RED GLOVE by Holly Black Book Review
Series: Curse Workers, #2
Publication Date: April 5th 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry
Rating: 
– Exceeds Expectations | 
Book 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 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.
Red Glove by Holly Black Book Review Overview:
- Cassel is an entertaining protagonist
- The debate between politics and magic makes for an interesting and believable combination
- A captivating sequel that will make you keep turning the page
From the first chapter, I knew I would be hooked. It’s been a long time since I felt the urge to stay up all night reading, but RED GLOVE by Holly Black is the kind of book that will not make you regret losing sleep. At first, I thought I would be missing out on some details because I listened to White Cat instead of reading it in print. However, I was able to read through RED GLOVE by Holly Black without a problem.
Unlike most sequels out there, RED GLOVE isn’t just a filler book. There’s a substantial plot – a murder mystery, to be more specific! – that will make the reader guess from beginning to end. When Cassel’s oldest brother is murdered, Cassel makes it his priority to find out who killed him. Furthermore, federal agents have taken an interest in Cassel, and without their knowledge, they give Cassel some insight into his lost memories. In addition, there is a lot of development for the last book in the Curseworkers trilogy, but the build-up does not overshadow the plot in RED GLOVE by Holly Black.
Cassel continues to be such an entertaining protagonist to read about. I love his self-deprecating demeanor, and it makes me want to cheer him on. His character continues to fascinate me as he unlocks his missing memories and struggles to deal with them. Despite the fact that Cassel can be sometimes reckless, he always pulls through. He’s surprisingly mature and he always takes responsibility for his actions – whether or not he remembers that he did them.
Furthermore, I continue to enjoy the interpersonal relationships between all the characters. Cassel and Lila’s relationship continues to be rocky, and I am conflicted about their situation just as much as Cassel is. They continue to have great chemistry, though it can be argued that it is mostly because of the curse. Sam Yu also continues to be one of my favorite secondary characters. I love what he adds to the book, and I enjoy reading his interactions with Cassel.
The magic in RED GLOVE and the Curseworkers series continues to fascinate me. Cassel’s abilities are astounding, and I am shocked at how powerful he really is. I love that he doesn’t even realize how much he is capable of. I really like how Holly Black pulls in politics in a way to regulate the use of cursework. Adding politics into the mix makes RED GLOVE more believable because I can definitely see the government creating legislation to create a sense of control if this were to happen in real life.
Holly Black does not disappoint in her captivating sequel, RED GLOVE. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next and final book of the Curseworkers trilogy.
Other Book Reviews:
Ageless Pages Review
Demons Read Too
About the Author
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Find the Author
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Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and the forthcoming Black Heart). She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.
eeeee!
SO glad to know you loved this one, too! I’ve only got a few pages left in White Cat and am planning to continue the series.
Need to get this one.
Awesome review!
For the longest time I’ve been meaning to read this series, mostly because the first book has a cute white cat on the cover. Shallow? Maybe
LOL, come on…. We all read books based on their covers. That’s the truth.