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Review for the entire Curse Workers Trilogy:

I picked up White Cat at the recommendation of a friend and was impressed by how unique it felt in style and story. This is the first and only series I’ve read by Holly Black but it left me with a very positive impression of her writing and storytelling. The Curse Workers trilogy introduces a world exactly like ours except with an alternate history where some people are born as “workers” meaning they can change something by touch. In this world, to prevent from getting “worked”, people always wear gloves and people are pushing for testing so that workers can’t get away with their gift if they use it for crime and cons. There is prejudice and a whole new dynamic created in this work with workers and it drew me in and held my interest as the story develops with Cassel and his life as part of a curse worker family.

The characters are different than a lot of characters you often read about as they are composed of shades of grey. Cassel comes from a family of criminal curse workers and Cassel himself does not have a clean record. Cassel makes both good and bad decisions, struggling between his family and what he thinks is right and these choices and what they mean about his and his family as people is deep, interesting, and thoughtful in a unique and fun way that kept me reading the whole time.

Holly Black’s writing is very well done and entertaining with plenty of wit and very believable characters. Black knows how to write a unique world with a fantasy splash and in-depth characters that grow and change. Black does have to do a lot of “telling” to set up for this unique world she’s created but it’s not all telling and Black balances it out with much more showing in the later parts of the series and most of the first novel. This series stands out in my mind with its unique world, characters, plot, and Black’s talented way of bringing it all together in an enjoyable trilogy.

I am so sad that Cassel's adventures have come to an end. I have loved the Curse Workers from the beginning of the series to the end. Cassel is a great character because while he is sincere and open with his thoughts and feelings, I never know whether or not I'm being played. A consummate con artist, Cassel has been running scams since he could crawl. His entire family is comprised of criminals; none of them can let an easy mark go. Only Cassel is looking for a different future, one with a high school diploma and the freedom from being thrown in jail. Too bad the fates are conspiring against him. When all is said and done, even Cassel is incapable of leaving the life of cons and shysters behind him.

I think Black Heart was the best outing of the series to date. It kept me guessing, as Cassel attempts to keep himself out of trouble with the Feds, the deadly crime boss Zacharov, and a psychopathic governor. His real problem is that he just can't ignore a challenge. He just can't let go of his connections with the crime world, and he is too smart for his own good. His love for Lily, Zacharov's daughter, also guarantees that he'll have a complicated time whether he wants it or not. The victim of his mother's good intentions, Lily and Cassel are on the outs, and it seems as though they will never be able to reconcile their rocky relationship. Added to everything else, Cassel is still torn up with guilt over turning Lily into a cat. Yeah, I can see why this romance might not work out.

In the world of the curse workers, Cassel is the ultimate badass. He is a transformation worker, and he can turn anyone into anything. He is the perfect assassin. He is the perfect spy. Too bad he isn't interested in being someone else's weapon. Even though twisted, Cassel has a strict set of ethics. His brothers were able to get past this handicap by altering his memories. Stop for a moment and think about that. His brothers used him to commit murder, at their whim. I wish I could say that only his brothers used him for their personal gain. Cassel's mother exploited him, too. His family is so dysfunctional that it's a wonder he isn't more messed up than he already is. He doesn't even know if his memories are his own!

Cassel gets himself into all kinds of trouble, starting with the very poor decision to steal a gun from a hitman. If he could have only seen into the future, I bet that he would have left that gun right where it was. But no, he thinks that he's a Fed in training, and he has to show off. That's the funny thing about Cassel. He takes these stupid risks, he plays against the most outrageous odds, and most of the time, nobody is even aware of what he's done. Then later, when the poop hits the fan, he has put on his dancing shoes to get himself out of even more trouble that he has brought on himself by doing inadvisable. That's what I love about these books - little things build on each other, and before you know it, Cassel is up to his neck in trouble, mostly of his own making. Because he's trying to be a good guy instead of a bad guy. Maybe he should just stick with being a bad guy; at least he understands most of the rules when he's running a con.

I don't want to give any of the plot away, so I'll just urge you to take a chance on this series if you haven't already. Go check White Cat out from your local library. You won't be able to put it down! Then you will have to read Red Glove and Black Heart, so you might as well check them all out at the same time. Fans of mystery and suspense will eat these up. There's a great romance in these books, too. I love the world building and the concept that every curse worker has to pay a price for using their ability. Most of all I love the characters. They are flawed and likable at the same time, and after getting to know them so well, I will miss Cassel and crew.

Grade: A

I really love this series. This was the last book in the series, sad face, and it was a wonderful ending to a wonderful story.

It's going to be really difficult to write a review on this book. So much happened and I don't want to give anything away.

Cassel is back and he is on a mission. He is being pulled both ways. The mob wants him and the FBI wants him. He is very valuable to each side and Cassel is stuck in the middle. Especially when the girl he loves is doing very bad things. Not only does he have to tend with the FBI and the Mob, he has to find a way to clean up his mother's mess. Her actions have just made the lives of all the curse workers much harder. I am a hard core Cassel fan and he didn't disappoint in this book.

In this last installment there is murder, protests, government control, blackmail, and much more. Everything you expect out of a mob crime book. It was a very thrilling ride for me and I didn't even realize how close to the end I was until it all started to wrap up, and it doesn't do that until the very end. The book had me guessing after every page. I was completely clueless to the twists and turns in this book. It was exceptional.

The story was awesome and the writing was phenomenal. I will be rereading this series in the future. It has a definite, permanent placement on my shelves. If you have not read this series, I highly suggest you give it a try if you like mobs, crime, cons, and thrills.