Review: Red Glove by Holly Black

Red Glove by Holly Black
Curse Workers Book 2
Release Date: April 5th
320 Pages
Goodreads, Amazon, Author Website

*Don't read the synopsis or review if you haven't read White Cat*
From Goodreads: 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? 


Cassel is such a breath of fresh air, his voice is unique and a lot of fun to read. He is essentially a good guy who has done a lot of bad in his life, he's only 17 mind you. I liked him in the first book and I like him even more in Red Glove. This book picks up months after White Cat. Cassel has been avoiding Lila after telling her that she has been worked to love him. I like that Cassel tries to do what he thinks is right, even if he would really like to do just the opposite. He of course loves Lila and struggles to maintain a distance from her physically and mentally. Things get complicated when she shows up at his school as the new student. How can he hold back when she is so close (and willing)? The Feds show up one day at school and take him to the building they work out of. They show him a picture of his dead brother and ask him for his help in finding the murderer who's red gloves were caught on video . They know that Cassel and his family are connected to the Zacharov family and hand him files on other missing people that he might be able to help with. Cassel at this point is unofficially working with the Feds and is also being recruited by Zacharov himself because of his transformation power, the rarest and most powerful of workers. As you can see Cassel has a lot on his plate, his sense of family duty is at odds with his conscience, will he choose to work for Zacharov who can offer protection for him and his family or will he help the Feds capture Philip's killer and stay to work with them? As for those other files of missing people, was Cassel involved in their disappearances and not remember? There is a lot going on in this book, but everything is interconnected and the identity of the murderer wasn't shocking or out of nowhere, it made sense. The ending was, in my opinion, bittersweet (the best kind!). Can't wait for the next book, Cassel is my new favorite leading man.

I give this book 4.5 Stars!