White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat by Holly Black
Curse Workers #1
Release Date: May 4th 2010
Publisher: Indigo
Source: Bought
Star Rating: ★★★★

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 criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn't got magic, 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.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself 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. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Okay, so I bought this book on a whim one day; I have vague memories of Amber telling me it was good so I was reasonably sure I'd enjoy it. Plus, criminals! Not everyone knows this about me but um, I love stories about villains. Immoral people, people with broken moral compasses (actually my favourite part of TVD was Damon and Elena constantly being terrible people, it was so great), people who don't care about crossing lines or just plain ruthless mercenary types. I love 'em all. I am that girl who used to watch all the Mafia documentaries on the History Channel, so, like, an entire YA series about criminals(!!!!) with powers(!!!!!) was obviously something I had to check out. I was so not disappointed, either.

Red Glove by Holly Black

Red Glove by Holly Black
Curse Workers #2
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
Rating: Essential

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

I absolutely loved this book! I can't wait to read Black Heart, which is the final book in the trilogy, because I know that it's going to be amazing!

There were some excellent twists in this book, that I didn't see coming this time around. Cassel and his friends were as awesome as ever. I wasn't a huge fan of Cassel's mother, in fact I despised her. She is a horrible woman. However, I did like her involvement in the story and I hope to see more of that in Black Heart.

This book was an excellent middle book in the trilogy that didn't feel as though it was just a bridge from the first to the third book.

I really love this trilogy and I recommend it to everyone.

I am really annoyed by the cover changes though. Especially as I went out of my way to order my copy of White Cat from the US, just to avoid having an ugly cover!

White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat by Holly Black
Curseworkers #1
Release Date: May 4, 2010 (US)
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry
Rating: Essential

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.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love — or death — and your dreams might be more real than your memories. - Goodreads

First and foremost I want to talk about the world that Holly Black has created. Taken directly from my notes: "THE WORLD IS AWESOME!!!" I love books about people with powers, and that's what this book is. The entire concept of curseworkers and the gangs and the different laws surrounding curseworkers in each country was amazing and really weel set up. There is a lot of rich history there as well, which I loved reading about and I hope with be explored more in the next two books in the trilogy.

I did find this book to be very predictable and I was shouting (in my head, of course) at Cassel because he just wasn't figuring things out fast enough. I don't think the predictable plot took away from the story, although Cassel did frustrate me because I alreayd knew what was going to happen to him if he didn't figure things out. It was kind of like dramatic irony in a Shakespeare play, but the audience wasn't supposed to know in this case.

Cassel was an adorable main character. He was a guy, obviously. YAY for male MCs! He was really loyal and kind, yet he was also cunning at times when he needed to be.

The writing was also great. This is the first Holly Black book I've read, but I can say that after reading this I will be reading more of her books in the near future!

Overall this was a fantastic book, with awesome characters - especially the bad guys - and POWERS!

Question for those of you who have read the book: If you had been born a curseworker, which curse would you rather work? Not that you could choose or anything.