just need more details and was hoping for more.

Rory is a rather quiet and shy teenager until she meets Liv. Well, she's still shy but Liv makes her feel seen and appreciated like no one else has ever before. Liv is sort of her opposite, loud and present.

This story is divided in chapters before the accident and chapters after the accident leading up to 'that night' all changed for Liv and Rory.

We get a glimpse of two years in Rory's life with her family and friends and Liv and we see little bits of Liv in the story Rory tells us. But for me it did not come through. I did not feel it. I expected to feel torn when I came to the part where 'that night' happened but I did not. I had no connection to the girls. Yeah, it was sad and understandable but the dialogue often felt too forced to be 'teen speak' and I just could not 'feel' it as I thought I would.

Some parts were relatable as I was once a teenage girl myself but mostly a lot of it felt forced.

An ARC was provided to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

First of all, I want to thank Flux and NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest opinion. Now let's get into this, shall we?
OMG! This was my favorite YA book of 2023, because let's be honest wow, I cried so much uh.

Oof, this book hurts. You know the song "Hurts like hell"? Well, this is the summary of this book. In the story, we have two timelines: the past, before the "Worst Night" and the present, months after the "Worst Night". And we follow Rory and her friendship with Liv, as they become friends, and while Rory catches romantic feelings toward Liv.

At first, when I was reading the before I was like "Ugh this looks like a Jon Green book, and they are so not like the other girls", but the "after" kept me reading. And, yes they might not be like the other girls, especially Rory (she just wants to be someone), but it is more complicated, They both are more complicated and complex. The characters are touching, but most importantly they have flaws, and it shows during the story.
This is a book with good characters, and that will hit you right in the feels. It deals, a lot, with mental health, friendship, love, family, grief, and death... A lot of heavy topics, that made me cry. And Rory, falling for your best friend? Yeah, I get the feeling, but come on.

So yes, this book made me cry, like I had to stop myself reading it in the metro, and it was my first read for Sapphic September, I think it's a good choice right?
So please, go read this book.

Also, a funny thing: now that I'm not a teenager anymore, I can totally understand and/or relate to the parents (even if they can be wrong in their actions).

PS: Bonus point for the dedication that also made me tear up.

Cold Girls is a YA contemporary novel about grief. It focuses on two timelines, the friendship between Rory and Liv in the past and the Rory in the aftermath of Liv's death following a car accident they were both in. This novel did such a great job at pulling you into the life and friendship between these two girls and the heartbreak following Liv's death. I think Maxine Rae did a great job at making you feel the same grief that Rory was feeling and how Rory dealt with that over the following year. At times I felt like Liv could be a bit of a caricature but I think the end of the book did a better job of really fleshing her character out. You could also argue that since we only see Liv through Rory's eyes she would always be idolized and put on a pedestal until Rory realized that she wasn't perfect. A bit too many pop culture references for my liking and some of the dialogue felt a little cringe (e.g. 'Word.'). But then I remember what I was like as a teenager and it was definitely cringe.

"Cold Girls" tells a youthful story that handles the themes of grief and family relationships very well. It's a sensitive tale about a girl, Rory, who loses her best friend and must confront the guilt consuming her in order to move forward with her life. The book is a quick read, and despite addressing heavy themes, it feels light due to its straightforward narration and relatable nature.

The downside of this story, in my opinion, is that I read it expecting a sapphic romance, perhaps influenced by the synopsis and cover. Despite both protagonists being queer, there is no romantic involvement between them. Instead, the focus is on the friendship, with hints that there might be feelings beyond friendship, especially on one side, but it's not the central theme.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book for free for an honest unbiased review from Netgalley.

Very sweet although predictable. But I liked it.

I wasn't sure about this book at first. The characters cussed so much, it was distracting, and I found the main character annoying. However, by the end, I see that this book is a really good reflection on what grief is, how it's felt, and the impact it has on the people involved through the course of a year.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

Cold Girls by Maxine Rae was one of the most powerful books I've read this year. It was sad and beautiful and also hopeful and healing. Rory is the epitome of a teenage girl full of more questions than answers about who she is and what she will become. Faced with an unthinkable tragedy she is trying to figure out how to move forward but that requires her to examine and accept her past. Her relationship with Liv shows how quickly people can move into our hearts and become irreplaceable. The present and past flashbacks of the story make each revelation and healing moment more poignant and important and the way the author handles mental health, ptsd, and depression and suicidal ideation is done in a mature and informed way. I loved this book and will be recommending it to anyone and everyone!

The only reason that I kept putting this book down was because of how connected I felt with the main character so her pain felt like it was my pain. I loved this book from the start to the end and its one you read because you want to know what happened in the worst night ever but also what happens after. I liked that this book goes back and forth in time and you get to know our main character before Liv's death and after.

I was graciously given an ARC by the publishers for participating in the books cover reveal, (Gorgeous cover by the way, I adore it!) which was tons of fun and I was so happy to be included in it, but unfortunately I don't think this book is for me right now. I am about 15% into it and Im not sure when or if I'll continue it. I read for characters first, thats the very first thing I'll love about any story and i'm not really loving the characters in this one, among a few other things. This is entirely a me problem and more personal preference over anything wrong with the book itself. However I love and am so happy that so many readers have been able to connect with and appreciate the way Cold Girls deals with and talks about grief, loss, mental health issues, etc, it's wonderful really to see. I still might come back to this book in the future, but please do still pick up this book if it sounds like something you'd love! This book deserves to find its right audience, even if that isn't me. Again truly thank you so much to the publisher and author for the early copy!

This was a beautiful book. I really enjoyed reading it, and I think it could be very popular among high school girls. It talks about mental health struggles and the characters are described very well. I didn't expect to cry but i did, it was a very emotional read!

This is a story about how a young girl struggles to fit in with the people around her, all to realize her true potential when the right person enters her life.

Roo finally understand that fitting in wasn't about conforming to others' expectations but about finding people who appreciated her for who she was. Until she met Lily, her best friend. Lily had shown her that true friendship was a treasure, and when you find the right person, it can unlock your hidden strengths and passions.

After lily’s death, Roo struggling alive without blaming herself for the death of her best friend. A inspirational and powerful story to read