Black Heart

Cassel Sharpe was raised in the Curse Workers's world, where everyone is a con artist and every choice is a potential trap. His mother can emotionally control him, his brother can manipulate his memories, his ex-girlfriend is now part of the mob and he himself has a power so rare that its nearly mythical. He wants to get a high class education and win himself free of all the plots, but instead he keeps getting pulled deeper.

The world building remains awesome. There are workers and non-workers. Workers can enact magic with a touch, but experience blowback if they do. For example, emotion workers can manipulate other people's feelings, but in return their own emotions become unstable. Or there are death workers, who can kill someone with show more a touch, but in return a part of their body dies--a tooth if they're lucky, their heart if they're not. Even healing has blowback of its own: by healing others, one becomes sick oneself. Working magic is dangerous and not to be done lightly. But for all that, it's so powerful that it's still used. And because all the magic is touch-based, everyone wears gloves constantly, and seeing someone's ungloved hand is both incredibly intimate and a little scary.

Cassel, and all the supporting characters, are equally well-thought out, well-rounded creations. And the plot is as twisty as ever, though not quite so mind-blowing as the first two books. I really loved this series, but I think Black was smart to end (or at least pause) it here. Cassel quitting school, the FBI, and all pretences of normality in order to have a little time with Lila was an incredibly gutsy plot twist, the equivalent of having Harry Potter quit Hogwarts in, say, the fifth book. It was smart, it was unexpected, and it completely shook up the books' loose formula. In all three books, Cassel has to juggle school, curse working, and the law--after the last chapter, the juggling act is over. show less

Holly Black is a Curse Worker!

There is absolutely nothing that I dislike about Black Heart or the rest of the Curse Workers series! Holly Black is one of my favorite authors. She hooked me with the Tithe series and gave me no room to wiggle off the line with her current film-noir-mixed-with-some-paranormal crime drama.

****Alert: Since this a review for book three of a series, it contains spoilers for anyone who hasn't read White Cat and Red Glove. If you find yourself in that unenviable position, you need to immediately step away from your computer, use the fastest means of transportation available to you, and get yourself to a bookstore so you can begin reading what is sure to become one of your favorite series. (If you're new to Holly show more Black, then you've got even more catching up to do. Don't miss out on Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside!)

Now back to the review. Cassel Sharpe is an eminently sympathetic character. He's a loyal friend/brother/son. He has a surprisingly strong sense of right and wrong, considering he was raised in a family of supernatural thieves and con artists. A family which lied to him and made him believe he was the black sheep without the power to alter people's memories, make them fall in love, or kill them with a single touch. He was the outcast since he wasn't a "Curse Worker". Just one problem: He is a curse worker. And not just any curse worker, but a transformation worker. He has the ability to turn you into anyone or anything he wants. So they used him to commit murders and to transform his best friend and only girl he ever loved into a cat, then erased his memory of it (White Cat). In attempt to set things straight his mom, the emotion worker, curses the girl to fall in love with him. So now he can't be with her because he knows it's not real and refuses to take advantage of the situation (Red Glove). It's amazing that he doesn't go on a psychopathic rampage transforming everyone into beanbag chairs!

In Black Heart he's got the Feds hounding him to join their Licensed Minority Division so they can have the rarest and most feared type of curse worker as their own weapon. Then there's the crime boss (and father of the girl of his dreams) who's holding his mother hostage until he can retrieve a diamond she once stole from him. And just for fun, let's throw in a terrified girl from school who begs him to help her deal with a blackmailer, while clearly holding back some vital information. There's just so much being thrown at this kid from every angle. But he just takes it all in stride and stays one step ahead while everyone thinks they're playing him.

Black Heart is a fast paced, fun, and extremely well written novel. The characters and situations are completely believable. The setting is beautifully constructed. The plot is well thought out and perfectly executed. Exactly what I've come to expect from Holly Black, who clearly works her magic by touching her fingers to a keyboard. For writing this solid, the blowback must be crazy! show less

Holly Black has done it again! I swear, this woman is incapable of writing a bad book. Black Heart is just as darkly humorous and exciting as the last two books in the Curse Worker trilogy! I would argue that the stakes are even higher this time around—there are three major issues that Cassel needs to deal with, all involving different groups of people: his family, his friends, and the Feds. Holly Black does a great job of balancing all three storylines and ending the book with all problems resolved. The manner of resolution, however, isn’t easy—each of the conflicts Cassel is facing have their own twists, and you’ll find yourself surprised at every single one. But Holly Black proved that she’s stellar at plot twists in the show more first two Curse Worker books; I shouldn’t be surprised by her skill, but I always am.

Aside from the complexity of the story and cons, Black Heart continues to excel in terms of characters. Cassel has slowly grown over the course of the series, and in Black Heart he evolves the most. His signature snark is still intact, but he’s not so much of a self-loathing moper anymore. I can’t get enough of Cassel’s narration—he’s just a funny, quirky guy. The side characters are just as wonderful as always—I love Sam, Cassel’s roommate, Lila, and even Zacharov has his moments.

