Red Glove (The Curse Workers #2)

Title: Red Glove (Curse Workers #3)
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Publishing date: April 5th, 2011
Rating: 4 Stars

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose.-GoodReads

Red Glove is the sequel to White Cat. I loved this book, I haven't read anything like it. I love the world, the curses, the crime, the murder, the love, the friendship, the drama, the dysfunctional family. It is addicting.

I've also come to the conclusion that I love Cassel's character. He's sarcastic, well meaning, a conman, totally messed up and he is completely aware of it. I liked his relationship with Lila, as messed up as it was, they are each others equal and they make one heck of a team. They are absolutely vicious. I can't wait to see them meet up in the next book, it's sure to be destructive.

Black would be a great criminal if ever she decided to give up writing and turn to a life of crime. The cons were planned out so well, it's like a work of art. There are so many layers, so many people involved, so many small details and things that come it to play. It's insane.

In a style quite like White Cat the ending was heart breaking and left you wanting more. I can't believe I have to wait a couple of months for Black Heart to come out. I can't wait! I want to find out the conclusion to Cassel and Lila's story. It's sure to be unforgettable.

White Cat (The Curse Workers #1)

Title: White Cat (The Curse Workers #1)
Author: Holly Black
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Date: May 4th, 2010
Rating: 3 Stars

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.-GoodReads

The best thing about this book by far was the world that Holly Black built. It was so detailed and it felt real. I love the fact that everything came with a price, especially the magic they worked. If a worker took away a memory, memories were taken from them in the blow back. If a death worker killed something or someone a small part of them died also in the blow back. It took me a couple of chapters to get used to the world but once I did it was great.

The characters were interesting enough. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Cassel for the way his family was. Everyone stabbed each other in the back and the ending showed just how someones best intentions could go wrongly. Cassel himself was the type of person who played a character. He was afraid of who he was so when he was at school he pretended to be a person who blended in with the crowd. By the end of the story I think he was finally able to be himself with his friends.

The writing style was great and I enjoyed the story, but for me it wasn't the greatest. I will probably read the sequel and if the summery interests you I suggest that you read it. It was a good book but for me personally it just didn't have a spark.