In The Coldest Touch, Elise learns that she has a gift (or curse): she can see how other people will die if she touches them. She's determined to get rid of her power but when she meets Claire, a vampire who trains gifted people, they work together to both get what they want from the Veil, the rulers and lawmakers of the paranormal.

I wanted to love this book so much but I just couldn't. I found many aspects of the plot to be predictable and cliche, I didn't think the characters acted like real people and parts of the writing annoyed me so I skimmed through the second half because I wanted to know what happened.

I liked the idea of the The Coldest Touch more than the actual book. It had potential and I liked the relationship that was built between the two main characters, Elise and Claire. Also, I loved Maggie and one of the stars I gave is just for her.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much. It was fun, and spooky, with a lot of humour, Despite all of the vampire activity and uh, serial killing, there was a lot of wholesome content in this book, from the found family aspect, to Richard the cat. My knowledge of vampires is limited to scooby doo and supernatural, so that one scene where Elise and her friends were asking Claire about the myths in regards to killing her, definitely would have been my reaction to meeting a vampire.

The murder mystery was really intriguing, despite the killer being a little predictable, and a little confusing. I would have liked to see it be explored more, as it felt like Elise's training as the death oracle overshadowed the story, and became repetitive. The town collectively were just very complacent about there being multiple deaths. One of the character's deaths wasn't even really mentioned, but there was a brief scene at the crime scene and a mention of a wake, and then it went back to Elise trying to master her oracle powers.

All of the characters were well written, even those that weren't prominent in the story. I really liked that there was a non binary character, as I feel it is representation that isn't as present in YA books. Wyn was really fun, and made an entrance whenever they were brought into the story. I think the found family trope worked really well between Wyn and Claire, as there was a sibling bond between them. A lot of their scenes were funny, they had great energy together, which diffused a little of the tension and foreboding of the big ending.
On the topic of characters, and identity, I really liked the way Elise handled her feelings for claire, and felt the author wrote a really empowering and important message in that there is no time frame or expiry date on coming out, That is a really important message that will help a lot of younger readers.

I liked the way the book concluded, however it felt like a lot of the building tension fell flat towards the end, as it was really anti climactic. Claire had this anger throughout the entire book, and was arguably morally grey, and when she had the opportunity to solve her problems she did nothing, and the anger seemed to disappear. However, the book seems like the ending was left open for a possible sequel, or novella, like these witches don't burn, and that is something I would be really interested in seeing.

Omg this book was amazing. I need a sequel? I need more of Elise & Claire and the Veil! I was worried a book about vampires and highschoolers might introduce too many characters but all of them felt like they had depth to their characters.

The Coldest Touch is an excellent and fresh take on the YA vampire novel. The story follows Elise who can see how people die when she touches them. She meets Clare, a vampire tasked with training Elise to master her powers. Things get dicey when feelings get in the way. Prepare for sweet romance, strong supernatural elements, and an engaging plot. The characters are well-written and fun to read about. Be sure to check out The Coldest Touch today!

The coldest touch is a fun and spooky read with interesting characters and sapphic rep.

All the characters in this book are amazing, Claire and Elise are great protagonists, and the side character are also lovable. The story has a nice balance of dark and funny moments. It has a lot of twists and I really liked the writting style.
However, the romantic relationship bothered me. The MC is 16, and even tho the love interest became a vampire at 17, she's still like 100 years old.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

vampires and magic ..but make it queer.

Elise has lost her brother and can now see how the lives of the people around her end. Claire is a vampire and is responsible for protecting and training Elise until she can realize her full potential.
chaos and feelings ensue.

In general, the book has great queer representation and a diverse cast of characters who also mention prejudices against themselves in the context of the real world. The Coldest Touch has the protagonists come to terms with who they are compared to who they always thought they were, and figure out how to move forward into the future with this new knowledge. The book is also about revenge on past adversary's and coping with loss of a loved one.

[...] She’ll wield her charm as a weapon and her smile as her shield. [...]

