Black Heart by Holly Black

Title: Black Heart
Series: Curseworkers, Book 3
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Genre: Young Adult Alternate Urban Fantasy
Rating: Older Teen (some language, sensuality, scary situations)

Summary: Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves taking her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love.

Writing: Fast-paced and a quick read. It can be a little choppy in some spots, but this is part of the character's voice.
Story: As with Red Glove, the plot can be a bit all over the place (see my review of Curseworkers, Book 2 here). But ultimately, this story is character driven, so it's best to just let the story unfold as it may. This can prove a little confusing at times, but so is real life, and this book strikes as close as it can get.
Characters: Cassel is on his game as usual, and no matter how bad she gets, Lila is always a delight. What's left of his family and friends are endearing in their own ways, although I didn't like the path his close friends took (the whole brother triangle just made me sad - bad Cassel, bad!).

Series End: I wasn't completely satisfied, definitely not impressed, but it wasn't horrible so I have accepted it.

Cover Art: I despise the new cover art. They were trying to appeal more to girls, which is stupid because girls will read just about anything. It's the boys you have to appeal to (they can be very picky readers), and in my opinion pulling away from them was the wrong move. I truly do not understand the flowery new covers in connection with the gritty-ish series, and think they are boring and don't show what the books are about AT ALL. I think they did Holly Black's amazing series a horrific disservice.

Conclusion: Although the books aren't perfect, Holly does such an amazing job with the characters and world of this series that even extremely-picky me is able to ignore most everything else and simply enjoy the story. I will definitely read this series again soon, and highly recommend it.

out of 4 Paws Up

Red Glove by Holly Black

"I don't know whether it's day or night when the girl gets up to leave."

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!