Meg Long’s Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves is a captivating debut about survival, found family, and the bond between a girl and a wolf that delivers a fresh twist on classic survival stories and frontier myths.
On a frozen wasteland of a planet, a girl is on the run with a wolf who is born to be a killer but bound to be her guide. As they fight to escape ice goblins, giant bears, and a ruthless leader intent on trapping them both, one question drives them relentlessly forward: where do you turn when there is nowhere to hide?
What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Cold the Night Fast the Wolves by Meg Long will make you cheer, turn you into a puddle, and keep you on the edge of your seat. Sena is a 17-year-old girl orphaned on a cold desolate planet who wants nothing more than to earn enough money to leave the only place she knows as home in this survival of the fittest adventure novel.
What I Enjoyed:
Iska, the red wolf, stole my heart. Stories with heroic animals always grab my heart, break it, and hopefully mend it back again, and this story is no exception. Iska is a survivor, she is brave, and she bears the name of one of Sena’s mothers, so you know she is destined to be a driving force in the story. I instantly fell in love with her loyalty, bravery, and ability to adapt to any situation as the story unfolded.
I also enjoyed the relentless fast pace that starts immediately and never lets up. Sena and Iska are fighting for their survival in a world with many dangers, and it feels like they must have come up against every one of those dangers at some point on their journey. Added to that is that the majority of the story is indeed a race, an event that this world revolves around, and I held in my hands a compelling, immersive story and kept me on the edge of my seat.
The world-building is incredible and utterly immersive. I could feel the cold icy vistas chilling as if I were there. Even the underground world felt alive and vibrant with the rows of shops, the fighting rings, and the visitors and inhabitants that frequented it. Even the more people-friendly areas are fraught with dangers that don’t allow Sena or the reader ever to relax, even a little bit.
What I Wish:
I wish I knew more about Sena’s mothers. They are an influencing component of the story, but I had a hard time grasping any details about them that might fill in the noticeable blanks in the narrative. I felt like they were important enough and influential enough in the story to warrant more of a look back, even if that meant more pages and a much larger book.
Characters:
All of the characters, even the ones in the smallest of support roles, are so richly complex that they quickly stirred my emotions for good or bad as their actions dictated.
Sena is the hero and narrator of this story. She is somewhat a morally gray hero, which I always love, and boy does she make more than her fair share of bad decisions. But, her heart is always in the right place or seems to be. Since the story is told from Sena’s perspective, the reader gets an inside look at what motivates her good or bad decisions.
Reminds Me Of:
It’s a survival story with a wild animal companion, so it reminds me of the many stories of the same nature that are often told, with the setting being this planet.
To Read or Not to Read:
Look no further if you are looking for an edge of your seat action-adventure novel. Cold as Night Fast as Wolves will grab your heart and pull you along for a dangerous ride.
My Rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
29 responses to “Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long #BookReview #YA #SciFi #Fantasy #Thriller”
Really liking that cover..
Fantastic review, Tessa, I will definitely have to read this one!
It’s a story worth reading. So well done ❤️
It sounds like it.. I’ll be keeping my eye out for a copy, thanks! ☺
Great review 💕
Thank you!
This sounds adventurous and immersive great review!
Very! It’s quite the tale!
Awesome review and such an evocative wordcloud image summing up the book!
Thank you! It’s a wonderful story ❤️
This isn’t the kind of story I would typically read, but your description of the wolf is so compelling, I’m tempted. Great review.
BTW, I emailed you that recipe before I went on hiatus (12/17), and I think I’m in spam again.
Ugh, it didn’t come through at all. You could try ******@me.com. All my other emails are gmail and I imagine they will have the same problems. Thanks so much Staci!!!!
Sending it now. If you don’t get this one, let me know. We’ll figure something out.
It came through. @me.com is through apple (before they went to iCloud) and it tends to be better at discerning emails. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it!
It’s great when an author brings characters alive, even those in small support roles. The icy setting intrigues me, too.
Great review!
Thank you! There is so much that is good about this story ❤️
That cover pulled me right in, but your review is what really did it for me. This sounds exactly like my type of book. On to my TBR! Excellent review, Tessa.
I think it is and one you might enjoy reading with your kids even. I don’t remember anything that would be problematic for any age other than the violence of the race which is both natural and man (though I’m sure you’d read it first to be certain).
That’s good to know! Thank you 😃
I saw you mention this a few weeks back and thought it looked good. So glad to hear you enjoyed it – yet another one for the TBR list! Thank you for a great review!
This is such an incredible story. I think you’d enjoy it ❤️
Outstanding review, Tessa💜 This isn’t something i would normally read but you make me want to!
Great review, Tessa. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Gwen ❤️
The wolf with all the words is so creative!! Great review💜
Thank you 🥰🥰🥰
oh wow! Another terrific review. This book sounds exciting, and I love animal hero’s too!
They make me cry but I love them so much. ❤️
[…] review of Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves. Lori at Fifty-Two looks back at her blogging (half) year. A […]