Red Glove : Volume 2

Also reviewed on my blog, the Vintage Bookworm. (http://www.vintagebookworm.blogspot.com Wow. I think I may have actually liked Red Glove more than it's predecessor, White Cat. I can't really choose. I loved them both, but there was just something about Red Glove. Hmm. These two books have everything; a great storyline, magic, romance, mystery, and the mafia! Holly Black is bloody brilliant! I've been trying and trying and trying to talk my husband into reading White Cat, but I guess he's still mad about how I got him to read the Twilight series and he really liked it, but Breaking Dawn killed it. He IS reading the Vampire Diaries series right now (Score!), but that's only because I got him hooked on the show. But anyway, back to Red Glove, ha ha! This series is awesome. I love Cassel! He is a great character. All the characters in here are pretty cool, even the mobsters! Ha! They are all really developed, along with the amazing world they are in. I mean, who wouldn't want to be a curseworker? I mean, I know there are some drawbacks, but isn't there always drawbacks to awesome things like this? Overall, I'm not really sure what else to say about this book other than it is completely awesome and I love this series and can't wait for the next book. I didn't really have any complaints that I can remember other than the fact it freaking ended and I don't have the next book! If you haven't read the first book in the series, do it now! This is an awesome series and definitely among my favorites. It's definitely a fresh storyline. VERY unique! The cover is awesome! Just like the first book's cover. Though I think I definitely like White Cat's cover better. Love the covers in this series.show more

I did not read White Cat, the first in the series, and, although this novel stands pretty well on it's own, it would definitely be made better by reading the first book. There are many references to events that happened previously that aren't fully clear without the background of the first. We meet Cassel Sharpe, a "worker", which seems to be a group of people who have special powers available to them with the touch of their hands, so everyone must wear gloves. A lot of workers run con games (including Cassel and his family, including his mother), others work for organized crime, and others try to stay under the radar to keep their ability from being known, as workers are generally regarded with fear and contempt. Cassel goes to Wallington, a private high school. The girl that he loves, Lila Zacharov, the daughter of a crime boss, also goes to the same school (although there appears to have been a period of years where she was caged as a cat, but that was never fully explained in this book). Cassel's mother "worked" Lila to fall in love with Cassel, so now Cassel can't allow himself to have a relationship with her, because he thinks her feelings for him are a result of his mother's machinations. Cassel is the rarest kind of worker, a transformation worker (he can change people to objects), and his talents have been abused by his family, and have also made Zacharov want him to join his crime family. The Feds are also after Cassel, although they aren't aware of his talents; they just want him to become an informant for them. With murder, a thwarted love, suspicion, and a fight against mandatory testing to find out if someone is a worker, there is a lot going on in this novel, and it was an interesting read. I was, however, somewhat lost here and there with not having read the first book in the series, which takes points off for me. If you've read White Cat, however, you won't have those problems, and will probably really like this one. QUOTE: There is technically nothing illegal about bare hands. Just like there is technically nothing illegal about a sharp kitchen knife. But when you wave one around, the police don't like it. Book Rating: 3.5 out of 5 starsshow more