Thank you Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Paperbacks and the author Isabel Sterling for the opportunity to read this book as an eARC in exchange for a honest review.

I loved The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling. This is the exact kind of contemporary YA fantasy that I will just devour like a vampire devours fresh blood – fitting, because this is a vampire book. But this aint Twilight. It is a fast-paced story about humanity, family and friendship, and also a tender love story between two girls, one of whom first needs to realise that she might not be quite as straight as she thought she was. Big yay for bi rights! It isn’t high literature, but it is incredibly compelling, with complex characters and an interesting magic system. While this is a standalone as far as I can tell, it could also work as the opener of a series, and I could totally see this being turned into an epic TV show too. Think The CW, but smarter. And more charming. I kind of want to reread it already.

Thank you to the publisher for letting me read via Netgalley.

This paranormal romance is centered around vampire Claire and her charge Elise, whom she aims to train as the new Death Oracle for the self appointed authority of the paranormal world, The Veil.

I think readers will appreciate the LGBTQ rep and strong friendships present in the story.

Sadly I didn't enjoy this one so much as with the dual POV I liked Elise but couldn't care less for Claire.

I reviewed The Coldest Touch for LoveReading.co.uk. The review is now live on the site. I have chosen The Coldest Touch as a Liz Robinson Pick of the Month for December.

I mean, Sterling had me at sapphic vampires.

When you add into that genuinely interesting supernatural powers and a thrilling murder mystery packed full of excellent twists and turns, well you have a smash hit on your hands.

I love the opening, it felt so literary and unexpected. Sterling cleverly weaves in teenage angst with vampirism, along with plenty of hints of danger and deceit. Instantly, it’s so intriguing and leaving you wanting to know more. It also effectively sets up interplay with main characters and their mission immediately. From there on, the story is wonderfully imaginative and driven. It’s also very character focused, which I absolutely adored. Strongly written, three-dimensional characters are a surefire way to make me fall in love with a book. Here both Elise and Claire stole my heart with their distinctive, caring and layered narrative voices.

Yet again, Sterling provides a superb murder mystery packed full of twists and turns. I really enjoy the rapid pace and constant tension that fills every page. These are devious twists as well that really pull at your heartstrings. For me, they were also genuinely shocking. I never quite knew where the story would go next and just knuckled down for the ride. Good mysteries should be surprising and stimulating at every turn and Sterling definitely pulls that off here.

For me, one of the best elements of the book was the use of the supernatural. In particular, I loved the death oracle power and how it was explored. This was such a fascinating and tragic concept that is fully utilised and the nuances of which are really dug into. The sense of isolation and constant misery associated with the power really characterises Elise’s journey as she starts to control her powers and find a way to live with them.

The Coldest Touch is a stellar hybrid of the supernatural and murder mystery genres, providing a refreshing, original and wonderful story.

A kind thank you to the publisher who granted me an e-ARC of this book.

I love contemporary fantasy so much, and the author certainly delivered a new delightful addition to the genre. It is inclusive, and it is authentically queer. We have characters who already know and characters who question their sexual and romantic orientations. I found it so refreshing and liberating to see characters just be themselves and feeling free to explore aspects of themselves they didn't know existed. No discrimination, no forced outing. The representation was authentic and thoughtful, and it showed.

The main characters were fleshed out, and each had their own quirks. I liked them both equally and enjoyed both of their POVs in the book. I just didn't feel fully immersed into their feelings and romance; hence the 4 stars.

The plot was delightfully twisty! Some twists and events were cruel, and I felt sorry for the girls. Those twists really jerked you back into the hard reality with a "holy moly, what just happened?".

Overall, this is an enjoyable queer YA contemporary fantasy with surprising plot twists and beautiful character dynamics.

I tried reading this book twice but struggled to connect with the characters or story. I feel really disappointed because I loved the sound of it .I hope other readers enjoy it more.

To start off with this review, I would like to say: I love it when cats are given posh human names, like Richard. That is all.

