I’m surprised to say that my fave sci-fi read of 2025 is a YA novel.
I don’t often review YA, but I enjoyed Gong’s debut Romeo and Juliet retelling These Violent Delights, so when I heard this author had a cyberpunk novel coming out, I was interested to see how she’d tackle my fave genre.
I have to say, the vibe of this book turned out to feel more like “space cadets romance meets cold war spy novel” than cyberpunk. It was also slower paced than my usual fare. But man, as far as a great story, Gong did not disappoint! Coldwire is my top read of 2025. If you like sci-fi with a slow-build mystery, I highly recommend you add this one to your 2026 TBR!
The Story
In a world where afluent citizens have moved their lives into a virtual “Upcountry” while the physical reality of “Downcountry” crumbles under the care of impoverished manual laborers, two superpowers, Medaluo and Atahua, are locked in a cold war for control of the system, Atahau recruiting ethnic Medan orphans into their military schools to be deployed into Medalou as spies.
The novel follows two of these military recruits, Lia and Eirale, on two separate but intertwined storylines. While Lia is sent on a spy mission to locate a missing programmer in the virtual version of Medaluo, Eirale is captured by a terrorist group and forced into Downcountry Medaluo to obtain a mysterious piece of code.
Each FMC is paired with a cute boy and a ragtag team. And each FMC encounters strange coincidences and clues on her mission. As the mystery slowly unfolds, the reader begins to suspect that the two missions are intertwined in a much larger conspiracy.
What I liked
Although the build is quite slow, Eirale’s and Lia’s stories intersect in a really cool payoff that, for me, is totally worth the reading time invested to get there. I love mysteries where you can look back and see how all the clues fit together, yet you never would have guessed the ending until it happens. That’s totally this book for me!
I also enjoyed how the author made me think from different perspectives, imagining what it would feel like to be a member of a visible minority born and raised in a country that’s at war with the country of your heritage.
Coldwire is thought-provoking in several other ways, too. Gong employs dual timelines and other rarely used storytelling elements in intriguing ways. The story gave me new and interesting perspectives regarding AI and VR as well.
The Romance
I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers relationships between the two FMC’s and the guys they’re working with. There’s some fun banter and a few of my fave romance tropes–an Only One Bed situation, and a scene where She Cares for Him When He’s Sick. That being said, if you’re looking for a romance-heavy read, be warned–there’s very little kissing in Coldwire.
It seems like there’s going to be a Book 2, and I expect the romance to build along with the intrigue in the next insalment.
Overall Thoughts
Coldwire is not for everyone. It’s slower-paced and less action heavy than I expected–more like a cold war spy novel set in a cyberpunk future than the sci-fi action novel I was expecting. Both the mystery and the romance burn quite slowly. For me, though, the payoff is 100% worth the slow build.
I recommend this YA cyberpunk novel to readers who enjoy a good mystery and who are intrigued by cool uses of technology and near-future sci-fi worldbuilding. Coldwire was my fave read of 2025 and I’ll definitely be back for book 2!
