Red Glove

The Curse Workers, Book Two

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Jesse Eisenberg

Curses and Cons. Magic and the Mob.

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. 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.

©2011 Holly Black (P)2011 Listening Library

pretty good

not as good as the first story in the series but still really good. worth the read.

Different kind of paranormal romance

Wow! So many twists and turns. Just when I think I have it all figured out....BAM! another twist. Not until the very end is all revealed. It's a shocker!

Some of my favorite Urban Fantasy

I’ve always been fairly picky about my urban fantasy but I picked up WHITE CAT last year when I was looking for an audiobook to borrow from my library and it sealed the deal when I found out that Jesse Eisenberg narrates! I loved the book but definitely wanted to continue on audio so it took me a while to finally read RED GLOVE because my library never got it in! I gave in and used an Audible credit because I was in the perfect mood to fall back into this world and I’m so glad I picked it back up!

The thing I love the most about these books is really just the feel. Like I said, I’m not a huge urban fantasy fan but I really love how the magic system and curse working just fits so perfectly into the normal world, like that’s the way life really is. (Also loved the line in this book about alternate universes and how somewhere there’s a universe where this magic doesn’t exist. Hee! Ours!!!) The tone of the book is just excellent. I love Cassel’s sarcasm, the sneakiness of his family, and the sliminess of the crime families. Mob + magic is a great combination and I love the way they blend here!

I really enjoy the sort of gray area that is pervasive throughout the book. There is obvious bad but Cassel is always somewhere sort of in the middle. His family isn’t full of bad people but they don’t always do good things and when you’re a worker, it’s hard not to get mixed up in the underbelly of society with crimelords bidding on your talents. I really liked witnessing Cassel’s actions and decisions as he keeps all of this in mind. He errs on the side of good but I just love that little gray area that makes it okay to root for a con artist, bookie, and liar.

Like the first book, I was never totally blown away but my interest was always held! There’s just something about this series that has me hooked. It doesn’t hold the most twists out there but there are definitely some good surprises and it was great to be kept guessing!

Still love Cassel, boring plot

The plot of this one was rather blah mostly because it didn't seem to matter much to Cassel. The narration is great and I'll finish the series but I wasn't compelled to listen constantly.

Different for Holly Black

While I admire her creativity, I don’t love the curseworker series. The second book was better than the first. And I’m going to get the third. She’s an excellent author, so it’s still good and better than most authors out there. I just preferred her Fairie worlds more.

Heart this series

For no good reason, I kept skipping Holly Black, despite the fact that I'd had her recommended to me. What a loss.
The story is compelling. Even the good characters are kind of bad. No one is perfect, and even the worst people are somewhat likable. It's not precisely that you can't figure out what's going to happen before it does, but there are still so many good plot twists that you're always left wanting more. There is some angst, which is ordinarily annoying, but here is understandable and entirely tolerable. These kids have the right to whine, and despite a love story element, there is no ridiculous "OMG, I'm 16 and have known you for 3 seconds, but I'll love you forever and ever and life would be meaningless without you" junk that can make YAs unreadable.
The narration is excellent too. There's nothing in particular to single out and say, this is why this narration is great; it just is. There's nothing negative to say about the narration except perhaps that he doesn't do a lot of voices, so occasionally it can be somewhat difficult to determine who's talking. It's better though that he doesn't, because it keeps characters from sounding weird or being distracting in the story.
Can't wait for the next one.

Fantastic second book

great continuation of the series. Jesse Eisenberg does a fantastic job as Cassel Sharp. He's perfect!

Loved it

Eisenberg crushes this performance! Great book with a great reader. I probably listen to this series every other year

i love listening to Jessie Eisenberg.

i hope Jessie reads more books. i can listen to him all day. he made this book so much more enjoyable

Excellent story and narration

This is such a believable and immersive story world. The characters are multifaceted. The plot is gripping. The setting is rich and visual. 5 stars!