Now onto the review! What really sold me was the premise and sapphic vampires, because lets be honest, we don't see a lot of sapphic vampire books especially in the young adult group. I liked the small-town atmosphere, which gave the novel a foreboding feeling and heightened the stakes. However, I found the pacing to be inconsistent. It would be fast-paced one second and really slow the next, it distracted me from the story. I was waiting for something to happen one second and then everything happened all at once the next.
In terms of the ending, it was not necessarily bad but it was predictable. Considering the stakes surrounding Elise and Claire's 'mission', I would have expected the plot to get really dark.

I wasn’t feeling any chemistry between Elise and Claire. I liked them separately as characters but their romance did not feel believable. It almost felt insta-lovey (especially from Claire's side), one of the tropes I don't like. However, I liked their interactions with the side characters, especially with Wyn. If Sterling were to write a spin-off about Wyn, I would happily read it because they are one of the most interesting characters in the book.

Overall, it was a fun read but I was not entirely hooked. But I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a vampire story with a diverse cast of characters!

I am all for second chances. I love picking up books from authors I previously disliked and seeing if it was just a fluke or if I actually don't like that author's book.

I read These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling, or rather didn't finish it. Not because it was particularly bad or anything, I just found it to be very predictable plotwise. The characters felt a bit young for my liking - but the latter honestly is just personal taste. I don't want to critic a YA book for having main characters act their age. That's obviously totally fine. It just wasn't for me.

So, why did I pick up The Coldest Touch, you may ask yourself?
Because These Witches Don't Burn was Isabel Sterling's debut novel and sapphic vampires just sounded awesome - I just wanted to see if her... third? Fourth book? Agreed more with my reading taste - and it kind of did? I mean, at least I did finish this one, even though I had some of the same problems with The Coldest Touch as I had with These Witches Don't Burn.

What I loved about The Coldest Touch were definitely the smalltown vibes. Even though this book focuses on vampires and Death Oracles it had witchy vibes, in my opinion, and I really liked that.
Another thing I liked was that Elise didn't forget all about her friends as soon as she met Claire. Thank you so much for that, Isabel Sterling. That was really refreshing to read.

But apart from that... I don't want to say I didn't like this book because I did enjoy reading it from time to time, but it also put me in a major reading slump, to be honest. At first, I was really excited to read this, I loved that it's told from both Claire's and Elise's POV, but soon after that, I was like... could something happen now? Please?
The synopsis promised a murder running loose, and I was waiting for that murder to appear, for Elise and Claire to catch him, but that didn't happen until halfway through the book. The first half was so slow, Elise was so whiny - and I get it, what she goes through is horrible, but still - and I couldn't get myself to pick this book up again. But obviously, I pushed through it, got to the end - and that honestly wasn't too bad. The romance was cute. I liked Elise and Claire together and seeing Elise struggling with her sexuality.
But. The plot itself... It was very predictable. At around 60%, I said I knew how this was going to end, and I was right. And I am not even that mad about guessing what was going to happen but I hated, that some things were written as plot twists. They very obviously should have left me shocked but they just didn't. I honestly guessed every single plot twist, there was too much foreshadowing. It was too easy. I think that's my major problem with Isabel Sterling's books. I like the ideas of her stories and her characters, but how she tells the story just isn't working for me.

But I still absolutely would recommend picking this up because - well, lesbian vampires. And lots of other queer secondary characters. I really appreciated that representation and it's one of the reasons why I really would recommend Isabel Sterling as an author to other people. She's just not for me.

Actual rating - 2.5⭐

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange of an honest review.

