Review: Black Heart

Black Heart (Curse Workers #3), by Holly Black. The GoodRead’s summary:

Cassel Sharpe has the most deadly ability of all. With one touch, he can transform any object - including a person - into something else entirely. And that makes him a wanted man. The Feds are willing to forgive all his past crimes if he'll only leave his con artist family behind and go straight. But why does going straight feel so crooked?

For one thing, it means being on the opposite side of the law from Lila, the girl he loves. She's the daughter of a mob boss and getting ready to join the family business herself. Though Cassel is pretty sure she can never love him back, he can't stop obsessing over her. Which would be bad enough, even if her father wasn't keeping Cassel's mother prisoner in a posh apartment and threatening not to let her leave until she returns the priceless diamond she scammed off him years ago. Too bad she can't remember where she put it.

The Feds say they need Cassel to get rid of a powerful man who is spinning dangerously out of control. But if they want Cassel to use his unique talent to hurt people, what separates the good guys from the bad ones? Or is everyone just out to con him?

Time is running out, and all Cassel's magic and cleverness might not be enough to save him. With no easy answers and no one he can trust, love might be the most dangerous gamble of all.

I’m not really sure why I enjoy this series as much as I do. It’s not my usual type of thing. But nevertheless, enjoy it I do, and this third book is no exception. But, as is often the case for me, when I try to write a review for the later books in a series, I feel like I’m just repeating what I already said in my reviews for the previous books. But here I go anyway.

I think one of the things I appreciate most about this series is how consistently good it is—there was no second-book lull, and this third one was just as strong as the first. Cassel is an entirely likeable main character, and he’s interesting enough to carry the series. What also keeps this series intriguing to me is the whole curse-workers society and the noir/dark fantasy feel the books have going on. I just love the atmosphere the books create. I also love the well-rounded out cast of family, mobsters, feds, and friends and think that they’re all pretty well written.

As for things specific to this third book, I liked that we got to see a slightly different side of Barron—especially towards the end—than we saw in the last two books. Although, I did feel like some of Daneca’s and Sam’s actions in this book weren’t really consistent with what I’d expect based on the other two books. And finally, I’ll mention Lila—that girl fascinates me. Although she’s in this book a fair amount, I wish she would’ve been in more, just because I think she steals every scene she’s in. So honestly, as much as I like Cassel, I really wish we could’ve gotten to see inside Lila’s head way more often.

Overall, a good ending to a good series (this is the last book, yeah? I thought this was a trilogy, but the ending—while giving closure—does leave some wiggle room for more books…).

Rating: 4 / 5

Other books in the series:
White Cat
Red Glove