Summary:
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 is 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.
Favorite Line(s):
"Changing is what people do when they have no options left."
"The truth is messy. It's raw and uncomfortable. You can't blame people for preferring lies."
"'No troubles ever got fixed late at night,' he said. 'Midnight is for regrets.'"
Red Glove reminded me why I love Holly Black's writing so much. It's fun and exciting and fast-paced and everything I remember loving in White Cat. The magic is back in full force for the next installment in the Curse Workers series.
I abso-freaking-lutely loved White Cat. I loved everything about it. So to say that I had high hopes for this book is a bit of an understatement. That being said, I wasn't disappointed at all. All of the things I loved most about White Cat were continued into Red Glove. Cassel, Lila, Sam and Daneca came back in full force with new problems and of course, some crazy plans to solve them.
I adore Cassel, okay? I believe he hung the moon, stars and everything else celestial. He is one of my favorite male protags. and I can never get enough of him. No one can get enough Cassel once they've had a taste. Holly Black really took off with his character in this addition to the series and I believe made Cassel more interesting. We get to see a lot more of Lila, but she never really grew on me since, ya know, she's all love cursed and whatnot. I did feel as though I learned more about the characters in the first book than I did with the new characters introduced in Red Glove.
I enjoyed where the story went. Zacharov is an interesting one and seeing more of him and his band of curse worker thugs was much appreciated. The plot was one expected of a second book in a series: slower, more detailed oriented and focused on continuation into more books. Cassel really retreated into himself but also began to really engage in the people around him. He started to make his own decisions and began to loosen his ties with his family and those trying to get a piece of him. Holly really set up the plot up to launch into Black Heart and I'm really curious to see where the story goes and how it's wrapped up in the end.
Summing it up:
I really enjoyed stepping back into the world of curse working. It was slow at times, but overall was a nice addition to the series.
P.S. I'm really sorry this review is weird and, I believe, not up to what I usually try to write. I've been trying to write this for three days and quite frankly this is the best it's going to get...
"Skinny Love"-Bon Iver,
