Cassel returns with the second book in the Curse Workers Series, and I was happy to see him! After White Cat I was salivating for more, and Holly didn't let me down. In the slightly alternate (and brilliant) world of curse workers, Holly's gritty style brings her fantastic characters to life in the dark shadows of magic, murder, and the mob.
Summary: With his brothers' betrayal relatively behind him, Cassel hopes once more to find some semblance of normalcy at school, even as he tries to unsuccessfully avoid the cursed love of his life. But tragedy strikes the Sharpe family, and when the Feds blackmail Cassel into helping them reveal the identity of a mysterious mob hitman, he finds himself going down a dark road that many people, including himself, would rather not shine a light on. Sometimes, secrets should be left as they are.
Reality Check: While Holly's characters are TOP NOTCH, her plotting was a bit weak and choppy. Several times I felt that there wasn't much of a plot at all, and the info dump of a revelation at the end was pretty weak. I fully realized that this series is character-driven, definitely not plot-driven. But her writing is sound, and her characters are SO GOOD that I cared not that the plot sagged and just kept reading. And her endings? Don't even get me started about how much I loved the last scene (again)! Holly definitely knows how to make an exit.
Conclusion: Thoroughly entertaining - I highly recommend it. Cannot wait for Book 3: Black Heart!
"After all, hell is supposed to be hot."
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
out of 4 Paws Up!
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