The Coldest Touch is a fast paced and engaging story. I'm always intrigued with a vampire story. I didn't have any high expectations going in and that proved to be for the best. The plot isn't the most original but managed to hook me in. This was told through dual POVs - Elise and Claire. In the beginning it was difficult to distinguish between them as their characters felt so similar. The whole time I was reading this, I felt that this was the beginning of a series. There was inadequate information about the Veil, the powers of the Death Oracle and in general the development of the characters. There were some diverse characters but they fell flat. Elise's ' best friends ' didn't have any major role in the story. Their only purpose was to appear conveniently for a plot twist or to move the story along. I didn't find any strong evidence supporting their close friendship. Claire had the potential to be a complex character but felt like the female version of Edward Cullen. The main couple's relationship could have been fully explored. I expected a forced proximity but slowly fall in love trope but it was straight up insta love. I'm not a fan of that especially if there is no strong reason for their attraction towards each other. I still don't get it why they like each other. Overall, despite the interesting premise this story failed to deliver the dark vibes I anticipated based on the blurb.

I can admit, I was a little unsure about THE COLDEST TOUCH. Vampire-in-high-school stories really aren’t my thing, but THE COLDEST TOUCH is fast-paced with lots going on and plays well with the classic YA Paranormal tropes. It’s dark and intriguing, with an interesting supernatural world, a shadowy all-powerful organisation, and lots of long-buried secrets.

The high-school portions weren’t as prevalent as I expected them to be, which actually worked a lot better for me. Elise felt like a very real teenager, and the school parts that were there felt believable. Still traumatised by the recent death of her brother, Elise really struggles to rebuild her relationships and her life, and I thought the lingering effects of grief were very well done.

The Veil—a secret society policing the paranormal world—has a lot of potential, but didn’t feel as fully explored as I’d have liked. The various departments, the out-for-themselves leadership and their far-reaching powers—the way vampires in particular function within the human world—is sketched in enough detail for Clare and Elise’s storyline, but I felt like there were a lot of untapped routes and questions that could be delved into in either a longer book, a spin-off or a sequel.

The characters are really what make this book special though. The POV is split between Elise (the newly created Death Oracle) and Claire (the vampire that’s been sent to train her into her new powers). Elsie has two wonderful best friends who, of course, get roped into helping the girls out, creating a supportive, snarky Scooby-Gang. Jordon, Elise’s ex-boyfriend and friend, was my favourite character. Clare brings some other supernaturals on board, in particular her boss-slash-peudosibling Wyn. I loved the bickering between Wyn and Clare, because you really get the feeling they’ve known each other for years.

I really enjoyed THE COLDEST TOUCH, and thought it was a lot of fun. Although I would have liked to dig a little deeper in some places, it’s a really strong comeback for teen vampires. Perfect for fans of paranormal YA.

It is a testament to Sterling's ability to craft a fascinating story that she managed to deliver a story with so much packed into it that the vampires aren't even the most interesting thing about it, which blows my mind. At its ore, The Coldest Touch is a story about grief, yearning, (to quote Lana del Rey) lust for life and, ultimately, how bloody (excuse the pun!) difficult it is to be a teenager, whether briefly or for decades on end. I loved both of the protagonists and got invested in their individual journeys and subsequent romance in no time at all. Add to the mix a great group of friend, supernatural creatures galore and just the right amount of melodrama and you have a stellar novel! I cannot wait to see what else Sterling has in store for these characters

I must admit, going into this book I wasn't sure it sounded like my cup of tea. However, I am thrilled to have been proved wrong!

Elise can see the death of anybody she touches, and has withdrawn into herself to try and avoid such a curse. Claire, a vampire, has been sent to help her master this power and use it for the leaders of the paranormal world.

The characters were easy to engage with, and the world building smart. There were twists and a hint of mystery that kept me hooked to the end! Definitely a book I intend to pick up again.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

You had me at queer vampires - and this book only drew me in from there. Heartwarming, supernatural, charming, funny; heartbreaking too. This book has it all.

The Coldest Touch follows the lives of Elise, a girl who goes from ordinary to one of the most powerful supernaturals in existence without even knowing why or how; and Claire, a girl who was turned into a vampire at 17 and has to deal with being 17, for eternity. But she wants nothing more than to be human again.