As a finale, Black Heart is perfect. We get answers to some questions that have followed Cassel through all three books, we’re given time with each of the characters (we’ll remember them fondly!), and we get to read through a really good con. What more could a reader ask for?

If you’ve read the previous two Curse Worker books, you absolutely must pick up Black Heart. It doesn’t disappoint! But whatever your expectations are, prepare to be completely surprised—the ending to this fabulous series is unpredictable! show less

Two/three things -- I really should have read this book long before now. I've had it forever, but I really do have to a) be in the right mood for reading Holly's books, and b) sort of hold on to the works of certain authors like a dragon hoarding jewels against the day when I won't still have a book of theirs in my hands available to read still.

Sadly, I think I waited a little too long to read this one because I went into with the foggiest "I remember this is about the Mob/FBI with dark magic, and I remember that REALLY HORRIBLE THINGS happened at the ends of last two books......but I know don't remember what exactly those really horrible things were...oops."

Even with that this book was exquisite though. Razor sharp, dark void, show more interestingly new magic wise and Mob-y. Like I remembered. I, also, forgot how fast these books read. I was just starting it and then a few hours later, it was already half gone, and before I went to bed it was all gone. This was gorgeous, and I loved the world, how complex and unfair it was, all the choices and sides were, and I loved the ending, the very end of this-but beginning of this-we drive off into the future ending Holly is so good at. show less

Fan-bloody-tastic. (I finished this book and grinned like a loon at my cat for long enough for her to get disconcerted and leave.) This is a marvellous conclusion to a trilogy that was just all sorts of sharp-edged, unflinching delightful. Cassel's arc is hard and entertaining and rewarding. But what I like most about this series is the way in which magic doesn't solve anything. The privileged still have the power, and they still buy and sell the lives and futures of the young. Being the rarest of flowers doesn't mean you can't be crushed under foot. (I can see, perhaps, how that isn't a message that will make the books wildly popular, but I appreciate its reality.)

The more I consider it, the more I wonder if I was just having a bad day when I read [b:Red Glove|8288246|Red Glove (Curse Workers #2)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327888670s/8288246.jpg|13136697] and found myself mostly underwhelmed by it. I still think that [b:White Cat|6087756|White Cat (Curse Workers, #1)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331930853s/6087756.jpg|6264661] was this series' highest point and the other two installments never quite achieved what the opening book did, I just thought that [b:White Cat|6087756|White Cat (Curse Workers, #1)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1331930853s/6087756.jpg|6264661] had so much going on but Ms Black somehow managed to juggle it superbly so the show more plot never felt too much or overcrowded. And there was just a touch too much relationship drama going on in [b:Red Glove|8288246|Red Glove (Curse Workers #2)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327888670s/8288246.jpg|13136697] and [b:Black Heart|8884616|Black Heart (Curse Workers, #3)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1326304058s/8884616.jpg|13760521] for my tastes.

However, I didn't have the same problems with this as I did with the second book, despite the relationship dramas. I still remained hooked throughout and enjoyed revisiting Cassel and his family. Though the main mystery occasionally got lost behind various subplots involving blackmail and Sam and Daneca's tumultuous relationship, I enjoyed these mini-stories enough this time around that I wasn't bored.

My final conclusions on the curse workers series is that it is most definitely worth reading. It stands out so much from all the other YA urban fantasy novels that are available today, as of yet I haven't found anything quite like it - which is a huge plus! It's a unique world with an array of interesting characters - some of which you can both love and hate equally - and excellent mystery stories. I don't know if it's because I'm extremely dense or because Ms Black is such a talented writer, but she always manages to surprise me.

As a reader who has had some not so great experiences with Black's other work, I can say that this is the kind of series you should still read if you hated [b:Tithe|46777|Tithe (The Modern Faerie Tales, #1)|Holly Black|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1332451294s/46777.jpg|1460966], and I am awaiting the publication of [b:The Coldest Girl in Coldtown|12813630|The Coldest Girl in Coldtown |Holly Black|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/60x80.png|17962903] with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. show less

I listened to the audio book, as I've done with the previous two titles because I adore Jessie Eisenberg as Cassel Sharpe. To me, he IS Cassel. I've loved the previous two books, flawed characters, bad decisions and all. And, much to my delight, Black Heart follows up quite strongly. In Black Heart , we get to spend more time with Cassel as he uses his curse (for good and for evil). But we also learn more about his family, his mother and all the drama that's only been hinted at in the two other books. There are also a couple of interesting confrontations (of a sort) with people from the previous books (I really, really don't want to give anything away). And, of course, there's some fantastic Lila and Cassel interaction.

I love this show more series so much and I was really happy with this third (and sadly final) book. But what made me happy was that Black managed to wrap everything up and give me the most satisfying ending possible. show less