Black Heart: The Curse Workers, Book 3

Holly Black concludes her Curse Workers trilogy with a bang as Cassel Sharpe finds himself playing both sides of the law - doing his best to make sure that he, his friends, and family come out of it alive. Both the mob and the feds want Cassel for the special talent he possesses, and as the story progresses, it gets harder to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

And yet - for a story involving murder, mobsters, con artists, and all other moral shades of gray - it's surprising how incredibly fun this book is.

As much as the cons and the crime, what anchors Black Heart (and the rest of this series) are the characters and their relationships. It's great to see everyone again - Sam and Danica, even when they hate each other, make you feel like you're hanging out with old friends. Lila Zacharov, now working for her father's brand of organized crime, gets to show her ruthless side, and it does not disappoint. The angst between her and Cassel is pitch-perfect - it's never in question whether or not they're in love; what you're not sure of is if it will work - whether or not they're lives are just too different. But Black does an especially excellent job of ratcheting up the complexity of Cassel's relationship to his brother Baron, making Baron one of the most compelling and interesting characters in the series. If Black comes back to these characters and this world, it would be really fascinating to see more of Baron.

Jesse Eisenberg's narration plays it all straight, his voice never giving away who is safe, who is dangerous, and who is conning you. His reading is perfect for these books.

It's a solid ending to an outstanding trilogy. I hope one day we get more Curse Workers books.

Excellent story, great characters (Cassel for ever!!!) and Jesse's interpretation is perfection.

Of course, White Cat and Red Glove.

Cassel!!!! His voice breaks in all the right moments. He is Cassel in my mind now :) Also, Baron!!! :D He does a great Baron voice :D

This is the third, and final, book in the Curse Workers series by Black. I think readers who really love this series will enjoy how the series is tied up. Things are tied up in a hopeful, yet realistic way, which I really enjoyed. I personally haven???t been a huge fan of this series, I am not bit on organized crime fantasy, but that being said I think this was the best book in the series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator sounds exactly like I imagined Cassel would.

Cassel is trying to turn his life around and do the right thing. Sure his ex-girlfriend is forever tied to a life of crime, but Cassel is trying hard to not follow where she is going. Cassel is thinking about working for the Feds because at least they are on the good side right? But when the Feds ask him to do something with his Transformation that he swore never to do, Cassel is forced to question everything. Who is being conned and who is doing the conning? The future of his mother, his brother, and the love of his life, Lila, all depend on him sorting out what???s true and what???s a con.

Cassel just breaks your heart in this book. He is just trying so hard to do what???s right but at points what is right is incredibly hard to figure out. That???s not to say he ever gets stupid; he knows a con when he sees one and is all about conning the person pulling a con.

Lila isn???t in the beginning of the book a ton, but she does feature later on. A lot happens between her and Cassel in this book, and that is all I am going to say about that. Lila is an interesting character; her path to a life of crime doesn???t seem to bother her a ton...it???s just her life and she makes the best of it.

Cassel???s brother Barron and his mother are also in the story quite a bit. Barron is, well, he???s Barron. He???s working for the Feds but still loosing memories. Cassel???s mother is the same; she loves her sons but never seems to struggle with her morals over the decisions she makes.

This whole book is really about the struggle between being good and being bad and how there are no clear answers...everything is just too complicated.

The books ends absolutely perfectly. There are some things left unresolved, just like real life. I love how things are left between Cassel and Lila; the ending just fits the tone of the story perfectly.

Overall a great conclusion to this series. This was my favorite book of the trilogy. It ties things up nicely, has a great tangle of mysteries to engage the reader, and is just absolutely realistic in the way it ends. Fans of the series should be pleased.