Told in dual POVs, we watch as Claire is assigned to teach Elise how to control her powers (she sees the death of everyone she touches) for The Veil, the supernatural government let’s call them. They want her to be their Death Oracle, controlling people’s fates and death, killing those that oppose them, and lengthening the lives of those who can pay. Elise, however, just wants a normal life; and her dead brother back.

While Claire is teaching her control, and Elise is figuring out what her life will be now, feelings start to develop, and this is a beautiful story about finding out who you are beneath everything else. You get to watch Elise figuring out her sexuality, and it is so subtly written that you are feeling everything she feels, as she feels it. And then there is Claire, who has been 17 for a long time, and has been burned before. We see Claire begin to open her heart again, to let her guards down and truly let someone see HER, and it is beautiful.

However, as with any story, there can’t be love without heartbreak. When Elise finds out her brother is alive, and a vampire, and that there is a cure to make him human, there is a heartbreaking decision to be made. What if only one can be made mortal again? As much as Elise wants her brother back, can she choose him over her feelings for, and a possible future, with Claire? This is the most heartbreaking part of the story; we know how much Claire wants to be human, but she loves Elise. So she gives up her chance of mortality for Elise, so she can get Nick back.

The ending is open, there is still a chance for Claire to be made human, but the story ends with Claire and Elise just beginning to figure out what their life could be, together.

There are so many moving parts to this story, interwoven together, and the story keeps you guessing to the very end. It is full of magic that draws you into the very rich world that has been built. The characters are so well crafted that you fall in love with them, even the “villains” who are my favourite type of villain - morally grey characters with so much hurt and so much anger you can’t hate them. You feel for them.

I absolutely adored this book and I really hope we get to see Elise and Claire again.

The Coldest Touch follows the story of Elise, a normal teenage girl until her brother tragically dies and suddenly she can see the death of anyone she touches. Enter Claire, a vampire who has been sent to help guide Elise in her new powers and must brave the depths of high school to help her. Their budding relationship is complicated by a series of murders, quests for revenge, old enemies and powerful secrets.

I was actually really pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. YA contemporary (adjacent) takes a lot for me to be super invested but I really loved both the plot, the romance and all the supernatural elements. This book felt very nostaglic to me as it reminded me of the circa-2010 paranormal YA era (but in my opinion much better written lol) I grew up reading and gave me all the comfort feels. It feels like a fresh new (sapphic!!!!) take on twilight-era classics.

I really liked both Claire and Elise as characters, both have been through quite a lot in their lives so far but they manage to maintain kind-hearted spirits and motivated to help others. I thought the exploration of grief through Elise's character and her family was really well done and very touching. Claire as a character I also thought was a great example of a jaded immortal, old by human standards but stuck in a teenage body and young by vampire standards and the internal conflicts this creates. I really loved the side characaters as well, it's great to see suppportive friends (often I feel this is lacking, esepcially in queer YA contemporary) and some of the older vampires were really intriguing. And you know I always love a sexy evil villainess lol.

The paranormal elements to the book were really fun. I love the whole concept of the veil and having a powerful society of supernatural creatures controlling the underworld, seemingly benevolent on the surface but with a lot of dark secrets and hidden agendas. The vampires feel fairly traditional - they probably felt most similiar to vampire diaries (adding another layer of nostalgia) but even so I loved all the blood and drama. The plot is also super interesting, if slightly predictable I did still really want to figure out how our characaters would react to things and see what they would do next.

I also really liked the exploration of sexuality and the discussion around it's never too late to come out and realise you might be queer, especially as someone who was late to realising myself. Also the sapphic pining and slowburn relationship build up was so good and felt so authentic. Does she like me or like-like me? Are we touching plantonically or romantically? Is this fake kiss scenario we got ourselves into stirring up feelings??? It's all so good hehe.

Overall a really enjoyable read, especially if you are in the mood for a feel-good nostaglia-inducing vampire novel with an adorable, angsty sapphic romance and an engaging plot and mystery.