#curse workers

Curse Workers by Holly Black (2010-2012)

Cassel is cursed. Cursed by the memory of the fourteen year old girl he murdered. Life at school is a constant trial. Life at home even worse. No-one at home is ever going to forget that Cassel is a killer. No-one at home is ever going to forget that he isn't a magic worker.

Cassel's family are one of the big five crime families in America. Ever since magic was prohibited in 1929 magic workers have been driven underground and into crime. And while people still need their touch, their curses, their magical killings, their transformations, times have been hard. His granddad has been driven to drink, his mother is in prison and his brothers detest him as the only one of their family who can't do magic.

But there is a secret at the centre of Cassel's family and he's about to inherit it. It's terrfying and that's the truth.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2014)

The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (2004-2009)

When Alyss Heart, newly orphaned heir to the Wonderland throne, flees through the Pool of Tears to escape her murderous Aunt Redd, she finds herself lost and alone in Victorian London. Befriended by an aspiring author named Lewis Carrol, Alyss tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Alyss trusts this author to tell the truth so that someone, somewhere will find her and bring her home. But he gets the story all wrong. He even spells her name incorrectly!

Fortunately, Royal Bodyguard Hatter Madigan knows all too well the awful truth of Alyss' story - and he's searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland, to battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.

East by Edith Pattou (2003-2018)

Rose has always felt out of place in her family, a wanderer in a bunch of homebodies. So when an enormous white bear mysteriously shows up and asks her to come away with him — in exchange for health and prosperity for her ailing family — she readily agrees. The bear takes Rose to a distant castle, where each night she is confronted with a mystery. In solving that mystery, she loses her heart, discovers her purpose, and realizes her travels have only just begun.

Circle of Magic by Tamora Pierce (1997-1999)

With her gift of weaving silk thread and creating light, Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief who has a way with plants; Daja, an outcast gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. At Winding Circle, the four misfits are taught how to use their magic - and to trust one another. But then disaster strikes their new home. Can Sandry weave together four kinds of magical power and save herself, her friends, and the one place where they've ever been accepted?

The Chronicles of Alice by Christina Henry (2015-2020)

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside. 

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn't remember why she's in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood... 

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. 

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley (2003)

"Sunshine" is what everyone calls her. She works long hours in her family's coffeehouse, making her famous "Cinnamon Rolls as Big as Your Head," Bitter Chocolate Death, Caramel Cataclysm, and other sugar-shock specials that keep the customers coming. She's happy in her bakery--which her stepfather built specially for her--but sometimes she feels that she should have life outside the coffeehouse. One evening she drives out to the lake to get away from her family, to be alone. There hasn't been any trouble at the lake for years.But there is trouble that night for Sunshine. She is abducted by a gang of vampires who shackle her to the wall of an abandoned mansion, within easy reach of a figure stirring in the moonlight. Sunshine knows that he is a vampire and that she is to be his dinner. Yet when dawn breaks he has not attempted to harm her.And now he needs her help to survive the day...

Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (2023-present)

A pirate of infamy and one of the most storied and scandalous captains to sail the seven seas. 

Amina al-Sirafi has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.

Yet the deeper Amina dives the higher the stakes. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savour just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.

October Daye by Seanan McGuire (2009-present)

The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

The Near Witch by V. E. Schwab (2011)

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger-a boy who seems to fade like smoke-appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

★★★★★

Girls like her, my grandfather once warned me, girls like her turn into women with eyes like bullet holes and mouths made of knives. They are always restless. They are always hungry. They are bad news. They will drink you down like a shot of whisky. Falling in love with them is like falling down a flight of stairs. What no one told me, with all those warnings, is that even after you’ve fallen, even after you know how painful it is, you’d still get in line to do it again.

4.5!

While not as good as the first book, and yet much better than the second one, the Curse Workers trilogy comes to an eventful end with a tension-filled plot and satisfying conclusion.

While woven tighter than Red Glove's thread, Black Heart still had a ton of plots and subplots going on. However, these plots all came together very well. Some plot twists I guessed from the start, but though Holly Black is good at leaving all the hints readers need to put the pieces together, there were still a few parts that caught me off-guard. And while I found it had a slower start, the pace picked up well and also carried great suspense, especially near the end.

In this book, Cassel felt more on his own than the others, which I didn't enjoy a ton, but I appreciate how Holly Black addressed this. I didn't care for the Mina plot or the diamond plot as much, but I did love how the Federal agent plot unfolded. There was never a clear easy path for Cassel to take, but he really did the best with what he had. Though I wouldn't say the ending was my favourite, I felt like it made a lot of sense for Cassel's character.

While not a perfect ending or a perfect book, I found myself both entertained and satisfied with the overall story. The first book is definitely the strongest, but I can't help but picture myself rereading the entire trilogy time after time again.

★★★☆☆

The truth is messy. It's raw and uncomfortable. You can't blame people for preferring lies.

I wished I loved this more than I did, but I have to admit: this one felt messier.

It's still a good book - I really enjoyed the twists and turns. Man, Holly Black does not make anything easy for Cassel. Really, his life just outright sucks sometimes. But while he manages to think his way to the best solution a lot of times, he's human enough to do some outright stupid things.

The biggest problem this book faces is a lack of focus on the main plot. Sure, it definitely picks up at the end, but for a large chunks, side plots overwhelm the book with their inane pointlessness. It took me forever to warm up to Lila again, and while I understand she was under Emotion work for part, she still felt so clingy, helpless, and overall subdued, even when interacting with people other than Cassel. Where was the spitfire dangerous person from the last book? She had so much potential, and it wasn't until the end that I felt she really got back into the groove of last book. 

A few characters were hit of miss for me. I still love Daneca and Sam to death (Sam is probably my favourite character besides Cassel - he has the best reactions), but Cassel's mom just made me cringe (though this was probably intentional). I just known enough people like her who would abuse her gift. Barron was okay - not good, not bad, just fine. And I missed Cassel's grandad in this one! I wish he was in it more. Hopefully next book?